Need Help?

Get in touch with us

searchclose
bannerAd

Plural Nouns

Grade 8
Sep 1, 2022
link
  • This book is amazing. 
  • These books are amazing. 
  • The ticket was available a few hours back. 
  • The tickets were available a few hours back. 
  • The baby is sleeping. 
  • The babies are sleeping. 

The nouns in the first sentences of each pair denote only one thing. They are called singular nouns. But the second sentences in each of the pairs indicate the presence of more than one thing; therefore, they are called plural nouns

What are singular and plural nouns? 

When a noun denotes one person or thing, it is said to be in the Singular Number, like. 

Boy, girl, bird, book, tree, car, etc. 

A noun denotes more than one person or thing, it is said to be in the Plural Number, like. 

parallel

Boys, girls, birds, books, trees, cars, etc. 

The nouns in the first sentences of the pairs can be easily comprehended by the reader, since they appear, in most cases, in their original forms. But when it comes to forming the plural forms of nouns from their singular counterpart, the process can get quite tricky at times. 

For example, the plural form of luggage is not luggage’s. It is luggage itself. 

We cannot form the plural form of every noun by simply adding the suffix -s to them. There are certain things; for convenience, let us say rules; to keep in mind while forming the plural forms of nouns from their singular forms.  

Rules:

Rule 1

Most nouns take their plural form by adding -s to the singular, like. 

parallel
  • Boy, boys 
  • Girl, girls 
  • Book, books 
  • Pen, pens 
  • Car, cars 

Rule 2

Nouns ending in -s, -sh, -ch, or -x and most nouns ending in -o usually form their plural by adding -es to the singular, like; 

  • Class, classes 
  • Kiss, kisses 
  • Watch, watches 
  • Branch, branches 
  • Match, matches 
  • Dish, dishes 
  • Box, boxes 
  • Tax, taxes 
  • Buffalo, buffaloes 
  • Mango, mangoes 
  • Potato, potatoes 
  • Hero, heroes 
  • Cargo, cargoes 
  • Volcano, volcanoes 

Rule 3

There are some nouns ending in -o that form plural merely by adding-s to the singular, like; 

  • Piano, pianos 
  • Dynamo, dymanos 
  • Kilo, kilos 
  • Photo, photos 
  • Commando, commandos 
  • Memento, mementos 
  • Canto, cantos 

Rule 4

Nouns ending in -y, when preceded by a consonant, form their plural by changing -y into -i and adding -es, like; 

  • Lady, ladies 
  • Baby, babies 
  • Army, armies 
  • Story, stories 
  • City, cities 
  • Pony, ponies 

Rule 5

There are nouns ending in -f or -fe that form their plural by changing -for -fe into v and adding -es. They are; 

  • Thief, thieves 
  • Life, lives 
  • Half, halves 
  • Loaf, loaves 
  • Wife, wives 
  • Sheaf, sheaves 
  • Knife, knives 
  • Calf, calves 
  • Wolf, wolves 
  • Elf, elves 
  • Shelf, shelves 
  • Leaf, leaves 
  • Self, selves 

But nouns like scarf, dwarf, hoof, and wharf   take either -s or -ves in the plural; 

  • Dwarfs or dwarves 
  • Scarfs or scarves 
  • Wharfs or wharves 
  • Hoofs or hooves 

Most other words ending in -f  or-fe take their plural form by adding -s,  

  • Chief, chiefs 
  • Gulf, gulfs 
  • Safe, safes 
  • Cliff, cliffs 
  • Proof, proofs 
  • Handkerchief, handkerchiefs 

Rule 6

There are a few nouns that change the inside vowel of the singular to form their plural.  

For example: 

  • Man, men 
  • Goose, geese 
  • Mouse, mice 
  • Woman, women 
  • Foot, feet 
  • Tooth, teeth 

Rule 7

A few nouns form their plural by adding -into the singular.  

For Example: 

  • Ox, oxen 
  • Child, children 

Rule 8

Some nouns have their singular and their plurals alike.  

Swine, sheep, deer, luggage, aircraft, furniture, trout, salmon, series, species, spacecraft, etc. 

Rule 9

Some nouns are always used only in the plural: 

  1. Names of instruments that have two parts form a kind of pair. 
  • Bellows, scissors, spectacles, etc. 
  1. Names of certain articles of dress. 
  • Jeans, trousers, drawers, shirts, breeches, etc. 

Rule 10

Certain collective nouns, though they are singular in form, are always used as plurals  

For example:   

Poultry, cattle, vermin, people, gentry. 

Rule 11

Compound nouns generally form their plurals by adding -s to the principal word, like. 

  • Son-in-law – Sons-in-law 
  • Commander-in-chief – Commanders-in-chief 
  • Looker-on – Lookers-on 
  • Stepson – Stepsons 
  • Passer-by – Passers-by 

Rule 12

Abstract nouns are uncountable. They have no plural, like: 

Hope, charity, love, kindness, etc. 

  

   

Plural Nouns and Its Rules

Comments:

Related topics

Adjectives

Exploring the World of Adjectives: Types, Usage, and Examples

What are Parts of Speech? Parts of speech determine words’ grammatical and semantic position in a sentence. Activity time The parts of speech are nouns, adverbs, conjunctions, pronouns, interjections, adjectives, articles, prepositions, and verbs. Identify the parts of speech of the underlined words in the following sentences. White- Adjective Big- Adjective    Exciting- Adjectives New- […]

Read More >>
Memoir writing

Memoir Writing: Basic Elements, Structures, and Types

Memoir: A memoir is a narrative written from an author’s perspective about a particular facet of his/her own life. ‘Memoir’ word comes from the French word ‘memoire’, which means ‘memory’ or ‘reminiscence’. Example Night: Elie Wiesel gives an account of how he survived his teenage years at Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps during World War […]

Read More >>
Identifying the main idea

Identification of Main Idea in Fiction and Non-fiction

Every story or paragraph or non-fictional text has at least one main idea. The MAIN IDEA is what the text is mostly about. (It is backed up or supported by SUPPORTING DETAILS) Before discussing how to find the main idea, we shall first look at TOPIC. Can you define a topic? A topic can be […]

Read More >>
Writing an Article

Writing an Article: Structure and Essential Tips

What is an article? Structure of Article Writing : Title : Draw the attention of readers with an attractive title and indicate the main topic of the article Introduction : Attract the reader’s attention with a sentence that gives a general presentation of the topic. Main Body : Between these sentences, the body should do […]

Read More >>

Other topics