Singular And Plural

Singular and Plural

Read the following text.

There are many things in my kitchen at home. In the refrigerator, there are some apples and some oranges. There is some cheese, some butter and some oil. I have a few pieces of beef but there isn't any fish. In the kitchen, there are many pictures on the walls and my children like to put pictures on the refrigerator. Sometimes, I have some men friends visit me and we make lunch together. At other times, I have women friends visit me and we have dinner together.

Forming the plural in English is very easy. Add '-s' to any singular word Example: apple - apples and you have made the plural! Some words are formed differently:

• Words ending in '-y'. Add '-ies' if '-y' is follows a consonant

Example: candy - candies, jelly - jellies

• Words ending in '-ch'. Add '-es'

Example: watch - watches, peach - peaches

• Words ending in '-s'. Add '-es'

Example: grass - grasses, glass - glasses

Some important exceptions to the plural rule include:

• man - men
• woman - women
• person - people
• child - children
• 
  
  
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Finish the sentences with the singular or plural form of the nouns. Example: There is a ____ on the table. Answer: There is a book on the table. 1) The cat is sitting on my . 2) There are five on my desk. 3) I have two . 4) They are riding their . 5) We have a . 6) How many do you have in your bag? 7) My mother has a new . 8) There are three windows in the . 9) Susan has four . 10) There is one on the floor

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English nouns can be classified as count (singular and plural) and non-count.

The singular form is used when considering the noun as a single item (count) or entity (non-count).

brick

dog

airplane

person

foot

water

sugar

truth

education

The plural form is used when considering more than one of the same item. Non-count nouns do not have a plural form.

bricks

dogs

airplanes

people

feet

Things to be aware of:

Regular plurals

Most plurals are formed by adding -s or -es to the singular noun:

boys		cars		pens		pills		pronounce /z/
cats		rocks		tips		chiefs		pronounce /s/
kisses		watches		boxes		dishes		pronounce /Iz/

In some cases, there are special spelling rules that need to be considered when forming the plural.

knives

hobbies

quizzes

Irregular plurals

Some nouns take on a different form in the plural:

women

teeth

mice

children

people

Non-count nouns

Non-count nouns do not have a plural form; however, some nouns can be used in both the count and non-count sense:

I have a lot of experience.

I have a lot of experiences.

Third-person singular "-s"

Singular and non-count nouns (in the third person) require the "-s" form of the verb in the present tense.

The girl loves painting.

My dog likes to eat meat.

Johnny lives next door to Jenny.

Milk contains nutrients.

Tommy has two hobbies.

Jerry is from Colorado.

Singular count nouns require an article (the, a, an) unless

they are "proper" nouns

Mr. Jones went to Arizona.

they are preceded by a possessive

My mother loves my father.

they are preceded by this, that, each, every, either, neither, or one.

Each man contributed one dollar.

(Wrong: Apple is on table. [Articles are required.])

The/An apple is on the table.

Plural nouns and singular non-count nouns do not require an article in the "generic" sense:

Water is important for plants.

However, they require articles (the, some) in most other cases.

Please put some wine in the glasses.