Singular and Plural Nouns – English Grammar Exercises for A1
Choose the correct option (A, B, or C) to complete each sentence.
1 We have one original book and five ______ for the students to share.
(a) copys
(b) copies
(c) copy
2 Please put these three English ______ on the top shelf.
(a) dictionaries
(b) dictionarys
(c) dictionary
3 This big blue book has fifty short ______ for young readers.
(a) storys
(b) story
(c) stories
4 Our school is very big. We actually have two small ______.
(a) librarys
(b) libraries
(c) library
5 I found two old ______ on the bottom shelf. Did the students leave them here?
(a) diaries
(b) diarys
(c) diary
6 We need to sort all these reading books into four different ______.
(a) categorys
(b) category
(c) categories
7 The teacher asked us to print short ______ of the chapters.
(a) summaries
(b) summarys
(c) summary
8 Look at the back of these books; they have helpful ______ to explain difficult words.
(a) glossarys
(b) glossaries
(c) glossary
9 This green workbook contains many fun ______ for grammar practice.
(a) activitys
(b) activity
(c) activities
10 I also found some printed student ______ from last year on the desk.
(a) essays
(b) essaies
(c) essay
11 Wait, there is only one ______ of the new grammar book left!
(a) copies
(b) copy
(c) copys
12 Who borrowed the big French ______ yesterday? It is missing.
(a) dictionaries
(b) dictionarys
(c) dictionary
13 Students can keep borrowed books at home for fourteen ______.
(a) days
(b) daies
(c) day
14 Those three ______ in the corner are helping me organize the comic books.
(a) boies
(b) boys
(c) boy
15 To open these locked glass cabinets, we need the master ______.
(a) keies
(b) keyes
(c) keys
16 These picture books are about different animal ______ living in the forest.
(a) families
(b) familys
(c) family
17 We also have a special box of educational ______ for the kindergarten class.
(a) toies
(b) toys
(c) toy
18 The drama club needs ten copies of Shakespeare’s famous ______.
(a) plaies
(b) play
(c) plays
19 Make sure every ______ is returned to its correct place before we leave.
(a) dictionary
(b) dictionaries
(c) dictionarys
20 This giant atlas shows the maps of all the ______ in the world.
(a) countrys
(b) countries
(c) country
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (b) copies
Explanation: * Correct (Key): (b) ‘Copies’. When a noun ends in a consonant + y (p-y), we drop the ‘y’ and add ‘-ies’.
- Common Mistake: (a) ‘Copys’ is a spelling mistake because it ignores the ‘-ies’ rule.
- Structural Error: (c) ‘Copy’ is singular, but the number “five” requires a plural noun.
2 (a) dictionaries
Explanation: * Correct (Key): (a) ‘Dictionaries’ correctly follows the consonant + y rule (r-y -> ries).
- Common Mistake: (b) ‘Dictionarys’ is a very common learner mistake (just adding ‘-s’).
- Structural Error: (c) ‘Dictionary’ is singular, contradicting “three”.
3 (c) stories
Explanation: * Correct (Key): (c) ‘Stories’ (r-y -> ries) is the correct plural form.
- Common Mistake: (a) ‘Storys’ is an incorrect spelling.
- Structural Error: (b) ‘Story’ is singular.
4 (b) libraries
Explanation: * Correct (Key): (b) ‘Libraries’ (r-y -> ries).
- Common Mistake: (a) ‘Librarys’ is an incorrect spelling.
- Structural Error: (c) ‘Library’ is singular, but the number is “two”.
5 (a) diaries
Explanation: * Correct (Key): (a) ‘Diaries’ (r-y -> ries).
- Common Mistake: (b) ‘Diarys’ is a spelling mistake.
- Structural Error: (c) ‘Diary’ is singular.
6 (c) categories
Explanation: * Correct (Key): (c) ‘Categories’ (r-y -> ries).
- Common Mistake: (a) ‘Categorys’ is an incorrect spelling.
- Structural Error: (b) ‘Category’ is singular, but “four” requires a plural noun.
7 (a) summaries
Explanation: * Correct (Key): (a) ‘Summaries’ (r-y -> ries).
- Common Mistake: (b) ‘Summarys’ is a spelling error.
- Structural Error: (c) ‘Summary’ is singular, but “short summaries” refers to multiple items.
8 (b) glossaries
Explanation: * Correct (Key): (b) ‘Glossaries’ (r-y -> ries).
- Common Mistake: (a) ‘Glossarys’ is a spelling error.
- Structural Error: (c) ‘Glossary’ is singular.
9 (c) activities
Explanation: * Correct (Key): (c) ‘Activities’ (t-y -> ties).
- Common Mistake: (a) ‘Activitys’ is a spelling error.
- Structural Error: (b) ‘Activity’ is singular, but the word “many” requires a plural noun.
10 (a) essays
Explanation: * Correct (Key): (a) ‘Essays’. This is a trap! The word ends in a VOWEL + y (a-y), so we simply add ‘-s’.
- Common Mistake: (b) ‘Essaies’ is an over-application of the ‘-ies’ rule. You do not drop the ‘y’ if there is a vowel before it.
- Structural Error: (c) ‘Essay’ is singular, but “some” implies more than one.
11 (b) copy
Explanation: * Correct (Key): (b) ‘Copy’ is singular, perfectly matching “only one”.
- Common Mistake: (a) ‘Copies’ is plural, which contradicts “one”.
- Structural Error: (c) ‘Copys’ is a misspelled plural form anyway.
12 (c) dictionary
Explanation: * Correct (Key): (c) ‘Dictionary’ is singular. The verb “is” in the next sentence (“It is missing”) confirms we are looking for only one item.
- Common Mistake: (a) ‘Dictionaries’ is plural.
- Structural Error: (b) ‘Dictionarys’ is a spelling error.
13 (a) days
Explanation: * Correct (Key): (a) ‘Days’. Since it ends in a vowel + y (a-y), we just add ‘-s’.
- Common Mistake: (b) ‘Daies’ is a common mistake where learners over-apply the ‘-ies’ rule.
- Structural Error: (c) ‘Day’ is singular.
14 (b) boys
Explanation: * Correct (Key): (b) ‘Boys’. Vowel + y (o-y) simply takes an ‘-s’.
- Common Mistake: (a) ‘Boies’ is an incorrect spelling (over-applying the ‘-ies’ rule).
- Structural Error: (c) ‘Boy’ is singular.
15 (c) keys
Explanation: * Correct (Key): (c) ‘Keys’. Vowel + y (e-y) takes an ‘-s’.
- Common Mistake: (a) ‘Keies’ is an incorrect spelling.
- Structural Error: (b) ‘Keyes’ is a common misspelling.
16 (a) families
Explanation: * Correct (Key): (a) ‘Families’ (l-y -> lies).
- Common Mistake: (b) ‘Familys’ is an incorrect spelling.
- Structural Error: (c) ‘Family’ is singular, but “different” in this context implies a plural count.
17 (b) toys
Explanation: * Correct (Key): (b) ‘Toys’. Vowel + y (o-y) takes an ‘-s’.
- Common Mistake: (a) ‘Toies’ is an incorrect spelling.
- Structural Error: (c) ‘Toy’ is singular.
18 (c) plays
Explanation: * Correct (Key): (c) ‘Plays’ (meaning theatrical scripts/performances). Vowel + y (a-y) takes an ‘-s’.
- Common Mistake: (a) ‘Plaies’ is an incorrect spelling.
- Structural Error: (b) ‘Play’ is singular, but “ten copies of…” implies multiple plays.
19 (a) dictionary
Explanation: * Correct (Key): (a) ‘Dictionary’ is singular. The word “every” is always followed by a singular countable noun.
- Common Mistake: (b) ‘Dictionaries’ is plural. A common mistake is thinking “every” means “all”, so learners use the plural form.
- Structural Error: (c) ‘Dictionarys’ is a spelling error.
20 (b) countries
Explanation: * Correct (Key): (b) ‘Countries’ (r-y -> ries). “All the” requires a plural noun here.
- Common Mistake: (a) ‘Countrys’ is an incorrect spelling.
- Structural Error: (c) ‘Country’ is singular.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
1 The Consonant + Y Rule: If a noun ends in a consonant (b, c, d, f, g, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, etc.) followed by a y, you must drop the ‘y’ and add ‘-ies’ to make it plural.
- Examples: copy -> copies, dictionary -> dictionaries, library -> libraries, story -> stories.
2 The Vowel + Y Exception (The Trap): If a noun ends in a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) followed by a y, do NOT drop the ‘y’. Just add ‘-s’.
- Examples: essay -> essays, boy -> boys, key -> keys, day -> days.
3 Watch out for Singular Clues: Always look at the words before the noun. Words like one, a, an, and every mean you must use the singular form (e.g., every dictionary, NOT every dictionaries).