Formation of plurals | Class 3 grammar
Most nouns form their plurals by adding –s or –es to the singular. Study the examples given below.
- Book (singular) -> books (plural)
- Flower -> flowers
- Table -> tables
- Father -> fathers
- Student – students
- Box -> boxes
- Fox – foxes
- Boss -> bosses
When the singular noun ends in –f or –fe, we form the plural by adding –ves after removing the final –f or –fe.
Study the examples given below.
- Leaf -> leaves (We removed the –f and then added –ves to form the plural)
- Knife -> knives (We removed the –fe and then added –ves to form the plural.)
More examples are given below.
- Shelf -> shelves
- Elf -> elves
- Wife -> wives
- Life -> lives
- Half –> halves
- Loaf -> loaves
- Calf -> calves
There are some exceptions to this rule. We can form the plural form of some singular nouns ending in –f, -ffe or –ff by simply adding –s. Examples are:
- Giraffe – giraffes
- Roof – roofs
- Chief -> chiefs
Some nouns form their plurals in both ways. Examples are:
- Hoof -> hooves / hoofs
- Dwarf -> dwarves / dwarfs
