Plural Nouns
Most English nouns add -s to show more than one. Nouns ending in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, or -x take -es, and a noun ending in consonant + y changes y to -ies.
Level A1
Nouns & Determiners
Summary
- Most English nouns add -s to show more than one. Nouns ending in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, or -x take -es, and a noun ending in consonant + y changes y to -ies.
Structure
noun + -s / -es / -ies
Examples
- I bought two books yesterday.
- She has three boxes of cereal.
- We saw some babies in the park.
- There are five buses an hour.
Common mistakes
- • Saying 'two book' instead of 'two books' — countable plurals need -s.
- • Writing 'citys' instead of 'cities' — consonant + y becomes -ies.
Related
More nouns & determiners
Plural and Quantifiers: Some / Any
A1
Use 'some' in positive sentences and offers/requests, and 'any' in negatives and most questions. They work with plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns.
Countable and Uncountable Nouns
A2
Countable nouns can be counted and have plural forms; uncountable nouns name things we see as a mass and have no plural. The distinction controls which determiners and verbs you can use.
Possessive 's
A1
Add 's to a noun to show ownership or relationship. For plural nouns already ending in -s, add only an apostrophe.
This, That, These, Those
A1
These demonstratives point to things by number and distance. This/these are for things near you; that/those are for things farther away.
There Is and There Are
A1
Use 'there is' and 'there are' to say that something exists or is present. The verb agrees with the noun that follows: singular takes 'is', plural takes 'are'.