Grammar: Singular & plural Nouns
A noun is termed as singular if it
refers to one person or thing, and it is termed as plural if it refers to more than one
person or thing.
Add ‘-s’ at the end of the
most of the regular nouns to make them plural.
- boat→ boats
- cat → cats
- house → houses
- chair → chairs
- egg→ eggs
- cook→ cocks
- actor→ actors
- teacher →teachers
- month→ months
- building→ buildings
- shop → shops
- friend → friends
- pen → pens
- name → names
- girl→ girls
- book → books
- train → trains
- window- windows
- desk → desks
- month → months
- apple→ apples
Rule No. 2
Add ‘-es’ to
words/nouns ending in ‘ch’, ‘sh’, ‘s’,
‘ss’, ‘x’ or ‘z’ to make the plural.
- gas→ gases
- truss → trusses
- bench→ benches
- bus → buses
- branch → branches
- match→ matches
- marsh → marshes
- quiz→ quizzes
- kiss→ kisses
- bush→ bushes
- glass→ glasses
- dish→ dishes
- lunch → lunches
- tax → taxes
- Index→ indexes/ indices
- glass→ glasses
- ass→ asses
- lunch→ lunches
- marsh→ marshes
- blitz → blitzes
- ostrich→ ostriches
- fox → foxes
- appendix→ appendices, appendixes
- bunch → bunches
- dish → dishes
- loss → losses
- bus → buses
- church → churches
- cross → crosses
- waltz → waltzes
- wish → wishes
- beach → beaches
- one box→ many boxes
Note: Some nouns ending in ‘s’ or ‘z’ doubled
with adding ‘-es’ to make plural
- fez → fezzes
- gas →gasses
Rule
No. 3
Change
nouns ending ‘-f’ or ‘-fe’ into ‘-ve’ and add ‘-s’ to form them plural.
- wife →wives
- wolf → wolves
- knife→ knives
- elf→ elves
- self→ selves
- thief → thieves
- half → halves
- hoof → hooves
- leaf → leaves
- life → lives
- scarf- scarves
Exceptional
Case: (+ ‘s’) cliff→ cliffs, dwarf→ dwarfs, handkerchief→ handkerchiefs, roof
→ roofs, belief → beliefs, chief → chiefs, dwarf→ dwarfs, proof→ proofs etc.
Rule
No. 4
Change
nouns ending ‘y’ and before it a consonant into ‘-ies’ and nouns ending ‘y’ and
before a vowel adding ‘-s’ to make them plural.
- puppy → puppies
- reply → replies
- fly→ flies
- lady → ladies
- pony → ponies
- baby- babies
- family → families
- city → cities
- berry → berries
- copy→ copies
- library→ libraries
- baby → babies
- country→ countries
- fary→ faries
- ray→ rays
- boy→ boys
- toy→ toys
- way→ ways
- play → plays
- story→ stories
- guy → guys
- essay- essays
- key → keys
- delay → delays
- day → days
- boy → boys
- donkey → donkeys
- employ→ employs
- storey→ storeys
- stay→ stays
- joy→ joys
- potato → potatoes
- tomato→ tomatoes
- mosquito→ mosquitoes
- negro→ negroes
- volcano- volcanoes/volcanos
- flamingo → flamingoes
- echo → echoes
- hero→ heroes
- cargo →cargoes
- buffalo→ buffaloes
- mango → mangoes
Exceptional cases:
- photo → photos
- kilo→ kilos
- piano→ pianos
- halo → halos
- banjo→ banjos
- canto→ cantos
- stereo→ stereos
- solo→ solos
- radio→ radios
- Eskimo→ Eskimos
- portfolio→ portfolios
Rule No. 6
Change nouns ending ‘-us’ into ‘-i’
to make them plural.
- cactus → cacti
- focus → foci/ focuses
- fungus → fungi
- nucleus→ nuclei
- radius→
radii, radiuses
- syllabus→ syllabi, syllabuses
Rule No. 7
Change nouns ending ‘is’ into
‘-es’to make them plural.
- analysis→ analyses
- ellipsis→ ellipses
- axis→
axes
-
basis→
bases
-
crisis→
crises
- thesis→ theses
Rule No. 8
Change nouns ending ‘on’ into ‘-a’
to make them plural.
- criterion→ criteria
- phenomenon→ phenomena
Rule No. 9
Nouns having same singular and plural forms:
- series→ series
- deer→ deer
- sheep→ sheep
- series→ series
- species→ species
- fish→ fish
- tuna→ tuna (salt water fish)
- moose→ moose (a large deer with palmate antlers)
Rule No. 10
Some nouns always used in plural
are:
- Shorts
- Tongs
- Jeans
- Pajamas
- Spectacles
- Trousers
- Scissors
- Binoculars
(These nouns contain two parts in
themselves.)
Some others are: savings, valuables,
arms, stairs etc.
Rule No. 11
Add ‘-s’ to the nouns ending with
double vowels.
- tree→ trees
- zoo→ zoos
- bee→ bees
- bamboo→ bamboos
Rule No. 12
Add ‘-s’ to the principal word to make plural
to compound nouns.
- Step-son → step-sons
- Brother-in-law→ brothers-in-law
- Father-in-law→ fathers-in-law
- Pea-cock→ pea-cocks
- Passer-by→ passers-by
- Travel-agent→ travel-agents
- Father-in-law→ fathers-in-law
- Sister-in-law→ sisters-in-law
- Lady-in-waiting→ ladies in waiting
- Hanger-on→ hangers-on
- Fountain pen→ fountain-pens
- Boyfriend→ boyfriends
- Maid-servant→ maid-servants
- Poet-laureate→ poet-laureates
- Step-son→ step-sons
- Assistant director→ assistant directors
- Lieutenant-governor→ lieutenant governors
Rule No. 13
Complete different form of Singular
and Plural nouns.
- man→ men
- woman→ women
- child→ children
- goose→ geese
- tooth→ teeth
- foot→ feet
- mouse→ mice
- louse→ lice
- person→ people/persons
- alumnus
→
alumni
-
agendum→
agenda
- gymnasium→
gymnasia
-
memorandum→ memoranda
-
formula→
formulae, formulas
-
criterion→ criteria
-
curriculum→ curricula
-
datum→ data
-
ellipse→
ellipses
Rule No. 14
Some Collective Nouns look singular
but they are used as Plural.
- Cattle
- People
- Jury
- Team
- Poultry
- Vermin
- Family etc.
Some nouns look Plural but they are
used as Singular.
- Mathematics
- Economics
- Politics
- Physics
- Ethics
- Acoustics
- Rickets (disease)
- Mumps (disease)
- Billiards (game)
- Darts (game)
- Bowls (game)
Any Queries...?
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