When using English, it is necessary to know how to form plural nouns from singular nouns. Therefore, in this episode we are going to talk about singular plural nouns. We also provide with you with some exercises. Hopefully, these exercises will help you to understand the concept better. Plural means more than one, singular means one. There are two kinds of nouns. They are countable nouns and uncountable nouns. Plural nouns can only be made from countable nouns whereas uncountable nouns do not have plural forms. The following explanations are how to form plural nouns.
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Contents
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Plural Nouns Ending In “s”
Most of the plural nouns in English come from the singular noun + “s”. Let’s see the following examples :
| Singular Nouns | Plural Nouns |
| a laptop an ipod an island a car a card a house a ship a girl a desk an officer |
laptops ipods islands cars cards houses ships girls desks officers |
Plural Nouns Ending In “es”
Some of the plural nouns come from the singular + “es”. We put “es” at the end of the word which ends in o, x, ch, z, sh, s. Let’s see the following example.
| Singular Nouns | Plural Nouns |
| a mango a potato a box a watch a buzz a brush a glass |
mangoes potatoes boxes watches buzzes brushes glasses |
Singular Nouns Ending In “consonant + y”
The noun ending in “consonant + y”, can be made into plural by changing “y” into “i” + es. Let’s see the following examples.
| Singular Nouns | Plural Nouns |
| baby city lady fly country |
babies cities ladies flies countries |
Plural Nouns Ending Both in “s” and “es”
The following plural nouns can be formed by ending “s” or “es” to the singular nouns. Let’s see the following examples.
| Singular Nouns | Plural Nouns |
| mosquito tornado portico buffalo |
mosquitos / mosquitoes tornados / tornadoes porticos / porticoes buffalos / buffaloes |
Singular Nouns Ending In “f” or “fe”
If the singular nouns end in “f” or “fe”, we change the “f” or “fe” into “ves” to make them plural. Let’s see the following example.
| Singular Nouns | Plural Nouns |
| wife loaf knife shelf elf half thief calf leaf wolf life |
wives loaves knives shelves elves halves thieves calves leaves wolves lives |
Singular Nouns Ending in “vowel + o”
Singular nouns ending in “vowel + o” can be made into plural nouns by putting “s” at the of them.
| Singular Nouns | Plural Nouns |
| folio studio cameo |
folios studios cameos |
Irregular
| Singular Nouns | Plural Nouns |
| a woman a man a foot a tooth a child a goose an ox a mouse a louse a fish a person a deer a sheep a moose |
women men feet teeth children geese oxen mice lice fish people (persons = rarely used) deer sheep moose |
Plural Nouns Without Their Singular
The following plural do not have their singular.
- glasses/spectacles
- jeans
- pajamas/Pyjamas
- scissors
- shorts
- tights
- oats
- shears
We can also say : a pair of glasses, a pair of jeans, etc.
Nouns Ending In “s” Considered To Be Singular
The following nouns end in “s” and look plural but they are singular nouns.
- mathematics
- physics
- economics
- athletics
- gymnastics
- news
Example : Economics is my favorite subject.
Singular Nouns Used with Plural Verbs
The following singular nouns are often used with plural verbs.
- government
- staff
- team
- family
- audience
- committee
- The police
Example :
- The staff are not satisfied with the new policy of the company.
- The government are going to raise the tax.
Plural Nouns Used As An Adjective
Plural nouns that we use as an adjective have to be changed into singular. Let’s see the following example.
- a three-week vacation
- a fourteen-year girl
- a seven-hour journey
- a two-hundred page book
- a two floor house
Exercises
Exercise I
In this exercise, you have to change the singular nouns into plural.
- arm ………..
- bush ……….
- boy ……….
- day ……….
- bench ……..
- sketch …….
- story ……..
- dish …….
- bean ……..
- mosque …..
Exercise II
Make 10 questions using “how many”.
Answers
Exercise I
- arm arms
- bush bushes
- boy boys
- day days
- bench benches
- sketch sketches
- story stories
- dish dishes
- bean beans
- mosque mosques
Exercise II
Different answers are possible.
- How many rooms are there in your house?
- How many people are there in your family?
- How many children have you got?
- How many planets have you seen?
- How many glasses of water have you drunk today?
- How many friends have you got?
- How many books have you read?
- How many shirts have you bought?
- How many countries have you visited?
- How many times do you take a shower a day?
Other Exercises
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