Singular and Plural Nouns Grammar Guide mgr Anna Waligórska – Kotfas PWSZ Konin

A noun is:  a person: a teacher / a chef / a student / a doctor  a place: a city / a school / a beach / a kitchen  a thing: a bus / a table / a cow / a bed / a house

Common Nouns and Proper Nouns A noun that names any person, place, or thing is a common noun. a house A noun that names a particular person, place, or thing is a proper noun. the White House

Singular and Plural Nouns A noun that names only one person, place, or thing is called a singular noun. a pencil A noun that names more than one person, place, or thing is called a plural noun. pencils

Plural Nouns: Rules  Most English nouns form the plural with –s. road  roads bag  bags town  towns girl  girls truck  trucks

Plural Nouns: Rules  If the singular form ends in s / x / z / ch / sh, the plural is made by and adding –es church  churches crash  crashes bus  buses box  boxes dish  dishes

Plural Nouns: Rules  If the singular form ends in consonant + y, the plural is made by changing y to i and adding –es baby  babies lady  ladies party  parties ferry  ferries

Plural Nouns: Rules  If the singular form ends in vowel + y, the plural is made by adding –s day  days boy  boys donkey  donkeys key  keys toy  toys

Plural Nouns: Rules  If the singular form ends in consonant + o, the plural is made by adding –es potato  potatoes tomato  tomatoes hero  heroes But:  Some words ending in consonant + o, especially words from other languages, take –s only photo  photos piano  pianos kilo  kilos

Plural Nouns: Rules  If the singular form ends in vowel + o, the plural is made by adding –s radio  radios video  videos zoo  zoos

Plural Nouns: Rules  If the singular form ends in –f / –fe, the plural is usually made by adding –ves calf  calves half  halves life  lives leaf  leaves But:  Several words ending in –f and all those ending –ff just take –s: chief  chiefs belief  beliefs cliff  cliffs Some words ending in –f take either plural ending: scarf  scarfs/scarves. You can check irregular plurals in a dictionary.

Plural Nouns: Irregulars  Some nouns have special plural forms. Since these words follow no special pattern, you must learn them  Some nouns have special plural forms. Since these words follow no special pattern, you must learn them. person  people child  children man /mæn/  men /men/ woman / ˈ w ʊ mən/  women / ˌ w ɪ m. ɪ n/ foot  feet tooth  teeth mouse  mice goose  geese

Nouns with no Singular Form  Some English nouns are more common in the plural form. These occur in a number of categories: clothing: clothes, jeans, trousers, pyjamas, clothing: clothes, jeans, trousers, pyjamas, tools/equipment: scissors, glasses (= spectacles), handcuffs tools/equipment: scissors, glasses (= spectacles), handcuffs games: dominoes, darts, cards, bowls games: dominoes, darts, cards, bowls subjects/activities: physics, maths, politics, economics, aerobics, athletics subjects/activities: physics, maths, politics, economics, aerobics, athletics other: goods, remains, thanks, stairs, police other: goods, remains, thanks, stairs, police These nouns may have a singular form with a different meaning, e.g.: a glass (= wine glass).