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 | By adding –s |
class | classes | By adding –es to nouns ending –s |
brush | brushes | By adding –es to nouns ending –sh |
watch | watches | By adding –es to nouns ending –ch |
box | boxes | By adding –es to nouns ending –x |
potato | potatoes | By adding –es to nouns ending –o |
piano | pianos | By adding –s to nouns ending –o |
baby | babies | By changing –y to – ies |
key | keys | By adding –s to some nouns ending –y |
leaf | leaves | By changing –f to – ves |
knife | knives | By changing –fe to – ves |
roof | roofs | By adding –s to some nouns ending –f |
safe | safes | By adding –s to some nouns ending –fe |
tooth | teeth | By changing vowels |
ox | oxen | By adding –en |
child | children | By adding –ren |
deer | deer | Some nouns have same singular and plural |
(For more on singular and plural nouns, see List 1
arms, belongings, chopsticks, clothes, congratulations, contents, customs, earnings, goods, outskirts, remains, steps, surroundings, thanks, troops, tropics, wages, wits
Examples:
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These trousers I am wearing are handed down from my grandfather.
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Pliers are a handy tool.
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My garden shears trim the hedge very well.
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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:
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This pair of purple trousers does not
match your yellow jacket.. -
This set of kitchen knives belongs to me.
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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.)
Examples:
- Economics: Economics was my favourite 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.
Examples:
-
One hundred years is a century.
One hundred years is a century. -
Ten kilometres is
-
Twenty dollars is not enough to buy a good shirt.
. -
Seven days in prison is all he got for shoplifting.