Form and use plurals of nouns ending in f, fe, o and y
Key Notes:
Nouns Ending in ‘f’ or ‘fe’
- Rule: For many nouns that end in ‘f’ or ‘fe’, change the ‘f’ or ‘fe’ to ‘ves’ to form the plural.
- Examples:
- Leaf becomes leaves.
- Wolf becomes wolves.
- Knife becomes knives.
- Examples:
- Exceptions: Some nouns simply add ‘s’ to form the plural.
- Examples:
- Chief becomes chiefs.
- Roof becomes roofs.
- Cliff becomes cliffs.
- Examples:
Nouns Ending in ‘o’
- Rule: For most nouns ending in ‘o’, add ‘es’ to form the plural.
- Examples:
- Tomato becomes tomatoes.
- Hero becomes heroes.
- Potato becomes potatoes.
- Examples:
- Exceptions: Some nouns add only ‘s’.
- Examples:
- Piano becomes pianos.
- Photo becomes photos.
- Radio becomes radios.
- Examples:
Nouns Ending in ‘y’
- Rule: If a noun ends in ‘y’ and the ‘y’ is preceded by a consonant, change the ‘y’ to ‘i’ and add ‘es’.
- Examples:
- Baby becomes babies.
- City becomes cities.
- Fly becomes flies.
- Examples:
- Exception: If the noun ends in ‘y’ and the ‘y’ is preceded by a vowel, simply add ‘s’.
- Examples:
- Key becomes keys.
- Boy becomes boys.
- Day becomes days.
- Examples:
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