EXERCISE 2. NAME THE VERB IN EACH OF THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES.SAMPLE

8. Colleen is studying physics.

Nouns can be tricky, too. They change form depending on how they are used—as sin-

gular, plural, or possessive nouns. On the next page is a summary of the rules for forming

plurals of nouns.

When to add

^S

:

A. To most nouns: book—books. (See Rule 1, page 28.)

A–X.

Exceptions to A:

man—men

foot—feet

mouse—mice

woman—women

tooth—teeth

goose—geese

child—children

louse—lice

ox—oxen

(See Rule 2 Exceptions, page 28.)

B. To most nouns ending in f: belief—beliefs. (See Rule 3, page 30.)

B–X.

Exceptions to B:

leaf—leaves

shelf—shelves

loaf—loaves

thief—thieves

half—halves

wolf—wolves

self—selves

C. To nouns ending in a vowel + y: way—ways. (See Rule 5, page 31.)

D. To nouns ending in a vowel + o: radio—radios. (See Rule 7, page 33.)

E. To most nouns ending in a consonant + o: auto—autos. (See Rule 8, page 33.)

When to add es:

E–X.

Exceptions to E:

potato + es = potatoes

echo + es = echoes

tomato + es = tomatoes

veto + es = vetoes

F.

To nouns ending in

s: class

+

es = classes

sh: wish

+

es = wishes

ch: bench +

es = benches

or x: box

+

es = boxes

(See Rule 2, page 28.)

When to change y to i and add es:

G. When a noun ends in a consonant + y: lady—ladies. (See Rule 6, page 31.)

When to change f to v and add s:

H. In the following three nouns ending in fe and their compounds:

knife—knives

life—lives

wife—wives

penknife—penknives

housewife—housewives

(See Rule 4, page 30.)