This ESL/ESL handout uses the topic of Spanish Cities to explain the use of plural nouns with the verb Be.

1. ESL Helpful Handouts Page 1 of 2
Spanish Cities
Plural Nouns With Be
Madrid Granada Seville
Plural means more than one.
Cities are large towns.
Cities are large towns. cities = plural noun; towns = plural noun
Cities is the subject of this sentence. It is
followed by the plural form of the verb.
are = plural form of be; is = singular form of be
Some nouns that end in y drop the y and add ies
to become plural.
Madrid and Granada are cities.
Madrid and Granada are cities.
city = singular noun; cities = plural noun
Two or more nouns make the subject of a
sentence plural. These nouns are followed by a
plural verb.
Granada and Seville are cities in Spain.
Granada and Seville are cities in Spain.
Granada and Seville = plural subject
are = plural form of be ; is = singular form of be
This free handout is available at http://sites.google.com/site/eslhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson. Photos: B. Watson

2. ESL Helpful Handouts Page 2 of 2
Spanish Cities
Plural Nouns With Be
Use the words in the box to fill in the blanks.
and are cities city countries country is towns
1. Barcelona and Valencia are large _______________ in Spain.
2. _______________ are large.
3. _______________ are smaller than cities.
4. Seville and Bilbao _______________ cities.
5. Santander _______________ San Sebastian are towns in northern Spain.
6. Pamplona and Bermeo are small _______________ .
7. Madrid is the capital _______________ of Spain.
8. Toledo _______________ a town south of Madrid.
9. Marbella _______________ Alicante _______________ near the ocean.
10. Madrid _______________ Barcelona _______________ large _______________.
11. Spain _______________ a country.
12. Spain and Portugal are _______________.
Valencia
This free handout is available at http://sites.google.com/site/eslhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson. Photos: B. Watson