Singular and Plural

What are Singular and Plural Nouns?

A Singular Noun refers to just one person, place, thing, or idea. It means there is only one of something. For example:

One cat, one book, one chair.
"I have a pencil." (This means I have only one pencil.)

A Plural Noun refers to more than one person, place, thing, or idea. It means there are two or more of something. Usually, we add -s or -es to make a noun plural, but some words change completely. For example:

Two cats, three books, many chairs.
"I have five pencils." (This means I have more than one pencil.)

Some special plural nouns don’t follow the regular rules. For example:

Child → Children
Mouse → Mice
Sheep → Sheep (stays the same in both singular and plural)

In simple words, singular means one, and plural means more than one!

Rules for Forming Plural Nouns:

Add -s to most words (e.g., cat → cats, book → books).

Singular	Plural	Rule
cat	cats	Add -s to most nouns.
dog	dogs	Add -s to most nouns.
book	books	Add -s to most nouns.
chair	chairs	Add -s to most nouns.
pencil	pencils	Add -s to most nouns.
kiss	kisses	Ends in -s, add -es.
wish	wishes	Ends in -sh, add -es.
match	matches	Ends in -ch, add -es.
fox	foxes	Ends in -x, add -es.
quiz	quizzes	Ends in -z, add -es (sometimes double the z).
baby	babies	Ends in consonant + y, change y to i and add -es.
city	cities	Ends in consonant + y, change y to i and add -es.
toy	toys	Ends in vowel + y, simply add -s.
potato	potatoes	Ends in -o, typically add -es.
life	lives	Ends in -fe, change fe to ves.

Singular and plural

Add -es to words ending in s, x, z, ch, or sh (e.g., bus → buses, box → boxes).

Singular	Plural
bus	buses
box	boxes
kiss	kisses
wish	wishes
match	matches
fox	foxes
quiz	quizzes
church	churches
dish	dishes
brush	brushes

Singular and Plural

Change -y to -ies for words ending in consonant + y (e.g., baby → babies, city → cities).

Singular	Plural
baby	babies
city	cities
party	parties
lady	ladies
puppy	puppies
country	countries
story	stories
berry	berries
family	families
enemy	enemies

Add -ves for some words ending in f or fe (e.g., leaf → leaves, knife → knives).

Singular	Plural
knife	knives
life	lives
wife	wives
leaf	leaves
thief	thieves

Irregular plurals change completely (e.g., child → children, mouse → mice).

Singular	Plural
child	children
man	men
woman	women
person	people
mouse	mice
goose	geese
foot	feet
tooth	teeth
die	dice
ox	oxen

Some nouns have the same singular and plural form (e.g., sheep → sheep, deer → deer, fish → fish, moose → moose, aircraft → aircraft, series → series, species → species).

Singular	Plural
aircraft	aircraft
bison	bison
deer	deer
fish	fish
moose	moose
offspring	offspring
salmon	salmon
sheep	sheep
species	species
series	series
swine	swine
trout	trout
means	means
apparatus	apparatus
corps	corps
yoke	yoke
rice	rice
information	information
furniture	furniture
gymnastics	gymnastics

Fun Facts About Singular and Plural Nouns!

The word "octopus" has multiple correct plurals: octopuses, octopi, and octopodes.
The plural of "moose" is still moose!
Some English words come from Latin and Greek, so their plurals are different, like cactus → cacti and radius → radii.
The word "fish" can be plural as fish (same species) or fishes (different species).

When the Subject Changes from Singular to Plural, the Predicate Must Change Too

The boy is playing in the park. → The boys are playing in the park.
The dog chases the cat. → The dogs chase the cat.
A student studies for exams. → Students study for exams.
The child was happy. → The children were happy.

Singular Sentence	Plural Sentence
The teacher explains the lesson.	The teachers explain the lessons.
A bird sings in the tree.	Birds sing in the trees.
The car is parked outside.	The cars are parked outside.
A woman reads a book.	Women read books.
The child plays with a toy.	The children play with toys.
The cat sleeps on the couch.	The cats sleep on the couches.
A doctor examines the patient.	Doctors examine the patients.
The student writes an essay.	Students write essays.
A flower blooms in the garden.	Flowers bloom in the gardens.
The athlete trains for the competition.	Athletes train for competitions.

Activities

Activity 1: Draw and Label

Draw five objects in their singular form and write their plural forms below them.

Activity 2: Story Time!

Write a short story using at least five plural nouns.

Activity 3: Plural Hunt

Find five plural nouns from a newspaper or book and write their singular forms.

Fill in the Blanks

I have one ______ (apple), but my friend has three ______.
There is a ______ (mouse) in my kitchen!
The farmer has a ______ (sheep) and two ______ in the field.
She bought a new ______ (dress) and two ______ for the party.
We saw a ______ (butterfly) flying near the flowers.