- Kosur, Heather Marie (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 197 Pages – 04/21/2021 (Publication Date) – Independently published (Publisher)
Level 1 is the first workbook in the elementary series. Lesson 4 teaches about other plural nouns. Not all nouns use the -s or -es suffix to form the plural.
Transcript
A Form-Function English Grammar
Level 1
Lesson 4
Other Plural Nouns
Remember that notional grammars define the noun as a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. Most nouns can be counted, which means most nouns have singular and plural forms. Singular means “one.” Plural means “not one.”
Strong nouns are nouns that take an -s or -es suffix to form the plural. For example, flower, couch, and baby are strong nouns. One flower, two flowers. One couch, two couches. One baby, two babies.
But not all nouns use the -s or -es suffix to form the plural. Some nouns have other plural forms in English.
Two nouns take an –en suffix to form the plural. One ox, two oxen. One child, two children. (Also notice the other spelling and pronunciation changes from child to children.)
The vowel changes in some nouns to form the plural. Sometimes there is also a slight spelling change. One foot, two feet. One goose, two geese. One tooth, two teeth. One man, two men. One woman, two women. One mouse, two mice.
Some nouns have the same singular and plural form. One bison, two bison. One deer, two deer. One fish, two fish. One kin, two kin. One offspring, two offspring. One sheep, two sheep.
A few nouns have irregular plural forms that do not follow any other plural rule. One person, two people. One die, two dice.
Although most nouns take an -s or -es suffix to form the plural, not all nouns do. Two nouns take the -en suffix: oxen and children. Some nouns experience vowel and sometimes other slight spelling changes in the plural. For example, feet and mice. Some nouns have the same form in the singular and plural: fish and sheep. A few nouns have irregular plural forms: people and dice.
Now practice your knowledge of other plural nouns by completing the exercises in Lesson 4 of A Form-Function English Grammar: Level 1, pages 16 through 19.