1. Nouns: Plurals & Contractions
Grammar: Lesson Three
Nouns: Plurals & Contractions

2. Definition A SINGULAR noun names one person, place, thing, or idea.
A PLURAL noun names more than one person, place, thing, or idea.

3. Plural nouns
Most nouns in English are made into PLURAL NOUNS by adding an s to the singular form.
one snake  two snakes
one car  two cars
one tree  two trees

4. Make the following nouns plural:
Plural nouns
If the noun ends with an s, ch, sh, x, or z, an es is added to make the noun plural.
Make the following nouns plural:
box loss
dish quiz
church house
boxes
losses
quizzes
dishes
churches
houses

5. Add s to nouns ending in a vowel and y.
Plural nouns
Add s to nouns ending in a vowel and y.
key
toy
monkey
keys
toys
monkeys

6. Plural nouns
Change y to an i and add es to nouns ending in a consonant and y.
sky
hobby
penny
skies
hobbies
pennies

7. What about nouns that end in a vowel?
Plural nouns
What about nouns that end in a vowel?
Add an s to nouns ending in a vowel and o.
radio - radios
zoo - zoos
Add an s to musical terms ending in o.
solo - solos
cello - cellos

8. Plural nouns
Nouns ending in a consonant and o should be learned. If you are not sure, check the dictionary.
echo
echoes
potato
potatoes
tomato
tomatoes
zero
zeros, zeroes
hero
heroes

9. Plural nouns
Some nouns have special PLURAL FORMS.

10. Plural nouns Add s to many nouns ending in f, fe, or ff.
roof - roofs
cliff - cliffs
But, some nouns drop the f or fe and add ves.
calf – calves
life - lives
Some nouns have irregular plural forms!
child - children
ox - oxen

11. Plural nouns Some nouns have identical singular and plural forms
deer - deer
scissors - scissors
For compound words, the most important word is usually made plural
son-in-law/sons-in-law
board of health/boards of health
Add an ‘s to form the plural of letters or numbers used as a noun
A – A’s
100 – 100’s

12. Write the plural form of each noun.
Practice
Write the plural form of each noun.
1. teacup
A: teacups
2. goose
A: geese
3. Iroquois
A: Iroquois
4. class
A: classes
5. auto
A: autos

13. Practice 6. Department of Justice A: Departments of Justice
7. daughter-in-law
A: daughters-in-law
8. leaf
A: leaves
9. hobby
A: hobbies
10. donkey
A: donkeys

14. Definition
A CONTRACTION is a word made by combining two words and leaving out one or more letters. An apostrophe shows where the letters have been left out.

15. The speaker is happy about her presentation.
Contractions
The speaker is happy about her presentation.
We can join the two words speaker and is to create a contraction.
SPEAKER’ S
The speaker’s happy about her presentation.

16. Testing Your Knowledge
What is a plural noun?
more than one person, place, thing, or idea
How are most nouns in English made plural?
add an s
What is a contraction?
A word made by combining two words and leaving out one or more letters using an apostrophe