TALEEM: REVISION OF NUMBER OF NOUNS

MODAL VERBS

ENGLISH 10TH - Language Practice
UNIT # 5.3

Number of Nouns

A Noun that denotes one person or thing, is called Singular Number; as,
boy, cow, bird, book, pen.

A Noun that denotes more than one person or thing, is called Plural Number; as,
boys, cows, birds, books, pens.

Formation of Plural Number

(i) By adding -s to the singular noun; as,

(ii) By adding -es to the singular noun ending in -s, -sh, -ch (soft), or -x; as,

The plural of fish is fish or fishes. The form ‘fishes’ is less usual.

(iii) By adding -es to the singular ending in -o; as,

(iv) By adding/just -s to some nouns ending in -o; as,

(v) By changing -y into -i and adding -es to nouns ending in -y, preceded by a consonant; as,

(vi) By changing -f or -fe into v and adding -es to nouns ending in -f or -fe; as,

Some nouns take either -s or -ves in the plural, such as:

For some nouns ending in f or -fe add -s, such as:

(vii) A few nouns form their plural by changing their inside vowel or vowels, such as:

(viii) By adding -en to the singular of a few nouns, such as:

Singular	Plural
ox	oxen
child	children

(ix) Some nouns have the same word for singular and the plural, such as:

(x) A Compound Noun generally forms its plural by adding -s to the main word; as:

Remember! : Some nouns are used only in the plural.

Names of instruments which have two parts	Names of certain articles of dress	Some of other nouns
bellows	drawers	alms
pincers	jeans	annals
scissors	pyjamas	assets
spectacles	shorts	riches
tongs	tights	thanks
	trousers	tidings

Some nouns look plural but are in fact singular:

Name of subjects	Name of diseases	Name of some games	Other nouns
Electronics	Measles	Billiards	News
Mathematics	Mumps	Draughts
Physics	Rickets

‘Means’ can be used either as singular or plural. But when it has the meaning of ‘wealth’ it is always plural.
Certain Collective Nouns look singular in form but they are always used as plurals, such as: cattle, gentry, people, poultry.
Note: As a Common Noun ‘people’ means a ‘nation’ and is used in both singular and plural.

Many nouns taken from foreign languages keep their original plural form, such as:

Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
analysis	analyses	axis	axes
bandit	banditti, (or bandits)	basis	bases
crisis	crises	criterion	criteria
erratum	errata	formula	formulae (or formulas)
hypothesis	hypotheses	index	indices
memorandum	memoranda	parenthesis	parentheses
phenomenon	phenomena	radius	radii

Singular	Plural
brother	brothers, son of same the parent.
	brethren, members of a society or community.
die	dies, stamps for coining,
	dice, small cubes used in games.
cloth	cloths, kinds or pieces of cloth,
	clothes, garments.
index	indexes, tables of contents to books
	indices, signs used in algebra.

Abstract Nouns have no plural. They are uncountable, such as:
hope, charity, love, kindness.
Names of substances are also uncountable and cannot be used in the plural, such as:
copper, iron, tin, wood.

Revision of Numbers of Nouns

Nouns are either countable or uncountable. Those that are countable are either singular (one) or plural (more than one) in number.
Generally, the plural is formed by adding ‘s’: chairs, days, flowers.
Nouns ending in s, ch, sh, x usually take ‘es’: buses, churches, dishes, boxes.
Nouns ending in ‘y’ change in two ways:
- In nouns having a consonant before ‘y’, the ‘y’ changes into ‘ies’: cherries, babies.
- In nouns having a vowel before ‘y’ only ‘s’ is added: monkeys, keys.
Nouns ending in ‘o’ can take ‘s’ or ‘es’: radios, pianos, or mangoes, buffaloes.
Nouns ending in ‘f’ or ‘fe’ change in two ways:
- in some ‘f’ or ‘fe’ changes to ‘ves’: leaves, thieves, knives.
- while some just take ‘s’: beliefs, roofs, chiefs.
Some are the same in singular and plural: deer, sheep, hair.
Some are used only in the plural: police, scissors, scales, trousers, jeans, spectacles.
In some cases, there is no fixed rule: children, oxen, teeth, feet, men, women, mice.
In most compound nouns ‘s’ added at the end: check-ups, doorbells, stepfathers.
In some compound nouns the ‘s’ is added to the first part: brothers-in-law.

TALEEM