Bill Situ
English and ESL Instructor
Pluralization applies to all nouns that are countable. In most (although not all) cases, the suffix -s (or -es in some cases) appears at the end to signal pluralization. Although seemingly very self-explanatory, pluralization in actuality does tend to be neglected more commonly than we think:
Several students forgot their book today.
When it is hot, we need to drink plenty of water to keep our body hydrated.
In the first example, unless the students all use the same physical copy of a particular book, then it should be books. Similarly, in the second example, every person has a different body, so we should pluralize body:
Several students forgot their books today.
When it is hot, we need to drink plenty of water to keep our bodies hydrated.
Several students forgot their book today.
When it is hot, we need to drink plenty of water to keep our body hydrated.
In the first example, unless the students all use the same physical copy of a particular book, then it should be books. Similarly, in the second example, every person has a different body, so we should pluralize body:
Several students forgot their books today.
When it is hot, we need to drink plenty of water to keep our bodies hydrated.
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