Noun - Number Part 1

There are two types of Noun Numbers in English - Singular and Plural.

• A Noun in Singular Number – a noun that denotes one person, place or thing. E.g. boy, cat, tree, book, city.

• A Noun in Plural Number – a noun that denotes more than one person, place or thing. E.g. boys, cats, trees, books, cities.

A singular noun takes a singular verb and a plural noun takes a plural verb.
E.g. boy - is / has / does / goes / comes etc
boys - are / have / go / do / come etc

Forming plurals of normal nouns

Here we will learn the various ways of forming plurals of normal nouns.

Adding –s

Plural of nouns is generally formed by adding -s to the singular:
boy - boys
girl - girls

• We make plural of a noun by adding -s when a single noun ends with -e:
  house - houses
  gate - gates
  lace - laces

• We make plural of a noun by adding -s when a single noun form ends with -ff:
  buff - buffs
  cuff - cuffs
  puff - puffs
  whiff - whiffs

• Nouns ending with double vowels are made plural by adding -s.
  tree - trees
  portfolio - portfolios
  radio - radios

Adding -es

Nouns ending in -s, -ss, -sh, -x or –z form the plural by adding -es to the singular:
bus - buses
class - classes
brush – brushes
tax - taxes
buzz - buzzes

A few exceptions:
locus - loci
radius - radii
ox - oxen

If there is -is at the end of a word, then we convert last -is into -es
basis - bases
hypothesis - hypotheses
parenthesis - parentheses
analysis - analyses
thesis - theses

-s Vs. -es

In some cases there is very minute difference regarding addition of –s or –es. Let’s see some of such cases.

• Nouns ending in -ch

When a single noun ends with -ch (which produces a sound of k at the end), we make it plural by adding -s:
monarch - monarchs
stomach - stomachs

Nouns ending in -ch (soft) form the plural by adding -es to the singular:
match - matches
batch - batches

• consonant + o Vs. vowel + o

When a noun ends with ‘consonant + o’, we form the plural by adding -es to the singular:
mango - mangoes
buffalo - buffaloes

Exceptions:
A few nouns ending in ‘consonant + o’ merely add -s
photo - photos
embryo - embryos
piano - pianos

When is single noun ends with a ‘vowel + o’, we make it plural by adding –s (we already know that Nouns ending with double vowel are made plural by adding ’s’.):
bamboo - bamboos
radio - radios
stereo - stereos

• consonant + y Vs. vowel + y

Nouns ending with ‘consonant + y’, form their plural by changing -y into –i and adding –es (i.e. changing ‘y’ into ‘ies’)
family – families
lady - ladies
fly - flies

Nouns ending with ‘vowel + y’, are made plural by adding ’s’.
boy - boys
key - keys
way - ways

• Nouns ending in -f or -fe

The following nouns ending in -f or -fe form their plural by changing –f or -fe into v and adding –es (i.e. changing ‘f/fe’ into ‘ves’)
thief - thieves
leaf - leaves
life - lives
wife - wives
knife – knives

Exceptions:
Some words ending in -f or -fe add -s. For example:
chief - chiefs
roof - roofs
safe - safes

The nouns dwarf, hoof, scarf and wharf take either -s or -ves in the plural.
dwarf - dwarfs or dwarves
hoof - hoofs or hooves

Adding -en

There are a few nouns that form their plural by adding -en to the singular.
ox - oxen
child - children.

Changing the inside vowel

A few nouns form their plural by changing the inside vowel of the singular.
man - men
woman - women
foot - feet

She is a widow with five child. (incorrect)
She is a widow with five children. (correct)

Plurals of Compound Nouns

To make a compound noun plural we usually make the second noun plural:
office-worker(s)
tea leaf - tea leaves

But, if two nouns are joined by of or in, we make the plural form by making the first noun plural:
rule of thumb - rules of thumb
commander(s)-in-chief

Another way of understanding it:
Compound Noun generally forms its plural by adding -s to the principal word

Plurals of Foreign words

by replacing last -on or -um into -a

Criterion - Criteria
Phenomenon - Phenomena
Memorandum - Memoranda

By adding –s to nouns ending with -um

Asylum - Asylums
Forum - Forums

Note: So, some nouns ending with –um have multiple plural forms.
Stadium - Stadia, Stadiums

by replacing last -us into -i

Cactus - Cacti
Nucleus - Nuclei
Syllabus - Syllabi
Radius - Radii
Stimulus - Stimuli
Almnus - Almni

We are almnus of this college. (incorrect)
We are almni of this college. (correct)

by changing -is into -es

Analysis - Analyses Crisis - Crises Hypothesis - Hypotheses

by replacing last -ix/ex with -ices

Matrix - Matrices

Note: some nouns have multiple plural forms
Index - Indices, Indexes (contents)

by adding -e

Formula - Formulae
Nebula - Nebulae

Most of the foreign words we saw above were of Latin or Greek origin. But English has adopted words from many other languages and the way we make their plural vary a lot too. Let’s see some other ways to make plurals of words of foreign origin.

From Italian

Bandit - banditti (or Bandits)

From French

Madame (Madam) - mesdames
Monsieur - Messieurs

From Hebrew

Cherub - Cherubim (or Cherubs)
Seraph - Seraphim (or Seraphs).

Plurals of Letters, figures and other symbols

The plurals for capital letters and numbers used as nouns are not formed with apostrophes.

She learned her ABCs.
The 1990s were the best.
She learned her time tables for 5s and 6s.

Plural of Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns take singular verb. These nouns will not take:

• Articles ‘A/An’,
• Number denoting adjective - ‘many’, ‘few’, ‘number of’ and
• ‘plural form’, i.e. s/es etc.

E.g. Hair, Business, Bread, Stationery, Crockery, Luggage, Baggage, Postage, Fuel, Cost.

His hair is black.

I have some equipment that I needed for the project.

Such nouns have no plural form but sometimes we need the plural form of some of these nouns. The plural form is made by adding certain words before the uncountable nouns.

The begger ate two slices of bread. (bread - uncountable noun)

Please show me some items of office stationery. (stationery - uncountable noun)

Extra Books and Tools

If you prefer to learn via books, or want some good English Grammar books for reference purposes, you may read this article which enlists some of the books recommended by us.