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One deer. Two deer.

Spelling: Plurals

Learn how to make plurals in 11 Plus English: when to add s, when to add es, and the common rules that keep your spellings correct.

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Fascinating Fact:

Regular plurals add s or es. Add es after s, x, z, sh, ch: buses, boxes, quizzes, brushes, churches.

In 11 Plus English, most nouns form the plural by adding s or es. You will also meet patterns like baby → babies and wolf → wolves, plus a few irregular forms.

Key Terms

Singular: One person, place, or thing, for example cat or box.
Plural: More than one, often made by adding s or es, for example cats, boxes.
Suffix: Letters added to the end of a word, such as -s or -es to make plurals.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

When do you add es to make a plural?

Add es to nouns ending in s, x, z, sh, or ch, for example buses, boxes, quizzes, brushes, churches.

How do you make plurals of words ending in y?

If a consonant comes before y, change y to ies (baby → babies). If a vowel comes before y, just add s (day → days).

What are common irregular plurals I should learn?

Useful examples include child → children, man → men, woman → women, mouse → mice, tooth → teeth, foot → feet.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

Which plural has been written incorrectly?

mottos

tomatoes

heroes

potatos

It should be 'potatoes'. The former American vice-president, Dan Quail, didn't know how to spell the plural of potato. Nouns ending in '-o' add '-es' or '-s' to form the plural. For example, discos, pianos BUT sometimes you have a choice: buffalo - buffalos/buffaloes; motto - mottos/mottoes; tornado - tornados/tornadoes; volcano - volcanos/volcanoes; zero - zeros/zeroes

2 .

Which plural has been written incorrectly?

bushes

buses

boxes

churchs

It should be 'churches'. Nouns ending in '-ch', '-sh', '-x', '-s/-ss' and '-sh' need to have '-es' added to form their plurals

3 .

Which plural has been written incorrectly?

ladies

babys

cities

toys

It should be 'babies'. Nouns ending in a 'consonant + y' drop the '-y' and add '-ies' to form their plurals. For example, lady, city (see above). Note: if the noun ends in a 'vowel (a, e, i, o, u) + y', you just add '-s' to form the plural: toy - toys

4 .

Which plural has been written incorrectly?

thieves

knifes

wives

shelves

It should be 'knives'. Nouns ending in '-f/fe' drop the ending and add '-ves' to form their plurals BUT some just add '-s' to the ending: roof-roofs; cliff-cliffs; sheriff-sheriffs. If the noun ends in '-ff' just add '-s'. Sometimes you have a choice: scarf - scarfs/scarves; hoof - hoofs/hooves

5 .

Which plural has been written incorrectly?

mouses

men

women

teeth

It should be 'mice'. 'Mouse', like the other nouns in this question, has an irregular plural form. Learn the irregular plurals by heart!

6 .

Which plural has been written incorrectly?

oxes

children

geese

feet

It should be 'oxen'. 'Ox', like the other nouns in this question, has an irregular plural form. Learn the irregular plurals by heart!

7 .

Which plural has been written incorrectly?

informations

aircraft

deer

sheep

It should be 'information'. 'Information', like the other nouns in this question, uses the same word in the singular and the plural. For example, aircraft, cattle

8 .

Which plural has been written incorrectly?

wolves

cars

peoples

deer

It should be 'people/persons': 'person-people/persons'. 'Persons' is more formal

9 .

Which plural has been written incorrectly?

lorries

dresses

phenomenons

curricula

It should be 'phenomena'. The word 'curricula' is the plural of 'curriculum': the subjects taught at a school or other educational institution. Incidentally, the plural of 'syllabus' is 'syllabi' or 'syllabuses'

10 .

Which plural has been written incorrectly?

data

tattoos

lives

louses

It should be 'lice'. 'Louse' is an irregular plural. Learn the irregular plurals by heart. By the way, 'data' is the plural of 'datum': a single piece of information

Author: Frank Evans (Specialist 11 Plus Teacher and Tutor)