Tag: Plural

Countable Nouns

Nouns that represent things or entities that can be counted are called countable nouns. Examples include persons, pen, pencils, etc. These nouns can be grouped into plurals or singulars.

What are Plural Nouns and Singular Nouns?

Singular nouns are those nouns which denote a single person, place, or thing. For example, boy, girl, tree, city, brush, teacher, etc.

Plural nouns are those which denote more than one person, place, or thing. For example, boys, girls, trees, cities, brushes, teachers, etc.

Rules of Forming Plurals

In english only two numbers exists-singular and plural. Every singular noun has its plural form that may or may not be alike.  There are some rules to form plurals from singular nouns. These are as follows:

Rule 1: Plural nouns can be formed by adding -s to their singular form. 

Singular	Plural
Boy	Boys
Cow	Cows
Pencil	Pencils
Bag	Bags

Rule 2: Plurals of the nouns ending with -x, -s, -sh, or-ch are formed by adding -es to their singular forms.

Singular	Plural
Box	Boxes
Bus	Buses
Branch	Branches
Brush	Brushes

Rule 3: Plurals of nouns that end in -o are formed are mostly formed by adding -es to their singular forms. However, some plurals are formed by adding -s.

Singular	Plural
Potato	Potatoes
Mango	Mangoes
Photo	Photos
Logo	Logos

Rule 4: Plurals of nouns that end in -y preceded by a consonant are formed by replacing -y with -ies. 

Singular	Plural
City	Cities
Deity	Deities
Franky	Frankies
Army	Armies

Rule 5: Plurals of nouns that end in -f or -fe  are formed by replacing -f or -fe with -ves.

Singular	Plural
Half	Halves
Knife	Knives
Life	Lives
Calf	Calves

Exception: Some nouns ending with -f or -fe can be converted into plural by adding -s.

Singular	Plural
Chief	Chiefs
Safe	Safes
Cliff	Cliffs
Proof	Proofs

Rule 6: Plurals of some noun are formed by changing an internal vowel. 

Singular	Plural
Man	Men
Woman	Women
Tooth	Teeth
Mouse	Mice

Rule 7: Some plurals are exactly same as their singular forms. For example, dozen, score, sheep,gross, etc.

Rule 8: Some plurals are formed by adding -en to their singular forms.

Singular	Plural
Ox	Oxen
Child	Children

Rule9: Some nouns that are taken from a different language have a completely unique or original plural forms. They aren’t derived.

Singular	Plural
Radius	Radii
Bacterium	Bacteria
Memorandum	Memorandum
Axis	Axes

Rule 10: Compound nouns are formed into plurals by adding -s to the principal word.

Singular	Plural
Son-in-law	Sons-in-law
Commander-in-chief	Commanders-in chief
Step-daughter	Step-daughters
Passer by	Passers by

Some Interesting Facts About Singular and Plural Nouns

• Some nouns are always used in plural. For example, bellows, tongs, scissors, spectacles, pincers, trousers, jeans, drawers, etc.
• Some nouns are now used as plurals are actually singular. For example, alms, riches, etc.
• Some nouns look plural but they are singular. For example, mathematics, physics, news, rickets, mumps, billiards, etc.
• Some nouns are are used as singular but always represent more than one. For example, money, wealth, etc.
• Some collective nouns are always used as plurals. For example, poultry, cattle,people, etc.
• Some nouns has two different plural forms with different meaning. For example, Brother has two plural forms, brothers and brethren. Brothers is used when one denotes sons of same parents. Brethren denotes members of same group, society, or nation.
• Some nouns have different meanings in singular and plural form. For example, advice means counsel wherein advices means information.
• Some uncountables can become countable when formed into plurals. For example kindness is an abstract noun and cannot be counted but when we write kindnesses, we mean to say acts of kindness. Similarly when we say tin we mean a single metal but when we say tins it means boxes or cans made up of tin.

Frequently Asked Questions

1.What is the plural form of fish, sheep, scissors?

Ans: Plurals of fish-fishes/fish, sheep-sheep, scissor-scissors.

2.‘Bouquet’ should use is or are as helping verb?

Ans: A bouquet of flowers denotes a single collection of flowers. It will be hence treated as a unit and will be followed by singular verb.

Definition

A noun is the name of any person, place, thing, quality, or group. For example, Ryan, Shivani, Delhi, New York, kindness, etc.

Types of Noun

Nouns can be classified broadly into five types: proper nouns, common nouns, collective nouns, material nouns, and abstract nouns. Let us discuss these types in detail further.

Proper Nouns

A name given to a particular person, place, or thing is a proper noun. Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter.

Examples: 

• His name is Karan. (name of individual)
• This is my rabbit, Bunny. (name of a pet)
• Sridhar just returned from Delhi. (name of the place)

Common Nouns

A generic name given to a place, person, or material is a common noun. These do not begin with a capital letter unless they are used to begin a sentence.

Examples:

• I had some blue pens. (Common object). 
• He has always lived in cities. ( Common place).
• Only ten students are there in the class. (Common group). 
• The gas cylinder is exhausted. (Common items).

Collective Nouns 

A name given to a group of individuals or objects is a collective noun. These do not begin with a capital letter if they are not the first word of a sentence.

Collective Names for a group of Animals 

• A troop of monkeys.
• A swarm of bees
• A school of fish.

Collective Nouns for a group of Individuals

• An orchestra of musicians.
• A jury of judges. 
• A class of students.

Collective Nouns for a set of Items/Things

• A pair of shoes.
• A bunch of keys.
• A bouquet of flowers.

Abstract Nouns 

 Abstract nouns are names of emotions, ideas, feelings, states of mind, actions, and qualities. You cannot hold or touch them as they are not physical.

Examples:

• Honesty is the best policy.
• Childhood is the most memorable part of one’s life.
• Growth is an important characteristic of living beings.

Material Noun

A word that names a substance that is tangible but cannot be counted is called material noun.

Examples:

• This ring is made up of gold.
• Water is an essential element of life.
• Sugar is missing in the recipe.

Some other Categories of Nouns

Nouns can be classified based on numbers, countability, and gender as well. Let us understand them.

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Names of things or objects that can be counted and can be in numbers are called countable nouns. For example, pen, pencil, ball, page, etc.

Names of things or objects that cannot be counted or in numbers are called uncountable nouns. For example, milk, water, gold, etc.

Singular and Plural Nouns

Nouns that represent a single person/ object/entity are called singular nouns. For example, boy, city, flower, school, brush, etc.

Nouns that represent more than one person/ object/entity are called plural nouns. For example, boys, cities, flowers, schools, brushes, et

Gender Nouns (Masculine, Feminine, Neuter, and Common)

Nouns that name the males of a given species are called masculine nouns. For example, boy, man, horse, etc.

Nouns that name the females of a given species are called feminine nouns. For example, girl, woman, mare, etc.

Nouns that name lifeless objects are called neuter nouns. For example, book, pen, notebook, etc.

Nouns that denote either a male or a female belong to the common gender. For example, child, human, etc.

Do you Know?

• Some nouns have the same singular and plural forms. For example, fish, sheep, deer, etc.
• Some nouns are always plural. For example, pants, scissors, etc.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is a Noun Clause?

A noun clause is a group of words that functions as a noun in a sentence. It can serve as a subject or the object of the verb. For example, consider the following sentence: I hope that I shall be there in time.  In this statement, ‘I shall be there in time’ functions as the object of the verb ‘hope’. 

2. How does a Noun Phrase Differ from a Noun Clause?

A phrase is a group of words in a sentence that does not make complete sense. A noun phrase is a phrase that acts as a noun and functions as the subject or object of the verb. Whereas a noun clause in turn is a group word that contains a subject as well as a predicate, makes complete sense, and functions as a noun. 

3. What are Mass Nouns?

Nouns that name a substance that cannot be counted at all are called mass nouns. For example, rice, sand, milk, etc. These nouns are quantified by using prefixes such as some, a little, etc.