Is the word were singular or plural

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What is singular noun?

The singular nouns are words that only refer to one person or thing. They can be used as a subject, direct object, indirect object, predicate nominative, or appositive.

For example: “I went to the store.” This sentence is about the speaker and their experience at the store. It’s also possible for a singular noun to be an appositive such as in this sentence: “Tina was wearing her best dress.”

Here, Tina is being described by what she was wearing which is called an appositive.

What is plural noun?

Plural nouns are words that refer to more than one person, place or thing. They are often used in sentences where we want to talk about a group of people, animals, or things.

Let’s take the sentence “I am teaching a class this semester.” We can change it around and say “The students have been working hard all semester long.” In the first sentence, “class” is singular and in the second sentence, “students” is plural. That means you need to use a proper noun (singular or plural) according to the situation.

It may not seem like much of a difference at first but it will make your writing sound awkward if you don’t get it right! The best way is to learn the rules of plural nouns.

We’ll break down the rules so you’ll never get your plural nouns wrong again.

Rule-1

We add ‘-s’ to the end of regular nouns to make them plurals. For examples,

Singular	Plural
Chair	Chairs
Table	Tables
Pencil	Pencils
Book	Books
Cat	Cats

Rule-2

In some cases, we add suffix “-es” to the nouns ending in “o”. See examples below.

Examples

Singular	Plural
Tomato	Tomatoes
Potato	Potatoes
Mosquito	Mosquitoes
Echo	Echoes
Zero	Zeroes

Rule-3

In some Latin or Greek words (foreign words) ending in “-o”, we add suffix ‘-s’. For example,

Singular	Plural
Avocado	Avocados
Photo	Photos
Video	Videos
Studio	Studios
Radio	Radios

Rule-4

When singular noun ends in ‘-us’, we replace ‘-us’ with ‘-i’. Examples are,

Singular	Plural
Cactus	Cacti
Fungus	Fungi
Focus	Foci
Nucleus	Nuclei

Rule-5

In singular noun ending on ‘-y’ (when the letter before -y is vowel), we add ‘-s’ to the end to make the noun plural, for example,

Singular	Plural
Boy	Boys
Alloy	Alloys
Day	Days
Ray	Rays
Guy	Guys

Rule-6

In singular noun ending on ‘-y’ (when the letter before -y is consonant), we replace ‘-y’ with ‘-ies’ to make the noun plural, for example

Singular	Plural
Lady	Ladies
City	Cities
Spy	Spies
Penny	Pennies
Army	Armies

Rule-7

In some cases, the singular nouns ending in ‘-s’ or ‘-z’, the last letter is doubled plus we add ‘-es’ to the end. See the examples,

Singular	Plural
Gas	Gasses
Quiz	Quizzes
Fez	Fezzes

Rule-8

In many cases, the singular noun ending in ‘-f’ or ‘-fe’, we replace the ‘-f’ or ‘-fe’ with ‘-ves’. For example,

Singular	Plural
Thief	Thieves
Wife	Wives
Loaf	Loaves
Half	Halves
Knife	Knives

There are some exceptions where the rule does not apply, Examples are roof -> roofs, belief -> beliefs, cliff -> cliffs

Rule-9

In case the noun ends in ‘-on’, we replace ‘-on’ with ‘-a’ to make it plural, for example

Singular	Plural
Criterion	Criteria
Phenomenon	Phenomena

Rule-10

In case the singular noun is ending in ‘-is’, to make the noun plural, ‘-is’ is replaced with ‘-es’. For examples

Singular	Plural
Oasis	Oases
Thesis	Theses
Basis	Bases
Crisis	Crises
Diagnosis	Diagnoses

Rule-11

If the nouns ends in ‘-um’, last letters ‘-um’ are replaced with ‘-a’ in plural form. Examples are

Singular	Plural
Datum	Data
Agendum	Agenda
Medium	Media
Bacterium	Bacteria
Memorandum	Memoranda

Rule-12

In some case, the singular noun is ending in ‘-ex’ or ‘-ix’, the plural will end in ‘-ices’ Examples are given below:

Singular	Plural
Matrix	Matrices
Index	Indices
Vertex	Vertices
Codex	Codices

Rule-13

There are several singular nouns which do not follow any of the above rules while making them plural

Singular	Plural
Foot	Feet
Child	Children
Mouse	Mice
Louse	Lice
Man	Men
Woman	Women
Goose	Geese
People	Person
Alumnus	Alumni
Genus	Genera

Rule-14

Many nouns have the same singular and plural form. Fro example, plural nouns for sheep is ‘sheep’. See some more examples.

Singular	Plural
Fish	Fish
Tuna	Tuna
Salmon	Salmon
Deer	Deer
Gross	Gross
Ice	Ice
Species	Species

Rule-15

Some nouns do not have plural forms. Examples are

• Love
• Hatred
• Lust
• Happiness
• Kindness

Types of Plurals

A lot of people don’t know about the types of plural nouns, but it’s important to understand that there are three types of plurals:-

1. Regular Plurals
2. Irregular Plurals
3. Compound Words

The plural noun rule is one of those things that can trip you up when you’re writing sentences

Regular Plurals

Regular plurals end in s or es. For example, bag -> bags, toy -> toys, pen -> pens etc.

Irregular Plurals

Irregular plurals have a different spelling for their endings than they do for singulars. For example ox -> oxen, goose -> geese etc.

Compound Plurals

Compound words are made up of two words put together to make one word. For example, “bookcase” is a compound word with two parts – book and case. To form the plural form of this word, we would simply add an ‘s’ at the end (bookcases).

It’s easy to remember these rules if you think about them like this – just add an ‘es’ for regular plurals and an ‘s’ for irregular ones!

You can read here further: Regular and Irregular Nouns Rules with Examples

Singular Noun Example Sentences

1. Fungus is vicious for human health.
2. I need a knife to cut the apple.
3. There is only one chair in the hall.
4. Runabout is the most popular boat in the United States.
5. Tom has been driving the same car for the last ten years.
6. Do you think life is so easy?
7. I love to eat continental food.
8. Tina bought a new house in a colony near the forest.
9. My room is spacious and well furnished.
10. The chef baked a pie cake for the guests.
11. Do you have a camera to record the action?
12. The cat is sitting on the roof.
13. I avoid junk food because it is unhealthy.
14. They booked a table in the restaurant.
15. The baby is crying with hunger.
16. Do you still listen to radio programs?
17. The rug was so dirty that I had to vacuum it.
18. I can’t believe you left your clothes on the floor!
19. You’re going to have to clean up after yourself if you want dinner tonight.
20. In this game, players are given a singular noun and must use it in a sentence.
21. It’s time to go home now, so I’ll see you later!
22. The most common type of security system is a door alarm that will sound when someone opens your front door.
23. I’m going to a party this weekend.
24. Who is watching television?
25. Our school was founded by a man named John Smith who wanted to create a safe space for children and teenagers who were bullied at their old schools.

Plural Nouns Example Sentences

The plural noun example sentences are often used when you want to refer to a group of people or things.

1. Fungi are vicious for human health.
2. There are fifty chairs in the hall.
3. I avoid oily and high-calorie foods.
4. Pakistan is the largest exporters of footballs all over the world.
5. Jackson has a great collection of coins and stamps.
6. All the friends agreed to spend a day in the jungle camp.
7. There are many ways to whiten teeth naturally.
8. A fleet of boats was sailing in the river.
9. There are 195 countries in the world.
10. Men and women are born with 12 pairs of ribs.
11. She cut the pizza into equal halves.
12. How many subjects have you completed in this syllabus?
13. The costs of the new house are high.
14. It’s important that you know what the words mean and when they can be used.
15. The pencils are sharpened.
16. The students have their assignments due tomorrow.
17. I think both the computers need to be fixed.
18. There is a lot of food for everyone to eat.
19. We’ve been waiting on you guys forever!
20. As a result of the recent increase in crime rates, many people are opting to buy home security systems.
21. These alarms can be easily installed on existing doors with just a few screws and some wiring.
22. You don’t need any special tools or equipment – all you’ll need is an electric drill and some patience.
23. There are three cats in the yard.
24. How many people work for your company?
25. A group of students is waiting at the bus stop 30 minutes before school starts.

Worksheet for Singular and Plural Nouns

Following is a worksheet for singular and plural nouns. Answers are given at the end. Mention against each sentence whether highlighted/bold word is a singular or plural noun.

1. This is my favorite pizza topping because they give me one every time I order one. (singular/plural)
2. The sun is shining. (singular/plural)
3. My mom’s favorite color is red. (singular/plural)
4. A house has four walls, a roof, and a door. (singular/plural)
5. Cars are typically rectangular in shape with sharp corners and flat surfaces. (singular/plural)
6. A dog has fur on its back legs to keep it warm during winter months. (singular/plural)
7. The cat is under the table. (singular/plural)
8. My phone is on my desk. (singular/plural)
9. The apple fell from the tree and landed in a pile of leaves. (singular/plural)
10. I need to go back to my house because I left my wallet there. (singular/plural)
11. That’s an interesting idea, but it won’t work for me. (singular/plural)
12. I have two hands and five fingers. (singular/plural)
13. You should come over to my place sometime, we’ll have fun together. (singular/plural)
14. The books are on the desk. (singular/plural)
15. Three dogs were playing outside. (singular/plural)

Pin

Answers

1. Singular Noun
2. Singular Noun
3. Singular Noun
4. Singular Noun
5. Plural Noun
6. Singular Noun
7. Singular Noun
8. Singular Noun
9. Singular Noun
10. Singular Noun
11. Singular Noun
12. Plural Noun
13. Singular Noun
14. Plural Noun
15. Plural Noun

Read also

• Singular and Plural Nouns for Kids
• Types of Noun with Examples
• Regular and Irregular Nouns
• Material Nouns
• Abstract Nouns
• Common Nouns
• Proper Nouns
• Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Plural of nouns in English

The plural of nouns in English is not a difficult topic, however, there are also some nuances that need to be paid attention to. Let’s thoroughly analyze all the rules for the formation of the plural in English.

Outline of the article.

Plural formation

All countable nouns in English can be singular or plural. Plural most nouns are formed by adding the ending -s or -es.

book — books, bush — bushes

Plural ending can have different pronunciations.

After voiceless consonants, the ending is pronounced softly [s] — [c]     

hook-hooks

After voiced consonants and vowels, the ending is pronounced voiced [z] — [z]

dog-dogs

After s, z, x, sh, ch, the ending is pronounced [iz] — [of]

boss-bosses, box-boxes

Ending -S or -ES?

Which ending should you choose? It depends on the final letter of the noun.

The ending -ES is added if the noun ends in S, Z, X, SH, CH:

box — boxes, brush — brushes, bench — benches, bus — buses, clutz — klutzes

In other cases, the ending -S is added.

Pay attention to plural formation the following nouns ending in Z, since in these 2 cases the doubling of Z occurs)

Quiz — quizzes (test — tests)

Fez — fezzes (fresco — frescoes)

Plural formation of nouns ending in O

Nouns with the ending O require special attention. They can take both endings. We will add the ending -S in the following cases:

• when the final O is preceded by a vowel

bamboo — bamboos, kangaroo — kangaroos, embryo — embryos, zoo — zoos

Romeo –Romeos, Filipino — Filipinos

• in abbreviations and abbreviated words

photo –photos (short for photograph), pro –pros (short for professional), kilo — kilos (short for kilogram)

• in some borrowed words

piano –pianos, tobacco –tobaccos, concerto –concertos, solo — solos, dynamo –dynamos, tango — tangos, quarto — quartos

In other cases, you need to use the ending -ES:

potato –potatoes, Negro — Negroes, tomato — tomatoes, echo –echoes, embargo — embargoes

There is also a group of nouns ending in O, which can take any of two endings:

cargo — cargos or cargoes, banjo — banjos or banjoes, halo — halos or haloes.

Plural formation of nouns ending in U

If a noun ends in Y, then it takes the ending -ES. In this case, Y goes into I:

Source: http://grammar-tei.com/plural-number/

Plural of nouns in English, rules

The Plural of Nouns in English (The Plural) is formed according to simple rules: in most cases, an ending is added to the base of the noun -Is. For example:

brush — brushes (brushes).

But there are exceptions to words ending in a consonant and -y, the plural form of which is formed by replacing -y on -i and adding an ending -Is. For example:

fly — flies (flies).

Summary table of the rules for the formation of the plural of a noun

Table # 1.

Plural ending rules

Noun ends in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, -z Noun ends in consonant and -y Noun ends in consonant and -o

Rule	Add the ending -es	Change y to i and add -es	Add the ending -es
Examples	bus — buses (buses), watch — watches (clock), box — boxes (boxes)	city — cities (cities), country — countries (country)	tomatoo — tomatoes (tomatoes), potato — potatoes (potatoes), hero — heroes (heroes)

Note: if a noun ends in -o, but this word is a proper name, abbreviation or borrowing, then only the letter is added -s:

Eskimo — Eskimos (Eskimos),
kilo — kilos (kilograms),
tango — tangos (tango).

Pronunciation rules for plural endings

There are some nuances here too. Which? The pronunciation of the ending of the plural depends on the final sound in the singular form (see Table 2 below).

Table 2. Pronunciation of plural endings of nouns Noun ends in a vowel or voiced consonant Noun ends in a voiceless consonant Noun ends in the sounds [ʤ], [ʧ], [ʃ], [s] or [z]

The ending reads like [z]	game — games [geɪm — geɪmz], tree — trees [trɪ: — trɪːz]
The ending reads like [s]	cat — cats [kæt — kæts], clock — clocks [klɒk — klɒks]
The ending reads like [ɪz]	orange — oranges [ˈɒrɪndʒ — ˈɒrɪndʒɪz], vase — vases [va:z — va: zɪz]

Nouns that make a plural not according to the rules

The plurality of nouns in English may not be formed according to the rules. These nouns are the so-called exceptions. Below in the tables I will acquaint you with them in detail.

Table 3. Incorrect plurals Singular Plural Singular Plural

man (man)	men	wolf	wolves
woman (woman)	women	mouse (mouse)	mice
child	children	louse (louse)	face
tooth	teeth	penny (coin in cent)	pence
foot	feet	person	people
goose (goose)	geese	sheep	sheep
ox (bull)	oxen	deer (deer)	deer
leaf	leaves	fish (fish)	fish

Nouns of Latin origin that do not form the plural ending according to the rules

Single number The many number

addendum (addition)	addendum
basis	basis
crisis	crises
criterion	Criteria
curriculum (curriculum)	curricula
datum (given value)	date
erratum (typo)	Wrong
memorandum (memorandum)	memoranda
stadium	stadia
phenomenon	phenomena

Nouns used only in the plural or only in the singular

Uncountable nouns (both real and abstract) are used only in the singular:

• There is no snow on the ground.
• The News was very interesting.

Nouns in the singular in Russian, in the plural in English

clotes (clothes)	funds
manners (manner)	congratulations
goods	remains (remainder)
stairs	customs
regards (wish)	thanks
oats	surroundings
premises (neighborhood)

Source: https://englishforeducation.ru/mnozhestvennoe-chislo-sushhestvitelnyx-v-anglijskom-yazyke.html

Plural in English — exceptions

Good afternoon dear friends!

Surely, you know that English is full of exceptions, in fact, just like Russian. You should not be intimidated by this when studying, all of them are easy to memorize, and many of them even logically. Therefore, today we will talk about the plural in English — exceptions.

The ones to learn

To begin with, let me remind you of the basic rule. In order to form a plural of nouns, you need to add the letter –s to the word. For example, book — books. By the way, remember first the lesson about the case of nouns. It will be useful for you to master new material.

But there are some exception words that defy the general rule. I have already talked about some in the article «Plural rules in English».

Subscribe to the blog, find even more useful articles and rules, and you will also receive as a gift a basic phrasebook in three languages, English, German and French. The main plus is that there is Russian transcription, therefore, even without knowing the language, you can easily master colloquial phrases.

One of the groups that I will tell you about here are those that do not add an ending, but completely change their root. Do not be surprised, and such words are present in Russian. In the singular we say a child, and if three, then there are already three children. I offer a list of such words of exceptions in English in the table:

Russian word	The only thing	Multiple
Louse	lose	face
Mouse	mouse	mice
Dice	the	says
Bull	ox	oxen
Ребенок	child	children
Human	person	people
Penny	penny	pence

Exception words do not change according to the general rule

There are groups of words that change, but not as a general rule.

Sole	soccer	feet
Tooth	tooth	teeth
Goose	goose	geese
Man	Mon	men
Woman	woman	women

Examples of exceptions

A group of nouns that ends in –f or –fe replace f with v and add –es. What about complex nouns?
I propose to get acquainted with them in the table:

Нож	kni-fe	knives
Life	Life	lives
Woman	wife	wives
Calf	calf	bald
Sheet	leaf	leaves

Another group of nouns is one that sounds exactly the same in both singular and plural. For example, Old McDonald has got one sheep on his farm.

Old McDonald has got three sheep on his farm. As you noticed, in both examples, the word sheep is the same. This group also includes: fish (fish), deer (deer), moose (elk), swine (boar), buffalo (buffalo), shrimp (shrimp), trout (trout).

Did you repeat our last lesson on intonation in English?

Nouns that don’t change

As always, in order to assimilate a new topic more effectively, I suggest doing the following exercise.

Consider if the word in parentheses is an exception and put it in the plural.

1. Sam has got three (fish) in his aquarium.
   For example, Sam has got three fish in his aquarium. The word fish is an exception.
2. Molly drew five (deer) on her Christmas card.
3. Kevin picked up two (leaf) from the ground.
4. Ashley has got two (brother).
5. I’ve bought ten (potato) from the market.
6. Can you take some (photo) of me?
7. Sam doesn’t (onion).
8. There were seven (children) playing in the garden).
9. How many (tomato) would you?
10. My (foot) are frozen.

If you want to get more interesting and motivating information on how to learn English, subscribe to the Viva Europe blog. Also, you will find tips and interesting facts about travel to different countries.

I was with you, a philologist of the English language, Ekaterina Martynova.
I wish you all a good day!

Source: https://vivaeurope.ru/languages/english/mnozchislo

Plural Nouns

Exercises on the topic:
Intermediate lesson «form plural nouns»

In general, plural nouns in English formed by adding an ending — (e) s:

dog — dogs (dog — dogs)
book — books (book — books)
tree — trees (tree — trees)
box — boxes (box — boxes)
boy — boys (boy — boys)

However, there are several dozen nouns, the plural form of which is formed in a slightly different way.

Some nouns in English can only be singular or only plural. Also, some English nouns have identical plural and singular forms.

The rules for forming the plural of such nouns will be discussed below.

Pluralization of nouns in English

Most English nouns can be singular or plural. Further, the basic rules for the formation of the plural form of English nouns are considered.

Methods of forming the plural form of nouns

1. Adding an ending -S to a noun in the singular:

boy — boys (boy — boys)
girl — girls (girl — girls)
computer — computers (computer — computers)

2. Adding an ending –Esif the singular noun ends in -S, -ss, -sh, -ch, -o, or –X:

class — classes (class — classes)
wish — wishes (desire — desire)
inch — inches (inch — inches)
box — boxes (box — boxes)

3. If a noun in the singular ends in a consonant, followed by ythen y replaced by iand the ending is added –Es:

city ​​- cities (city — cities)
lady — ladies (lady — ladies)

4. If a singular noun ends in a vowel, followed by ythen the ending is added -S (however, this rule does not apply to words ending in –Quy):

essay — essays (composition — compositions)
monkey — monkeys (monkey — monkeys) However:

soliloquy — soliloquies (monologue — monologues)

5. Adding an ending -S to most singular nouns ending in –F:

brief — briefs (summary — summary)
chief — chiefs (leader — leaders)
proof — proofs (test — tests)

However, in the following nouns ending in –F or –Fe, the plural is formed by replacing f on v, and adding the ending –Es:

wife — wives (wife — wives)
leaf — leaves (leaf — leaves)
half — halves (half — half)
self — selves (by yourself)
calf — calves (calf — calves)
loaf — loaves (roll — rolls)
knife — knives (knife — knives)
elf — elves (elf — elves)
wolf — wolves (wolf — wolves)
shelf — shelves (shelf — shelves)

Plural of compound nouns

In compound nouns, the main word takes the plural form:

commander-in-chief — commanders-in-chief (commander-in-chief — commanders-in-chief)
father-in-law — fathers-in-law (father-in-law — father-in-law)
mother-in-law — mothers-in-law (mother-in-law — mother-in-law)
brother-in-law — brothers-in-law (brother-in-law)
sister-in-law — sisters

Source: http://www.correctenglish.ru/theory/grammar/plural-nouns/

English — (Lesson 4 Section 1) — Plural

In order to immediately understand what will be discussed in this section, try to answer the following question: What do you think is the difference between these two sentences?

Large table and Large tables

You probably already know a lot of English words: a table, a dog, a cat, a window, and you can even make simple sentences: the chair is big, the house is white. Very good if so. But what if we want to talk about several chairs or several houses? Imagine that there are two houses in front of you, and you need to tell them that they are both white. In this case, you need the plural:

The houses are white — White houses

How to plural a sentence?

Everything is very simple. Adding an ending to a noun -s and we say instead of is — are .

The house is big — The housesare big

See how easy it is to translate singular to plural:

car — cars
chair — chairs
table — tables
door — doors

Try to put the words in the plural yourself:

book, pencil, sofa, wall, window, flower, lamp, bed.

Now tell me

Dogs
the shops
telephones
teachers
computers

For self-test, move the mouse cursor over these words

Now we can translate whole sentences into the plural and, thus, give descriptions to several objects at once.

The car is new — The cars are new The chair is brown — The chairs are brown The door is big — The doors are big
Put the following sentences in the plural:

The bed is big
The book is interesting
The window is small
The wall is white
The lamp is high
Now you need to remember one more very important point.

There are words, the plural of which is formed not only with the help of one letter —sas we just saw. There are a number of words to which you need to attach a two-letter ending -Is… These are words that end in ch, sh, or ss:

watch — watches dish — dishes

class — classes

There are not many such words, but they will still be used often. Remember these cases without fail.

And the last thing we will touch on in this section is articles. As you can see, the definite article the is not plural, while the noun is: the car — the cars, the house — the houses. Everything is clear here.

However, there are two articles in English. The indefinite article a is not plural at all. This means that when we talk about indefinite objects in the plural, then we should not put a in front of them.

a car — cars, a pen — pens, a flower — flowers, a door — doors.

This rule will be useful to us a little later, but remember it now.
Don’t say a cars or a doors.

Exercises
Exercises

1. Plural the words Tree, door, wall, house, table, car, lamp, bed, armchair, river, street, computer, arm, leg, T-shirt, mountain, glass, dish, class, watch. 2. Put sentences in the plural. The mountain is big — The mountains are big 1. The house is white; 2. The girl is nice; 3. The tree is high; 4. The river is long; 5. The wall is blue; 6. The flower is red; 7.

The street is long; 8. The book is interesting; 9. The pencil is yellow; 10. The apple is green; 11. The bird is small; 12. The bus is black; 13. The plane is new; 14. The picture is beautiful; 15. The leg is long. 3.

Convert the nouns to the plural, paying attention to the article the apple, the car, a street, the river, a flower, a hotel, a mountain, the bridge, the bike, a dish, the watch, a plane, a pen, the mug, the jacket.

Source: http://biglang.com/english-lesson4/

Nouns in English

First, let’s remember what a noun is?

I dare to hope that your answer will be something like: “the part of speech that answers the questions who? / What? and denotes an object or person «

So, nouns in any language have some characteristics. For example, nouns can be proper (Harry Potter Shrek. Spiderman. Hogwarts. London. Canada, etc.) or common nouns (concrete dragon, drone; abstract friendship, health; real sugar, wood; collective team, staff). Here, the Russian and English languages ​​have no discrepancies.

In addition, there are animate nouns (mother, dog, wizard, monster) and inanimate nouns (table, phone, car). In this regard, our languages ​​are friendly again. And, if you do not think about the philosophical question of what category the hut on chicken legs falls into, you will not have any problems.

It’s time to praise English for its «learning accessibility»

The gender of nouns is true, masculine, feminine and neuter. Now imagine that in French the word «home» is feminine! The Germans are even more advanced in confusing students — the neuter noun «girl», how are you ?! The suffix there, you see, -chen, indicates the neuter gender. The meaning of the word — no, you have not heard!

The gender of English nouns, with the exception of rare paired copies, such as actor — actress, headmaster — headmistress, groom — bride, does not attract any attention and never entails any consequences in the form of endings of adjectives or other kinds of articles. Are you glad?

And English nouns have no declensions! And the case is only 2, not 6, as we have in Russian, and not 4, as in German! And also the cases in English are not complicated at all.

Now let’s dwell on the signs that nouns in English have

The number of a noun can, as in Russian, be single or plural. But just as we cannot say coats — coats (or polta?) In our native language, so in English there are some peculiarities of constructing plural forms.

Let’s consider them.

The vast majority of nouns are converted from the singular to the plural with the ending -s. Game — games, computer — computers, phone — phones, friend — friends.

If a noun in the singular ends in a hissing or sibilant sound, it is physically impossible to stick -s to it without a «layer». Try to pronounce «bus-s» yourself so that you can hear that it is exactly the plural. Nothing will come of it. The interlayer between -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -z and the ending -s is E. Bus — buses, boss — bosses, bush — bushes, sandwich — sandwiches, quiz — quizzes.

If a noun ends in -o, it is important to pay attention to the penultimate letter. If it’s a vowel, follow the formula vowel (vowel) + o + s: portfolio — portfolios, zoo — zoos.

Also, simply by adding S we can form the plural of abbreviated nouns (kilogram — kilo — kilos, photography — photo — photos): the plural of nouns ending in -o denoting musical instruments (piano — pianos, cello — cellos) and proper names nouns in -o, extremely rarely used in the plural, with the exception of nationalities and peoples (Eskimo — Eskimos). In other cases, we act according to the formula consonant (consonant) + o + es: potato — potatoes. tomato — tomatoes.

The situation is similar with nouns ending in -у, so we look again at the penultimate letter in the word. If it is a vowel, we act according to the formula vowel (vowel) + o + s: boy — boys. day — days. If this is a consonant, the transformations of consonant (consonant) + y -> consonant (consonant) + i + es creep into the formula: baby — babies, dictionary — dictionaries.

If the noun ends in -f or -fe, voicing occurs and f is changed to v: half-halves, life-lives. However, there are exceptions that cannot be taken with logic, such as: roof — roofs, cliff — cliffs, belief — beliefs.

If a noun is borrowed from Greek or Latin (such borrowings are often very similar to words in Russian), then the plural is easier to remember as an exception so as not to delve into the jungle of grammar of Greek or Latin: medium — media, phenomenon — phenomena, basis — bases , and completely wild for our eyes cactus — cacti.

It’s funny that not only the classical languages ​​are «to blame» for deviations from the formulas for the formation of plural forms — the British themselves have done their best. Some linguists believe that this was due to the undulating conquests in the British Isles.

However, this theory does not give exhaustive answers to all questions.

For example, if we consider that the conquests were completed back in the Middle Ages, then how, it is interesting to know, among the exceptions were spaceships crept in ?! It’s good at least that the list of exceptions is not too long and it’s quite possible to learn it:

Aircraft — aircraft, Hovercraft — hovercraft,

Source: https://english4child.ru/articles/noun/

Plural of nouns in English: the rule of education

In order to form plural nouns in English without mistakes, choose suitable verbs, pronouns and build sentences, it is not enough to know the rule. You need to be able to distinguish countable from uncountable nouns, to know the exceptions and different meanings of the same word. And of course it takes practice.

We will go in order so that you can get a good understanding of this topic from our tutorial.

The material is intended for beginners and learners of English from scratch, as well as for systematization of knowledge and repetition.

The concept of a noun (noun)

Recall that a noun (noun) is a part of speech that denotes an object, person, phenomenon or material structures. The noun answers the question “Who? What?»:

Who is this? — This is the boy.

Who is this? — This is a boy.

What is this? — This is my new furniture.

What is it? This is my new furniture.

What is this? — This is a coffee table.

What is it? — This is a coffee table.

Difference between countable and uncountable nouns

All English nouns (noun) are divided into two groups — countable (countable) and uncountable (uncountable), which in turn have both common features and exceptions.

It is important to learn to distinguish between countable and uncountable nouns, because plural forms only for countable nouns.

In simple terms, the difference between them is that countable nouns can be counted individually (one apple, two pencils, ten cars, etc.), and the uncountable are not subject to such an account (happiness, water, sand — do not count by the piece). Some examples of countable and uncountable nouns:

#Countable nounsUncountable nouns

1	Dog	Water
2	OceanOcean	Air
3	HouseHouse	Earth
4	ThoughtThought	Sand
5	GameGame	Joy
6	Rule	Happiness
7	Eye	HonorHonor
8	LanguageLanguage	The Sun

Source: https://englishplan.ru/grammatika/obrazovanie-mnozhestvennogo-chisla-sushhestvitelnyh

Plural of English nouns

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When we talk about a subjectah, the phenomenons, peoples, we use the plural. In this article, we will analyze the general rules for the formation of the plural, give examples and indicate the exception words that do not lend themselves to the rules. And at the end of the article, you will find a detailed table in which we have collected all the rules, exceptions and many examples so that you always have a plural cheat sheet at your fingertips. Let’s start?

The basic rule for the formation of plural nouns

1. The general rule of thumb is for most nouns in English, and it sounds like this: add -s to the singular, and we get the plural.

   A Spoon — spoons (spoon — spoons).
   A dog — dogs (dog — dogs).

2. If the noun ends in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -tch, -z, -x, then we add -es.

   A brush — brushe’s (brush — brushes).
   A torch — torches (torch — torches).
   A match — matches (match — matches).

3. If a noun ends in -y (and -y is read like Russian / and /), then -y disappears, and -ies is added.

   A country — countries (country — countries).
   A cherryy — cherries (cherry — cherries).

4. If the noun ends in -ay, -ey, -oy (-y at the end reads like Russian / y /), then we just add -s.

   a boy — boys (boy — boys).
   A toy — toys (toy — toys).

5. If the noun ends in -o, then add -es.

   a tomatoo — tomatyes (tomato — tomatoes).
   A hero — heryes (hero — heroes).

   BUT!

   A piano — pianos (piano — multiple pianos)
   A kilo — kilos (kilogram — kilograms)
   A photo — photos (photography — photographs)
   Emptyo — videos (video — several videos)
   A flamingo — flamingos (es) (flamingos — multiple flamingos)
   A Volcano — volcanos (es) (volcano — volcanoes)

6. If the noun ends in -f or -fe, then -f is changed to -v and -es is appended.

   A loaf — loaves (loaf — loaves).
   A wife — wives (wife — wives).

The plural of «incorrect» nouns

1. Some nouns defy any rules. Unfortunately, we have no choice but to memorize the plural form of such nouns.
   • A man — men
   • A person — people.
   • A woman — women (woman — women).
   • A mouse — mice.
   • A foot — feet (leg — legs).
   • A child — children.
   • A tooth — teeth
   • A goose — geese (goose — geese).
   • An ox — oxen (bull — bulls).
2. And then there are nouns that have the same forms, both in the singular and in the plural.
   • A fish — fish
   • A fruit — fruit.
   • A deer — deer (deer — deer).
   • A sheep — sheep.
   • A Swiss — Swiss (Swiss — Swiss).
3. Many words borrowed from Greek and Latin are also considered exceptions to the general rule. And their plural form also needs to be memorized. A few words are presented below. And we have collected a more complete list in the table at the end of the article.
   • A phenomenon — phenomena.
   • A datum — data (information).
   • A formula — formulae.
   • A genius — genii (genius — geniuses).

Let’s now see how the Rebecca teacher from engvid explains this topic in English.

Even if you have a low level of English, you will in any case understand what she is saying, as she speaks slowly and uses words that we already know.

English plural uncountable nouns

All nouns in English can be divided into two groups: countable and uncountable. The nouns that we have analyzed so far in this article are considered countable — they are all plural. This means that they can be counted: one boy (a boy) — two boys (two boys), one man (a man) — three men (three men), etc.

But also in English there are nouns that are used only in the singular, they simply do not have a plural form. Such nouns are called uncountable. Russian also has similar words: information (information), coffee (coffee). Uncountable nouns in English include the following groups:

• All bulk and liquid substances: water (water), cream (cream), rice (rice).
• Abstract concepts: success (success), happiness (happiness), love (love).
• The words information (information), advice (advice), money (money), news (news), furniture (furniture).

• You will find a detailed list of countable and uncountable nouns in this article.

What if we need to count the number of these uncountable nouns? In this case, we consider not the objects and phenomena themselves, but what they are measured by.

For example, we cannot say “two sugars”, but we can say “two kilogram sugar «,» two spoons sugar «,» two sachet sugar «- in all these cases, we count sugar using units of measurement of bulk solids.

By the way, note that in Russian in all examples, the word «sugar» is in the singular. Each of the uncountable nouns has its own units of measurement:

• A bottle of milk — two bottles of milk (bottle of milk — two bottles of milk).
• A kilo of rice — three kilos of rice (a kilogram of rice is three kilograms of rice).
• A glass of juice — ten glasses of juice (a glass of juice — ten glasses of juice).

• We devoted a separate article «Partitive Expressions» to the words with which we measure uncountable nouns.

Without the rules for the formation of the plural, it is impossible to speak English competently, because this topic is closely related to the use of verbs, articles and other parts of speech. Therefore, it is so important to understand all the rules well. Do not forget to download the table by which you can always navigate and choose the correct plural.

↓ Download the table «Education of the plural in English». (* .pdf, 208 Kb)

And also take the test to better remember the rules.

Test

Plural of nouns in English

Source: https://engblog.ru/plural-of-nouns

S plural. How do you form the plural in English? Nouns ending in -o

Names of people, names of objects, cities, countries, various institutions; names of plant and animal breeds; the designation of the process of actions — all this cannot be expressed without nouns.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that perhaps 90% of sentences cannot do without this part of speech, if we exclude the simplest constructions with pronouns and adjectives. Today we will analyze this most important category of English grammar.

We will find out how it is used, what varieties it has, as well as how the plural of nouns is composed in English. The topic is simple and beginners usually learn quickly, they only have to learn a few exceptions and consolidate the theory by performing a practical task.

This part of speech denotes persons or objects, answering questions what?Who?(what / who?). In a sentence, such words can play the role of a subject, object, circumstance and even definition, provided that the noun is used in the possessive case. By the way, this is the only case of changing the end of this part of speech, with the exception of the formation of the plural form.

This category is subdivided into the same sections as in Russian: common nouns, proper, collective, concrete, abstract, countable and uncountable nouns.

For our topic, it is important to note that abstract and uncountable representatives of this category cannot have plural constructions.

At the same time, there are words that are used exclusively in a collective form: policeclothing,glasses,scissors,people,trousers etc. All other types of words will be discussed in detail in the next section.

English, and in this it is similar to Russian, endowed the noun with two numerical categories: singular and plural. And, if with a single number everything is in principle clear, since this is a dictionary form of a word, then the formation of multiple meanings requires knowledge of certain grammatical laws. Let’s take a closer look at them.

Endings -s / -es

The easiest and most widespread way to get the plural form of nouns is to add a letter to the base of the word s.

• I bought a magazine for my mother yesterday — Yesterday я bought for its mothers magazine.
• I bought magazines for my mother yesterday — Yesterday я bought magazines for its mothers.

Note that the indefinite article can be accompanied exclusively by the singular, and the definite appears with nouns of both categories.

• Usually, I read the newspaper in the morning — UsuallyI I read this the newspaper in the morning.
• Usually, I read the newspapers in the mornings— UsuallyI I read these newspapers by mornings.

Some nouns in English take this rule in a peculiar way. The table below will help us to consider the special cases of joining the ending.

Situation	Example	Transfer
If a word ends with letter combinations —sh,ch,H.H,tch, as well as letters —s,x,z, it gets an ending es.	There are many buseses in the streets

Source: https://op-fialki.ru/osveschenie/s-vo-mnozhestvennom-chisle-kak-obrazovat-mnozhestvennoe-chislo-v/

Plural formation of nouns. Exercises with answers

Write in plurals: 

1. diary —
2. sheep–
3. book —
4. cherry —
5. fish —
6. baby —
7. key
8. match —
9. bus —
10. j.watch —

Assignments 2.

Write the plural nouns-exceptions (What are these irregular plurals):

1. woman —
2. mouse —
3. tooth —
4. foot —
5. man —
6. child —
7. g.goose —
8. h.ox —

Assignments 3.

Write in singular for the following nouns:

1. glasses —
2. potatoes —
3. forget-me-nots —
4. crises —
5. stimuli —
6. foxes —
7. brushes —
8. brothers-in-law —
9. phenomena —
10. formulae —
11. data —

The task 1.

Write in plurals:

1. diary — diaries
2. sheep — sheep
3. book — books
4. cherry — cherries
5. fish — fish
6. baby — babies
7. key — keys
8. match — matches
9. bus — buses
10. watch — watches

Task 2.

What are these irregular plurals:

1. woman — women
2. mouse — mice
3. tooth — teeth
4. foot — feet
5. man — men
6. child — children
7. goose — geese
8. ox — oxen

Task 3.

Write in singular:

1. glasses — glass
2. potatoes — potato
3. forget-me-nots — forget-me-not
4. crises — crisis
5. stimuli — stimulus
6. foxes — fox
7. brushes — brush
8. brothers-in-law — brother-in-law
9. phenomena — phenomenon
10. formulae — formula
11. data — datum

July 4, 2019 |

Source: http://xn-----6kcbbqa7agkfgdde4amkb0d4hpd7d.xn--80asehdb/kak-obrazovat-mnozhestvennoe-chislo-v-anglijskih-sushhestvitelnyh/

Why You Can’t Trust the Letter S: False Plural in English [Translation] — PRO Alliance

When it comes to plural forms, we tend to think that they are the same in all languages. After all, it’s just counting: as soon as you get to the number «2», you need to form a plural.

However, in English, some words in the singular look like they are used in the plural.

Don’t give a letter s at the end of the word to outwit you — find out the real meaning of expressions that you really want (but cannot) use in the plural.

Crossroads

This noun means the place where two roads intersect. It can also be translated as «turning point». In both cases, the letter s at the end of a word is preserved even if crossroads used in the singular:

• I was at a crossroads in my career. (This is a turning point in my career.)

Customs

When it comes to border inspections, the word customs always used in the singular:

• Customs is very strict about alcohol. (Customs have very strict alcohol regulations.)

means

No letter s this noun becomes an adjective that means «rough» or «average.» So that the word does not lose its meaning «(money) funds» or «method», you must keep the letter s, even in the singular:

• This is just a means to an end. (This is just a means to an end.)

News

Bad news (the news is bad): all words that refer to the concept of information in English are always used in the singular. And let the letter s in a word News do not bother you, this noun really has a singular form.

Outdoors

Literally this word means «on the other side of the door», that is, on the street. However, it is often used to describe any place that is far from populated areas. Two more options: great outdoors (nature, fresh air) and out-of-doors (outdoors, in the fresh air). These expressions are always used in the singular:

• The great outdoors has real appeal for tourists. (Untouched nature just beckons tourists.)

Savings

Another word with a letter s in the singular:

• This price represents a savings of $ 10. (At this price, the savings are $ 10.)

This word can also be seen in the plural:

• We enjoyed great savings on all our purchases. (We saved a lot of money on all purchases.)

TV Shows

Word series (TV series, show) is always used with the letter s at the end, even if in context this noun should be singular:

• The BBC has just launched a new series… (The BBC has launched a new series.)

Shambles

This is a colorful expression! Word shambles means «disorder» or «devastation». It always has an indefinite article in front of it. a:

• The room was a shambles… (The room was a mess.)
• What a shambles! (What a mess!)
• The city was a shambles after the earthquake. (After the earthquake, the city was devastated.)

Species

Another word that is used with the letter s both singular and plural:

• Three species of birds live on the island. (There are three species of birds on the island.)
• Scientists have discovered a new species… (Scientists have discovered a new species.)

Ways

This is a kind of echo of the genitive case in English. Singular ways used in the expression a way to go (long way). Despite the strange form, this expression is quite common: you can find thousands of examples on the Internet. Here is one of them:

• Well, they’ve got a way to go before they get to that point. (Well, they still have a long way to go.)

False plurals can be found in other contexts as well.

Nouns ending in -ics

There are many examples here: physics (physics), gymnastics (gymnastics), economics (economy), mathematics (mathematics), politics (politics), aerobics (aerobics), athletics (sports, athletics), linguistics (linguistics), Logistics (logistics), etc. All these nouns are used in the singular.

Country names

Such nouns are always used in the singular, even if it seems that they are not. One example is the United States:

• The United States is a world power. (The United States is a world power.)

Other examples: Philippines (Philippines), the virgin islands (Virgin Islands), the bahamas (Bahamas) etc.

Physical condition and illness

This category includes measles

Source: https://tran.su/2018/09/01/pochemu-nelzya-doveryat-bukve-s-lozhnoe-mnozhestvennoe-chislo-v-anglijskom-yazyke-perevod/

Plural of words in English

: 4/5

It is believed that the grammatical topic “plural words in English«Is nothing complicated. And, indeed, in most cases, you just need to use the ending and that’s it. But the point is that there are several important exceptions and the same ending is not always added.

In addition, the ending itself is read differently, depending on what is in front of it. If we want our speech (both oral and written) to surprise us not by the number of mistakes, but by its correctness, let us remember once and for all what to do if you need to form a plurality of words in the English language.

Believe me, there is nothing super complicated in this!

The plural of words in English. The main rule

It is believed that plural words in English is formed with the ending -S. This is the basic rule that looks like this:

In our example, the ending should be pronounced rather loudly. Not as «es», but as «ez». This is because the word «orange» has a vowel at the end. According to the rule, the ending should sound voiced every time it is added to a vowel or voiced consonant.

examples:

bottle — bottles

«Bottle» — «bottles»

break (break) — breaks (breaks)

«Break» — «breaks»

Please note that if you add an ending to a word after -o, -s, -ss, -x, -ch, -sh, then you should use not one letter -S, but -ES. Such an ending is read loudly — «z» or «out».

Plural endings. English «nonsense»

What else could there be plural endings? English the language cannot but surprise with its logic and the presence of exceptions (we will talk about them a little later). Let’s consider the most popular «non-standard» cases of plural formation using the following examples.

1. If a word ends with -Y, then when adding –ES it changes to I.

2. The first rule does not work if before our -Y there is not a consonant, but a vowel.

3. If a noun ends in -F, then the plural is –VES.

Plural of nouns in English — exceptions

Now it’s time to study how it is formed plural nounsif we come across exceptions.

Let’s start with those words that just need to be remembered, since their plural forms cannot be explained in any way. The good news is that there are very few such units.

Sometimes you may come across polysyllabic nouns that are hyphenated. What should be done in this case? You must pluralize with the keyword, not just add -S or -ES at the very end. Here’s an example:

mother-in-law (mother-in-law) — mothers-in-law (mother-in-law)

If a compound word is written together, then you should use the standard rule:

housewife (housewife) — housewives (housewives)

Source: https://fluenglish.com/stati/studentam-na-zametku/beginner-elementary/478-mnozhestvennoe-chislo-slov-v-anglijskom-yazyke.html