Singular and Plural Nouns

Singular Nouns

A Singular Noun refers to one person, animal, thing or place.

Examples:

Person Animal Thing Place
boy cat cup park
girl dog spoon harbor
baby puppy television farm
child kitten bicycle beach
man horse sofa playground
woman donkey bus zoo
gentleman chicken house garden
lady duck watch market
teacher beetle vase harbor




Plural Nouns

A Plural Noun refers to more than one person, animal, thing or place.

Examples:

Person Animal Thing Place
boys cats cups parks
girls dogs spoons harbors
babys puppys televisions farms
children kittens bicycles beaches
men horses sofas playgrounds
women donkeys buses zoos
gentlemen chickens houses gardens
ladies ducks watches markets
teachers beetles vases harbors

Plural Nouns are formed in many ways. Listed below are some of the more common ways:

1) By adding 's'.

Examples:

chair - chairs

waiter - waiters

towel - towels

pillow - pillows

pen - pens

shoe - shoes

truck - trucks

book - books

sandal - sandals

helicopter - helicopters

telephone - telephones

zebra - zebras


2) For nouns ending in the letters 'x', 'ch', 's', 'sh' and 'o', add 'es'.

Examples:

torch - torches

bench - benches

leech - leeches

ditch - ditches

cockroach - cockroaches

beach - beaches

coach - coaches

church - churches

inch - inches

dress - dresses

grass - grasses

address - addresses

circus - circuses

cross - crosses

buffalo - buffaloes

halo - haloes

mosquito - mosquitoes

eyelash - eyelashes

wish - wishes

fax - faxes

hoax - hoaxes


3) For some nouns ending in the letter 'o', add 's'.

Examples:

photo - photos

piano - pianos

igloo - igloos

cockatoo - cockatoos

kangaroo - kangaroos

tattoo - tattoos

studio - studios

video - videos

zoo - zoos

studio - studios


4) For nouns ending in 'y' with a consonant before it, replace 'y' with 'ies' (in many cases).

Examples:

lady - ladies

city - cities

battery - batteries

cherry - cherries

daddy - daddies

dairy - dairies

kitty - kitties

pony - ponies

reply - replies

copy - copies

daisy - daisies

story - stories


5) For nouns ending in 'y' with a vowel before it, add 's' (in most cases).

Examples:

boy - boys

bay - bays

essay - essays

toy - toys

valley - valleys

ray - rays

chimney - chimneys

donkey - donkeys

storey - storeys

turkey - turkeys

play - plays

tray - trays


6) By replacing 'f' or 'fe' with 'ves' (in some cases).

Examples:

calf - calves

knife - knives

leaf - leaves

elf - elves

scarf - scarves

thief - thieves

sheaf - sheaves

wife - wives

life - lives

wolf - wolves


7) By adding 's' to nouns ending in 'f' or 'fe' (in some cases).

Examples:

cafe - cafes

giraffe - giraffes

gulf - gulfs

sheriff - sheriffs

roof - roofs

cliff - cliffs

safe - safes

hoof - hoofs

chief - chiefs

proof - proofs


8) By changing the vowels inside.

Examples:

foot - feet

man - men

woman - women

louse - lice

goose - geese

mouse - mice

tooth - teeth

fireman - firemen


9) The plural of some nouns are formed irregularly.

Examples:

child - children

larva - larvae

radius - radii

ox - oxen

cactus - cacti

bacterium - bacteria

fungus - fungi


10) Some nouns ending in 's' are only used in the plural.

Examples:

shorts, binoculars, scissors, trousers, pants, contents (of a book), billiards, pincers, forceps, arms (weapons), tongs, pyjamas, mathematics, clothes, shears, mumps, physics, oats, goods, glasses (for eyes), etc.


11) Most uncountable nouns are only used in the singular.

Examples:

water, silver, sand, wheat, tea, flour, cotton, gold, milk, corn, coffee, salt, powder, mischief, etc.


12) The singular and plural of some nouns are the same.

Examples:

deer - deer

sheep - sheep

salmon - salmon

cod - cod

moose - moose

trout - trout

pike - pike


Exercises

A. Give the plural of the following singular nouns.

1. table - ____________

2. church - ____________

3. zoo - ____________

4. story - ____________

5. play - ____________

6. knife - ____________

7. wolf - ____________

8. chief - ____________

9. mouse - ____________

10. fungus - ____________

11. sandal - ____________

12. hoax - ____________

13. photo - ____________

14. battery - ____________

15. life - ____________

16. sheriff - ____________

17. proof - ____________

18. larva - ____________

19. tooth - ____________

20. ox - ____________


B. Give the singular of the following plural nouns.

1. waiters - ____________

2. crosses - ____________

3. pianos - ____________

4. daddies - ____________

5. essays - ____________

6. scarves - ____________

7. hoofs - ____________

8. geese - ____________

9. children - ____________

10. cacti - ____________

11. helicopters - ____________

12. mosquitoes - ____________

13. cockatoos - ____________

14. ponies - ____________

15. chimneys - ____________

16. thieves - ____________

17. giraffes - ____________

18. lice - ____________

19. bacterium - ____________

20. feet - ____________


C. Choose the correct answers.

1. Mr. Smith stayed in a hotel for 3 ( day, days ).

2. A hunter shot three ( deer, deers ) last week.

3. Two policemen caught a ( burglar, burglars ) last night.

4. I brush my ( tooth, teeth ) twice a day.

5. A few ( children, child ) are building a sandcastle on the beach.

6. Would you mind lending me a pair of ( scissor, scissors )?

7. The twin ( baby, babies ) are really cute.

8. She plucked a few ripe ( mangoes, mango ) from a mango tree.

9. The shepherd owns more than 2000 ( sheep, sheeps ) on his farm.

10. A pack of wolves is chasing after a ( foxes, fox ).


D. Rewrite these sentences changing the nouns in italics into plural.

1. My sister found the necklace.

2. The policeman arrested the robber.

3. The boy played with a toy robot yesterday.

4. I caught the mouse with a mousetrap.

5. My uncle hung the picture on the wall.

6. I hurt my foot and hand yesterday.

7. The workman repaired the road.

8. The child played at the playground last evening.

9. The lady alighted from the bus.

10. The milkmaid milked the cow.


Answers

A.

1.tables 2.churches 3.zoos 4.stories 5.plays 6.knives 7.wolves 8.chiefs 9.mice 10.fungi 11.sandals 12.hoaxes 13.photos 14.batteries 15.lives 16.sheriffs 17.proofs 18.larvae 19.teeth 20.oxen

B.

1.waiter 2.cross 3.piano 4.daddy 5.essay 6.scarf 7.hoof 8.goose 9.child 10.cactus 11.helicopter 12.mosquito 13.cockatoo 14.pony 15.chimney 16.thief 17.giraffe 18.louse 19.bacteria 20.foot

C.

1.days 2.deer 3.burglar 4.teeth 5.children 6.scissors 7.babies 8.mangoes 9.sheep 10.fox

D.

1. My sisters found the necklaces.

2. The policemen arrested the robbers.

3. The boys played with toy robots yesterday.

4. I caught the mice with mousetraps.

5. My uncles hung the pictures on the wall.

6. I hurt my feet and hands yesterday.

7. The workmen repaired the roads.

8. The children played at the playgrounds last evening.

9. The ladies alighted from the buses.

10. The milkmaids milked the cows.