Blue Level

Lesson Thirty-one

Plural Nouns and Verbs

In the last lesson, you learned about singular nouns and verbs. In this lesson, you will learn to identify plural nouns and verbs.

Plural Verbs

The most important thing to remember about plural verbs is that they don’t end in an “s.” The plural verb matches the plural subject, which is a noun, but don’t add an “s” to the verb. Look at these examples:

The books belong on the shelf. (belong = plural verb)
When do the students start school? (do = plural helping verb)
What do they need for class? (do = plural helping verb)

In the first sentence, “belong” matches the subject, “books.” There is no “s” at the end of “belong,” but it’s a plural verb. Both “belong” and “books” are plural. In the next two sentences, the helping verb “do” is also plural, while the main verbs, “start” and “need” remain in the simple form.

Plural Helping Verbs

When making a question or making a verb negative, you use a plural helping verb: Here are some examples of plural helping verbs: do, are, have.

Plural Nouns

Plural nouns are easier to identify than the plural verbs. Plural nouns have an “s” at the end of the word, or there is some other way of forming the plural. In some cases, it’s hard to identify the plural noun because it has an irregular form.

Here are some examples of regular nouns in the plural form:

The desks all have computers . (subject: desks)
Apples are good for you. (subject: Apples)
The tags show the wrong prices. (subject: tags)

Here are some examples of irregular nouns in the plural form:

Several referenda are on the ballot. (subject: referenda)
The deer like to eat the bark on this tree. (subject: deer)
Children learn things in school. (subject: children)

Fortunately, there aren’t that many nouns that take an irregular, plural form. Most are for certain animals such as deer, mice, geese, and fish–among others. Some words from Latin are plural: bacteria, criteria, and fungi are a few examples. Then there are the common plural forms for men, women, and children.

Now try this exercise. Find and correct the errors in the following sentences and questions. The error will be the subject or the verb. Make sure they remain plural.

1. Orange are my favorite fruit.

2. The fishes is in the water.

3. Fruit from around the world are available at that store.

4. The mens need to get their uniforms cleaned.

5. The stimulus have an interesting affect on the nervous system.

How well did you do? The answers are below:

1. Oranges are my favorite fruit.

2. The fish are in the water.

3. Fruits from around the world are available at that store. (Sometimes it’s okay to use a noncount noun in the form of a count noun. The word “fruit” is an example of this.)

4. The men need to get their uniforms cleaned.

5. The stimuli have an interesting affect on the nervous system.

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The Red Level