Noun - Number

  

THE NOUN : NUMBER :--

  1. Singular Number

  2. Plural Number

  1. SINGULAR NUMBER :--
   

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

    e.g.:-- boy, girl, goat, book, pen, road etc.

  2. PLURAL NUMBER  :--
   

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

    e.g.:-- boys, girls, goats, books, pens, roads etc.

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    Rules   For   Forming   Plurals
   

  (a)  Adding -' s '

            

SINGULAR	PLURAL
boy	boys
girl	girls
cow	cows
goat	goats
book	books
pen	pens
table	tables
road	roads

  (b)  Adding -'es' to noun ending in -s OR -sh,-ch (soft) OR -x ; as,

               

SINGULAR	PLURAL
dish	dishes
bench	benches
box	boxes
mass	masses
beach	beaches
watch	watches
bush	bushes
boss	bosses
pass	passes

  (c)  Adding -'es' to nouns ending in -o; as,

              

SINGULAR	PLURAL
buffalo	buffaloes
mango	mangoes
hero	heroes
negro	negroes
tomato	tomatoes
echo	echoes
mosquito	mosquitoes
cargo	cargo

  (d)  Adding - ' s ' to nouns ending in -'o'; as,

                    

SINGULAR	PLURAL
dynamo	dynamos
kilo	kilos
piano	pianos
commando	commandos
radio	radios
vedio	vedios
photo	photos

  (e) Noun ending in -' y ' preceded by a consonant, form their plurals by changing -' y ' into  ' i ' and by adding -' es '; as,

               

SINGULAR	PLURAL
ponies	ponies
army	armies
story	stories
fly	flies
lorry	lorries
puppy	puppies
baby	babies

  (f) Noun ending in -'f' or -'fe' form their plurals by changing -'f' or -'fe' into -'v' and adding -'es'; as,

SINGULAR	PLURAL
wife	wives
life	lives
knife	knives
leaf	leaves
loaf	loaves
shelf	shelves
thief	thieves
wolf	wolves

            

   

  (g) Some nouns ending in -'f' or -'fe' add -'s'; as,

               

SINGULAR	PLURAL
brief	briefs
chief	chiefs
cliff	cliffs
gulf	gulfs
giraffe	giraffes
sheriff	sheriffs
reef	reefs
cuff	cuffs
proof	proofs
roof	roofs
belief	beliefs
chef	chefs

  (h) Some nouns ending in - ' f ' take either -' s ' or -' ves '; as,
       

SINGULAR	PLURAL
dwarf	dwarfs -or- dwarves
hoof	hoofs -or- hooves
scarf	scarfs -or- scarves
wharf	wharfs -or- wharves

 (i) Some nouns form plural by changing in inside vowel of the singular ; as,

SINGULAR	PLURAL
men	men
woman	women
goose	geese
foot	feet
tooth	teeth
mouse	mice
louse	lice

  (j) Some noun form plural by adding -'en' to the singular; as,

SINGULAR	PLURAL
ox	oxen
child	children

  (k) Some noun have the singular and plural alike; as,

      Swine, sheep, deer, cod, trout, salmon, aircraft,spacecraft,series, species, pair, dozen, score, gross, hundred( nine hundred, one hundred ), thousand (one thousand, forty thousand i. e. when used after numerals).
      

              

SIGULAR	PLURAL
score	score
aircraft	aircraft
species	species
swine	swine
series	series

          * I bought one dozen oranges.

          * I bought ten dozen oranges.

          * The sari cost her one hundred rupees.

          * The sari cost her nine hundred rupees.

          * Hundreds of people marched towards Delhi.

         

  (l) Some noun look plural but, are infact singular; as,

           Mathematics, physics, electronics, news, mumps, rickets, billiards, draughts etc.

          * Mathematics is my favorite subject

          * No news is good news

          * Measles is infectious

          * Billiards is my favourite game

 (m) Some noun are used only in the plural; as,

    Tongs, scissors, bellows,pincers, spectacles, trousers, jeans, tights, shorts, pyjamas, annals, assets, nuptials etc.
 

         *  scissors

            spectacles

            trousers

            jeans

            drawers

            shorts

 (n) Certain Collective nouns are always used as plurals; as,

          Poultry, cattle, gentry, people, vermin etc.

         * These poultry are mine.

         * Whose are these cattle ?

         * There are few gentry in this town.

         * Who are these people {= persons} ?

 (o) A compound noun generally form its plural by adding -'s' to the principal word; as,

SINGULAR	PLURAL
commander-in-chief	commanders-in-chief
son-in-law	sons-in-law
passer-by	passers-by
looker-on	lookers-on
stepson	stepsons
man-of-war	men-of-war

 (p) Some foreign words have their plural; as,

SINGULAR	PLURAL
syllabus	syllabi
radius	radii
axis	axes
criterion	criteria

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(q)  Few nouns have two different forms in plural. But the two forms have different meanings.

    Examples:

  Singular                     Plural
  -----------                    ---------

* Brother………….1. Brothers (sons of same parents)

                            2. Brethren (members of a society)

* Cloth………….....1. Cloths (pieces of cloth)

                             2. Clothes (items of cloth)

* Die.....................1. Dies ( stamps for coining )

                             2. Dice ( small cubes used in games )

* Fish……………...1. Fish (more than one of same variety) 

                             2. Fishes (of different varieties)

* Genius…………   1. Geniuses (persons of great talent)

                             2..Genii (spirits)

* Index…………….. 1. Indexes (tables of contents)

                               2. Indices (signs used in algebra)

* Penny.................. 1. Pennies ( number of coins )

                               2. Pence (amount in value )

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 (r) Few nouns have different meanings in the singular and in the plural  :---
    
* Advice (counsel)…………. Advices (information)

* Air (atmosphere)…………. Airs (artificial manners)

* Compass (range )..............Compasses (an insrument for drawing circles)

* Good (morally correct)……Goods (merchandise)

* Force (strength)…………...Forces (troops)

* Iron (a kind of metal)..........Irons (fetters)

* Physic (medicine)…………Physics (a branch of science)

* Wood (portion of tree)……Woods (a grove of trees)

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(s) Some nouns have two meanings in the singular and two in the plural
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Examples:

* Custom (habit)………………………….......Customs    1. (habits ) ;

                                                                                  2. ( taxes collected on imports)

* Quarter (one fourth )....................………..Quarters    1. (fourth parts);

                                                                                  2.( living places)

* Effect (result)………………………….........Effects      1. (results) ;

                                                                                  2. (property)

* Manner (method)......................................Manners    1. (methods);

                                                                                  2. (correct behaviour)

* Spectacle (a sight)..................................Spectacles 1. (sights);

                                                                                 2. (eye glasses)

 

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 (t) Letters, numbers and other symbols form their plural by adding  ( 's )
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Write your r’s and l’s clearly.

* Add two 8’s and six 4’s.

* Dot your i's and cross your t's.

* There are more e's than a's in this page.

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