Irregular plural nouns

– Hello, boys and girls! My name is Bobby.

– And my name is Tobby. This is our friend Mobby.

– Welcome to our lesson.

– Today we have a guest.

– It’s our good friend Violet.

– Hi, everyone!

– Hi! Violet, what brought you here today?

– Guys, I’ve come to you, because I want to invite you to my party tomorrow!

– Violet, thank you for the invitation!

– We will come with a great pleasure!

– Oh, I’m glad to hear that! Guys, look over there! What’s that?

– Oh, that is a mouse!

– A mouse?

– Yes, that’s right!

– Oh, no! I’m afraid of mouses!

– Erm, Violet…

– Boys, look! There are two more mouses under the table!

– Violet, wait! Why are you keep saying the word “mouses”?

– Erm, guys… It’s because you have them in your house! And I’m afraid of mouses!

– Violet, first, don’t be afraid!

– They are very kind.

– Yeah! They won’t bite you!

– Oh, okay, boys.

– Secondly, Violet, you can’t use the word “mouses”! It’s a mistake.

– Oh, I didn’t know that! Boys, what word should I use then?

– Well… You have to use the word “mice”!

– But boys, to form the plural nouns we have to add the ending –s to the singular nouns. Am I right?

– Yes, you are absolutely right.

– But there are a few exceptions to this rule.

– And the word “mice” is one of them.

– Oh, I see. Guys, could you tell me about the other exceptions, please?

– Sure, Violet. No problem.

– Cool! Thank you, boys.

– You’re welcome.

– All right! Let’s start our lesson!

Now I think you understand that today in the lesson we will:

·      revise how to form the plural nouns;

·      talk about the irregular plural nouns;

And

·      put the knowledge into practice.

To form the plural nouns we have to add the ending –s to the singular nouns.

Look at the examples and compare:

Doll

Кукла

This noun is singular.

Now if we add the ending –s to the word “doll”, we will get the word “dolls”.

Куклы

The noun “dolls” is plural.

Bear

Медведь

This noun is singular.

Now if we add the ending –s to the word “bear”, we will get the word “bears”.

Медведи

The noun “bears” is plural.

Guitar

Гитара

This noun is singular.

Now if we add the ending –s to the word “guitar”, we will get the word “guitars”.

Гитары

The noun “guitars” is plural.

Or

Elephant

Слон

This noun is singular.

Now if we add the ending –s to the word “elephant”, we will get the word “elephants”.

Слоны

The noun “elephants” is plural.

But there are some words in English which don’t become plural by adding the ending –s. These words are called the irregular plural nouns.

We need to learn them by heart!

And they are:

Man

Мужчина

This noun is singular.

Its plural form is “men”.

Мужчины

Woman

Женщина

This noun is singular.

Its plural form is “women”.

Женщины

Child

Ребёнок

The plural form is “children”.

Дети

Tooth

Зуб

The plural form is “teeth”.

Зубы

Foot

Ступня

The plural form is “feet”.

Ступни

Mouse

Мышь

The plural form is “mice”.

Мыши

Goose

Гусь

The plural form is “geese”.

Гуси

Fish

Рыба

The plural form is also “fish”.

Рыбы

Sheep

Овца

The plural form is also “sheep”.

Овцы

Deer

Олень

The plural form is also “deer”.

Олени

– Violet, we’ve revised how to form the plural nouns.

– We’ve also talked about the irregular plural nouns.

– Yes, that’s right, boys!

– Now we would like to check your knowledge if you don’t mind!

– Oh, sure! No problem!

– Great!

And your first task is to write the plural forms of the following words.

1. Toy –

2. Man –

3. Cake –

4. Fish –

5. Ball –

6. Woman –

7. Tooth –

8. Goose –

9. Dog –

10. Mouse –

11. Pear –

12. Foot –

Now let’s check the right answers.

1. Toys

2. Men

3. Cakes

4. Fish

5. Balls

6. Women

7. Teeth

8. Geese

9. Dogs

10. Mice

11. Pears

12. Feet

Now do the second task. Here you need to listen to the dialogues and complete them with the plural form of the noun in the brackets.

The first dialogue is:

– Julia, have you got a child?

– Yes, I have! Actually, I’ve got three (child).

Let’s check.

The right answer is children.

The second dialogue is:

– Christopher, what animals have you got on your farm?

– Well, Sam… I’ve got two cows, two horses and five (sheep) on the farm.

Check yourselves.

The right answer is sheep.

The following dialogue is:

– Mum, I’m going to bed! Goodnight!

– Goodnight, my dear! Don’t forget to brush your (tooth) before going to bed.   

Let’s check.

The right answer is teeth.

And the fourth dialogue is:

– Dad, can you imagine? I saw two (deer) in the centre of the city yesterday!

– Oh, wow! That’s strange!

Check yourselves.

The right answer is deer.

– Well done, Violet!

– Boys, thank you so much for your help!

– Oh, please, don’t mention it!

– Yeah! We were glad to help you!

– That’s all for today, our dear friends.

– See you soon, boys and girls.