LinguaA, an, and plurals
We use a and an with one thing. We use plural nouns for two or more things. In this lesson, you learn how to say one object and many objects.
A or an
Use a before a word that begins with a consonant sound: a book, a phone. Use an before a word that begins with a vowel sound: an umbrella, an apple. We use a/an only with singular countable nouns.
It is a bag.
It is an umbrella.
Regular plurals
To make many nouns plural, add -s: book → books, key → keys. Some nouns take -es, especially words like watch → watches. Use plural nouns for two or more things.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| a book | books |
| a key | keys |
| a phone | phones |
| a bag | bags |
| a watch | watches |
| an umbrella | umbrellas |
I have two books.
She has three watches.
Irregular plurals
Some plural nouns are irregular. They do not use -s or -es. Two important ones are man → men and child → children.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| a man | men |
| a child | children |
The children have bags.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| book | book | I have a book. |
| key | key | This is a key. |
| phone | phone | Her phone is on the table. |
| bag | bag | It is a black bag. |
| watch | watch | He has a watch. |
| umbrella | umbrella | Take an umbrella. |
| books | books | These books are new. |
| watches | watches | The watches are small. |
| men | men | Two men are here. |
| children | children | The children have keys. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- fill the gap: 2
- match the pairs: 1
- build the sentence: 2
- translate the sentence: 1
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Choose the correct phrase.
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.