Year 7 English: Form and use plurals

Forming and Using Plurals: A Guide for Key Stage 3 Students

Plurals are simply the way we talk about more than one of something. For example, when you have one book, it’s singular, but when you have two or more books, you use the plural form. Let’s break down the rules for forming plurals in English, along with examples and tips to make it easier.

1. Rule for Most Nouns: Add -s

The easiest way to make most nouns plural is to just add -s to the end of the word.

• Examples:
• one car → two cars
• one tree → three trees
• one book → five books

2. Nouns Ending in -s, -ch, -sh, -x, or -z: Add -es

If a noun ends in -s, -ch, -sh, -x, or -z, just adding -s would make it hard to pronounce, so we add -es instead.

• Examples:
• one bus → two buses
• one fox → three foxes
• one watch → four watches
• one buzz → five buzzes

3. Nouns Ending in Consonant + y: Change -y to -ies

When a noun ends with a consonant followed by -y, we drop the -y and add -ies. A consonant is any letter that is not a vowel (a, e, i, o, u).

• Examples:
• one baby → two babies
• one city → five cities
• one puppy → four puppies

But, if a noun ends in a vowel + y, just add -s:

• Examples:
• one toy → two toys
• one key → six keys

4. Nouns Ending in -f or -fe: Change to -ves

Some nouns that end in -f or -fe change the -f to -v and add -es when they become plural. This is because the sound of the word changes slightly from /f/ to /v/ in the plural form.

• Examples:
• one wolf → two wolves
• one knife → three knives
• one leaf → four leaves

However, not all nouns ending in -f or -fe follow this rule. Some just take -s:

• Examples:
• one chef → two chefs
• one roof → five roofs
• one belief → many beliefs

5. Nouns Ending in -o: Add -s or -es

For nouns ending in -o, you usually just add -s to make them plural.

• Examples:
• one piano → two pianos
• one photo → three photos

But, there are some exceptions where you add -es:

• Examples:
• one tomato → two tomatoes
• one potato → four potatoes
• one hero → three heroes

Tip: Remember that tomatoes and potatoes always add -es.

6. Irregular Plurals

Some nouns don’t follow the usual rules and have their own special plural forms. These are called irregular plurals, and you need to memorize them.

• Examples:
• one child → two children
• one man → three men
• one woman → five women
• one mouse → four mice
• one foot → two feet

7. Nouns That Stay the Same

Some nouns don’t change at all in their plural forms. The word stays the same whether you’re talking about one or many.

• Examples:
• one sheep → two sheep
• one fish → several fish
• one deer → many deer

Tips & Tricks for Remembering Plurals

1. For -f and -fe endings: If the sound changes from /f/ to /v/, use -ves (like leaf → leaves). If the sound stays the same, just add -s (like roof → roofs).
2. For -o endings: Remember the exceptions like tomato and potato that add -es. For others like piano, just add -s.
3. Practice irregular plurals: These don’t follow the rules, so the more you use them, the easier they will become to remember.

Examples to Practice

Let’s try making some plurals using the rules you’ve learned:

1. Regular plurals:

• one dog → two dogs
• one apple → five apples

1. -y to -ies:

• one baby → four babies
• one party → three parties

1. -f to -ves:

• one leaf → many leaves
• one thief → several thieves

1. Irregular plurals:

• one goose → two geese
• one foot → two feet

1. Exceptions:

• one hero → many heroes
• one child → three children

Challenge: Can You Form the Plural?

1. One puppy → _
2. One knife → _
3. One woman → _
4. One bus → _
5. One tomato → _

By practicing these rules, you’ll quickly become an expert at forming plurals. Remember to keep an eye out for those tricky exceptions!

Sure! Here’s a set of 60 questions for Key Stage 3 students on the topic of Forming and Using Plurals, divided into easy, medium, and high difficulty levels.

Easy Difficulty (20 Questions)

1. What is the plural of cat?
2. What is the plural of dog?
3. How do you form the plural of car?
4. What is the plural of tree?
5. What is the plural of book?
6. How do you form the plural of house?
7. What is the plural of bus?
8. How do you make fox plural?
9. What is the plural of box?
10. How do you form the plural of watch?
11. What is the plural of baby?
12. What is the plural of lady?
13. How do you form the plural of boy?
14. What is the plural of day?
15. What is the plural of key?
16. What is the plural of leaf?
17. How do you form the plural of knife?
18. What is the plural of roof?
19. What is the plural of photo?
20. How do you form the plural of tomato?

Medium Difficulty (20 Questions)

1. How do you form the plural of church?
2. What is the plural of brush and why do you add -es?
3. What is the plural of class?
4. How do you make lunch plural?
5. What is the plural of hero?
6. What is the plural of echo and why does it add -es?
7. How do you form the plural of city?
8. What is the plural of puppy?
9. How do you form the plural of half?
10. What is the plural of wolf?
11. What is the plural of thief and why does it add -ves?
12. How do you form the plural of calf?
13. How do you make chief plural?
14. What is the plural of life?
15. What is the plural of belief?
16. How do you form the plural of potato?
17. What is the plural of roof and why doesn’t it change to -ves?
18. What is the plural of candy?
19. How do you form the plural of ox?
20. What is the plural of mouse?

High Difficulty (20 Questions)

1. What is the plural of child?
2. What is the plural of foot?
3. How do you form the plural of tooth?
4. What is the plural of person?
5. How do you form the plural of man?
6. What is the plural of woman?
7. How do you form the plural of goose?
8. What is the plural of sheep and why doesn’t it change?
9. What is the plural of deer?
10. How do you form the plural of cactus?
11. What is the plural of syllabus?
12. How do you form the plural of analysis?
13. What is the plural of crisis?
14. What is the plural of alumnus?
15. What is the plural of thesis?
16. How do you form the plural of octopus?
17. What is the plural of phenomenon?
18. How do you form the plural of datum?
19. What is the plural of appendix?
20. How do you form the plural of bacterium?