Nouns ending in y following a consonant form their plural

by dropping the y and adding ies:

When you are talking about two or more people, animals, baby, babies country, countries
places or things, use plural nouns.. family, families lily, lilies
story, stories puppy, puppies
The plural of most nouns is usually made by adding s to lady, ladies library, libraries
the singular: fairy, fairies cherry, cherries
diary, diaries dictionary, dictionaries
star, stars bat, bats mug, mugs
fan, fans bird, birds day, days Nouns ending in y following a vowel form their plural by
dog, dogs house, houses camel, camels adding s:
desk, desks flower, flowers game, games
lamb, lambs shirt, shirts fork, forks boy, boys donkey, donkeys
nest, nests photo, photos spoon, spoons guy, guys key, keys
broom, brooms doll, dolls tray, trays monkey, monkeys
trolley, trolleys cowboy, cowboys
s is pronounced /s/ after a p, k or f sound. Otherwise, it runway, runways chimney, chimneys
is pronounced /z/.
If a noun ends in –f, you often change f to v, and add –
When s is placed after ce, ge, se or ze an extra syllable es:
(/iz/) is added to the spoken word.
half, halves leaf, leaves shelf, shelves
singular (= one) → plural (= two or more) wolf, wolves thief, thieves life, lives
wife, wives half, halves loaf, loaves
a flower → some flowers leaf, leaves loaf, loaves elf, elves
a week → two weeks
a nice place → many nice place Twelve nouns ending in f or fe drop the f or fe and add
this shop → these shops ves. These nouns are calf, half, knife, leaf, life, loaf, self,
sheaf, shelf, thief, wife, wolf.
Nouns ending in s, ss, ch, sh, or x form their plural by
adding es: But some nouns that end in -f are made plural simply by
adding -s:
When the last letters of singular nouns are ch, sh, s, ss or
x, you usually add –es to form the plural. chief, chiefs roof, roofs cliff, cliffs
puff, puffs handkerchief, handkerchiefs
bus, buses
glass, glasses sandwich, sandwiches Some nouns that end in –f can be made plural in two
church, churches beach, beaches ways:
brush, brushes flash, flashes
box, boxes fox, foxes scarf scarfs or scarves
hoof hoofs or hooves
When es is placed after ch, sh, ss or x an extra syllable dwarf dwarfs or dwarves
(/iz/) is added to the spoken word. wharf wharfs or wharves

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Organização: Profª Danielle Moura
Disciplina: Língua Inglesa
The nouns hoof, scarf and wharf take either s or ves in People is plural (=they), so we say people are / people
the plural: have etc.:

hoofs or hooves scarf or scarves A lot of people speak English. (not ‘speaks’)
wharfs or wharves I like the people here. They are very friendly.

If a noun ends in –o, you just add –s or –es to form the Police is plural:
plural.
‘The police are here’ ‘Why? What do they want?’
a hippo, hippos a rhino, rhinos
a kangaroo, kangaroos a vídeo, vídeos The plural form of some nouns is the same as the singular
a zoo, zoos a tomato, tomatoes form.
a potato, potatoes a hero, heroes
a zero, zeroes a mosquito, mosquitoes sheep, sheep deer, deer
a mango, mangoes a buffalo, buffaloes aircraft, aircraft craft (boat / boats)
salmon, salmon quid (slang £1)
Some plural nouns don´t follow the –s rule. They don´t reindeer, reindeer bison, bison
end in –s, -es, -ies or –ves. Instead, the world changes
form. Some nouns change spelling from the singular form Some measurements and numbers do not change.
to the plural.
But words of foreign origin or abbreviated words ending
child, children woman, women in o add s only:
man, men person, people
mouse, mice tooth, teeth dynamo, dynamos kimono, kimonos
goose, geese ox, oxen piano, pianos kilo, kilos
photo, photos soprano, sopranos
Some plurals do not end in –s:
Some nouns are always plural:
this man  these men one foot two feet
that sheep those sheep a tooth all my teeth binoculars goggles pliers
a woman some women a fish a lot of fish jeans spectacles pants
a child  many children a mouse some mice scissors shorts slippers
trousers stockings sandals
also: a person  two people / some people / a lot of clothes pyjamas breeches
people etc. scales shears

She’s a nice person. but They are nice people Another word for spectacles is glasses

We do not often use the plural of person (‘persons’). We Sometimes we use a plural noun for one thing that has
normally use people (a plural word): two parts.

He’s a nice person. but They are nice people. trousers (two legs) also jeans / tights / shorts / pants
Many people don’t have enough to eat. pyjamas (top and bottom) glasses (or spectacles)
(not ‘doesn’t have’) binoculars

2
Organização: Profª Danielle Moura
Disciplina: Língua Inglesa
 Para formar o plural dos substantivos que terminam com
-F ou -FE, troca o –F ou –FE pelo –V e acrescenta -
ES. (-ves).

life ________ leaf ________

loaf ________ wife ________
knife ________ calf ________
half ________ elf ________

Do you change -y to -ies or just add -s to make these

singular nouns plural?

key _______ toy _______

city _______ baby _______
monkey_______ fly_______
butterfly_______ party_______
Acrescenta -S para construir o plural da maioria dos
substantivos.

snake _______ pencil _______

chair _______ bag _______ Fill the gaps with the words in brackets using the correct
house _______ spoon _______ form.
plate _______ tiger _______
paper _______ marker _______ 1. _______ are small and smelly. (child)
pear _______ ant _______ 2. My old friend Jack Kane thinks that men and ______
don't really like each other very much. (woman)
Acrescenta – ES para formar os substantivos que 3. The police are looking for a ___________ with
terminam com -S, SS, X, CH, SH, O. black hair and a red beard. (man)
4. How many roast _______ do you want? (potato)
glass _______ dress _______ 5. I saw three ____ sitting on the temple walls. (monkey)
box _______ bench _______ 6. Big _________ need to consider what effects their
toothbrush _______ tomato _______ products have on the environment. (company)
church _______ fox _______ 7. Blast! My favorite jeans ___________ still wet. (be)
dish _______ bush _______ 8. That road is always full of ___________. (lorry)

Quando os substantivos terminam com –Y, e antes dele Look at the words below. Do you know which ones are
tem uma consoante, troca o –Y pelo -I e acrescenta o - singular and which are plural?
ES, (-IES)
word pencil books fan hat
baby ________ bunny ________ children kites people crab foxes
city ________ candy ________
berry ________ cherry ________ singular plural both
nanny ________ lady ________
factory ________ pony ________

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Organização: Profª Danielle Moura
Disciplina: Língua Inglesa
Put in the correct plural following the rules learnt. Write plurals:

desk _______ class _______ ear __________ eye __________

comb _______ taxi _______ sun __________ sky __________
bus _______ basket _______ boy __________ bird __________
peach _______ belt _______
plate __________ shoe __________
pot __________ egg __________
Change into the plural.
book __________ pen __________
chair __________ house __________
1. A child under twelve is not allowed to see this film.
lorry __________ kiss __________
2. A man is looking at the film poster.
mouse __________ knife __________
3. This baby has got one tooth.
photo __________ tooth __________
4. This actress is really beautiful.
potato __________ volcano __________
5. That actor usually dresses as a cowboy.
cat __________ calf __________
6. A sheriff saw the thief.
child __________ dwarf __________
7. There is only one wolf on the prairie.
brush __________ bed __________
8. This woman owns a ranch in the Far west.
toy __________ wolf __________
9. A buffalo is drinking water from the lake.
sheriff __________ dress __________
10. A famous person life is an interesting piece of news.
book __________ roof __________
11. The book is on the table.
baby __________ foot __________
12. A man is picking up a leaf.
table __________ match __________
13. This piano is very expensive.
chair __________ man __________
14. That knife was used by the thief.
bus __________ church __________
15. There is only one shelf in his bedroom.
egg __________ mosquito _________
box __________ flower __________
Write singular:
sheep __________ fox __________

dolls__________ letters__________
Fill in the plural:
walls___________ roses___________
noses__________ girls____________
a cat – two _____________________
desks__________ doors___________
a robot – five _____________________
leaves__________ knives__________
a room – ten _____________________
mice___________ men____________
a disco – six _____________________
women_________ daughter________
a test – three _____________________
a ladder – eleven _____________________
Put in the correct form of the plural.
a ball – fifteen _____________________
a scooter – four _____________________
tomato __________ tooth __________ a planet – nine _____________________
aircraft __________ logo __________ a legend – two _____________________
mouse __________ crisis __________ a building – eight _____________________
radius __________ grown-up _______

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Organização: Profª Danielle Moura
Disciplina: Língua Inglesa
Complete the sentences with the right plural. Complete the sentences with the nouns in brackets. Use
the plural.
1. The _______(girl) are happy because they have got
new _______ (toy). 1. How many__________ does your cat catch? (mouse)
2. These are the _______ (way) to school.
2. They usually keep their winter clothes in ______ (box)
3. Angie has _______ (candy).
3. We saw some ______ on our way to the beach. (deer)
4. My mother has _______ (mango) for me.
4. She bought two ________ in our online shop. (scarf)
5. My _______ (glass) for the sun.
6. That is the _______ (bus) to school. 5. Our uncle often tells us funny__________ (story)
7. She is in ten _______(photo). 6. We often have ________ for dinner on Fridays. (fish)
8. Tony is 2_______(year) old. 7. My sister likes ice cream with__________ (blueberry)
9. My grandfather has three _______(radio). 8. Our dog has never had any__________ (louse)
10. These are my book _______(story). 9. The girls bought three __________ in the mall. (dress)
11. These are your_______(key). 10. How many __________work in your office? (person)
12. The map has hundreds of _______(country). 11. The farmer has a lot of ____ and _____ (sheep / ox)
13. I have many _______(wish) for Christmas. 12. You should always keep your _________ warm in
14. Those are new ____________(computer).
winter. (foot)
13. Does a cat really have seven __________? (life)
Complete the sentences with the nouns in brackets. Use
14. At how many ______ have you been this year? (party)
the plural.
15. _______ broke into their house and stole some
paintings. (thief)
1. Which Mediterranean ______ are the cleanest? (beach)
16. You should clean your __________twice a day. (tooth)
2. Do you like __________? (tomato)
3. How much do children's _________ cost? (shoe) 17. How many _______ work in the restaurant? (woman)
4. How many _________ does a cat have? (life) 18. My brother always has two___________ for lunch.
5. Which three ______ are the largest in the world? (city) (sandwich)
6. What percentage of ________ has three kids? (family) 19. He was unlucky because he missed the hole by
7. What are the best ________ you have ever been to? _______. (inch)
(party) 20. They have five ______, three girl and two boys. (child)
8. How many _______ should we write in a formal letter?
(kiss)
9. What is the best way to keep ________ out of the
house? (fly)
10. How much would it cost to buy four ________ of
bread? (loaf)
11. How many ________ are there in your town? (church)
12. What do most ________ think about all day? (man)
13. How many ________ did King Henry VIII have? (wife)
14. Should _________ be allowed to use animals? (circus)
15. How many__________ do you eat? (mango)
16. How many__________ does a millipede have? (foot)
17. At what age do ________ usually start to walk? (baby)
18. How many stomachs do _________ have? (sheep)
19. How much do _________ cost per kilogram? (cherry)
20. Are you good at__________? (quiz)
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Organização: Profª Danielle Moura
Disciplina: Língua Inglesa