(01/12 ~ 01/ 17) Read & Listen: Plural Nouns
OVERVIEW
On this page, you will learn about plural nouns.
- First, read the text and study the examples.
- Then, listen to audio of the text.
READ & LISTEN
Read:
There are two types of letters in English. They are called vowels and consonants. There are twenty-six (26) letters in the English alphabet. Five (5) are vowels and twenty-one (21) are consonants. Every letter that isn't a vowel is a consonant. The vowels are underlined below.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
5 Vowels:
Aa, Ee, Ii, Oo, Uu
21 Consonants:
Bb, Cc, Dd, Ff, Gg, Hh, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Zz
Listen:
Read:
Most nouns can be singular or plural. Singular means one. Plural means more than one. To make a noun plural, we usually add an s at the end of the word. Here are some special rules for making plurals with different kinds of letters.
Plurals with consonants: If the word ends with a consonant, we usually add s.
budget + s = budgets
Plurals with s, sh, ch, x, z, and o: If the word ends with s, sh, ch, x, z, or o, add es.
tax + es = taxes
Plurals with consonants + y: If the word ends with a consonant and then y, change the y to i and add es.
category
categori + es = categories
Plurals with e: If the word ends with e, add s.
expense + s = expenses
Nouns with irregular plurals: For some plurals there is no rule. They are irregular. Examples:
man men
woman women
child children
person people
mouse mice
Non-count nouns: Some words in English are used only in the singular form, but they represent a group of things. We do not put an s at the end of these words. Examples:
food: things we eat
cash: bills and coins we use to pay for something
money: cash, checks or credit cards
Listen: