-ies
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Letters added to a noun ending in y to make it plural, for example city becomes cities
- other
- Specialized
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-ies
- When a noun ends in a consonant plus 'y', you change the 'y' to 'ies' to make it plural.
Examples
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The plural of 'city' is 'cities', following the rule for nouns ending in 'y'.
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Words like 'puppy' and 'party' both form their plurals with the 'ies' ending.
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The city has many beautiful cities.
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How many puppies are there?
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The plural of 'baby' is 'babies', illustrating the rule of changing 'y' to 'ies'.
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To make 'party' plural, you change the 'y' to 'ies' and write 'parties'.
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Nouns that end in a consonant followed by 'y', like 'city', become plural by adding 'ies'.
Surface Forms
-ies main
Etymology
-Ies comes from an old spelling rule: when a noun ends in -y, you change the -y to -ies to make the 'plural', so 'city' becomes 'cities' and 'puppy' becomes 'puppies'.