Plural forms of nouns in English. Noun in English
Countable nouns in English have 2 numbers - singular and plural. With a single number, as if everything is clear, we take a dictionary and look.
Plural formed using the suffix -s: suggestion - suggestion s(sentence - sentences), umbrella - umbrellas (umbrella - umbrellas).
In some words, for ease of pronunciation, a suffix (or, if you prefer, an ending) is added. -es: box - box es(box - boxes), bush - bush es(bush - bushes). These are words that end in: -o, -ch, -s, -ss, -sh, -x (potato - potato es(potatoes - potatoes), fox - fox es(fox - foxes)). However, foreign words and abbreviations that end in -o form the plural using the simple -s: piano - pianos (piano - piano-(s), i.e. also a piano, only there are already a lot of them), kilo - kilos (kilogram - kilograms).
For nouns ending in -f, -fe, in plural f changes to v and is added es:
leaf - leaves = leaf - leaves
knife - knives = knife - knives
thief - thieves = thief - thieves
wife - wives = wife - wives
This is the general rule for forming the plural of nouns ending in -f, -fe, but some rules have so many exceptions that sometimes it is difficult to determine where the rule is and where the exception is. To nouns ending in -oof, -ief, -ff, -rf, in the plural, most often a suffix is simply added -s. And here is the evidence:
proof - proofs = proof - evidence
hoof - hoofs = hoof - hooves
roof - roofs = roof - roofs
chief - chiefs = leader - leaders
grief - griefs = sadness - sorrows
brief - briefs = summary - summaries (there can be many translations here!)
cliff - cliffs = cliff - cliffs
skiff - skiffs = skiff - skiffs
whiff - whiffs = smoke - smokes
dwarf - dwarfs = dwarf - dwarfs
scarf - scarfs = scarf - scarves
turf - turfs = peat - peats (or peat bogs?)
If nouns end in - y with a consonant before it, then in the plural - y changes to - i and what is already well known to us is added - es, or, if you like, y changes to – ie and is already added to them - s :
Count ry–countr ies(country - countries),
Du ty- dut ies(duty - responsibilities).
In compound nouns Usually the main element ends in –s:
Sister-in-law - sister s-in-law - (daughter-in-law - daughters-in-law)
Boy-friend - boy-friend s(guy - guys).
If neither element is a noun, the ending is added to the last word:
Merry-go-round - merry-go-round s(carousel - carousel).
There are a few more exceptions to remember:
foot - feet (foot - feet)
goose - geese (goose - geese)
louse - lice (louse - lice)
mouse - mice (mouse - mice)
man - men (man - men)
woman - women (woman - women, pay special attention to pronunciation)
person - people (person - people) (but, people can also mean - people, nation, then the plural will be peoples - peoples, nations)
child - children (child - children)
tooth - teeth (tooth - teeth) ox - oxen (bull - bulls)
In addition to this word of Greek and Latin origin They form the plural against all the rules, and they sound quite funny (it is advisable to remember them, because there are not so many of them):
Crisis - crises (crisis - crises)
Datum - data
Phenomenon - phenomena (phenomenon - phenomena)
Radius - radii (radius - radii)
If the first part of a compound noun contains the words man, woman, then both parts are put in the plural: Man driver - men drivers (male driver - male drivers).
Countable and uncountable nouns
We can count countable nouns: six jobs (six jobs), many offers (many offers).
Uncountables (it’s easy to guess) are impossible to count; they do not form a plural. As in Russian, we will not use the words: music, blood, water or gold (music, blood, water, gold) in the plural.
Although, just like in Russian, depending on the context, options are possible: waters of the Atlantic, bloods mixing.
Some nouns can be either countable or uncountable. This is easy to determine from the context: I bought a paper. - I bought a newspaper. Newspaper is a countable noun. We can count the newspapers. Here's another example:
I bought some paper. - I bought paper. Paper is an uncountable noun. Paper is a “material” that we cannot count; it can only be counted in sheets, rolls, etc.
The following nouns have the same singular and plural forms, i.e. they match:
fish (fish - fish (but: fishes - types of fish or small fish),
deer (deer - deer),
sheep (sheep - sheep),
fruit (fruit - fruit (but: fruits - types of fruit),
aircraft (plane - airplanes), etc.
There are also nouns that are used only in the plural:
clothes - clothes,
police - police
cattle - livestock
pajamas - pajamas
trousers - pants
breeches - breeches
glasses - glasses
spectacles are also glasses
scissors - scissors
goods - goods, (often translated into Russian in the singular - goods)
holidays - holidays (there is also a singular number - holiday, but this is already a holiday)
customs - customs
jeans - jeans
tights - tights
shorts - shorts, etc. (almost like in Russian).
But since there are nouns that are used only in the plural, then of course there are also those that are used only in the singular:
advice - advice,
furniture - furniture,
hair - hair,
information - information,
knowledge - knowledge,
money - money (and with us, on the contrary, only in the plural),
trouble - problem
You can add a few more words to this list, which, despite the finite -s used in the singular: physics, mathematics, optics, phonetics, politics and the like.
Standing apart are words such as news - news, it is considered a plural noun, but is used as a singular noun in a sentence. Translated into Russian in plural or singular meaning:
This was news to me. - This was news to me.
What's the news? - What's new? (or: What news?)
To “news” you can add a few more similar words in which the singular is no different from the plural (although, depending on the context, variations are also possible):
means = means - means
barracks = barracks - barracks (but: barrack - barracks)
crossroads = crossroads - crossroads (but sometimes we get to "crossroad")
headquarters = headquarters - headquarters
series = series - series
species = species, variety - species of a variety
works = plant, factory - factories, factories
Now check yourself. Select the appropriate option:
- The apartment is empty. We haven’t got any furnitures/furniture yet.
- I had trouble/troubles with my car this morning.
- Ann has got very long black hair/hairs.
- I didn't know what to do. I asked Jack for advice/advices.
Most languages are characterized by dividing things according to their quantity. But the designation of each specific number is a much rarer case, found only in a couple of languages. The most common option is one form of a noun for an object in a single copy, and another, to designate several up to infinity.
It is necessary to learn this part of the grammar, since the designation of a quantitative parameter is a daily necessity in speech. There are general rules for English, albeit with a fair number of exceptions.
Plural
Almost every noun in the English language can be converted to plural. Exceptions to this rule will be discussed below.
First we need to explain the general concept:
- The most common plural ending in English is letter "s» . It is added to the end of the word, thus not changing its stem. It can be read in two different ways, depending on the ending letter:
- If a word ends with a vowel or a voiced consonant, then the sound will be pronounced as [z]. As an example, you can use the following words: shoe-shoes, hen-hens, etc.
- In the case when the ending consists of a voiceless consonant, the phoneme will be pronounced as [s]. An example would be the word bat-bats, cat-cats, etc.
- Also, when the ending of a word is a sibilant or even hissing sound, the added plural ending will look like "es". The pronunciation here, in any case, depends on the combination of letters itself, so phonetically everything will sound like . There are quite a few examples of such endings - fox-foxes, class-classes, leash-leashes, bass-basses, etc.
- Words with the letter “y” at the end will have a separate plural ending for nouns. True, everything here only works for those words where there is a consonant sound in front of it. The ending itself will look like “y” replaced by “i”, as well as “es”. That is, everything will look like sky-skies, butterfly-butterflies, etc.
- Exceptions to this rule are proper nouns and compound nouns. The latter will be discussed separately, but as an example of the former, we can cite such pairs as Germany-Germanys, Gatsby-Gatsbys, etc.
- When the letter “y” at the end of a word comes before a vowel, the general rule applies, which means the sound “s” is simply added. Everything will end up sounding like day-days, bay-bays, etc.
- For nouns that end in the letter “o”, you should add the familiar ending “es”. It will look like, for example, potato-potatoes, hero-heroes, etc.
There are almost two dozen exceptions here - bamboo, kangaroo, studio, zoo, Filipino, kilo, photo, piano, dynamo, tobacco, folio, tango, concerto, embryo, pro, solo, Eskimo, radio. In these cases, use the usual ending for plural forms of nouns.
- There is a separate rule for words ending with the letter « f». In this case, substitution will also occur following a phonetic change. For example, as in the words thief-thieves, half-halves, wife-wives, etc.
- There are exceptions to this rule. Words like proof, chief, safe, cliff, gulf, reef. For the above, the usual plural rule will work, which means you just need to add the letter “s”
Exceptions when forming the plural
The English language has developed over centuries, and the forms of constructing grammatical structures have changed. Some are still used in modern speech.
You need to remember examples such as:
![](https://i1.wp.com/eng911.ru/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Isklucheniya.jpg)
In addition, some words borrowed from other languages have retained their original grammar, which means they differ from the rules adopted in English.
Examples here include pairs such as:
- Basis-bases;
- Crisis-crises;
- Phenomenon-phenomena;
- Stimulus-stimuli;
- Datum-data;
- Formula-formulae;
- Index-indices;
- Bureau-bureaux.
A couple of the above words have been adapted to existing rules. They can be used in one or another form. For example, formulas and formulae, or focuses and foci.
Plurals in compound nouns
![](https://i0.wp.com/eng911.ru/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Poryadok-obrazovaniya-okonchanii.jpg)
Nouns used in the plural only
- Paired items that simply cannot be used in the singular– scissors, pants, trousers, scales, etc.
- Several place names– the Netherlands, the East Indies, etc.
In English, there are forms that are different from the Russian language, which simply need to be memorized as exceptions - for example, wages (salary), clothes (clothing), riches (wealth), contents (content), etc.
An interesting thing happens with the word people. If this is how the term “people” is meant, then there is no singular number. But when you call “people” that way, the plural form takes place and sounds like peoples.
Nouns used only in the singular
- Things that cannot be counted have only this form in English. For example, gold, silver, oil, music, the Thames, etc.
- There are nouns that have a plural form, but when used together with numerals they are placed only in the singular. These include dozen, couple, score, stone, head (as a cattle head).
- Some words have only a plural form grammatically, but are used exclusively in the singular. This also includes the names of some sciences ending in “ics”. Examples include news, barracks, works (when a plant is meant), physics, mathematics, etc.
- The words money and hair are used only in the singular.
Nouns that have the same form, both singular and plural
Some words in English have the same form to indicate both of these grammatical forms.
You can literally list them on your fingers:
- Sheep;
- Swine;
- Deer;
- Grouse;
- Series;
- Species.
More recently, we have already examined exception words on the topic “plural”. But the English language has outdone itself here too, since it has a number of nouns that have the same form for the singular and plural. You may also come across words that can only be used in one form. It is such non-standard cases that we will talk about today.
Exception words. Plurals are not according to the rules (English for advanced)
Let's start with those exception words, plural which is the same as the only one. English the language is not very rich in such units. But, nevertheless, they occur, so they are worth paying attention to. These words are given below.
1. deer (deer) – deer (deer)
2. means (way) – means (ways)
3. sheep (sheep) – sheep (sheep)
4. swine (pig) – swine (pigs)
5. series (series, cycle) – series (series, cycles)
6. species (species, variety) – species (species)
7. fish (fish) – fish (fish)
8. fruit (fruit) – fruit (fruit)
There are some nuances regarding points 7-8. If we are talking about different types of fish and fruits, then the plural of these nouns should be formed in a standard way.
Examples:
There are different fruits on the table: bananas, apples, pine-apples, and peaches.– There are different fruits on the table: bananas, apples, pineapples and peaches.
Where are you going? – I would like to buy some fruit.
Where are you going? – I would like to buy some fruit (of the same type).
English singular and plural nouns
Now let's look at English nouns, which only come in the form the only one numbers And only plural. Let's start with the first group.
How did it end up on this list? "news" because here at the end –S ? It's very simple - this word is always used with singular verbs. Please note the following sentence.
Is this news good or bad? – Is this news good or bad?
Words like money And hair also do not fit into the standard rules. It seems that in Russian it turns out to be plural ( "money", "hair"), but in English money And hair are always used with singular verbs.
Her hair is beautiful but too short.– Her hair is beautiful, but too short.
Is this money yours?- Is this money yours?
There is also a point that if we mean a certain number of hairs, then we can say a hair (1 hair), three hairs (3 hairs) etc.
Look! There is a hair in my glass!- Look! There's a hair in my glass!
Now let's learn nouns that occur only in the plural form.
Don't forget about uncountable nouns (concepts that cannot be counted). Such words are usually classified as singular. What could it be? For example: water (water), sand (sand), patience (patience), love (love), snow (snow) and etc.
Most textbooks offer an analysis of singular and plural topics by categories of parts of speech: noun, verb, pronoun. We have prepared for you an unusual excursion into the world of numbers. Today we’ll talk about the most common cases and rules of “multiplication” in general, consider changes that are similar in appearance, but have different grammatical functions in different parts of speech, as well as some exceptions (sometimes it seems that the English language is one complete exception), and we’ll try to apply all this in the “natural environment”.
Singular in English ( singular/sg) denotes or characterizes one object:
a game
-self
this/that
he loves
Plural (plural/ pl) is used when the number of objects is more than one:
two cups of coffee
-selves
these/ those
they love
Ending -s/ -es
Ending -s- is one of the most common surviving endings in the English language and is an indicator of number. If the word ends in a hissing sound s/ ss/ x/ sh/ ch, it ends -es(this is due to more convenient pronunciation and does not visually lead to a pile-up of hissing words):
to match - it matches
to wash - she washes
a fox - foxes
a dress - dresses
From the above examples you can notice that:
he loves- singular
two cups- plural
The question arises - why?
The thing is that in the examples given above, the ending -s- appears in different parts of speech.
The number category of verbs is active only in the present tense. The exception is to be in the tense form Past Simple (was/were).
Thus at verbs ending -s/ -es indicates the use of the singular.
e.g.
Pl. vs. Sg.
we go - she goes
I spell - he spells(it is worth noting that in the Present Simple the pronoun I makes grammatical connections based on the plural principle with verbs and has a special form to be).
they say - it says
In nouns the opposite principle applies. The ending is an indicator of plurality.
eg.
Sg. vs. Pl.
a ticket - tickets
a bus - buses
a college - colleges
Words ending with -y-
The principle of change/no change -y- valid in English regardless of part of speech. Things to remember:
* if there is a vowel before -y-, in the plural the ending -s- is added to the word, and the letter -y- is retained:
a ray - rays
to buy - she buys
* if there is a consonant before -y-, in the plural the letter -y- changes to -ie-, followed by the plural ending:
to try - he tries
sky-skies
Now let's talk about special cases of number changes that are characteristic only of a certain part of speech.
Singular and plural nouns
In addition to the cases that we considered earlier, there are “special” numerical formations.
1. Change of word form.
There are a number of words that form the plural by changing the root vowels, sometimes the change affects the entire word form. These examples are not numerous. They are often singled out as exceptions. Let's list them:
man - men(and derivatives - fireman - firemen/ policeman - policemen)
woman/ˈwumən/ – women/ˈwɪmɪn/ (and derivatives - policewoman - policewomen)
tooth–teeth
foot – feet
goose – geese
mouse – mice
louse-lice
child – children
ox-oxen
Also in the English language there are a number of nouns that are written and pronounced the same regardless of their number - their forms are absolutely identical:
sheep - sheep/ sheep - sheep
swine – swine/ pig - pigs
deer – deer/ deer - deer
grouse – grouse/ black grouse, partridge - black grouse
series – series/ series - series
species – species/ species - species ( species of butterflies- type of butterfly)
corps/kɔːr/ – corps/ type of army
2. Borrowing
There is a fairly capacious category of borrowed words that have retained changes in the endings of their native language when forming plural forms. Most often these are words of Latin and Greek origin:
Sg. vs. Pl.
-us/ -i(cactus - cacti/ˈkæktaɪ/) - cactus
-on/ -a(phenomenon - phenomena)
-is/ -es(crisis - crises)
-um/ -a(datum-data)
-ex/ -ices (index - indexes)
-a/ -ae(formula - formulae)
In colloquial speech, these words do not constitute a daily minimum, but can occur in any situation.
3. “Numerical preferences”
In English you can find nouns that are used only in the singular or only in the plural. Exceptions again! Most often these are uncountable nouns or concepts that already contain a certain quantity in their meaning.
Singular forever. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that it is recommended to learn and remember these nouns, since they can be found in almost any area of our lives, and the principle by which they formed their attachment to the singular is often quite conventional.
money
hair(in the meaning of “hair” / can have a plural form meaning “hair”, “hair”)
news
information
knowledge
weather
work
advice
bread
furniture
music
progress
Words that have a certain amount of meaning ( dozen- dozen/ score- ten/ head- when counting livestock by head) both numbers are allowed, but with numerals they are used only in the singular:
three dozen roses
Plural prefer paired items (scissors- scissors, pants- trousers, spectacles- glasses, glasses- glasses, etc.), some geographical names ( The Netherlands, The Phillipines, The High Lands, etc.)
There are words that cannot be grouped, which you just need to remember:
police
people- people (it is possible to use “ a person” in singular) / a “ people - peoples“What matters is the people - the peoples
clothes
contents
wages
riches- wealth
manners
customs
outskirts
proceeds
goods
Verbs in singular and plural
we can - she can
you must - he must
The verb to be has a special relationship with numerical changes. It has specific shapes for each face - am/ is/ are(present tense) and was/were(in the past time).
we are - he is
they were - it was
Pronouns in singular and plural
In English personal pronouns and their possessive forms have the number category:
Sg. vs. Pl.
I-we
it - they
he-they
she - they
my - our
You always presented in the plural, although the singular form can be found Thou/ðaʊ/, which is used when addressing God.
Most pronouns either completely change the word form or imply a certain number by analogy with the Russian language:
every- each (sg.)
all- all (pl.)
A special case of changes in the plural form occurs in reflexive and demonstrative pronouns.
Reflexive pronouns contain a morpheme in the word -self, which in the plural will take the form -selves:
myself - myself
yourself - yourselves
himself - theirselves
Demonstrative pronouns also acquire new characteristics in sound and spelling:
this - these
that - those
We wish you intensive, entertaining practice and success!
Victoria Tetkina
One of the categories of English nouns is number, and it is with this category that many students often have problems. At the same time, the division into singular and plural nouns is quite understandable; The difficulty arises in how to determine the necessary forms of using certain structures, since quite often there are words that form singular and plural forms (singular and plural) in a non-standard way. From this follows the need to consider in detail the process of how nouns change by number, how the plural of nouns is formed in the English language, in order to correctly navigate this area of grammar and not make mistakes.
The main essence of singular and plural forms
The essence of what singular nouns represent is quite clear: this form shows an object or phenomenon in a single form. Singular nouns, which is logical, do not cause any special problems (unless any special words are implied that are used exclusively in singular forms). It is worth saying that the grammar rule provides for the use of an article before a noun in singular form, however, this applies exclusively to countable nouns, that is, those that can be counted.
Much more attention needs to be paid to plural forms of nouns. The rules for forming the plural in English are quite often non-standard and can contradict the usual grammatical norms, especially when we are talking about exceptional and unique structures. A plural noun reflects the fact that an object or phenomenon is not present in a single quantity. The definite article is not always placed before plural forms (the indefinite article is not possible with them in principle), and this requires a special context.
Plural Formation Rules
Perhaps many people know that the typical plural of nouns in the English language is usually formed by adding the ending –s: chair – chairs, monkey – monkeys, boy – boys, etc. However, if everything were so simple, problems with the plural form would hardly arise.
The fact is that in addition to –s, there are a number of other features that need to be taken into account. For example, the ending –es, which is relevant in the following cases:
- If the noun ends in a hissing (or alternatively a whistling) sound: branch – branches (branch – branches), box – boxes (box – boxes), bus – buses (bus – buses), etc.
- If a noun has an ending –y, preceded by any consonant. In this case, y will change to i: lady – ladies, baby – babies, story – stories, family – families, etc. (This rule does not apply to proper names: Mary – Marys)
- If the noun ends in –o: tomato – tomatoes (tomato), cargo – cargoes (ship), hero – heroes (hero), etc.
Note: there are some popular nouns that end in –s rather than –es, even though there is an –o at the end (often determined by the fact that the word is a loanword or an abbreviation): piano, solo, photo (photography), radio (radio), lotto (lotto), etc. Also, if the last -o is preceded by another vowel, the ending -es will not appear either: portfolio(s), kangaroo(s), etc.
Exceptional plural cases
The plural of nouns is not always formed in accordance with the methods described above; The English language has other features of using nouns in plural forms, and various exceptions are quite common.
Nouns ending –f/–fe
This includes, for example, the formation of the plural with nouns ending in –f (–fe). In such variations, the root consonant letter f changes to v. Here are some examples of such words:
wife(wife) – but: wives(wives)
shelf(shelf) – but: shelves(shelves)
leaf(leaf) – but: leaves(leaves)
knife(knife) – but: knives(knives)
wolf(wolf) – but: wolves(wolves)
life(life) – but: lives(life)
However, there are also nouns used while preserving the consonant f: cliff (rock) - cliffs (rocks), roof (roof) - roofs (roofs), chief (chief) - chiefs (chiefs) and some others.
Nouns with non-standard education plural forms
In some cases, in the form of noun in plural, there is a complete change in structure, and not just an ending. These are the so-called irregular plural nouns, which include the pairs foot – feet (foot – feet), person – people (person – people). The variants child – children (child – children), goose – geese (goose – geese), tooth – teeth (tooth – teeth) are often found. Any table with them, as a rule, also presents gender variants of differences such as man - men (man - men) and woman - women (woman - women). Sometimes there are cases that are convenient to remember by consonance: mouse - mice (mouse - mice) and louse - lice (louse - lice).
Using plurals with compound nouns
Compound nouns, which consist of two or sometimes more grammatical stems, also have an unusual plural in English. For example, words such as merry-go-round, which translates to "carousel", or the unusual word forget-me-not, which means "forget-me-not", must have an -s ending at the end, since they do not contain a key significant words.
However, such structures as, for example, looker-on (observer) or mother-in-law (mother-in-law) have such plural forms as lookers-on and mothers-in-law, since the ending –s is added to the noun inside, carrying basic meaning.
Nouns with the same form singular and plural
For some lexical units that reflect an object or phenomenon, both the singular and plural forms are formed in the same way. In order to find out which words relate to this rule, it is worth remembering that these cases mainly refer to the animal world: sheep (sheep) - sheep (sheep), or, for example, deer (deer) - deer (deer). Here are some other cases:
salmon(salmon) – salmon (several salmon)
swine(pig) – swine (pigs)
trout(trout) – trout (several trout)
Such nouns as fish and fruit have a peculiarity: if there is no mention of varieties, the form will remain unchanged, but when listed, the words will take the form fishes and fruits.
In addition, this group also includes some nouns, which, despite the letter s at the end, have the same form both singular and plural:
means(means) – means (means)
series(series) – series (series)
species(species) – species (species)
Borrowed nouns in plural forms
A separate category is occupied by nouns borrowed from ancient languages, for example, Latin, as well as Greek words, often used as scientific terms (example - datum (date) - data (data)). Here there is a need to solely remember them, since there are usually no auxiliary methods for determining their required form, although the endings have common features:
formula(formula) – formulae(formulas)
phenomenon(phenomenon) – phenomenal(phenomena)
cactus(cactus) - cacti(cacti)
crisis(a crisis) - crises(crises)
stimulus(stimulus) – stimuli(incentives)
Nouns used only in singular and only in plural
Some nouns are typically used in only one form: singular or plural.
Nouns characteristic only of singular forms
Some structural units, which are used only in the singular, are completely atypical for use in the singular form in Russian, since they initially have multiple translations: news (news), watch (hours), money (money), hair (hair) and some other:
advice- advice
furniture- furniture
knowledge- knowledge
information– information
Note: in some cases the meaning of such nouns can change, and then they become countable: a hair (hair), a light (lamp), etc.
Nouns used only in plural forms
Lexical structures used only in the plural are also quite common. Below are only plural nouns that do not have singular forms:
goods- goods
clothes- cloth
scissors- scissors
wages- salary
glasses- glasses
police- police
trousers- trousers
All the above-described cases of using plural nouns in singular and forms are extremely important to remember, since their use in the language, as can be seen from the examples provided, is typical for completely standard lexical situations, and not for any intricate grammar. Knowing all these nuances and exceptions, making your speech correct and using the appropriate cases in the right context will not be difficult.