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What is the plural of the word 'City'?
A. Citys
B. Cities
C. Cityes
D. Citie
Correct Answer Is Option = Cities
Notes / Explanation
The plural of the word city is cities, and this is an example of a regular rule in English for forming the plural of words that end in the letter y, a rule that is important for anyone studying English for competitive examinations. In English, most nouns form their plural by adding the letter s to the singular form, so that one book becomes two books. However, there is a special rule for words that end in the letter y when the y comes after a consonant, that is, after one of the letters that is not a vowel. For such words, the plural is formed not by simply adding s, but by changing the y to i and then adding the letters es. The word city ends in y, and the y comes after the letter t, which is a consonant, so that the plural is formed by changing the y to i and adding es, giving cities. This same rule applies to many other words that end in y after a consonant, such as the word baby, which becomes babies, the word lady, which becomes ladies, the word country, which becomes countries, and the word story, which becomes stories, all of which change the y to i and add es to form the plural. It is important to note that this rule applies only when the y comes after a consonant; when the y comes after a vowel, the plural is formed in the ordinary way by simply adding s, so that the word boy becomes boys and the word key becomes keys, without changing the y. Understanding this rule and when it applies is helpful for forming and spelling plurals correctly. A common mistake is to simply add s to a word ending in y after a consonant, producing an incorrect form such as citys instead of cities. Learning the rules for forming plurals, including this rule for words ending in y, is an important part of using English correctly. For PPSC and other competitive examinations, the key points to remember are that the plural of city is cities, that for words ending in the letter y after a consonant the plural is formed by changing the y to i and adding es, that this rule applies to many words such as baby becoming babies and country becoming countries, and that when the y comes after a vowel the plural is formed by simply adding s, as in boy becoming boys.
