Irregular plurals and collective nouns
Recognise and select irregular plural noun forms. Check plural spellings in sentences and distinguish collective nouns such as flock, pack and group from the names of their members.
What a learner can do afterwards
- Select irregular plural noun forms such as children, teeth, mice and geese to fit a stated number
- Distinguish collective nouns such as flock, pack and group from the plural nouns naming their members
- Identify plural spelling errors in supplied sentences and select repairs that preserve the intended number
1 · Read
Singular means one; plural means more than one. Both forms are nouns. Regular plurals usually add -s or -es. Learn these irregular pairs: child/children, tooth/teeth, goose/geese, foot/feet, mouse/mice, man/men and woman/women. Use mice for the animals. These plural spellings do not need another -s.
Sheep and deer keep the same spelling for one animal or several. Numbers and words such as several show when they are plural. Without a number clue or more context, their spelling alone may leave the number unclear. Leaf becomes leaves; ox becomes oxen. Learn each pair's full spelling.
A collective noun names a group. In 'a flock of birds,' flock names the group and birds names its members. Conventional phrases include flock of birds and pack of wolves. Group is a general word for many kinds of set, including children or stones. Group words can be plural too: several packs names several groups.
When editing, find each noun meant to name more than one. Use these pairs: child/children, mouse/mice (animals), man/men, woman/women, goose/geese and foot/feet (body parts). Check every intended plural and leave correct forms unchanged. Count each word needing repair once, not each changed letter. For example, 'Some childs waved' needs children, so one word needs repair. Do not add -s to these plural forms.
Check what is being counted. 'One group of dancers' names one group with several members. 'Several groups of dancers' names more than one group. A collective noun can name a group even when its own form is plural. Its members can have a separate plural noun.
A dictionary can help check an unfamiliar plural. Look up the singular noun and read the plural listed with it. A note written as 'singular, plural' puts the form for one before the form for several. Keep a listed irregular plural as it is; do not add -s merely because a number is greater than one.
Learn each irregular plural spelling. Check every intended plural when editing. Collective nouns name groups; member nouns name the people or things in them.
The lesson and replacement questions were written for this dataset.
The four reading passages were written for this dataset.
More to read
Keep a plural list
Make two columns headed One and Several. Add pairs that you want to remember, such as man/men and woman/women. Keep the complete spelling in each column.
When checking a sentence, first decide which nouns mean more than one. Compare those spellings with your list. A noun that is already plural does not need another ending merely because several people or things are mentioned.
Listen and check the letters
Say goose and geese, then foot and feet. Listen to the middle sound. Now read the letters in each word. Both the sound and the spelling help distinguish the forms.
Mouse/mice and tooth/teeth also change a middle sound. These are pairs to learn, not a rule for changing every noun with the same vowel letters.
Find the number clue
A visitor list might record one deer in the morning and several deer in the afternoon. Deer keeps the same spelling, but the number changes.
Sheep works this way too. Read the whole phrase before deciding whether the noun names one animal or several. A number, one, each or several can give you the clue. An unchanged spelling does not mean the noun must be singular.
Use the dictionary entry
To check a plural, look up the noun for one. Read any plural forms listed beside it. Some entries list more than one accepted form, so do not assume that every unfamiliar form is a mistake.
Check the meaning as well as the spelling. Here, mice is the plural used for the animals. A spelling used in another meaning or as another kind of word does not decide which plural belongs in your sentence.
2 · Watch
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24 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.