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NOUN : NUMBER

(Singular and Plural noun)

Number in noun tells us the count of nouns. It tells us the units of the noun. Noun-Number has two types: Singular and Plural.

Singular: It represents one unit or single noun. Example: table, cow, house, tooth, lake, child, mouse, etc.

Plural: It represents more than one unit or multiple nouns. Examples: tables, cows, houses, teeth, lakes, children, mice etc.

Now we observe that some plurals are made by simply adding suffix –s or –es to the singular noun. While is some the internal vowels of the singular nouns are changed and some the entire singular noun is changed. So, how to decide the correct plural for a noun?

There are certain rules that decide the formation of the plural form of various nouns. Let us learn about them in detail.

Ø In general, the plural of nouns is formed by simply adding suffix –s at the end:

SINGULAR PLURAL
Pen
Pens
Book
Books
Girl
Girls
Dog
Dogs
Bag
Bags
Desk
Desks
Team
Teams

Ø For nouns ending in -s, -sh, -ch or –x we add suffix –es to form plural:

SINGULAR PLURAL
Bus
Buses
Bench
Benches
Fox
Foxes
Wish
Wishes
Watch
Watches
Box
Boxes
Mass
Masses

Ø For nouns that end with two vowels, their plural is made by adding suffix –s at the end:

SINGULAR PLURAL
Cuckoo
Cuckoos
Zoo
Zoos
Tree
Trees
Bamboo
Bamboos
Radio
Radiios
Porfolio
Portfolios
Bee
Bees

Ø For nouns ending with –o we need to look at the letter preceding it. If the letter before that last letter -o is a consonant than to make plural, we simply add –es as suffix. And if the letter before it is a vowel than plural is made by adding suffix –s.(this case is same the case of two vowels at the end. The previous point: Point iii)

 

SINGULAR PLURAL
Tomato
Tomatoes
Mango
Mangoes
Hero
Heroes
Ratio
Ratios
Potato
Potatoes
Mosquito
Mosquitoes
Volcano
Volcanoes

EXCEPTIONS to this rule:

SINGULAR PLURAL
Piano
Pianos
Solo
Solos
Photo
Photos
Memo
Memos
Tobacco
Tobaccos
Casino
Casinos
Dynamo
Dynamos

Ø For nouns that end with –y there are two cases depending on the letter before it.

If the letter preceding –y is a consonant than we change –y to –ies to form the plural. And if the letter before it is a vowel than we simply add -s as suffix.

 

SINGULAR PLURAL
Day
Days
Key
Keys
Family
Families
Study
Studies
Boy
Boys
City
Cities
Body
Bodies

Ø For nouns that end with –f or –fe, these suffixes are replaced with –ves.

SINGULAR PLURAL
Leaf
Leaves
Knife
Knives
Wife
Wives
Thief
Thieves
Shelf
Shelves
Life
Lives
Wolf
Wolves

EXCEPTIONS to this rule:

SINGULAR PLURAL
Chief
Chiefs
Handkerchief
Handkerchiefs
Cliff
Cliffs
Roof
Roofs
Belief
Beliefs
Proof
Proofs
Gulf
Gulfs

Ø Some nouns form their plurals by changing their inside vowels:

SINGULAR PLURAL
Tooth
Teeth
Foot
Feet
Goose
Geese
Mouse
Mice
Louse
Lice
Woman
Women
Man
Men

Ø Some nouns take -en as suffix to form plurals:

SINGULAR PLURAL
Ox
Oxen
Child
Children
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