Spelling Rules for Adding The Plural S to Singular Nouns
http://www.whitesmoke.com/singular-and-plural-nouns.html
- • The general plurals rule: Usually add the letter s to the end of a singular noun to make it plural.
- I’ll take this book; you can use those books over there.
- We have one bedroom on the first floor and three more bedrooms on the second.
- • In compound nouns, add s only to the main noun.
- This family uses one air- conditioner and one washing machine.
- Their neighbors use three air- conditioners and two washing machines.
- I have one son-in-law; my friend Frieda has three sons-in-law.
- • Add es to a noun ending with a whistling sound (s, sh, ch, x, z) to make it plural.
- one bus – three buses, a church – many churches, a box – boxes, a buzz – buzzes
- • If the singular noun ends with a consonant + y, drop the y, replace it with an i and add es. Don’t drop the y, if the y is preceded by a vowel.
- Yes: one city – two cities, a baby – babies, a country – countries
- No: a toy – toys, a day – days
- Note: If the noun ending with a y represents a person or a country, add only s in any case.
- John F. Kennedy was the most famous of the Kennedys. In 1963, he didn’t visit the two Germanys after giving his speech in West-Berlin.
- • If the singular noun ends with a consonant + o, add es. If the o is preceded by a vowel, only add s to make the plural form.
- Yes:a potato – five potatoes, a hero – heroes, an echo – echoes
- No: a radio – radios, a studio – studios, a kangaroo – kangaroos
