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Plural Theory

The document discusses plural nouns in English. It provides rules for making nouns plural by adding -s, -es, or -ies depending on whether the singular form ends in a consonant, sibilant, or vowel. It also lists irregular plural forms and nouns that only appear in singular or plural. Foreign plurals may follow the rules of other languages. When referring to groups of people, singular or plural verbs can be used depending on whether the group or individuals are emphasized. Finally, it distinguishes countable nouns that take plural forms from uncountable nouns that do not.

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Cristina Stepan
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505 views

Plural Theory

The document discusses plural nouns in English. It provides rules for making nouns plural by adding -s, -es, or -ies depending on whether the singular form ends in a consonant, sibilant, or vowel. It also lists irregular plural forms and nouns that only appear in singular or plural. Foreign plurals may follow the rules of other languages. When referring to groups of people, singular or plural verbs can be used depending on whether the group or individuals are emphasized. Finally, it distinguishes countable nouns that take plural forms from uncountable nouns that do not.

Uploaded by

Cristina Stepan
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PLURAL

singular + -s

singular plural
a car two cars
a cassette two cassettes
a lamp two lamps
a hat two hats
a cup two cups

Add -es after sibilants:

singular plural
a box two boxes
a sandwich two sandwiches
a suitcase two suitcases
a rose two roses
a garage two garages

Substitute y after consonant with -ies:

singular plural
a city two cities
a lady two ladies

Add -s after vowel + y:

singular plural
a boy two boys
a day two days

There are two forms of the plural of the word penny:


pennies -> You refer to the coins.
pence -> You refer to the price (how much sth. is).

Nouns on -f or -fe:

add -s substitute with -ves


singular plural singular plural
a roof two roofs a thief two thieves
a cliff two cliffs a wife two wives
a sheriff two sheriffs a shelf two shelves
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There are two forms possible:

scarf - scarfs/scarves
hoof - hoofs/hooves

Add -s for words ending in -ff.

Always use a dictionary if you are not sure.

Nouns on -o form the plural by adding -s or -es.

add -s substitute with -ves


singular plural singular plural
a disco two discos a tomato two tomatoes
a piano two pianos a potato two potatoes
a photo two photos a hero two heroes

Some nouns can have two plural forms:

buffalo - buffalos/buffaloes
mosquito - mosquitos/mosquitoes
tornado - tornados/tornadoes

There is no rule when to use -s or -es. We often add -s with technical words.

Irregular plural forms:

singular plural
a man two men
a woman two women
a child two children
a mouse two mice
a tooth two teeth
a goose two geese
a foot two feet
an ox two oxen

NOUNS ONLY IN THE PLURAL

In English there are nouns which are used only in the plural.

1) Pair nouns

noun sentence
jeans Where are my jeans?
2
glasses She has lost her glasses.
scissors These scissors don't cut well.

If you want to refer to an exact number, use a/one pair of, like in the following example.
I have bought a/one pair of jeans.
I have bought two pairs of jeans.

other nouns: binoculars, headphones, pyjamas, scales, shorts, tights, trousers

2) Nouns not used in the singular (headwords)

noun sentence
cattle Male cattle are called bulls.
clothes He bought some new clothes yesterday.
stairs The children ran down the stairs.
wages The wages are paid on the last day of the month.
people* Three people were killed in the car crash last Friday evening.
police Look! The police are coming.

* The word people can be used in the singular with another meaning:
They are a friendly people.
The native peoples of Africa often have black skins.

3) Nationalities

The following nationalities (no -s) are used in the pural:

the Dutch, the British, the English, the French, the Spanish, the Welsh

The singular of the English would be: the Englishman

NOUNS ONLY IN THE SINGULAR

In English there are nouns which are used only in the singular.

1) Collections

noun sentence
furniture She bought new furniture last week.
fruit Would you like some fruit?
hair* Your hair looks lovely.

more nouns: luggage, jewellry

2) some nouns ending in -s


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noun sentence
news Good evening. Here is the news.
physics Physics is our first lesson on Monday morning.
progress Progress was made in developing new technologies.
The United States The United States is a country with 50 federal states.

more nouns: athletics, billards, crossroads, darts, economics, gymnastics, maths, mumps,
politics, series

3) special nouns

noun sentence
homework My Maths homework was not easy.
information For further information on the hotel, phone us at ....
knowledge His knowledge of English is excellent.

more nouns: advice, damage, work

FOREIGN PLURALS

These nouns have irregular plural forms. They often make their plurals according to the rules
of the language they were taken from (e.g. Latin or Greek). Sometimes there is more than one
plural form possible or these forms have different meanings. Always use a good dictionary
when using foreign plurals. Here are some examples.

singular plural
analysis analyses
appendix appendixes/appendices
axis axes
basis bases
cactus cactuses/cacti
criterion criteria
datum data
diagnosis diagnoses
index indexes/indices
medium mediums/media
oasis oases
octopus octopuses/octopi
phenomenon phenomena
syllabus syllabuses/syllabi
thesis theses

SINGULAR OR PLURAL FOR GROUPS OF PEOPLE

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Which phrase is correct - the class was or the class were? Is the word class a singular noun or
a plural noun? This question cannot be answered with Yes or No. Use the singular if you see
the class as a group of students. Use the plural if you see the class as single students.

In British English the plural is used more often than in American English.

sentence explanation
The family is on holiday. I see the family as a group.
I see the single members of the family packing
The family are packing their suitcases.
their suitcases.

sentence explanation
Class 9 was terribly loud today. I see class 9 as a group.
I see the single members of class 9. Everybody
Class 9 were terribly loud today. was loud. I could also say: The kids in class 9
were terribly loud.

COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

here are countable and uncountable nouns in English.

Countable nouns:

Most of the nouns are countable. You can combine them with numbers, e.g one, two or three.
Here is an example:

one pencil
two pencils
three pencils
etc.

Uncountable nouns:

These nouns can't be combined with numbers. Here is an example:

water

If you want to express a quantity, you have to use a special phrase e.g. a glass of water.

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NOTE:
Some nouns can be either countable or uncountable. We recommend to use a good dictionary.
Here is an example, too. hair - hairs

You've got some hairs on your T-shirt. (There might be 5 or 6 of them.)


Your hair looks lovely. (Here you think of the hairstyle.)

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