The exact plural form of the sentence "The lady is carrying the baby" is "The ladies are carrying the babies."
Understanding how to transform a singular sentence into its plural counterpart involves correctly pluralizing all nouns and ensuring that the verb agrees with the new plural subject. This process adheres to fundamental English grammar rules for noun pluralization and subject-verb agreement.
Pluralizing Nouns and Verbs
To achieve the plural form, two key elements of the original sentence must be modified: the nouns and the verb.
- Nouns: The nouns "lady" and "baby" need to be converted into their plural forms. Both of these nouns follow a common pluralization rule for words ending in 'y' preceded by a consonant.
- Lady becomes ladies (drop 'y', add 'ies').
- Baby becomes babies (drop 'y', add 'ies').
- Verb: The verb phrase "is carrying" must be adjusted to agree with the new plural subject, "the ladies." Since "is" is the singular form of "to be," it changes to "are" for a plural subject.
- is carrying becomes are carrying.
Detailed Breakdown
Here's a breakdown of how each part of the original sentence transforms:
| Original Sentence Component | Transformation | Plural Form Component |
|---|---|---|
| The lady | Pluralize 'lady' to 'ladies' | The ladies |
| is carrying | Change 'is' to 'are' for plural subject | are carrying |
| the baby | Pluralize 'baby' to 'babies' | the babies |
Key Pluralization Rules for Nouns
Many English nouns form their plural by adding '-s' or '-es', but irregular nouns and those ending in specific letters follow different patterns.
- Nouns Ending in a Consonant + 'y': For nouns like "lady" and "baby," when a consonant precedes the final 'y', the 'y' is dropped, and '-ies' is added.
- Examples: party -> parties, city -> cities, story -> stories.
- Regular Plurals: Most nouns simply add '-s' to form the plural.
- Examples: cat -> cats, book -> books, house -> houses.
- Nouns Ending in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, or -z: Add '-es' to these nouns.
- Examples: bus -> buses, dish -> dishes, watch -> watches.
Verb Agreement in Plural Sentences
Subject-verb agreement is crucial for grammatical correctness. A singular subject requires a singular verb, and a plural subject requires a plural verb. In the given sentence, the original singular subject "lady" uses the singular verb "is." When "lady" becomes "ladies" (plural), the verb "is" must change to "are" (plural) to maintain agreement. The continuous aspect ("carrying") remains unchanged.
Example:
- Original (Singular): The lady is carrying the baby.
- Plural Form: The ladies are carrying the babies.
