English Language Arts
Grade 4
15 min
Form and use irregular plurals
Form and use irregular plurals
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Introduction & Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives
Identify irregular plural nouns within complex sentences.
Form the plural of nouns that change their internal vowels (e.g., man/men, tooth/teeth).
Form the plural of nouns ending in -f or -fe that change to -ves (e.g., leaf/leaves).
Identify and use irregular plural nouns that do not change from their singular form (e.g., sheep/sheep).
Form the plural of unique irregular nouns like 'child' (children) and 'person' (people).
Correctly use a variety of irregular plural nouns in their own writing.
Differentiate between regular and irregular plural nouns.
Have you ever seen a flock of sheeps or a group of childs? 🤔 That sounds a little funny, because some words play by their own rules when they become plural!
Today, we're going on...
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Key Concepts & Vocabulary
TermDefinitionExample
Singular NounA noun that names only ONE person, place, thing, or idea.One cat, one house, one leaf.
Plural NounA noun that names MORE THAN ONE person, place, thing, or idea.Two cats, many houses, several leaves.
Regular PluralA plural noun that is formed by following the common rule of adding -s or -es.dog → dogs, box → boxes
Irregular PluralA plural noun that is NOT formed by adding -s or -es. It changes in a special way.child → children, mouse → mice
Vowel-Change PluralAn irregular plural that is formed by changing the vowel(s) in the middle of the word.man → men, tooth → teeth
No-Change PluralAn irregular plural that looks exactly the same as its singular form.one sheep → two sheep, one deer → many deer
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Key Rules & Conventions
The Vowel-Change Rule
Some singular nouns change their inside vowels to become plural.
Look for words like 'man', 'woman', 'foot', 'tooth', and 'goose'. To make them plural, you change the 'a' to 'e' (man/men) or the 'oo' to 'ee' (foot/feet).
The '-f' to '-ves' Rule
Many nouns ending in -f or -fe change their ending to -ves to become plural.
If a word ends in -f or -fe, like 'leaf' or 'wife', you often drop the ending and add -ves. This makes 'leaves' and 'wives'.
The No-Change Rule
Some nouns stay the same whether they are singular or plural.
This rule often applies to animals. Words like 'sheep', 'deer&...
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Challenging
Read the sentence: 'The chef used sharp knifes to cut the tomatos for the salad.' Which of the following revisions corrects the errors?
A.The chef used sharp knifes to cut the tomatoes for the salad.
B.The chef used sharp knives to cut the tomatos for the salad.
C.The chef used sharp knives to cut the tomatoes for the salad.
D.The chef used sharp knife to cut the tomatoes for the salad.
Challenging
Which rule best explains how to form the plural for words like 'wife', 'leaf', and 'shelf'?
A.For most nouns ending in -f or -fe, change the f or fe to v and add -es.
B.For all nouns ending in -f, just add an -s.
C.For nouns ending in -f or -fe, the plural form does not change.
D.For most nouns ending in -f or -fe, change the vowel and add -en.
Challenging
Read the paragraph: 'The farm was quiet. A few men were fixing a fence, while their children played near the barn. In the pond, some geese swam peacefully. Suddenly, two mice darted out from under a haystack.' How many irregular plural nouns are in this paragraph?
A.Three
B.Four
C.Five
D.Two
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