SINGULAR AND PLURAL NOUNS

SINGULAR NOUNS
A singular noun is a word that names one person, place, or thing. Example:
A student talks to the teacher.

There is only one student in the sentence, so the word "student" is a singular noun.
There is only one teacher in the sentence, so the word "teacher" is a singular noun.

PLURAL NOUNS
A plural noun is a word that names more than one person, place, or thing. Example:
Two students play with the balls.

There is more than one student, so the word "students" is a plural noun.
There is more than one ball, so the word "balls" is a plural noun, too.

SPELLING PLURAL NOUNS
You van make a singular noun into a plural noun by changing the form of the word:

1. To make most singular nouns plural, add an -s. Example: student / students
2. If a singular noun ends with -s, -ss, -x, -ch, -sh, or -z, add -es to write the plural. Examples: bus / buses, kiss / kisses, fox / foxes, watch / watches, dish / dishes, buzz / buzzes.
3. Many singular nouns that end with -f, change the "f" to "v" and then add -es to make the plural. Examples: elf / elves, leaf / leaves.
4. If a singular noun ends with a consonant and -y, change the letter "y" to a letter "i" and then add -es to make it a plural noun. Examples: puppy / puppies, baby / babies. But if the noun ends in a vowel and -y the "y" does not change. Examples: boy / boys, toy / toys.
5. Some singular nouns form the plural by changing a part of the word or all the word. You have to learn the plural of these nouns. Examples: man / men, child / children.

Go to the following sites to practice:

http://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/curriculum/literacy/lit_site/lit_sites/plurals/pl_2/esplurals.htm
http://www.english-zone.com/spelling/nouns1.html