Choosing the Right Form

The sentence gives you clues

Words near the noun tell you which form you need.

Clue word	Means	Example
a, an, one	just one	a book, one hen
two, six, ten	more than one	two books, six hens
many, some, all	more than one	many books, some hens
every, each	just one at a time	every book, each hen

Read the sentence and find the clue word first. Then choose the form that matches.

“I see six ____.” The word “six” settles it. You need “cats”.

“Ava has one ____.” The word “one” settles it. You need “book”.

No apostrophe. Ever.

This is worth learning now so you never have to unlearn it.

When a noun means more than one, it takes an ending. It does not take an apostrophe.

Wrong	Right
two cat’s	two cats
six box’s	six boxes
many kite’s	many kites

You will meet the apostrophe in a later course, where it does a completely different job. It never means more than one.

A mistake to watch for

Sometimes the clue word is not right beside the noun.

“The three little brown mice ran.”

The word “three” sits four words away from “mice”. It still does the telling.

Your turn

Choose the right form.

1. “Leo found two ____.” (rock)
2. “There is one ____ on the step.” (bench)
3. “Many ____ live in the pond.” (fish)
4. “I brushed my ____.” (tooth)

Check your answers

1. “rocks”
2. “bench”
3. “fish”
4. “teeth”

Remember

• Find the clue word and match the form to it.
• The clue word can sit several words away.
• More than one never takes an apostrophe.