asked 16.9k views
3 votes
Which of the following words requires dropping the ending and adding ies to make it plural? (5 points)

Stray
Ability
Journey
Cowboy

asked
User Ryanday
by
7.8k points

2 Answers

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

answered
User Meyer Denney
by
7.9k points
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."

answered
User Amir Alagic
by
8.3k points