Nouns and Number



Nouns and Number :



Nouns can be singular or plural. Only countable nouns can have a plural form. The plural of the nouns can be formed in various ways.

by adding s

  1. car - cars
  2. dog - dogs
  3. nail — nails
  4. hat - hats
  5. window - windows
  6. umbrella – umbrellas
for nouns ending in s, ss, sh, ch, o and x - by adding es

  1. box — boxes
  2. bus — buses
  3. bush - bushes
  4. dress - dresses
  5. match - matches
  6. mosquito – mosquitoes
However, some nouns that end in o take an s in the plural form.

  1. cuckoo - cuckoos
  2. piano — pianos
  3. photo — photos
  4. radio - radios
  5. stereo — stereos
for nouns ending in f or fe - by removing the f or fe and adding ves

  1. knife - knives
  2. leaf — leaves
  3. thief — thieves
  4. wife – wives
However some nouns ending in f take an s in the plural form.

  1. chief - chiefs
  2. gulf -gulfs
  3. proof - proofs
  4. roof – roofs
  5. (but hoof - hooves)
for nouns ending in y - by removing the y and adding ies

  1. baby - babies
  2. lady - ladies
  3. pony - ponies
However, words like day, boy, key, monkey and donkey take an s.

  1. boy - boys
  2. day — days
  3. donkey - donkeys
  4. key - keys
  5. monkey — monkeys
Some nouns change their complete form in the plural.

  1. child - children
  2. foot - feet
  3. goose - geese
  4. man - men
  5. woman — women
  6. louse - lice
  7. mouse - mice
  8. tooth — teeth
  9. (but house - houses)
In compound nouns or nouns that are made up of two words, the main word changes to the plural.

  1. fountain pen - fountain pens
  2. passer-by - passers-by
  3. water bottle — water bottles
  4. grown-up — grown-ups
  5. daughter-in-law — daughters-in-law
  6. runner-up — runners-up
  7. commander-in-chief - commanders-in-chief
Some nouns remain the same in the plural.

  1. sheep—sheep
  2. articles of dress - shoes, socks, jeans, trousers
  3. tools - scissors, pliers, tongs
  4. subjects - Civics, Mathematics, Physics, Economics
  5. diseases - mumps, measles
  6. sports - billiards, athletics, gymnastics
  7. other nouns - innings, wages, news, spectacles
Some nouns remain the same in the plural form if they are used to denote many of the same kind, but change if they are used to denote many of different species.

  1. one fish - many fish (if they are all of the same species)
  2. one fish — many fishes (if they belong to different species)
  3. grass — grass (an uncountable noun, hence does not change in the plural form, if the grass is of the same kind)
  4. grass - grasses (if the grasses are of various kinds)
  5. one fruit - many fruit (if they are all of the same kind)
  6. one fruit - many fruits (if they belong to different kinds)


RELATED PAGES :



  1. The Noun
  2. Kinds of Nouns
  3. Kinds of Nouns in English
  4. Types of Nouns in English
  5. Correct Usage of Nouns
  6. Classification of Nouns
  7. Proper Nouns
  8. Common Nouns
  9. Abstract Nouns
  10. Collective Nouns
  11. Nouns of Multitude
  12. Material Nouns
  13. Compound Nouns
  14. Concrete Nouns
  15. Countable Nouns
  16. Uncountable Nouns
  17. Count Nouns
  18. Mass Nouns
  19. Pronouns
  20. Abstract Nouns formed from Adjectives
  21. Abstract Nouns formed from Common Nouns
  22. Abstract Nouns formed from Verbs
  23. Abstract Nouns of the same form as Verbs
  24. Absolute Phrases
  25. Noun and Gender
  26. Nouns and Gender
  27. Masculine Nouns and Feminine Nouns
  28. Masculine Nouns
  29. Feminine Nouns
  30. Ways of forming the feminine of nouns
  31. Exceptional Masculine Nouns and Feminine Nouns
  32. Exceptional Feminine Nouns
  33. Foreign Feminine Nouns
  34. Nouns in Common Gender
  35. Common Gender Nouns
  36. Neuter Pronouns
  37. Neuter Gender Nouns
  38. Gender of Personified Things
  39. Noun and Case
  40. Kinds of Cases in English
  41. Noun and Number
  42. Singular and Plural
  43. Singular Nouns and Plural Nouns
  44. Ways of forming plurals
  45. Formation of Plurals
  46. Compound Nouns and Plurals
  47. Noun Infinitive
  48. Noun to Verb
  49. The Noun


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