Singular and Plural

Singular and Plural 1️⃣ → 🔢

Singular means one thing.
Plural means more than one thing.

Example: One cat 🐈 → Two cats 🐈🐈

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📏 Rules for Making Plurals

Rule 1: Add -s (most words)

Singular	Plural	Example
cat	cats	One cat, two cats
dog	dogs	One dog, three dogs
book	books	One book, five books
pen	pens	One pen, many pens
ball	balls	One ball, four balls
tree	trees	One tree, ten trees

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Rule 2: Add -es (words ending in s, sh, ch, x, z)

Singular	Plural	Why
bus	buses	ends in -s
dish	dishes	ends in -sh
bench	benches	ends in -ch
box	boxes	ends in -x
watch	watches	ends in -ch
brush	brushes	ends in -sh
class	classes	ends in -s

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Rule 3: Words ending in -y → change y to -ies

Singular	Plural	Rule
baby	babies	y → ies
city	cities	y → ies
butterfly	butterflies	y → ies
story	stories	y → ies
lady	ladies	y → ies
cherry	cherries	y → ies

⚠️ Exception: If there is a vowel before -y, just add -s:
boy → boys, toy → toys, key → keys

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Rule 4: Words ending in -f or -fe → change to -ves

Singular	Plural
leaf	leaves
knife	knives
wolf	wolves
half	halves
shelf	shelves
life	lives

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Rule 5: Irregular Plurals (special words — must memorise!)

People

man → men
woman → women
child → children
person → people

Animals

mouse → mice
goose → geese
ox → oxen
deer → deer

Body Parts

tooth → teeth
foot → feet
eye → eyes
ear → ears

Same Singular & Plural

sheep → sheep
fish → fish
deer → deer
aircraft → aircraft

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🔢 Using Numbers with Plurals

Number	Word	Correct Form
1	apple	one apple
2	apple	two apples
1	child	one child
3	child	three children
1	tooth	one tooth
4	tooth	four teeth

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✅ Quick Practice

Write the plural:

1. cat → ___ (cats)
2. box → ___ (boxes)
3. baby → ___ (babies)
4. leaf → ___ (leaves)
5. man → ___ (men)
6. tooth → ___ (teeth)
7. bus → ___ (buses)
8. story → ___ (stories)

Write the singular:

1. dogs → ___ (dog)
2. children → ___ (child)
3. mice → ___ (mouse)
4. feet → ___ (foot)
5. leaves → ___ (leaf)

Choose the correct word:

1. I have two (tooth / teeth). → teeth
2. The (child / children) are playing. → children
3. I saw three (mouse / mice) in the field. → mice
4. She has one (book / books). → book

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Singular means one, plural means many! Remember the rules and practise! 🔢