Which of the following word does not take 'ies' to form a plural ?

Question

Accepted Answer

Option 2, "valley," is the correct answer because it does not take 'ies' to form its plural. Instead, the plural of "valley" is formed by simply adding an 's' at the end, resulting in "valleys." This is because "valley" ends with a vowel followed by 'y,' and in English, nouns that end in a vowel followed by 'y' typically form their plurals by adding 's.'

Now, let's examine why the other options are incorrect:

1. **Family**: The word "family" ends with a consonant followed by 'y.' In English, when a noun ends with a consonant followed by 'y,' the 'y' is usually replaced with 'ies' to form the plural. Therefore, the plural of "family" is "families."

3. **Responsibility**: Similar to "family," the word "responsibility" ends with a consonant followed by 'y.' Following the same rule, the 'y' is replaced with 'ies' to form the plural, resulting in "responsibilities."

4. **Beauty**: The word "beauty" also ends with a consonant followed by 'y.' According to the rule, the plural is formed by replacing 'y' with 'ies,' making it "beauties."

In summary, Option 2, "valley," is the correct choice because it uniquely follows the rule of adding 's' to form its plural, unlike the other options that require changing 'y' to 'ies.'