Singular and Plural with Same Forms 

Singular and Plural with Same Forms :



There are some Nouns which are Singular inform and are used in a Plural sense.

1. Cattle - These cattle are mine.
2. Gentry - The landed gentry were once wealthy.
3. People - Nearly all the people have returned home.
4. Swine - Herds of swine lived in the forest.
5. Vermin - These vermin do much harm.

In the above sentences, the singular nouns cattle, gentry, people, swine and vermin are used as plural nouns.

When the noun PEOPLE is used in the sense of nation, the plural is PEOPLES.

Example : Many different peoples live in Europe.

In the above sentence, the noun PEOPLE is used as a group of persons. PEOPLES means many groups of persons belonging to many nations.

There are some Nouns which are either not used at all in the Plural or used in the Plural in some special sense.

1. Abuse - He covered me with abuse without any provocation.
2. Alphabet - He learnt the alphabet before he could read.
3. Folk - The old folk (people) have gone.
4. Furniture - His house is full of good furniture.
5. Information - He gave me all the information he had.
6. Issue - He had no issue (child or children).
7. Offspring - These four children are my offspring.
8. Poetry - He wrote very good poetry (poems).
9. Scenery - This district is full of lovely scenery.

When the noun ABUSE is used in the sense of wrong use, the Plural is ABUSES.

When more than one language is spoken of, the plural of alphabet is alphabets.

When issue means result, its plural is issues.

We also say legal issues, issues of a periodical.

In the sense of relations the plural of folk may be folk or folks.

My own folk mean the old folks at home.

There are some Nouns which have the same form for the Plural as for the Singular.

Names of animals

1. Deer
2. Sheep
3. Fish (but often fishes)
4. Salmon

Nouns of Number

1. Yoke (of oxen)
2. Brace (of birds)
3. Dozen
4. Score (twenty)
5. Hundred
6. Thousand

Nouns of Weight and Money

1. Stone (weight)
2. Hundredweight
3. Pice

Few More Examples :

1. This deer….these deer
2. That sheep….those sheep
3. That fish….those fish
4. That fish….fishes
5. Those salmon
6. Nine brace of birds
7. Four yoke of oxen
8. I bought four dozen mangoes.
9. Very few people reach the age of four score.
10. There are only six hundred students in our school.
11. I bought this car for ten thousand rupees.
12. He weighs ten stone and a half.
13. That box weighs three hundred weight.
14. Three pice

Note : But when OF is used we say….

1. Dozens of mangoes
2. Scores of people
3. Hundreds of women
4. Thousands of rupees

When score means the number of points scored in a match or competition, the plural is scores.

Some Nouns, which take the Plural form at ordinary times, retain the Singular form to express some specific quantity or number.

1. A ten-rupee note
2. A twelvemonth
3. A three-foot rule
4. An eight-day clock
5. A six-year-old horse
6. A fortnight (which is a contraction of fourteen nights)
7. Forty head of cattle
8. Twelve kilogram weight

RELATED PAGES :

1. Double Plurals
   
2. Foreign Plurals
   
3. Singulars and Plurals of Latin Origin
   
4. Singulars and Plurals of Greek Origin
   
5. Singulars and Plurals of Italian Origin
   
6. Singulars and Plurals of French Origin
   
7. Singulars and Plurals of Hebrew Origin
   
8. Singular but Plural
   
9. Singular and Plural with Same Forms
   
10. Two Forms of Plural
    
11. Plurals with Two Meanings
    
12. Plural Nouns
    

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