Nouns are words that identify people, places, or things. But how do you make them plural? This article will explain everything you need to know about plurals and how to use them in sentences. 

So, without further ado, let’s get into it:

Forming Plural Nouns

The first thing that you have to know is that nouns have two forms: singular and plural. Singular forms refer to a single person, place, or something. 

For instance, Where is the ball? 

In this sentence, the word “ball” is the noun, and it is singular because we are only talking about one ball. 

If we were talking about more than one ball, the sentence would go Where are the balls?

In this case, we only have to add the letter ‘s’ at the end of the ball to make it plural. Nevertheless, this is not always the case.

Let’s take a look at some of the examples.”

Read More– 6 English Grammar Rules You Must Know

Plural Rule #1

The first rule is relatively straightforward. You only have to add the letter ‘s’ or ‘es’ at the end of the word to make it plural. 

• orange – oranges
• pen – pens

Or, if the word ends with –ss, -x, -ch, or –sh, add the suffix ‘-es.’ For example:

• dress – dresses
• fox – foxes
• bench – benches
• dish – dishes

Plural Rule #2

Next up, if the noun ends with the letter ‘y’ and is preceded by a consonant, you add ‘-es’ and change the ‘y’ to an ‘i’.

• cherry – cherries 
• puppy – puppies

However, if there is a vowel before the letter ‘-y’ (ey, ay, oy), simply add ‘–s’ without changing anything else. For example:

• monkey – monkeys
• toy – toys
• day – days

Plural Rule #3

The following rule is when a noun ends with the letter ‘o’, then you only add an ‘s.’ 

• pistachio – pistachios
• stereo – stereos

However, if there is a consonant before the’-o’, you generally add ‘-es.’

• hero – heroes
• veto – vetoes

There are some cases where just an ‘-s’ is added.

• piano – pianos

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Plural Rule #4

If a noun ends in “-f” or “-fe,” a special rule applies. You must add “-es” after “-v” and swap out “-f” or “-fe” for “-v”. For instance:

• wife – wives
• knife – knives
• loaf – loaves

Be careful, though, as again, there are exceptions to this rule. Not all words that end in ‘-“f” change in this way.

• chef – chefs

For nouns that end ‘-ff’, just add ‘-s’. Nothing else changes.

• cliff – cliffs
• puff – puffs

Read More– The Most Confusing Rules in English Grammar

Plural Rule #5

For some nouns that end in ‘-s’ or ‘-z’, you have to double the ‘-s’ or ‘-z’ and add ‘-es’. For example: 

• fez – fezzes
• gas – gasses

As their name implies, irregular nouns don’t form plurals according to the usual rules. Regular plural nouns follow the guidelines we outlined above.

They are referred to as “irregular plurals.” Unfortunately, they only need to be learned and memorized because they don’t follow any patterns. Some of the most typical irregular nouns are listed below:

• child – children
• person – people
• man – men
• woman – women
• tooth – teeth
• foot – feet
• mouse – mice
• goose – geese
• ox – oxen

Conclusion

This guide can help you comprehend how to use nouns and the rules for plural nouns, but the practice is also necessary.

Unfortunately, as noted in the article, some nouns deviate from the norm. Therefore, it would be best if you made every effort to master them and put this theory into practice.

However, it’s not the end of the world. You can start using this article’s quiz or free online worksheets.

We also advise practicing one-on-one speaking with an English tutor. This makes it much simpler to remember grammar rules by applying them to actual conversation.

The post Everything You Need to Know About Plurals appeared first on Blogs | Engmates - English,Public Speaking,Personality Development.

The hardest part of learning English is getting a good grip on English grammar. On the surface, English might seem pretty easy but when you get deeper into it you would realize even a small mistake in English can change the meaning of a sentence.

Here’s a handful of grammar rules that you should keep in mind when you are speaking of writing English:

Adjectives and Adverbs

You should learn your adjectives and adverbs correctly. The role of an adjective is to describe, identify, and quantify people or things and usually goes in front of the noun. They don’t change if the noun is plural. 

Adverbs are supposed to modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs and usually come after the verb.

Here’s an example to better understand adjectives and adverbs:

Adjective: He’s a slow runner.

Adverb: He runs slowly. 

Most adverbs are created by adding -ly at the end of an adjective. However, there are a few exceptions, for example:

Fast (adjective) – Fast (adverb)

Hard (adjective) – Hard (adverb)

Good (adjective) – Well (adverb)

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Take care of your homophones

Homophones are words that are pronounced in the same way as other words but have different meanings. They are also spelt differently. For example:

• they’re – their – there
• you’re – your
• it’s – its
• I – eye
• here – hear
• break – brake
• flower – flour
• our – hour

When you are writing, make sure you choose the right word. And while listening, remember the words you are hearing might have a different meaning.

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Conjugation of Verbs

Make sure you change your verbs to suit the subject. He, she, and it is some of the main subjects you need to be careful of.

Moreover, whenever you describe something using There is/are, the verb must agree with the first thing you mention. For example:

Right: He has two bats

Wrong: He have two bats

While this looks like a small mistake, it stands out like a sore thumb. Also, remember when you are describing something using ‘There is/are’, the verb must agree with the first item you mention. 

For instance:

There is an almirah, some chairs, and a fridge.

There are some chairs, an almirah, and a fridge.

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Use conjunctions to connect your ideas

You can use conjunctions to connect small sentences and short phrases. For example: 

I work in XYZ. I like XYZ.

I am working in XYZ because I like it.

Some of the most common conjunctions are”

Because – to give a reason

But – to show contrast

And – to add more

So – to describe a consequence

Or – to show an alternative

Sentence formation

Sentences in written English are not that long. This means writing long sentences with complex words is not something you should think about while writing or speaking English. Usually, a sentence has two or three clauses (subject+verb+object) linked by a conjunction. 

You can add commas to make your sentences clearer and easily understandable. Here are some of the recommended ways you can use commas:

• Between two clauses
• To make separations
• After some conjunctions. 
• To add extra information in the middle of a sentence

Remember the order of words to make the sentence interrogative

When writing or speaking English, remember that the structure of a question is different from that of a statement. 

When making a statement into a question, remember to change the order of the sentence and add the auxiliary “do” at the beginning of it.

There are four ways you can make questions in English:

• To be- for sentences that use the verb ‘to be’, the subject line and the verb will invert. 

Example: Are you a student?

• All other verbs- to make questions for all other verbs, add the auxiliary ‘do’.

For example: Do you eat meat?

• Modal verbs- to make questions with modal verbs, the modal verb and the subject will invert. 

For example: Can he play cricket?

• Auxiliary verb- sentences that contain an auxiliary verb like have in the present perfect, invert the auxiliary verb and the subject.

For example: Have you seen Rahul?

Conclusion

English grammar is quite complicated but once you get the hang of it, you can write better and speak more efficiently. Some of the few more English grammar rules to remember are to use the right form of verbs, get familiar with the tenses, and not to use a double negative, ever. 

The post 6 English Grammar Rules You Must Know appeared first on Blogs | Engmates - English,Public Speaking,Personality Development.