English -- Class 4

Topic: Singular and Plural (All Rules)
Name: ____________________________Class: 4Date: ________________
Learning Objectives
Let Us Begin!

You already know that singular means one and plural means more than one. You know that we usually add -s to make a word plural (cat/cats, pen/pens). But English has many special rules for forming plurals. Let us learn all of them!

Review: Basic Rules

Rule 1: Most nouns -- just add -s: book/books, girl/girls, dog/dogs, mango/mangoes.

Rule 2: Nouns ending in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -o -- add -es: bus/buses, glass/glasses, brush/brushes, watch/watches, box/boxes, potato/potatoes.

Rule 3: Consonant + y

If a noun ends in a consonant + y, change the y to i and add -es.

baby → babies, city → cities, story → stories, lady → ladies, army → armies, fly → flies

Look at the letter before y. In "baby," the letter before y is "b" (a consonant). So we change y to i and add -es.

Rule 4: Vowel + y

If a noun ends in a vowel + y, simply add -s. Do not change the y.

boy → boys, toy → toys, key → keys, day → days, monkey → monkeys, donkey → donkeys

In "boy," the letter before y is "o" (a vowel). So we just add -s.

Rule 5: Words Ending in -f or -fe

For many nouns ending in -f or -fe, change the f/fe to v and add -es.

leaf → leaves, knife → knives, wife → wives, wolf → wolves, shelf → shelves, life → lives, half → halves, thief → thieves

Rule 6: Same Singular and Plural

Some nouns do not change at all. The singular and plural forms are the same.

sheep → sheep, fish → fish, deer → deer, aircraft → aircraft

We say "one sheep" and "five sheep" -- the word does not change!

Rule 7: Irregular Plurals

Some nouns change their spelling completely. These must be memorised.

SingularPlural
manmen
womanwomen
childchildren
toothteeth
footfeet
mousemice
goosegeese
oxoxen
Key Words and Meanings
WordMeaning
SingularA word that means only one (a cat, a child)
PluralA word that means more than one (cats, children)
ConsonantAll letters except a, e, i, o, u
VowelThe letters a, e, i, o, u
Irregular pluralA plural that does not follow the usual rules

English -- Class 4 (continued)

Topic: Singular and Plural (All Rules) -- Key Points and Practice
Key Points to Remember
Comprehensive Table
All Rules at a Glance
RuleSingularPlural
Add -sbook, girl, dogbooks, girls, dogs
Add -esbus, brush, watchbuses, brushes, watches
Consonant + y → -iesbaby, city, storybabies, cities, stories
Vowel + y → add -sboy, toy, keyboys, toys, keys
-f/-fe → -vesleaf, knife, wolfleaves, knives, wolves
No changesheep, fish, deersheep, fish, deer
Irregularman, child, toothmen, children, teeth
Practice Questions

A. Write the Plural of the Following Words

  1. wife →
  2. story →
  3. monkey →
  4. shelf →
  5. foot →
  6. deer →
  7. city →
  8. goose →

B. Fill in the Blanks with the Correct Plural Form

  1. The farmer has ten (sheep) in his field.
  2. Rani bought two (knife) from the shop.
  3. Many (child) were playing in the park near our colony.
  4. The (leaf) fall from the trees in autumn.
  5. There are three (mouse) hiding behind the cupboard.

C. Multiple Choice Questions

  1. The plural of "baby" is:
    (a) babys(b) babyes(c) babies(d) babyies
  2. Which word has the same singular and plural form?
    (a) dog(b) fish(c) cat(d) ox
  3. The plural of "wolf" is:
    (a) wolfs(b) wolfes(c) wolves(d) wolvs

D. Identify the Rule Used

  1. toy → toys (Rule: )
  2. woman → women (Rule: )
  3. fly → flies (Rule: )
  4. half → halves (Rule: )
Think and Do -- Fun Activity

Plural Challenge: Write the plural of each word and sort it into the correct rule column.

Words: lady, key, thief, ox, sheep, brush, day, life

WordPluralRule Used
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.