Singular and Plural Nouns
Singular and plural nouns – There are two forms of nouns: singular and plural . A singular noun is used to refer to just one person, animal, thing or place. For two or more people, animals, places, or things, a plural noun is used. To make a regular noun plural, we add an –s or – es to the end (camel/camels, map/maps; echo/echoes) of the noun. A plural irregular noun has a different ending (hoof/hooves) or spelt differently from the singular noun (tooth/teeth).
Common endings of plural nouns:
| Singular | Plural | How the plural is formed |
|---|---|---|
| daughter | daughters | Add –s |
| class | classes | Add –es to nouns ending –s |
| brush | brushes | Add –es to nouns ending –sh |
| watch | watches | Add –es to nouns ending –ch |
| box | boxes | Add –es to nouns ending –x |
| potato | potatoes | Add –es to nouns ending –o |
| piano | pianos | Add –s to nouns ending –o |
| baby | babies | Change –y to – ies |
| key | keys | Add –s to some nouns ending –y |
| leaf | leaves | Change –f to – ves |
| knife | knives | Change –fe to – ves |
| roof | roofs | Add –s to some nouns ending –f |
| safe | safes | Add –s to some nouns ending –fe |
| tooth | teeth | Change vowels |
| ox | oxen | Add –en |
| child | children | Add –ren |
| deer | deer | Some nouns have same singular and plural |
(For more on singular and plural nouns, see List 1)
There are nouns that are always plural.
Plural verbs must follow these nouns.
- Jeans, knickers, pants, pyjamas, shorts, tights, trousers, stockings and underpants
- Pincers, pliers, scissors, shears, tongs
- Clogs, sandals, slippers, shoes, and sneakers
- Glasses (spectacles), binoculars, goggles
- arms, belongings, chopsticks, clothes, congratulations, contents, customs, earnings, goods, outskirts, remains, steps, surroundings, thanks, troops, tropics, wages, wits
Examples:
- These trousers I am wearing are handed down from my grandfather.
- Pliers are a handy tool.
- My garden shears trim the hedge very well.
- My glasses are used only for reading.
A pair of can be used with the above plural nouns to make them singular and take a singular verb.
Examples:
- This pair of purple trousers do not match your yellow jacket.
- This set of kitchen knives belongs to me.
- A new pair of stainless steel scissors is what I need.
Examples:
- Clothes: My clothes need to be washed.
- Earnings: Earnings in the agricultural sector have increased by 5% in the fourth quarter.
- Cattle: Cattle are grazing all over the field.
- Police: Police are charging him with the murder of the princess.
- People: People in general are not very approachable. ( Peoples when used in the plural (i.e. with '–s') refers to peoples from more than one race or nation, e.g. the peoples of Asia)
- Football team: Liverpool are a very successful football team. (But Liverpool is a great city.)
Nouns which are plural in form but take a singular verb
The following plural nouns are used with a singular verb as they are treated as singular:
Acoustics, athletics, economics, gymnastics, linguistics, mathematics, mechanics, news, numismatics, measles, mumps, physics, politics, pyrotechnics and statistics.
Examples:
- Economics: Economics was my favorite subject at school.
- Gymnastics in her college involves exercises on bars, beam, floor, and vaulting horse.
- News – The good news is that we have all been invited.
- Diseases such as mumps, measles, etc: An infectious illness, mumps was common among children.
Measurements and amounts that are considered as a single unit:
Examples:
- One hundred years is a century.
- One thousand years is a millennium .
- Ten kilometers is 6.2 miles.
- Twenty dollars is not enough to buy a good shirt..
- Seven days in prison is all he got for shoplifting.