Nouns - Part 2 (Plural, Collective, and Masculine and Feminine Nouns)

Plural Nouns

When you are talking about two or more people, animals, places or things, use plural nouns. Most nouns are made plural by adding -s at the end.

Retrieved from: Basic English Grammar - Book 1

Some plural nouns end in -es.

Retrieved from: Basic English Grammar - Book 1

Some plural nouns end in -ies.

Retrieved from: Basic English Grammar - Book 1

What if there is a vowel before the y? In that case, add -s to form the plural.

Retrieved from: Basic English Grammar - Book 1

If a noun ends in -f, you often change f to v, and add -es.

Retrieved from: Basic English Grammar - Book 1

If a noun ends in -o, you just add -s to form the plural.

Retrieved from: Basic English Grammar - Book 1

Some plural nouns don't follow the -s rule. They don't end in -s, -es, -ies or -ves. Instead, the word changes form.

Retrieved from: Basic English Grammar - Book 1

DID YOU KNOW?

The plural of the mouse that you use with your computer is either mice or mouses.

Some plural nouns are the same as the singular noun.

Retrieved from: Basic English Grammar - Book 1

DID YOU KNOW?
You can use fishes as the plural of fish when you are talking about different kinds of fish: all the fishes of the Pacific Ocean.

Some nouns are always plural.

Retrieved from: Basic English Grammar - Book 1

DID YOU KNOW?

Another word for spectacles is glasses.

You can make these plural nouns singular by using a pair of:

• a pair of binoculars
• a pair of spectacles
• a pair of googles 
• a pair of jeans
• a pair of shorts
• a pair of pliers

Exercise 1

Look at the words below. Do you know which ones are singular and which are plural? Put a checkmark (✓) in the correct box. 

Retrieved from: Basic English Grammar - Book 1

Exercise 2

Do you add -s or -es to these singular nouns to make them plural? Write your answers on the lines. 

Retrieved from: Basic English Grammar - Book 1

Exercise 3

Do you change -y to -ies, or just add -s to make these singular nouns plural? Write your answers.

Retrieved from: Basic English Grammar - Book 1

Exercise 4

All these singular nouns end with -o. Add either -s or -es as you write the plurals on the line.

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Exercise 5
Underline all the nouns in the following sentences. Are they common or proper nouns? Put a checkmark (✔) in the correct box. 

Retrieved from: Basic English Grammar - Book 2

Exercise 6
Read the following passage. Write S in the box after each singular noun and P in the box after each plural noun. 

Retrieved from: Basic English Grammar - Book 2

Collective Nouns

Collective nouns are words for groups of people, animals or things. 
These are nouns for groups of people:

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Many collective nouns can be used with a singular or plural verb. For example:

• My family was happy to see me.
• My family were happy to see me.

But the following collective nouns always take a plural verb:

• cattle
• people
• the police

Here are more collective nouns that are used for groups of people, animals or things.

Retrieved from: Basic English Grammar - Book 1

Exercise 

Farmer John had several different kinds of animals on his farm. Write the correct collective noun for each group of his animals.

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Farmer John had:

• a... of geese
• a... of sheep
• a... of cattle
• a... of horses

One day a... of coyotes tried to attack his animals. Farmer John yelled and waved a pitchfork to frighten them away. 

Masculine and Feminine Nouns

• Masculine nouns are words for men and boys, and male animals.
• Feminine nouns are words for women and girls, and female animals.

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Here are some more masculine and feminine nouns for people.

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DID YOU KNOW?

• Masculine nouns belong to the masculine gender.
• Feminine nouns belong to the feminine gender.

Here are some masculine and feminine nouns for male and female animals. 

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DID YOU KNOW?

Nouns that end in -ess and -ress often belong to the feminine gender. For example:

• actress
• lioness
• princess
• stewardess
• tigress
• waitress

Many nouns are used for both males and females.

Retrieved from: Basic English Grammar - Book 1

We call these following nouns common-gender nouns.

• Words for things that are neither male nor female are called neuter nouns.

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Exercise 1

Fill in the blanks with the correct masculine or feminine nouns.

Retrieved from: Basic English Grammar - Book 1

Exercise 2

Fill in each blank with a suitable masculine or feminine noun.

Retrieved from: Basic English Grammar - Book 1

Exercise 3

Look at the words in the box. Write each word under its correct heading.

Retrieved from: Basic English Grammar - Book 1

Exercise 4

Complete the crossword puzzle with the correct masculine or feminine nouns.

Retrieved from: Basic English Grammar - Book 2