1. Plurals do not always end in -s
A singular names one person, animal or thing; a plural names more than one. For many nouns we add -s or -es, but some common words have a separate form that must be learnt together with the singular.
Men, women, children, teeth, feet, people and mice are already plural. They do not need an extra -s. A useful aid is to recall a short pair with one and two, then use it in your own sentence.
one man → two men; one child → two children
One man is at the desk. Two men are by the door.
One man is at the desk. Two men are by the door.
Number changes man to men; men itself expresses the plural.
I have one child. My sister has two children.
I have one child. My sister has two children.
Child and children are forms of the same noun for different quantities.
2. People: man, woman, child, person
Learn four separate pairs: man → men, woman → women, child → children, person → people. Man names an adult male, woman an adult female, child a young person, and person a human being without specifying gender or age.
Do not apply one spelling change to every word. Children is not formed like men, and people looks completely different from person. In writing, woman/women differ in their last part; their pronunciation also changes, so listening to both dictionary forms is useful.
man → men | woman → women | child → children | person → people
Two women and three men work here.
Two women and three men work here.
Both groups are plural, but recall the required form separately for each word.
There are four people in the car.
There are four people in the car.
People refers to several people without specifying exactly who they are.
The children need water.
The children need water.
Children is already plural, so do not add -s.
3. Feet, teeth and living mice
Foot → feet names one or more feet, tooth → teeth names one or more teeth, and mouse → mice names one or more mice. These pairs are useful for simple everyday descriptions, personal care and talking about animals.
The similarity of foot/feet and tooth/teeth helps you remember these two words, but does not establish a rule to “change every oo to ee”. If a new word is unfamiliar, check its plural in a dictionary.
The exercises with mouse refer to living animals. For computer devices, dictionaries also allow mouses alongside mice; this does not make mouses the standard plural for living mice.
foot → feet | tooth → teeth | mouse (animal) → mice
My feet are wet, but my hands are dry.
My feet are wet, but my hands are dry.
Feet is the plural of foot. Hands is also grammatical, but names a different body part.
I brush my teeth after breakfast.
I brush my teeth after breakfast.
Use teeth for more than one tooth; tooths does not fit here.
Two mice are eating in the garden.
Two mice are eating in the garden.
The animals’ action makes the meaning of mouse unambiguous.
4. Check the sentence, not just the noun
After one or the article a/an, use the singular: one child, a woman. After two, three or both in ordinary counting, use the plural: two children, both feet. Do not transfer the number of one participant to every other participant in the sentence.
When the target noun is the subject, make familiar words agree: this child is → these children are; that woman is → those women are. This applies familiar agreement to an irregular plural, rather than introducing a new tense system.
The verb agrees with its own subject. In The table is for four people, the subject table remains singular even though people occurs at the end of the sentence.
One woman is with two children.
One woman is with two children.
Woman remains singular: two refers to children.
These teeth are clean.
These teeth are clean.
These and are match plural teeth.
The room is for six people.
The room is for six people.
Is agrees with room, not with people after for.
5. People, persons and peoples: keep the distinctions clear
In ordinary conversation about several people, the main choice is people: two people, many people. This is the common form practised at A1. People in this meaning is not singular, so we say people are.
Persons is also an acceptable plural of person, but is more typical of official or legal usage. Peoples can mean different nations or cultural groups. These words are not forbidden: they have different usual contexts or meanings. Here it is enough to recognise the boundary, without learning specialised vocabulary.
When an exercise asks for the ordinary conversational form, use people. A different sentence that is grammatical but refers to nations or changes the register does not meet the same target as reporting the number of passengers.
There are three people at the table.
There are three people at the table.
Everyday counting of people: people.
This book is about different peoples.
This book is about different peoples.
Peoples has a different meaning; it is correct in this context, but not the main target of the lesson.
6. Children names the people; children’s shows possession
Children alone is enough to form the plural. Childrens is not a standard plural spelling. Do not add -s or an apostrophe when simply naming children: The children are here.
Children’s is a different construction: the possessive form of children. It can stand before the name of things belonging to or intended for children. Do not therefore “correct” children’s to childrens; apostrophe + s has a separate job here.
This is a brief boundary with possession. The exercises in this lesson do not assess independent formation of all possessives.
The children are in the shop.
The children are in the shop.
We are naming children, so use children without an extra ending.
The children's bags are here.
The children's bags are here.
Children’s shows who the bags belong to; it is not an incorrect plural of child.
7. From a dictionary pair to your own utterance
Start with what you want to say: how many people or things there are, where they are and why you are mentioning them. Recall the needed pair, build a short sentence and check agreement. You do not need to fit all seven forms into one story.
Your own answers can use different natural wording, articles and contractions if they preserve the intended meaning and meet the visible instruction. The model shows one route, not the only correct text.
For practice, you can invent a meeting, a family or some pets. Applying the form in a new situation matters more than repeating a ready-made example.
Can we have a table for four people, please?
Can we have a table for four people, please?
People helps perform a real action: requesting a table.
My feet are cold. I need warm socks.
My feet are cold. I need warm socks.
Feet becomes part of a short explanation of a need.
Common mistakes
Incorrect:Two womans are at the door.
Correct:Two women are at the door.
Woman has the irregular plural women; simply adding -s does not work here.
Incorrect:The childrens are hungry.
Correct:The children are hungry.
Children is already plural. The extra -s in childrens is unnecessary; do not confuse this with the correct possessive children’s before the name of a thing.
Incorrect:My foots are cold.
Correct:My feet are cold.
For more than one foot, use feet, not foots.
Incorrect:Two mouses are eating seeds.
Correct:Two mice are eating seeds.
This refers to living animals eating seeds; their standard plural is mice.
Incorrect:These people is ready.
Correct:These people are ready.
People meaning several human beings is a plural subject and requires are.
Incorrect:A children is in the car.
Correct:A child is in the car.
The article a refers to one child in this sentence; the singular child is needed.