8 Plural Noun Rules

Plural nouns are words that are more than one person, place, or thing. When changing a word from single noun to a plural noun, the spelling of it goes a little haywire! There are many spelling rules that students need to keep in mind when writing or spelling plural nouns. I have 8 Plural Noun Rules that students can learn to help them keep their spelling straight.  There are more plural noun rules, but these 8 are the most common for elementary students. 

Not only will these rules help when writing, but they will help when reading too. Students will be able to see the spelling of the plural words in writing and will understand the meaning better when they understand the spelling. This will make students vocabulary and word recognition go up. 

Here are the 8 Plural Noun Rules:

Plural Noun Rule #1: Add s to form the plural of most nouns. Most nouns just need an "s" added to the word to show that it's plural.

Plural Noun Rule #2: Add "es" to nouns that end in ch, sh, s, x, or z. For example, beach=beaches, wish=wishes, dress=dresses, box=boxes, quiz=quizes.

Plural Noun Rule #3: Nouns that end in "y", with a consonant before the y, change the y to i and add es. For example: penny=pennies. The letter before the y is a consonant. Therefore, the y changes to an i.

Plural Noun Rule #4: Nouns that end in "y", with a vowel before the y, just add s. For example, boy=boys. The letter before the y is a vowel. Therefore, nothing changes and just an "s" is added. 

Plural Noun Rule #5: Nouns that end in "f" or "fe", change the f or fe to a "v" and add es. For example, elf=elves, loaf=loaves

Plural Noun Rule #6: Nouns that end in "o", with a consonant before the o, add es. For example: potato=potatoes.

Plural Noun Rule #7: Irregular nouns will change the spelling completely. For example, child=children, mouse=mice, ox=oxen, goose=geese. 

Plural Noun Rule #8: Some nouns use the singular spelling as the plural spelling. For example: fish=fish, deer=deer

Here are the 8 plural noun rules on one sheet! Plus, it's FREE! Click the picture below to download this poster and begin using it today in your classroom or with your students. keep handy in their writing folder. They will be able to refer back to this sheet at any time to help them write plural nouns.

I have a pack of worksheets, games, and centers dedicated to plurals. The Plural Pack below has over 61 pages that follow the poster above and work on each rule. 

Here is what's included in the Plural Pack. Just click the pictures below to read more about this pack in my Teachers Pay Teachers store:

 

Here are some items you may need when teaching about plurals. I linked them to Amazon to make it easy for you:

If You Were a Plural Word book
Plural Poster
Plural Task Cards
Irregular Plural Flashcards
Mad Libs

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