Grammar :

Noun-Number

There are two numbers in Noun-Number: Singular and Plural.

1. Singular:

When we speak about one person and one thing, we use the noun in singular form.

Single means one.

Plural means many.

Examples:

a. A man is smoking within the premises.

b. A group of cows is called Herd.

c. Joy is what we want in our lives.

d. Church is the worshipping-place of Christians.

e. This chair is made of plastic.

In these sentences, the nouns man, group, joy, church and chair are in singular forms.

Joy, run, wife, knife, army, hero, ox, life, loaf, baby, city and tooth are few singular-nouns which we use. We have seen the singular form of Noun-Number.

The Noun has various dimention in its usages.

The same Noun can be used in different manner in different contexts.

Let us go to the next form of Noun-Number.

2. Plural:

When we speak about more than one person and one thing, we use the noun in plural form.

Examples:

a. Few men are standing in the foyer.

b. The groups of cows, coming back to their sheds, are not milch cows.

c. These chairs are made of plastic.

d. Children should be given proper guidance.

e. Keep the knives in a safe place.

In these sentences, the words men, groups, chairs, Children and knives are plural-nouns.

Joys, runs, wives, knives, armies, heroes, oxen, lives, loaves, babies, cities and teeth are few singular-nouns which we use.

How to form plural from singular?

1. By suffixing s to the singular-noun.

Examples:

• Joy-joys

• Run-runs

• Chair-chairs

• Radio-radios

• Canto-cantos

• Momento-momentos

• Dynamo-dynamos

• Piano-pianos

2. By suffixing es to the singular-noun

Examples:

• Glass-glasses

• Bench-benches

• Bush-bushes

• Church-churches

• Watch-watches

• Buffalo-buffaloes

• Negro-negroes

• Hero-heroes

• Echo-echoes

• Mango-mangoes

• Potato-potatoes

Noun-Number is another part under Noun.

3. By changing the last letter y into ies.

Examples:

• Baby-babies

• Lady-ladies

• Story-stories

• City-cities

• Army-armies

4. By changing the inside vowel of the singular.

Examples:

• Man-men

• Woman-women

• Foot-feet

• Tooth-teeth

• Goose-geese

5. By suffixing en to the singular.

Examples:

• Ox-oxen

• Child-children

6. By changing f or fe into ves.

Examples:

• Thief-thieves

• Life-lives

• Wife-wives

• Calf-calves

• Knife-knives

• Wolf-wolves

• Leaf-leaves

• Shelf-shelves

Exceptions:

• Chief-chiefs

• Roof-roofs

• Gulf-gulfs

• Safe-safes

• Proof-proofs

• Hoof-hoofs


7. Singular-nouns from foreign languages retain their original plural.

Examples:

• Erratum-errata

• Index-indices

• Radius-radii

• Formula-formulae (or formulas)

• Axis-axes

• Basis-bases

• Criterion-criteria

• Memorandum-memoranda

• Terminus-termini (or terminuses)

• Hypothesis-hypotheses

• Cherub-cherubim (or cherubs)

• Parenthesis-parentheses

8. By suffixing s to the main word in a compound word.

Examples:

• Commander-in-chief……..commanders-in-chief

• Son-in-law………………sons-in-law

• Step-son…………………step-sons

• Maid-servant…………….maid-servants

• Passer-by………………..passers-by

• Man-servant……………..men-servant

• Man-servant……………..man-servants

9. Special cases.

a. Few nouns which end in s are used in singular form.

Examples:

News, Mathematics, Physics, politics, innings etc…

b. Few collective nouns, though they are in singular forms, are used in plural forms.

Examples:

Poultry, Cattle, People, gentry etc…

c. Few nouns have the same forms both in singular and plural forms.

Examples:

Sheep, deer, swine, cod etc…

d. Few nouns are used only in the plural forms.

Examples:

Trousers, scissors, spectacles, drawers, thanks, billiards, draughts, annals, tidings etc…

e. Few nouns have two different forms in plural. But the two forms have different meanings.

Examples:

• Brother………….Brothers (sons of same parents) Brethren (members of a society)

• Cloth………….....Cloths (pieces of cloth) Clothes (items of cloth)

• Fish………………Fish (more than one of same variety) Fishes (of different varieties)

• Genius……………Geniuses (persons of great talent) Genii (spirits)

• Index……………..Indexes (tables of contents) Indices (signs used in algebra)

10.Few nouns have different meanings in the singular and in the plural:

Examples:

• Advice (counsel)………….advices (information)

• Air (atmosphere)………….airs (artificial manners)

• Good (morally correct)……goods (merchandise)

• Force (strength)…………...forces (troops)

• Physic (medicine)………….physics (a branch of science)

• Wood (portion of tree)……woods (a grove of trees)

11.Few nouns have one meaning in singular but two or more meanings in plural.

Examples:

Custom (habit)…………………………customs (habits & taxes collected on imports

Quarter (one fourth & a direction)………quarters (fourth parts, living places & directions)

Effect (result)…………………………...effects (results & property)

12.Letters, numbers and other symbols form their plural by adding an apostrophe ands.

Examples:

• Write your i’s and l’s clearly.

• Add two 8’s and six 4’s.

These are various kinds of Noun-Number. That means a Noun can be classiffied by the number of units that the Noun denotes.

Go from Noun-Number to the section on Noun-Functions to continue.

Go to the Grammar Index Page

From Noun-Number to HOME PAGE