A1 Beginner Nouns and quantifiers
Irregular plural nouns
Lesson goal. After this lesson you can write the plural of nouns that do not follow the -s rule, such as child → children and tooth → teeth.
When to use it
- Talking about more than one person or thing: two children, three men
- These words appear constantly: people, children, feet, teeth
- Some words look exactly the same in the plural: fish, sheep
Form
| Group | Change | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Change the vowel | a → e, oo → ee | man → men · tooth → teeth |
| Add -en | + ren / + en | child → children |
| -f · -fe → -ves | drop f, add ves | leaf → leaves · knife → knives |
| No change | no change | fish → fish · sheep → sheep |
Step by step
- Ask: is this noun in the irregular group?
- If yes → use the table below and never add -s.
- If no → add -s or -es as usual.
The irregular list to learn by heart
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| man | men |
| woman | women |
| child | children |
| person | people |
| tooth | teeth |
| foot | feet |
| mouse | mice |
| leaf | leaves |
| knife | knives |
| wife | wives |
| fish | fish |
| sheep | sheep |
Examples
There are two men at the door.
The children are playing outside.
How many people are there in your family?
I brush my teeth twice a day.
My feet hurt after the walk.
The leaves turn yellow in autumn.
She bought three knives yesterday.
We caught five fish at the lake.
Common mistakes
There are two childs. → There are two children.
Vietnamese nouns never change, so learners apply the -s rule everywhere. Irregular forms must be memorised.
Many peoples live here. → Many people live here.
people is already the plural of person, so no extra -s.
We caught three fishes. → We caught three fish.
fish stays the same in the plural, like sheep and deer.
Memory tip
The three most-missed words: children, people, teeth. They are already plural — adding -s is wrong.
Summary
- Irregular nouns take no -s — learn the table.
- -f and -fe become -ves: leaf → leaves, knife → knives.
- fish, sheep, deer do not change in the plural.
Practise this lesson
Do exercises with an explanation for every question, take mini tests and track your progress on GrammUp.