A2 Grammar Lesson 2

Unit 2 – Grammar Rules

2A – Singular and plural nouns

a / an and plural nouns

We use a or an with singular nouns.

  • It’s a phone.
  • It’s an apple.
  • It’s a university.

Rules & Examples

1. a / an with singular nouns

  • Use a before consonant sounds.
  • Use an before vowel sounds (a, e, i, o, u).
  • a bag
  • an email
  • an umbrella

2. Sound is more important than spelling

We use a before words starting with u / eu when the sound is /juː/.

  • a university
  • a euro
  • a uniform

3. No a / an with plural nouns

  • ✔ They’re books. ❌ They’re a books
  • ✔ They’re keys. ❌ They’re a keys

Regular plurals

Singular Plural Spelling Rule
A pen Pens Add -s
A cat Cats Add -s
A class Classes Add -es
A box Boxes Add -es
A watch Watches Add -es
A dish Dishes Add -es
A city Cities Consonant + y → ies
A diary Diaries Consonant + y → ies

Examples:

  • one chair → two chairs
  • one watch → two watches
  • one country → two countries

With two-word nouns, add -s / -es / -ies to the second word:

  • credit card → credit cards

Irregular plurals

Some nouns change completely.

Singular Plural
A man Men
A woman Women
A child Children
A person People
A foot Feet
A tooth Teeth

the (definite article)

We use the when we know which thing or person.

  • Look at the board.
  • Answer the questions.
  • Open the door.

We can use the with singular and plural nouns.

Quiz 1