Which word is a singular noun

Singular Noun

Singular Noun

Nouns are the naming words. It not only denotes the name of a person, place or thing but also the emotions, feelings, idea, state of age , state of mind, etc. Examples : pain, love, care, Netherland , Nouns can be singular or plural 

Singular are the ones which are single in nature while plural are the ones which are plural means more than one . 

What is Singular Noun 

Singular comes from the word single . Singular Nouns are the those which refers a single or one person, place or thing .

For example : boy, lady, man, calf, city, joy, happiness , etc.

Singular Noun definition 

These are nouns which are singular in nature , it can be countable or uncountable both , it refers to one and only one person, material, place , etc. 

Singular Noun Examples 

Chair ( singular ) – chairs ( plural i.e. more than one ) 

Beach ( singular ) – beaches ( plural ) 

Hat ( singular ) – hats ( plural ) 

Island ( singular ) – islands ( plural ) 

Singular Noun Examples in sentences 

Singular noun generally takes singular verb to fulfill the syntax 

1. The boy is carrying a big box which consists of sweets 

Here boy is singular and takes singular verb 

2.  Friday comes after Thursday 

Friday is a day which is singular in nature and takes singular verb 

3. Music is a kind of entertainment . 

Music is singular noun takes singular verb 

List of Singular Noun 

There are different types of Singular nouns like place  , person, idea, animals, things, objects, ideas, etc.

Singular Noun ( Person ) 

Singular Noun ( Animals ) 

Singular Noun ( Place ) 

Singular Noun ( Emotion ) 

Boy 

Deer 

Office 

Love 

Girl 

Fish 

College 

Care 

Child

Ostrich 

Reception 

Happiness 

Citizen 

Owl

Mussoorie 

Sadness 

Lad 

Rhino 

Shimla 

Jealousy 

Lady 

Bird

Desert 

Bravery 

Man 

Parrot Room Hate

Woman 

Swan Kitchen Smile

Male 

Duck Park Worry

Singular Countable Noun :

There are two ways to classify noun 

a ) Countable 

b ) Uncountable 

Countable nouns are the ones which can be counted , of which we can make plural . Singular Countable nouns are the nouns which are single in nature but can be counted 

For examples : device , house, hanky, bag, forest, plant, human being , etc. 

Singular Possessive Noun : 

Possessive nouns are the nouns that shoes the ownership or a direct connection and which is used as an apostrophe (‘s) letter at the end for example : 

Cat – cat’s 

John – John’s 

Wheel – wheel’s 

Train – train’s 

Empire – Empire ‘s 

Difference between Singular Noun and Plural Noun 

1. Singular Nouns are the ones which are singular in nature or single or only one unit .

2. They can be countable or uncountable both for Examples 

3. Passenger , mobile , hat, test, information , advice , career, profession , peace 

4. Plural nouns are the ones which are plural in nature means more than one or more than one unit .

5. They can be countable only , we cannot make plural of uncountable nouns .

For example : passengers , mobiles , hats, tests , careers, 

FAQ’s 

Que 1. What are the ten examples of Singular Nouns ? 

Answer- Let us understand Singular Noun with the given below examples-

1. This is the house which I always wanted to purchase. ( house is the singular noun ) 

2. She is the only lady who stands against odds. ( lady is the singular noun ) 

3. I have given you a piece of advice. ( Piece of advice is the singular noun ) 

4. They have transferred money to me. ( Money is the singular noun ) 

5. We had a loaf of bread to give to beggar. ( A loaf is a singular noun ) 

6. This is an instrument which can repair all the machines. ( Instrument is a singular noun ) 

7. Cabinet committee formulated a policy for handicapped. ( Policy is a singular noun ) 

8. They submitted a report. ( Report  is a singular noun ) 

9. We all follow the regulation made by the warden. ( Regulation is a singular noun ) 

10. All should start a new venture. ( Venture is a singular noun ) 

Que 2. What is Singular Countable Noun ? 

Answer- Singular Countable Noun is the one which is single or singular in nature and countable nouns are the one which can be counted like coin – coin, journey, task, job, shower, poem, dollar 

Que 3. What is rule of Singular Noun? 

Answer- Singular noun denotes a single person, place or object which generally doesn’t take s or es or ies with it for example resistance, hair, service, etc. 

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)

Worksheet for Singular and Plural NounsPin

Worksheet for Singular and Plural Nouns

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

Singular definition: The singular form is a type of noun that refers to just one person or thing.

What does singular mean? The singular form is the non-plural form of nouns and pronouns. Singular form refers to just one (a single) noun (versus plural, more than one, noun).

Examples of Singular Nouns

There are literally thousands of singular nouns, so we can’t exactly put an exhaustive list together, but here are a few examples of singular nouns in English.

List of Singular Nouns:

  • a dog
  • the cat
  • a house
  • the tree
  • an apple
  • a baby
  • the city
  • the song
  • a computer
  • a phone

Singular, Plural Forms of Nouns

singular meaningWhat is the singular form? Most nouns have singular and plural forms. The singular form of the noun refers to just a single item. For instance, “an apple” refers to just one apple.

The plural form of the noun (apples) refers to more than one apple.

For most nouns, “-s” is added to the end of the sentence to create the plural form. When the word ends in “-y,” the “-y” is dropped and “-ies” is added to the end of the word to create the plural form (see below).

Examples of Singular/Plural Nouns

  • dog/dogs
  • cat/cats
  • house/houses
  • tree/trees
  • apple/apples
  • baby/babies
  • city/cities

Count Nouns vs. Non-count Nouns

singular nouns definition A count noun is a person, place, or thing that can have a singular or plural form. Most nouns have both singular and plural forms. Typically, by adding “s” to a noun, the plural form is made. A count noun can be counted.

  • boy/boys
  • home/homes
  • orange/oranges

A non-count noun is a person, place, or thing that does not have a plural form. In a sense, a non-count noun cannot be counted, and since it cannot be counted exactly, there is no plural form of count nouns.

  • equipment
  • storage
  • courage

Consider the last example, courage. The word courage cannot be made plural into “courages.”

Singular Agreement in Number

It is critical that a singular noun has the appropriate agreement with all of its corresponding parts of speech.

Verb Agreement

what is singular and plural Singular nouns require singular verbs. Using plural verbs with singular nouns (or vice versa) is unacceptable.

Examples with “to write:”

  • I write. (singular)
  • You write. (singular and plural)
  • He/She/it writes. (singular)
  • We write. (plural)
  • They write. (plural)

It is grammatically incorrect to state: I writes.

Demonstrative Adjectives

singular noun examples Singular nouns require singular demonstrative adjectives. Using plural demonstrative adjectives with singular nouns (or vice versa) is unacceptable.

Examples:

  • this cat (singular)
  • that cat (singular)
  • those cats (plural)
  • these cats (plural)

It is grammatically incorrect to state: Those cat.

Possessive Adjectives

singular noun examples in sentences Possessive adjectives work with both singular and plural nouns.

Examples Singular/Plural:

  • my house/my house
  • your house/your houses (singular)
  • his/her/its house AND his/her/its houses
  • our house/our houses
  • your house/your houses (plural)
  • their house/their

Exercises with Singular, Plural Forms

Fill in the blank with the appropriate verb or demonstrative adjective.

  1. I want to buy this/those shoes.
  2. Where is/are your new shoes?
  3. Take that/these garbage out.
  4. He walk/walks to school every day.
  5. We take/takes the train on Mondays.

See answers below.

Summary: What is a Singular Noun?

Define singular noun: the definition of singular noun is the form of a word that refers to just one person or thing.

In summary,

  • Singular nouns refer to just one noun.
  • Plural nouns refer to more than one of a given noun.
  • Singular nouns require singular agreement with their verbs and adjectives.

Answers

  1. those
  2. are
  3. that
  4. walks
  5. take

Contents

  • 1 What is the Singular Form?
  • 2 Examples of Singular Nouns
  • 3 Singular, Plural Forms of Nouns
  • 4 Examples of Singular/Plural Nouns
  • 5 Count Nouns vs. Non-count Nouns
  • 6 Singular Agreement in Number
  • 7 Verb Agreement
  • 8 Demonstrative Adjectives
  • 9 Possessive Adjectives
  • 10 Exercises with Singular, Plural Forms
  • 11 Summary: What is a Singular Noun?

Nouns refer to the many people, places, and things around us. There are many different types of nouns that we use when talking about everything we see or experience. Sometimes, we are talking about one thing. For example, you may have only one pet, one sister, one house, one last slice of pizza, or one idea for a funny knock-knock joke. One is the loneliest number, so let’s try to cheer it up by introducing the term for the type of noun we use to refer to single objects: the singular noun.

What is a singular noun?

The word singular, when used in grammar, means “noting or pertaining to a member of the category of number found in many languages that indicates that a word form has one referent or denotes one person, place, thing, or instance.” A singular noun is a noun that refers to one, and only one, object or person. For example, the word girl is a singular noun but the word girls is not a singular noun because it refers to more than one person. Girls is a plural noun.

While singular nouns are usually simple to understand, sometimes things can get tricky. A collective noun, for example, is a singular noun that refers to a group of people or things as a single unit. Words like team, family, and pile are collective nouns. Even though these words refer to multiple people or things, they are still singular nouns because they refer to a single, distinct unit.

Also, some English words like to be difficult and sometimes function as singular nouns. Words like data, fish, and measles may or may not be singular nouns, so be careful! Don’t be surprised if you see some people use these words with a plural verb as in The data are showing a growth in sales or My fish swim really fast. Names and titles also like to be sneaky, so you will need to carefully use nouns like Bahamas and Star Wars. (Countries can be singular or plural depending on the sentence.)

Who knew nouns could be so complicated? It might help to visit this review of what a noun can be in more detail.

Singular noun examples

Of all of the different types of nouns we use, singular nouns are relatively easy to use. There aren’t any special capitalization or punctuation rules you need to remember when using them. The one thing you must remember is that singular nouns use singular verbs such as is, was, or does. Simply remember that a singular noun is a noun that refers to one person, place, or thing. Let’s take a look at examples of singular nouns.

People and animals 

Singular nouns are used to refer to one person or one animal. Both generic and specific people and animals can be referred to with singular nouns.

  • People: man, woman, firefighter, waiter, hero, Batman, Queen Elsa
  • Animals: dog, cat, bird, bug, lion, tiger, bear, Mickey Mouse, Koko the Gorilla

Places

Just as before, we use singular nouns to refer to one place.

  • beach, city, neighborhood, town, island, country, Mexico, France, China, Australia

Things 

You can use singular nouns to refer to a lot of stuff you experience with your five senses.

  • chair, computer, apple, cinnamon, trash, hat, wind, rain, Google, Twitter, Amazon

Ideas

We also use singular nouns to refer to ideas, emotions, philosophies, concepts, and other intangible things you can’t detect with your five senses.

  • hunger, sadness, time, disease, government, religion, peace, science, Friday, October

List of singular nouns

Many of the other types of nouns can also be singular nouns. Let’s look at some examples of different types of nouns used as singular nouns.

Common nouns: kangaroo, clock, banana, backyard, baseball, toy
Proper nouns: Abraham Lincoln, Texas, Nintendo, Buddhism
Concrete nouns: desk, house, dirt, cake, monkey, lake, moon
Abstract nouns: war, happiness, confusion, poverty, unemployment
Countable nouns: cookie, cup, hat, hamster, cloud
Uncountable nouns: doubt, sand, music, entertainment, furniture

Singular Nouns Chart

The difference between singular and plural nouns

To recap, a singular noun refers to one person, place, or thing. The type of noun that refers to more than one person, place, or thing is known as a plural noun. Singular nouns always use singular verbs (such as is, was, and walks) while plural nouns use plural verbs (such as are, were, and walk). Only singular nouns can use the articles a and an.

Plural nouns can be tricky to tell apart from singular nouns. Many plural nouns are created by simply adding the letter S to a singular noun as in the words cats, hamburgers, or ideas. However, many plural nouns do not follow this rule, so you need to keep an eye out. Always remember the rule that a singular noun is a noun that only refers to one person, place, or thing. Here are examples of the different ways that we use singular and plural nouns:

  • A lady (singular noun) bought a dress (singular noun) from the store (singular noun).
  • My brother (singular noun) collects stamps (plural noun).
  • Math (singular noun) gives me headaches (plural noun).
  • The shark (singular noun) had sharp teeth (plural noun).
  • Chris didn’t meet the required criteria (plural noun!) for being a dancer (singular noun).
  • I caught a really big fish (singular noun).
  • Octopuses (plural noun) sometimes eat many fish (plural noun).

All the nouns, none of the errors

Did you know that singular also means “extraordinary, remarkable”? And you too can be a singular writer with the help of Thesaurus.com’s Grammar Coach™. This writing tool uses machine learning technology uniquely designed to catch grammar and spelling errors. Its Synonym Swap will find the best nouns, adjectives, and more to help say what you really mean, guiding you toward clearer, stronger, writing.

Whether you’re writing about a person, place, or thing, perfect grammar has never been easier!

Singular nouns and plural nouns are explained along with the definition, a lot of examples, plural noun rules, lists, etc.

Let’s explore Singular Nouns and Plural nouns! We have already learned singular implies single and it means only one. It may be one person, one animal, one place, one thing, or one idea, or anything which is only one number.

Plural means it is more than one. It may be two or more. Like two persons, two cows or two cities, etc. When the noun consists of a single number it is a singular noun and for more than one it is a plural noun. In many cases, we add ‘s’ or ‘es’ with singular nouns to make plural nouns.

  • Like the plural noun of ‘cow’  is ‘cows’
  • The plural noun of ‘cat’ is ‘cats’
singular nouns plural nouns
Singular nouns plural nouns

But in many cases, there are no rules followed when we make plural nouns. For examples,

  • The man changed into men
  • Sheep don’t change, it means the plural of sheep will be sheep only.

These are known as irregular plurals or irregular plural nouns.

Singular Noun Definition and Examples of Singular Noun

Singular Noun Definition

When a noun consists of only one number, this noun is known as a singular noun.

Singular Noun Examples

  • One no of tiger
  • One no of computer
  • One no of pen
  • One no of horse
  • One no of mobile
singular nouns
Singular nouns

Sentence Examples

  • The tiger was very hungry and run behind a bull
  • I have one computer
  • Rimi has a pen in her bag
  • We have one dog, one horse, and one cat
  • I have got an idea
  • She is typing on a mobile

Singular Countable Nouns

We know, if any noun can be counted it is a countable noun. Noun, when we talk about one person or animal or place or thing or idea, we will call it a singular countable noun. There are lots of singular countable noun in our daily life, few are cited,

  • Rumi
  • bird
  • computer
  • mobile
  • apple
  • bus
  • pen
  • book

Check out our ANIMATED VIDEO!

Plural Nouns  & Examples

Plural Nouns

Reba went to the zoo yesterday and she has seen five giraffes, two crocodiles, 3 tigers, 6 foxes, and many birds. If you observe, she has seen more than two giraffes, tigers, foxes, and birds. Hence, these numbers are more than two and are known as a plural noun.

  • Two or more than two tiger = tigers
  • Two or more than two giraffe = giraffes
  • Two or more than two fox = foxes
  • Two or more than two bird = birds
plural nouns
Plural nouns

Here, tigers are plural nouns of tiger, giraffes are plural nouns of giraffe, birds are plural nouns of bird, and so on. Hence, tigers, giraffes, foxes, and birds, etc. are plural nouns.

Now, look at all examples, what we did here? We simply, add ‘s’ or ‘es’ at the end of the word and changed the singular noun into a plural noun. These plurals are normal plural nouns or regular plural nouns. When plural nouns are not based on specific rules, irregular plural nouns are formed.

Refer to our interesting articles, 100 Irregular Plural Noun List

Examples of plural noun

Thee are thousands of plural nouns used in our daily life, few of them are listed for examples,

  • Two or more no of tiger   = tigers
  • Two or more no of computer   = computers
  • Two or more no of pen = pens
  • Two or more no of horse = houses
  • Two or more no of mobile = mobiles

Sentence examples

The following sentences contain plural noun examples.

  • The boys are enjoying the game.
  • We have many chocolates for girls.
  • Tina has two bags
  • We have seen two tigers fighting in the zoo.
  • Ideas can change our life

Singular and Plural Noun Rules

Rule#1: When we make a plural form of a regular noun, simply add ‘s’ or ‘es’ at the end.

There are a lot of regular nouns in English Grammar we use in our daily life and we will simply add it to make plural nouns.

Add ‘s’

Singular Plural Remarks
anaconda anacondas s’ is added at the end of anaconda
apple apples s’ is added at the end of apple
bat bats s’ is added at the end of bat
ball balls s’ is added at the end of ball
bell bells s’ is added at the end of bell
boat boats s’ is added at the end of boat
car cars s’ is added at the end of car
camel camels s’ is added at the end of camel
cat cats s’ is added at the end of cat
computer computers s’ is added at the end of computer
container containers s’ is added at the end of container
cup cups s’ is added at the end of cup
dog dogs s’ is added at the end of dog
egg eggs s’ is added at the end of egg
elephant elephants s’ is added at the end of elephant
horse horses s’ is added at the end of horse
house houses s’ is added at the end of house
idea ideas s’ is added at the end of idea
insect insects s’ is added at the end of insect
lamp lamps s’ is added at the end of lamp
mug mugs s’ is added at the end of mug
plate plates s’ is added at the end of plate
river rivers s’ is added at the end of river
train trains s’ is added at the end of train
tram trams s’ is added at the end of tram
tree trees s’ is added at the end of tree
window windows s’ is added at the end of window
plural noun with s
Plural noun with s

Rule#2 If any singular noun ends with ‘s’, ‘ss’, ‘ch’, ‘sh’, add ‘es’ to the end to make it plural.

There are a lot of regular nouns end with ‘s’, ‘ss’, ‘sh’, etc. in English Grammar we use in our daily life and we will simply add it to make plural nouns.

Singular Plural Remarks
bus buses bus ends with ‘s’, hence, ‘es’ is added at the end
church churches church ends with ‘ch’, hence, ‘es’ is added at the end
address addresses address ends with ‘ss’, hence, ‘es’ is added at the end
class classes class ends with ‘ss’, hence, ‘es’ is added at the end
brush brushes brush ends with ‘sh’, hence, ‘es’ is added at the end
arch arches address ends with ‘ss’, hence, ‘es’ is added at the end
branch branches address ends with ‘ss’, hence, ‘es’ is added at the end
flash flashes flash ends with ‘sh’, hence, ‘es’ is added at the end
dish dishes dish ends with ‘sh’, hence, ‘es’ is added at the end
dress dresses dress ends with ‘ss’, hence, ‘es’ is added at the end
plural noun with es
Plural noun with es

Rule#3 If any singular noun ends with ‘ch’, and sounds like k, add ‘s’ instead of ‘es’ to the end to make it plural.

Singular Plural Remarks
stomach stomachs ch’ in stomach sounds ‘k’, hence, only ‘s’ will be added at the end instead of ‘es’
monarch monarchs  
plural noun with monarch
Plural noun with monarch

Rule#4 If any singular noun ends with ‘x’, or ‘z’, add ‘es’ to the end to make it plural.

Singular Plural Remarks
blitz blitzes blitz ends with ‘z’, hence, ‘es’ will be added at the end
box boxes box ends with ‘x’, hence, ‘es’ will be added at the end
buzz buzzes  
fox foxes  
tax taxes  
plural noun with s x
Plural noun with s x

Rule#5 Few singular nouns ending with ‘s’ or ‘z’, require doubling this s or z before adding ‘es’ to make irregular plurals.

Singular Plural Remarks
fez fezzes fez ends with ‘z’, here, z doubles, and ‘es’ is added.
gas gasses  

Rule#6: When the singular noun is ending with a consonant ‘y’ and prior to ‘y’ there is no vowel, then to make the plural, ‘y’ changed into ‘i’ and add es.

Singular Plural Remarks
puppy puppies puppy ends with ‘y’, hence, ‘y’ changed into ‘I’ and ‘es’ is added in puppies
baby babies baby ends with ‘y’, hence, ‘y’ changed into ‘i’ and ‘es’ is added in babies
sky skies sky ends with ‘y’, hence, ‘y’ changed into ‘i’ and ‘es’ is added in skies
library libraries library ends with ‘y’, hence, ‘y’ changed into ‘i’ and ‘es’ is added in libraies
spy spies spy ends with ‘y’, hence, ‘y’ changed into ‘i’ and ‘es’ is added in spies
enemy enemies enemy ends with ‘y’, hence, ‘y’ changed into ‘i’ and ‘es’ is added in enemies
berry berries berry ends with ‘y’, hence, ‘y’ changed into ‘i’ and ‘es’ is added in berries
university universities university ends with ‘y’, hence, ‘y’ changed into ‘i’ and ‘es’ is added in universities
lobby lobbies lobby ends with ‘y’, hence, ‘y’ changed into ‘i’ and ‘es’ is added in lobbies
fly flies baby ends with ‘y’, hence, ‘y’ changed into ‘i’ and ‘es’ is added in babies
candy candies ies’ is modified in candies
lady ladies ies’ is modified in ladies
city cities ies’ is modified in cities
country countries ies’ is modified in countries
nappy nappies ies’ is modified in nappies
dairy dairies ies’ is modified in dairies
daisy daisies ies’ is modified in daisies
dictionary dictionaries ies’ is modified in dictionaries
plural noun with ies
Plural noun with ies

Rule#7: When a singular noun is ending with a consonant ‘y’ and prior to y, there is a vowel, then after ‘y’ need to add ‘s’ only.

Singular Plural Remarks
alloy alloys alloy ends with ‘y’ and prior to ‘y’, there is a vowel ‘o’. Hence, ‘s’ is added in alloys
boy boys boy ends with ‘y’ and prior to ‘y’, there is a vowel ‘o’. Hence, ‘s’ is added in boys
day days day ends with ‘y’ and prior to ‘y’, there is a vowel ‘a’. Hence, ‘s’ is added in days
delay delays delay ends with ‘y’ and prior to ‘y’, there is a vowel ‘a’. Hence, ‘s’ is added in delays
donkey donkeys donkey ends with ‘y’ and prior to ‘y’, there is a vowel ‘e’. Hence, ‘s’ is added in donkeys
essay essays essay ends with ‘y’ and prior to ‘y’, there is a vowel ‘a’. Hence, ‘s’ is added in essays
Key keys key ends with ‘y’ and prior to ‘y’, there is a vowel ‘e’. Hence, ‘s’ is added in keys
monkey monkeys monkey ends with ‘y’ and prior to ‘y’, vowel ‘e’. Hence, ‘s’ is added in monkeys
prey preys prey ends with ‘y’ and prior to ‘y’, vowel ‘e’. Hence, ‘s’ is added in preys
toy toys toy ends with ‘y’ and prior to ‘y’, vowel ‘o’. Hence, ‘s’ is added in toys
tray trays tray ends with ‘y’ and prior to ‘y’, vowel ‘a’. Hence, ‘s’ is added in trays
turkey turkeys turkey ends with ‘y’ and prior to ‘y’, vowel ‘e’. Hence, ‘s’ is added in turkeys
plural noun with consonant s
Plural noun with consonant s

Rule#8: When a singular noun is ending with a consonant ‘y’ and it represents persons or places, simply add ‘s’.

Singular Plural Remarks
Germany Germanys Germany ends with ‘y’ and it refers to a specific name of the place, hence, ‘s’ is added in Germanys. We can say, Germanys are very intelligent. (For example only)
Chakraborty Chakrabortys Chakraborty ends with ‘y’ and it refers to the category os people, hence, ‘s’ is added in Chakrabortys. We say, So, many Chakrabortys are famous in the world. (For example only)

Rule#9: When a noun ends with ‘f’ or ‘fe’, then ‘f’ is changed into ‘ve’ and add ‘s’.

Singular Plural Remarks
calf calves calf ends with ‘f’. Hence, ‘f’ changed into ‘ve’ and add ‘s’ in calves
dwarf dwarves dwarf ends with ‘f’. Hence, ‘f’ changed into ‘ve’ and add ‘s’ in dwarves
half halves half ends with ‘f’. Hence, ‘f’ changed into ‘ve’ and add ‘s’ in halves
leaf leaves leaf ends with ‘f’. Hence, ‘f’ changed into ‘ve’ and add ‘s’ in leaves
life lives life ends with ‘fe’. Hence, ‘fe’ changed into ‘ve’ and add ‘s’ in lives
loaf loaves loaf ends with ‘f’. Hence, ‘f’ changed into ‘ve’ and add ‘s’ in loaves
knife knives knife ends with ‘fe’. Hence, ‘fe’ changed into ‘ve’ and add ‘s’ in knives
scarf scarves scarf ends with ‘f’. Hence, ‘f’ changed into ‘ve’ and add ‘s’ in scarves
self selves self ends with ‘f’. Hence, ‘f’ changed into ‘ve’ and add ‘s’ in selves
shelf shelves shelf ends with ‘f’. Hence, ‘f’ changed into ‘ve’ and add ‘s’ in shelves
plural noun with f fe
Plural noun with f fe

There are some exceptions to this rule,

Singular Plural Remarks
chef chefs s’ is added in chefs
chief chiefs s’ is added in chiefs
Cliff Cliffs s’ is added in cliffs
cuff cuffs s’ is added in cuffs
dwarf dwarfs s’ is added in dwarfs
grief griefs s’ is added in griefs
handkerchief handkerchiefs s’ is added in handkerchiefs
kerchief kerchiefs s’ is added in kerchiefs
proof proofs s’ is added in proofs
roof roofs s’ is added in roofs
safe safes s’ is added in safes

Rule#10 When a singular noun ends with ‘o’, followed by a consonant, simply add ‘es’.

Singular Plural Remarks
hero heroes hero ends with ‘o’, followed by consonant ‘r’, hence, ‘es’ is added in heroes.
potato potatoes same
tomato tomatoes same

There few exceptions here,

Singular Plural Remarks
halo halos Only ‘s’ is added as an exception
memento mementos same
photo photos same
piano pianos same
solo solos same
plural noun with o with s
Plural noun with o with s

Rule#11 When a singular noun ends with ‘o’, followed by a vowel, add ‘s’ to make plural.

Singular Plural Remarks
cameo cameos cameo ends with ‘o’, followed by vowel ‘e’, hence, ‘s’ is added in cameos
studio studios same
portfolio portfolios same

Rule#12 However, when the words have a foreign origin (e.g., Latin, Greek, Spanish, Mexico, etc.), we  just add ‘s’ to make the plural. 

Singular Plural Remarks
taco tacos Taco is originated from Mexico, hence, only ‘s’ is added in tacos
avocado avocados same
maestro maestros same
plural noun with s avocado
Plural noun with s avocado

Rule#13 When a singular noun ends with ‘us’, replace this ‘us’ by ‘i’.

Singular Plural Remarks
alumnus alumni alumnus ends with ‘us’, hence, ‘us’ changed into ‘I’ in alumni.
cactus cacti same
focus foci same
fungus fungi same
nucleus nuclei same
octopus octopi same
syllabus syllabi same
plural noun with s octopus
Plural noun with s octopus

Rule#14 When a singular noun ends with ‘um’, replace this ‘um’ by ‘a’.

Singular Plural Remarks
bacterium bacteria bacterium ends with ‘um’, hence, ‘um’ changed into ‘a’ in bacteria.
curriculum curricula same
datum data same
medium media same

Rule#15 Few singular nouns end with ‘a’, replace this ‘a’ by ‘ae’.

Singular Plural Remarks
alga algae alga ends with ‘a’, hence, ‘a’ changed into ‘ae’ in algae.
alumna antennae same
amoeba amoebae same
antenna antennae same

There are so many worksheets available for singular nouns and plural nouns.

Rule#16 When a singular noun ends with ‘is’, simply replace it with ‘es’.

Singular Plural Remarks
 analysis  analyses analysis ends with ‘is’, hence, ‘is’ changed into ‘es’ in analyses
 axis  axes same
 diagnosis  diagnoses same
 ellipsis  ellipses same
 hypothesis  hypotheses same
 parenthesis  parentheses same

Rule#17 When a singular noun ends with ‘on’, replace it with ‘a’.

Singular Plural Remarks
criterion criteria criterion ends with ‘on’, hence, ‘on’ changed into ‘a’ in criteria
phenomenon phenomena same

Rule#18 When a singular noun ends with ‘ex’ or ‘ix’, replace it with ‘ices’.

Singular Plural Remarks
appendix appendices appendix ends with ‘ix’, hence, ‘ix’ changed into ‘ices’ in appendices
index Indices index ends with ‘ex’, hence, ‘ex’ changed into ‘ices’ in indices
matrix matrices same
vertex vertices same

Rule#19 Few singular nouns end with ‘o’, replace it by ‘i’.

Singular Plural Remarks
concerto concerti concerto ends with ‘o’, hence, ‘o’ changed into ‘i’ in concerti
graffito graffiti same
virtuoso virtuosi same

Conclusion

Hence, we have got a basic idea about singular nouns and plural nouns. Please note that you are always welcome to upgrade or modify our posts and always welcome to our study.

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