IXL | Form and use plurals of compound nouns

Complete the sentence with the correct plural.

For many decades, the iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifsurgeon general have acted as America's leading spokespeople for public health issues, sharing important scientific knowledge in order to improve the public's health.

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Learn with an example

question

Complete the sentence with the correct plural.

White House iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirchief of staff have traditionally served as presidential assistants; in fact, President Franklin D. Roosevelt first named the position "Assistant to the President" upon its creation in 1939.

key idea

To form the plural of most nouns, add -s.

one tree → two trees

If a noun ends in -s, -ch, -sh, -x, or -z, then add -es to make it plural.

one bush → two bushes

If a noun ends in consonant-y, then drop the y and add -ies to make it plural.

one baby → two babies

If a noun ends in -f or -fe and the /f/ sound changes to /v/ when it's plural, drop the -f or -fe and add -ves to make it plural.

one wolf → two wolves

If a noun ends in -f or -fe and the plural form keeps the /f/ sound, just add -s to make it plural.

one chef → two chefs

If a noun ends in -o, usually add -s to make it plural. However, add -es for the following exceptions: tomato, potato, hero, echo, tornado, volcano, and mango.

one piano → two pianos

one tomato → two tomatoes

To form the plural of a compound noun, like sister-in-law, only pluralize the base word of the noun. The base word in sister-in-law is sister, so the plural form is sisters-in-law.

one district attorney → two district attorneys

one secretary of state → two secretaries of state

solution

The noun chief of staff is a compound noun. Its base word is chief.

The word chief ends in f, and it keeps the /f/ sound when it's plural. So, just add -s to make it plural. The plural of chief is chiefs.

The plural of the compound noun chief of staff is chiefs of staff.

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