English is so simple - 4

Noun - Number

Ask any child if it knows how to count and you get the answer: 1, 2, 3, 4, …. English divides the number into only two groups: one and more than one. So, for the time being, you may have a sigh of relief.

A noun that denotes one person or thing is said to be in the singular number.

Ex: Fan, stamp, box, man, horse.

A noun that denotes more than one person or thing is said to be in the plural number.

Ex: Fans, stamps, boxes, men, horses.

How are plurals formed ??????

1.      By adding –s to the singular. Ex: boy (boys), table, coat, dollar, owl.

2.      By adding –es to the nouns ending in –s, -sh, -ch, or –x. Ex: mass (masses), caracass, dish, bench, fox.

3.      By adding –es to nouns ending in –o. Ex: buffalo (buffaloes), mango, hero, potato, cargo, echo, negro, volcano. Exceptions: dynamo (dynamos), solo, ratio, canto, memento, quarto, piano, photo, etc.

4.      By changing –y into –ies in nouns ending in –y preceding by a consonant. Ex: baby (babies), cherry, pony, navy, dictionary.

5.      By changing –f or –fe into –ves in nouns ending in –f or –fe. Ex: thief (thieves), leaf, sheaf, wife, knives. Exceptions: brief, belief, dwarf, grief, gulf, safe.

6.      By changing inside vowel. Ex:

·         Man = Men

·         Woman = Women

·         Mouse = Mice

·         Foot = Feet

·         Tooth = Teeth

·         Louse = Lice

7.      By adding –s to the principal word of a compound noun. Ex:

·         Vice-admiral = Vice-admirals

·         Brother-in-law = Brothers-in-law.

·         Court-martial = Courts-martial

·         Looker-on = Lookers-on

8.      Nouns like swine, sheep, deer, cod, trout, salmon, aircraft, spacecraft etc have the same form in both the numbers.

Rule: Units of Counting: pair, dozen, score, gross, hundred, thousand, etc when used after numbers retain their singular form.

Incorrect: My friend brought two dozens eggs.

It is true that the number is more than one dozen. But dozen unit, is being used after the number two. Applying the above rule,

Correct: My friend brought two dozen eggs.

Rule: The following nouns are used only in the plural:

1.      Names of Instruments which have two parts forming a kind of pair. Ex: bellows, pincers, pliers, scissors, spectacles, tongs.

2.      Name of certain articles of dress. Ex: breeches, drawers, trousers.

3.      Name of certain diseases. Ex: Measles, mumps.

4.      Name of certain games. Ex: Billiards, draughts.

5.      Certain collective nouns (though they are singular in form). Ex: Cattle, gentry, poultry, people, vermin, yeomanry.

6.      Certain other nouns. Ex: annals, thanks, proceeds, assets, environs, nuptials, tidings.

Incorrect: This cattle has been in trouble ever since the famine.

Do not get deceived by looks. Cattle, though singular in form, means cows, bulls, and oxen – all of them plurals. Hence cattle is always used as plural. Why then I use is in the last sentence. Because here I mean the word cattle, as is obvious from the italicized letters. Word being singular, takes the verb is. Now, back to our original sentence.

Correct: These cattle have been in trouble ever since the famine.

Rule: Some plural forms are commonly used in the singular. Ex: mathematics, physics, innings, news, mechanics, politics.

Incorrect: Physics are a branch of science.

Do not get taken by the –s ending of Physics. We have all read it in school as a subject (singular). Besides, the latter part of the sentence also hints at the fact that Physics is being used as a singular. So,

Correct: Physics is a branch of science.

Rule: Abstract nouns and material nouns are not used in the plural.

Incorrect: Cares of the old are necessary.

Care here is being used as an abstract noun and should therefore be singular. It is true that we have sentence like ‘Her cares have multiplied’. But in such sentences cares means objects of care and hence the word functions as a common noun. While using it as an abstract noun,

Correct: Care of the old is necessary.

Incorrect: A book is printed on papers.

Do not think that because there are many pages in a book, the material noun paper will take the plural form. In fact, in sentences where the plural is used, papers means documents. Ex: “When you come for admission, have all your papers ready”. But here we mean paper as a material.

Correct: A book is printed on paper.

Compiled By: Chaudhary Amit V.

Source: (Book: English is easy written by Chetananand Singh), (Wren & Martin)