Form and use plurals: review

Learning Objectives Correctly form the plurals of regular and common irregular nouns in their writing. Apply specific rules for forming plurals of nouns ending in -y, -o, -f/fe, and -s/sh/ch/x/z. Differentiate between the plural form and the possessive form of nouns, eliminating the use of apostrophes for simple plurals. Accurately form the plurals of complex compound nouns and common nouns of foreign origin found in academic texts. Analyze sentences to ensure subject-verb agreement is maintained with both singular and plural subjects. Edit their own analytical essays to identify and correct errors in pluralization, enhancing clarity and credibility. Is the plural of 'thesis' 'thesises' or 'theses'? 🤔 Getting it right can be the difference betw...

TermDefinitionExample Plural NounA noun that refers to more than one person, place, thing, or idea.The students conducted multiple analyses of the poems. Irregular PluralA plural noun that does not follow the standard rule of adding -s or -es.Singular: child, woman, foot. Plural: children, women, feet. Compound NounA noun made of two or more words, which can be open (high school), closed (notebook), or hyphenated (mother-in-law).The attorneys general met to discuss the new policies. Foreign PluralA plural noun that retains the pluralization rule from its language of origin (often Latin or Greek).Singular: crisis, criterion, medium. Plural: crises, criteria, media. Possessive NounA noun that shows ownership or relationship, typically formed with an apostrophe and -s. It is often confused w...

Standard Pluralization Add -s to most nouns. Add -es to nouns ending in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, or -z. This is the most common rule. The -es ending is added to make the word easier to pronounce. Plurals of Compound Nouns To form the plural of a compound noun, pluralize the most important or 'principal' word in the compound term. For hyphenated or open compound nouns, identify the main noun and make it plural. For closed compound nouns, the -s or -es is usually added to the end of the word (e.g., notebooks). Plurals of Foreign Nouns Nouns from Latin or Greek often follow their original pluralization rules. -us → -i; -is → -es; -on → -a. These words are common in academic and scientific writing. While some have accepted English plurals (e.g., stadiums), using the f...