2 Spelling: Plurals – Irregular Patterns

Category:           Spelling

Concept:            Plurals – Other plural patterns and exceptions (y to i; f to v; Latin ____________and Greek plurals; irregular forms)

Connections to The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8: Language (2023):

_____B2. Language Foundations for Reading and Spelling

__________B2.1 Word Level Reading and Spelling

Prior Knowledge:

• Understanding that most words form the plural by adding s
• Understanding words ending with -s, -ss, -ch, -sh or -x form the plural by adding es
• Recognizing that plural forms differ from possessives

What’s the definition?

Singular nouns ending in a consonant and y (e.g. pony) form the plural by changing the y to i and adding es (ponies).

Singular nouns ending in a vowel plus y (e.g. monkey), form the plural by adding s (monkeys)

Singular nouns ending in f (e.g. calf) or fe, (life) form the plural by changing the f to v then adding es (calves; lives).

Greek and Latin plural forms:

Many words in science and medicine are closely related to their Greek and Latin origins and maintain the patterns used in these languages.  (example: bacterium – bacteria; fungus – fungi; phenomenon – phenomena; diagnosis – diagnoses)

Irregular plurals:

The plurals of some words show irregularities that are best learned through exposure to reading, oral language, or practise in writing. Some are listed in the section below.

What does it look/sound like?

Examples of words ending in consonant plus y

Examples of words ending in vowel plus y

Examples of words ending in f or fe

(Exceptions to the pattern: chief/chiefs; roof/roofs)

Examples of words with Greek and Latin endings

Examples of plural words that do not fit recognizable patterns

Why does it matter?

Errors with spelling plural forms are common in the writing of both children and adults. While many singular nouns just require adding the letter s, there are many patterns beyond this, and many irregular plural spellings.

Furthermore, English Language Learners often have a first language that has straightforward plural spellings and it can be challenging to deal with multiple plural patterns, including the fact that the final s can be pronounced /s/ as in parts or /z/ as in places or girls.

How do I teach this?

In assessing student writing be aware of confusions with plural patterns, especially with singular words ending in y or f. Depending on how widespread errors are, mini lessons can be given to groups of students or brief whole class exploration of these patterns.

Be aware of the presence of words of Greek and Latin origins in subject disciplines such as science and mathematics. Point out the plural forms as they appear in context or ask students when they encounter a word in science such as hypothesis/ hypotheses how that pattern might inform the plural spelling of crisis or synthesis. Similarly, how might knowing that the plural of larva is larvae assist with spelling the plural of antenna?

Keep a class list of irregular plural spellings (see lists above) and tap into the oral vocabularies of students for unusual forms such as child/children or woman/women.

Ask students to speculate why some team names conform to accepted plural forms while others do not. Good examples are the Toronto Maple Leafs as opposed to The Sudbury Wolves.

Online Resources

BioMed Editor https://www.biomedicaleditor.com/spelling-tip-latin.html  outlines patterns for Greek and Latin plural forms as well as alternate spellings.

The topic of irregular or less common plural forms is covered extensively in Grammarly https://www.grammarly.com/blog/parts-of-speech/irregular-plural-nouns/.