ELL Guide on Singular, Plural, Proper & Possessive Nouns

What are nouns?

Nouns are words that name people, places, and things.  We use proper nouns for specific people, places and things.  Proper nouns are capitalized.  Common nouns are not capitalized.

Person
father | Chester Smith
mother | Ann Smith
president | Abraham Lincoln

Place
library | Library of Congress
park | Central Park
school | Douglas High School

Thing
soda | Coca Cola
car | Ford Mustang
store | Trader Joe’s

How do we change singular nouns to plural nouns?

A singular noun names one person, place, or thing.  A plural noun names more than one person, place, or thing.  Singular = 1.  Plural = 2.

There are some basic spelling rules for plural nouns.  These rules apply to regular nouns.  Irregular nouns do no follow these rules.

Rule #1
For most nouns we add s to the singular form.

Singular
1 apple
1 car
1 dog
1 street
1 pencil

Plural
2 apples
3 cars
10 dogs
20 streets
50 pencils

Rule #2
For nouns ending in ch, sh, s, x, add es to the singular form.

Singular
1 church
1 brush
1 glass
1 box
1 quiz

Plural
2 churches
4 brushes
12 glasses
100 boxes
300 quizzes

Rule #3
For nouns ending in a consonant + y, change y to
ies.

Singular
1 strawberry
1 library
1 family
1 party
1 puppy

Plural
2 strawberries
5 libraries
10 families
4 parties
20 puppies

Rule #4
For nouns ending in f orfe, change f or fe to ves.

Singular
1 wolf
1 shelf
1 half
1 life
1 knife

Plural
6 wolves
4 shelves
2 halves
9 lives
10 knives

Irregular Nouns
Irregular nouns do not follow the rules above.  Some irregular nouns have different plural forms.  Some irregular nouns have the same singular and plural form.

Singular
1  man
1 woman
1 person
1 child
1 foot
1 mouse
1 fish
1 pair of scissors

Plural
2 men
3 women
4 people
5 children
2 feet
6 mice
3 fish
6 pairs of scissors

What are possessive nouns?

The possessive form of a noun shows the relationship of that noun to another noun.  We use the possessive form to show that something belongs to someone or something else.  We can also use the possessive form to express ownership.

the son of the father  =  the father’s son

Mila has a clean room.  =  Mila’s room is clean.

For most nouns we form the possessive by adding ‘s.  If the noun is plural or ends in s, add an apostrophe to the end of the noun.  For names that end in s, you can add  ‘s or just an apostrophe.  Adding ‘s is more common.

Singular Noun / Possession with
Prepositional Phrase 

  1. the pen of the student
  2. the book of the teacher
  3. the dog of the boy

Singular Noun / Possession with
Possessive Form

  1. the student‘s pen
  2. the teacher’s book
  3. the boy‘s dog

Plural Noun / Possession with
Prepositional Phrase 

  1. the cars of the doctors
  2. the uniforms of the players
  3. the bananas of the monkeys

Plural Noun Possession with
Possessive Form

  1. the doctors’ cars
  2. the players’ uniforms
  3. the monkeys’ bananas

Singular Name / Possession with
Prepositional Phrase 

  1. the home of Mary
  2. the guitars of Steve
  3. the cat of Pat

Singular Name Possession with
Possessive Form

  1. Mary‘s home
  2. Steve‘s guitars
  3. Pat‘s cat

Singular/Plural Names ending in S / Possession with
Prepositional Phrase 

  1. the sweaters of Cass  (Singular name Cass)
  2. the home of the Joneses  (Plural name Jones)

Singular/Plural Names ending in S / Possession with
Possessive Form

  1. Cass’s sweaters (Singular name Cass)
  2. the Joneses’ home (Plural name Jones)

Basic ESL Workbooks

Workbook 1
Lessons 1-15 Buy
Workbook 2
Lessons 16-30 Buy
Workbook 3
Lessons 31-45 Buy

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