Updated on November 18, 2025
Learn how to use “a” and “an” correctly and how to make plural nouns in English. A1 grammar explanation and interactive exercises that make it easy to practice singular and plural forms.
Exercises & Summary
A/an, plurals: Singular and plural forms
1. Singular Nouns
A singular noun refers to a single individual, location, or object.
For example, a cat, a book, or a student
When we talk about one thing that can be counted, we use “a” or “an.”
- Use “a” before words that start with a consonant sound: a house, a dog, a car
- Use “an” before words that start with a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u):an egg, an apple, an umbrella
Keep in mind that “a” and “an” are only used with singular countable nouns.
2. Plural Nouns
A plural noun refers to more than one person, place, or thing.
Adding -s or -es to the singular form is how we usually make plurals.
- Most nouns: + s – book → books car → cars
- Words that end in -ch, -sh, -s, -x, or -o: + es – bus → buses box → boxes tomato → tomatoes
- For nouns that end in a consonant and y, change y to ies baby → babies city → cities
3. No Article for Plurals
We don’t use a/an with plural nouns.
Incorrect a cats → catsCorrect
I have two cats.
4. Examples
- a cat → two cats
- an orange → three oranges
- a box → some boxes
- an apple → many apples