IRREGULAR PLURALS

Maher
Aug 1
3 min read

Updated: Aug 4

📘 Mastering Irregular Plural Nouns for IELTS Writing and Speaking

When preparing for the IELTS test, students often focus on vocabulary and grammar rules—but irregular plurals are a commonly overlooked problem. Understanding how to use them correctly can boost both your IELTS Writing Task 1 and Task 2 scores, as well as your Speaking band.

At Master English Australia, we work with students every day who struggle with grammar and irregular plural nouns. We are the best IELTS preparation centre in Sydney. This blog will show you how to recognise them, avoid common mistakes, and use them confidently in your IELTS test.

✅ What are irregular plurals?

In English, most plural nouns end in -s (e.g. book → books, teacher → teachers). But irregular plurals don’t follow this rule. These are nouns that change form completely—or not at all.

Singular	Plural	Notes
man	men	vowel change
woman	women	pronounced /ˈwɪmɪn/
child	children	adds -ren
person	people	completely different word
tooth	teeth	vowel change
foot	feet	vowel change
mouse	mice	vowel change
goose	geese	vowel change
ox	oxen	rare -en plural
cactus	cacti	Latin origin
focus	foci	Latin origin
fungus	fungi	Latin origin
analysis	analyses	-is → -es (Greek origin)
crisis	crises	-is → -es
thesis	theses	-is → -es
phenomenon	phenomena	-on → -a
criterion	criteria	-on → -a
index	indices / indexes	indices in maths; indexes in publishing
appendix	appendices	appendixes also accepted in medical contexts
deer	deer	same form
sheep	sheep	same form
fish	fish	same form (or fishes when referring to species)

👉 As you can see, there aren't many of them. Learn these by heart—they often appear in Cambridge IELTS practice books, especially in Writing Task 1 or Reading Passage 2 when describing data or groups of people.

✍️ IELTS Writing Tip:

When writing about data, make sure your noun matches your number:

❌ There are five child in the graph.✅ There are five children in the graph.

This kind of mistake can affect your Grammatical Range and Accuracy score.

💬 IELTS Speaking Tip:

Examiners are listening for correct grammar when you describe people, places, or opinions:

❌ Many person think it is important.✅ Many people think it is important.

These errors lower your Fluency and Coherence as well as Grammar scores.

📚 Practice Task:

“You are organising a children’s activity day at your local community centre…”

📝 Notice the use of children, not childrens. Get used to spotting the plural form in your writing and speaking.

🎓 Learn More with Master English Australia

Our IELTS course Sydney, IELTS course online, and IELTS course Australia-wide options cover common grammar traps like this—step-by-step. Whether you're preparing for IELTS Academic or General Training, our expert teachers help you build real confidence.

✅ Join our morning or evening IELTS preparation classes, or get started with a free consultation today.📍 Located near Town Hall, Sydney CBD💻 Online options available anywhere in Australia.

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