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,
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| boy | boys |
| chair | chairs |
| pen | pens |
| room | rooms |
| building | buildings |
| cow | cows |
| girl | girls |
| table | tables |
(ii) By adding -es to the singular noun ending in -s, -sh, -ch (soft), or -x; as,
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| box | boxes |
| brush | brushes |
| dish | dishes |
| tax | taxes |
| branch | branches |
| class | classes |
| match | matches |
| watch | watches |
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,
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| buffalo | buffalos |
| echo | echoes |
| mango | mangos |
| tomato | tomatoes |
| cargo | cargoes |
| hero | heroes |
| potato | potatoes |
| volcano | volcanoes |
(iv) By adding/just -s to some nouns ending in -o; as,
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| commando | commandos |
| logo | logos |
| piano | pianos |
| stereo | stereos |
| kilo | kilos |
| photo | photos |
| solo | solos |
| ratio | ratios |
(v) By changing -y into -i and adding -es to nouns ending in -y, preceded by a consonant; as,
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| army | armies |
| city | cities |
| country | countries |
| lady | ladies |
| baby | babies |
| copy | copies |
| hobby | hobbies |
| story | stories |
(vi) By changing -f or -fe into v and adding -es to nouns ending in -f or -fe; as,
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| calf | calves |
| knife | knives |
| life | lives |
| shelf | shelves |
| half | halves |
| leaf | leaves |
| loaf | loaves |
| thief | thieves |
Some nouns take either -s or -ves in the plural, such as:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| dwarf | dwarfs or dwarves |
| scarf | scarfs or scarves |
| hoof | hoofs or hooves |
| wharf | wharfs or wharves |
For some nouns ending in f or -fe add -s, such as:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| chief | chiefs |
| gulf | gulfs |
| proof | proofs |
| cliff | cliffs |
| handkerchief | handkerchiefs |
| safe | safes |
(vii) A few nouns form their plural by changing their inside vowel or vowels, such as:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| foot | feet |
| man | men |
| tooth | teeth |
| goose | geese |
| mouse | mice |
| woman | women |
(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:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| aircraft | aircraft |
| dozen | dozen |
| pair | pair |
| score | score |
| sheep | sheep |
| species | species |
| deer | deer |
| gross | gross |
| salmon | salmon |
| series | series |
| spacecraft | spacecraft |
| trout | trout |
(x) A Compound Noun generally forms its plural by adding -s to the main word; as:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| commander-in-chief | commanders-in-chief |
| looker-on | lookers-on |
| man-of-war | men-of-war |
| passer-by | passers-by |
| step-daughter | step-daughters |
| daughter-in-law | daughters-in-law |
| maid-servant | maid-servants |
| man-servant | men-servants |
| son-in-law | sons-in-law |
| step-son | step-sons |
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 |
- Some nouns have two forms for the plural, each with different meaning:
| 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.
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