LESSON 2

TOPIC : PARTS OF SPEECH: NOUNS

 Singular and Plural Nouns

LESSON OUTCOMES. : 1. Describe how the singular and plural nouns are
formed
2. create sentences with correct singular and plural
forms of nouns

ENGAGE:

Fill the chart with the singular or plural form of the noun given
on the first column?

NOUN SINGULAR PLURAL

Child child ?

Woman ? women

Geese geese ?

Parent parent ?

John John ?

Santos ( surname) Santos ?

Phenomenon ? phenomena

Swine swine ?

ID ( identification ID ?
card)
EXPLORE:

In our previous lesson, we discussed that a NOUN is a naming

word. It helps people identify what they talk and think about. It is a name given to
anything to identify it.
Most nouns in English have both singular and plural forms, and the plural
is usually formed by adding "-s" or “-es” to the singular noun. Some nouns have
their plural form by creating a change in the spelling. In most cases, difficulties
are experienced in the pluralization of nouns.
The plural form of nouns can be done in different ways.

How to form the plural of noun

Noun ending Forming the plural Example

church - churche
s
s, x, ch or sh Add -es
box - boxes
latch - latches

baby -babies
consonant Change y to i then add -
lady -ladies
+ y es
pony - ponies

pen - pens
most others Add -s bag - bags
mark - marks

Other ways of forming the plural of nouns:

1. When words end in ‘ay’, ‘ey’, ‘iy’, ’oy’, and ‘uy’ add an ‘s’ to make the plural.
one donkey two donkeys
day → days boy → boys
key → keys delay→delays
play →plays guy → guys

2. When a word ends in an ‘o’ and comes after a consonant, add ‘es’ to make
the plural.
one tomato two tomatoes
cargo →cargoes mango →mangoes
echo →echoes hero →heroes
volcano→ volcanoes torpedo→ torpedoes
3. Letters, numbers, symbols, and words used as words are made plural by
adding an apostrophe (‘) and s.

singular plural
# #’s
A A’s
25 25’s
and and’s
& &’s
ABC & 123 ABC’s & 123’s

4. For most compound nouns, make the most important word plural.
• For a compound noun written as one word, make the last part
plural.
• For a compound noun written with hyphens or as separate words,
make the key word plural.

5. The general rule is that you should NOT use an apostrophe to form the plurals
of nouns, abbreviations, or dates made up of numbers:
Just add –s ( or -es, if the noun in question forms its plural with –es). For
example:
MP – MPs (e.g. Local MP’s are divided on this issue.)

6. Use apostrophes for plurals of abbreviations that have capital letters and
periods:
M.D.’s, C.P.A.’s.
Use apostrophes for plurals formed from single letters. He received A’s
and B’s on his report card. Mind your p’s and q’s.
But do not use apostrophes for plurals of abbreviations without periods, or
for plurals formed from figures:
TVs, PCs, DVDs, 737s, size 7s
Use apostrophes to form plural of single letters but not figures or multiple
letters.
1990-1990s (e.g. The situation is different in the 1990s.)

7. There are two cases in which it is acceptable to use an apostrophe to form a

plural,
pure for the sake of clarity:
 You can use an apostrophe to show the plurals of single letters and single
numbers:
I am not sure of my i’s and q’s.
Find all the p’s in the paper.
 Circle all the number 7’s.

8. For the Last name: Singular or Plural

You have 2 ways that you can sign your holiday cards.
You can use the PLURAL version of your last name
The Moraleses) , or you can use a singular version of. your last name plus
the word
family ( The Morales family)
Santos – The Santos Family
Abella- The Abella Family
Dios. - The Dios Family

9. For most names, add an –s to make them plural. For names that end in ch, s,
sh,x,
and z, add –es to make them plural.
*If your last name ends in ch but is pronounced with a hard /k/ sound, like
the word monarch , add only an –s rather than –es.
Waldman. - The Waldmans
Marsh – The Marshes
Reich – The Reichs
Santos – The Santoses

(source: Notes On Generalizations For Spelling/Forming Plural Nouns. Available @

.  http://www.adair.k12.ky.us/userfiles/1142/Classes/8869/plural%20nouns%20generalizations.ppt

EXPLAIN:
As a future professional, how will you use the information and
concepts on singular and plural of nouns? Write five ways on how these
information and concepts be specifically utilized in your life now, or in your future
field of work or career, and discuss the possible results when you perform the
ways.

1. _______________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________________________
5. _______________________________________________________________
ELABORATE: On the web

1. Look for two (2) research articles or studies that speak about the need for
correct use of parts of speech particularly on the singular or plural forms of
nouns.

2. What do the studies say on how these correctness or incorrectness affect the
communication activity of an individual in any available context?

3. Then , give three (3) recommendation based on the results of the studies.
Share your output to a classmate.

ANSWERS:

Research Study 1:

1 ________________________________________________________

2. ________________________________________________________

3. ________________________________________________________

Research Study 2:

1. __________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________
EVALUATE

A. Write the plural form of the given nouns in the next column.

Noun Plural form

1. book
2. arch
3. fire
4. fly
5. clock
6. dish
7. burger
8. dress
9. match
10. Phd
11. Morales (surname)
12. yacht
13. child
14. men
15. chairperson

B. Mark C if the forms of noun/s in the sentences are written correctly; I if they
are incorrect, then underline the incorrect noun/s, and write the correct form on
the second space.

__, ___________1. Both the lawns and the bushs outside the house need
cutting.
__, ___________2. How did you learn your abcs?
__, ___________3. Your thanks is all I need to know that you appreciated what I
did.
__, ___________4. My classmates have a difficulty in using their ands correctly
in their essay.
__, ___________5. Many always misspell Mississippi with too many is.
__, ___________6. Maria tore one of her contact lens.
__, ___________7. My father’s hunting expedition netted four deer, two moose,
and three geeses.
__, ___________8. The school guard checks the students’ ID’s .
__, ___________9. How many Mark’s do you have in your English class?
__, ___________10. How many the’s do you have in your paragraph?
__, ___________11. Three cupfuls of flour are needed for the recipe.
__, ___________12. Copies of all the correspondence are submitted to the
director.
__, ___________13. The proxies on the vote were all properly evaluated and
counted.

__, __________14. Her claim is based on the three theses that she read from
the library.
__, __________15. Samples of many rare phenomenons were sent to the
laboratories throughout the nation.
__, __________16. Her sister-in-laws are preparing for their trip to Hawaii.
__, __________17. The changes given by the cashier is incorrect; it must be 10
pesos
__, __________18. The foxs in the forest are endangered.
__, __________19. My friends’ gifts to me are beautiful scarfs from Madrid.
__, __________20. The Santoses family left for a short vacation in Greece.

Further Readings

1. Singular & Plural Nouns (List of rules). Available @

http://www.lovetolearnplace.com/Grammar/Singular%20&%20Plural%20Nouns.pdf
2. Singular or Plural Nouns. Available @
http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/nouns/nouns-singularandplural2.pdf
3. Plural Nouns that Don't Follow the Rules . Available @
http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/nouns/nouns-
singularandplural3.pdf
4. Singular and Plural Nouns. Available @
https://www.slideshare.net/Vampmiles/singular-and-plural-nouns-50658350

REFERENCES

Notes On Generalizations For Spelling/Forming Plural Nouns. Available @

 http://www.adair.k12.ky.us/userfiles/1142/Classes/8869/plural
%20nouns%20generalizations.ppt

San Miguel, J.G., Barraquio, D.D, & Revilla, R.DV. (2014). Smart English.
(3rd ed). Quezon City: C & E Publishing.
Writing and grammar: communication in action. Handbooked. (2004).
Singapore: Pearson Prentice Hall.