Singular and Plural Nouns

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

• Do you find it confusing to make a singular noun into a plural noun?

There are different ways, but this Nessy Spelling Strategy: Plurals -s -es video (below) will help clarify this confusion:

• Many nouns form the plural by adding "s" to the singular. For example, "bat" is a singular noun representing one bat. If you add an "s" to the end of the word, you form the word bats. This represents more than one bat.
  Try this for yourself with the following words: mall, rope, and canoe. Did you do it correctly? The plurals of these nouns are malls, ropes, and canoes.

• Nouns ending in s, x, z, ch, and sh form the plural by adding "es" to the singular; for example, box > boxes and branch > branches.

Try this for yourself with the following words: dish, buzz, and glass.

• To form the plural of a noun ending in "y" with a consonant before it, change the y to i and add "es." For example, baby becomes babies when you change the y to i and add "es."

Try this for yourself with the following words: cherry and penny.

• To form the plural of a noun ending with "y" with a vowel before it, simply add "s." For example, toy becomes toys.

Try this for yourself with the following words: ray and valley.

Now that you've read the rules for plurals, continue on to the Got It? section to practice changing singular nouns to plurals!