Myriora English › Words › Chapter 1: Building words: prefixes, suffixes and roots

Making plurals

Ages 5–7Chapter 1 · Lesson 3

In this lesson

Most words add s.
Words ending in s, x, sh or ch add es.
And a consonant then y?
Change the y to i, and add es.

Your turn

What's the plural of brush?

Show the answer

Brush ends in sh, so add es: brushes!

The common mistake

Here's a common mistake. What's the plural of baby? Some people write babys. But there's a consonant, b, before the y. So change the y to i, and add es: babies.

Try it at home

Plural snap: one person says a thing in the room, the other says its plural and which rule it uses (add s, add es, y to ies, or one to learn).

Read the whole lesson

Hello, and welcome to Myriora English! One cat, two cats. One box, two boxes! Let's learn how to make a word mean more than one.

More than one is called a plural. For most words, you just add s. Cat, cats. Book, books. Tree, trees.

Some words end in a hissing sound: s, x, sh or ch. For those, add es, so you can hear the extra bit. Bus, buses. Box, boxes. Wish, wishes. Church, churches.

Words ending in y need care. If there's a consonant before the y, change the y to i, and add es. Baby, babies. Party, parties. But if there's a vowel before the y, just add s. Toy, toys. Day, days.

And a few words don't follow any rule at all. Mouse, mice. Child, children. And one sheep, two sheep! These you just have to learn.

Let's try one together. What's the plural of fox? Say it out loud!

Foxes! Fox ends in x, so we add es. Well done if you said foxes!

Here's a common mistake. What's the plural of baby? Some people write babys. But there's a consonant, b, before the y. So change the y to i, and add es: babies.

Your turn! What's the plural of brush? Pick the right card. You've got eight seconds, or pause the video. Go!

Time's up! Brush ends in sh, so add es: brushes!

Quick review. Most words add s. Words ending in s, x, sh or ch add es. And a consonant then y? Change the y to i, and add es. See you next time!