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Which of the following words requires dropping the ending and adding ies to make it plural? (5 points)

Stray
Ability
Journey
Cowboy

User Ryanday
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2 Answers

5 votes
Ability because all of the others have a vowel before the y.

User Meyer Denney
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5 votes

Answer: Ability.

Step-by-step explanation: When we want to form the plural of a word that ends in "y" there are two possibilities: if the letter before the "y" is a vowel, then we form the plural by only adding an "s" at the end, for example "boy" has an "o" before the "y" so the plural is "boys." If the word has a consonant before the "y" then we replace the "y" with "ies" for example "baby" has a "b" before the "y" so the plural is "babies." In the given words, the one that has a consonant before the "y" is "ability" which plural form is "abilities."

User Amir Alagic
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