Which plural noun is an unmarked form?

• A. Mice
• B. Students
• C. Children
• D. Peoples

Answer: (B)

An unmarked plural is the regular plural form formed by simply adding a suffix to the base word without changing its internal form. It’s the straightforward pattern you learn first, like student → students. That makes the plural form of student the unmarked one here.

The other options involve changes beyond just adding a suffix. Mice is the plural of mouse and changes the vowel inside the word, which is an irregular plural. Children is the plural of child, another irregular change. Peoples is a specialized plural of people used in specific contexts (for example, when referring to multiple distinct groups), and it isn’t the standard, unmarked plural form of the root word.