PLURAL NOUNS EXERCISE 3 — IRREGULAR FORMS (ESL)
B1–B2 · IntermediateThe third exercise in our plural-nouns series focuses on irregular forms — the ones that don’t follow the standard -s/-es pattern and must be memorized. This covers vowel-change plurals, Latin/Greek-origin plurals, and nouns that are the same in singular and plural.
Need a refresher? Review the grammar ↓
Write the correct irregular plural form of each noun.
Finished this series? Try Countable or Uncountable? — Exercise 1 →
Grammar review
Irregular plural nouns — the main patterns
Irregular plural nouns don’t follow the standard -s/-es pattern. They fall into recognisable groups, which makes them easier to learn once you know the categories.
Vowel change (the most common irregular pattern):
The vowel in the middle of the word changes. This group includes some of the most common nouns in English — body parts, animals, and people words are well represented here.
woman → women is a familiar example of this pattern.
Completely irregular:
A small number of nouns have plurals that follow no predictable pattern and must simply be memorized.
Same form for singular and plural:
Some nouns don’t change at all between singular and plural. Context tells you which is meant. This group includes several animal names and some technical/scientific words.
Latin/Greek origin nouns:
Many academic and scientific words in English come from Latin or Greek and keep their original plural forms.
The singular endings -um, -on, -is, -us, -a often have specific plural forms that must be memorized. Nucleus → nuclei is one example of this pattern.
How to approach this exercise:
For each noun, ask: does it belong to one of the groups above? Think about whether you’ve heard or seen the plural before — many of these forms appear regularly in everyday speech and academic writing.
Irregular plural nouns don’t follow the standard -s/-es pattern. They fall into recognisable groups, which makes them easier to learn once you know the categories.
Vowel change (the most common irregular pattern):
The vowel in the middle of the word changes. This group includes some of the most common nouns in English — body parts, animals, and people words are well represented here.
woman → women is a familiar example of this pattern.
Completely irregular:
A small number of nouns have plurals that follow no predictable pattern and must simply be memorized.
Same form for singular and plural:
Some nouns don’t change at all between singular and plural. Context tells you which is meant. This group includes several animal names and some technical/scientific words.
Latin/Greek origin nouns:
Many academic and scientific words in English come from Latin or Greek and keep their original plural forms.
The singular endings -um, -on, -is, -us, -a often have specific plural forms that must be memorized. Nucleus → nuclei is one example of this pattern.
How to approach this exercise:
For each noun, ask: does it belong to one of the groups above? Think about whether you’ve heard or seen the plural before — many of these forms appear regularly in everyday speech and academic writing.
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