NOUNS

THE CATEGORY OF NUMBER

I. RULES AND USES

1. PLURALS
A. Most nouns usually form their plural by adding s to the singular form:
day- days
house-houses
book-books

B. Nouns ending in ch, s, ss, sh, x, o form their plural by adding es:
church- churches
bus- buses
dress- dresses
brush- brushes
box- boxes
tomato- tomatoes
Exception: words of foreign origin or abbreviated words ending in o add s for the
plural: kilo-kilos, photo-photos, piano-pianos, kimono-kimonos,
soprano- sopranos, dynamo, dynamos.
When es is placed after ch, s, ss, sh or x, an extra syllable (/iz/) is added to the
spoken word: kiss (1 syllable)- kisses (2 syllables).

C. Nouns ending in y following a consonant form their plural by dropping the y

and adding ies:
baby- babies
family- families
nationality- nationalities
Nouns ending in y following a vowel form their plural by adding s: boy-boys,
day-days, donkey-donkeys.

D. Twelve nouns ending in f or fe drop the f or fe and add ves. These nouns are:
calf- calves
half- halves
knife- knives
leaf- leaves
life- lives
loaf- loaves
self- selves
sheaf- sheaves
shelf- shelves
thief- thieves
wife- wives
 wolf- wolves
The nouns hoof, scarf and wharf take either s or ves in the plural:
hoof- hoofs/ hooves
scarf- scarfs/ scarves
wharf- wharfs/ wharves
Other words ending in f or fe form their plural by adding s: cliff- cliffs,
handkerchief- handkerchiefs.

E. Irregular plurals
Child- children, man- men, woman- women, policeman- policemen, policewoman-
policewomen, foot- feet, louse- lice, goose- geese, tooth- teeth, ox- oxen.

F. Names of certain creatures/ animals do not change in the plural

deer- deer
sheep-sheep
fish-fish
Some types of fish do not normally change in the plural: carp, cod, mackerel, pike,
salmon, trout, squid. Others add s: crabs, herrings, sardines, sharks, lobsters.

Some nouns use singular forms in some contexts and plural forms in others:
Hunters shoot duck, partridge and pheasant.
There are many ducks, partridges and pheasants here.

The noun game, used by sportsmen to mean an animal/ animals hunted is always
in the singular and takes a singular verb.
These people are passionate hunters and game is everywhere
around these woods.

2. UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
Some nouns are uncountable. They have no plural. A/ an is not used with
uncountable nouns. These nouns include:
Food/ drinks: butter, bread, meat, cheese, jam, salt, pepper, fish, chocolate, water,
tea, milk, beer, coffee, lemonade, wine.
Materials: paper, wood, silver, gold, iron, stone.
Abstract nouns: peace, anger, love, hate, advice, beauty, knowledge.
Others: money, snow, soap, furniture, petrol, oil, information, news, luggage,
damage, camping, shopping, weather, rubbish.

Uncountable nouns are always singular and are not used with a/ an. These nouns
are often preceded by some, any, no, (a) little:
I don’t want (any) advice or help.
I want (some) information.
I have (no) news about him.
We’ve got (little) oil, we need to buy some.
 They can also be preceded by nouns such as bit, piece, slice etc + of:
a bit of help
a bar of soap
a jar of honey
a bowl of soup
a tin of tuna
a glass of water
a cup of tea
a packet of rice
a kilo of meat
a slice of bread
a loaf of bread
a carton of milk
a bottle of cola
a can of soda
a bag of flour
a piece of furniture
a drop of oil
a grain of sand
a sheet of paper
a pane of glass
a clap of thunder
a clove of garlic
a pile of books

BUT: many of these nouns can be used with a different meaning and are then countable. They
can take a/an in the singular and can also be used in the plural.

hair: Her hair is black. (all the hair on one’s head)

Whenever she finds a grey hair she pulls it out. (each hair separately)
We drink beer, coffee, wine, but we can ask for a (cup of) coffee, a (glass of)
beer, we enjoy a good wine.

Some abstract nouns which do not normally use a/an can be preceded by the indefinite article
in particular situations:

My children are a great help to me.

He had a love of music/ a hatred of violence.
He had a good knowledge of mathematics.
It was a relief to sit down.
It’s a shame she didn’t come./ It’s a pity you weren’t here./ It’s a
wonder she could read at the age of four.
There is a fear/ There are fears that he has been murdered.
There is a hope/ There are hopes that he will arrive on time.
3. SINGULAR AND PLURAL FORMS WITH DIFFERENT MEANING
Some nouns used in the singular have a certain meaning, but when used in the plural
they have a different meaning:
work- works: He is looking for work. (a job, an occupation, employment)
He read Shakespeare’s complete works. (literary works)
wood- woods: This chair is made of wood. (material)
He goes hunting in the woods. (forest)
ground- grounds: Put your feet on the ground. (land under your feet)
There are no grounds to accuse him. (reasons)
I hate the coffee grounds left in the cup. (remains)
Also: glass- glasses, scale- scales, cloth-clothes, arm (part of body)-arms
(weapons), damage (harm)-damages (compensation) etc

4. COLLECTIVE NOUNS
Collective nouns (crew, family, team) can take a singular or plural verb.
- Singular, if we consider the word to mean a single group or unit:
Our team is the best.
- Plural, if we take it to mean a number of individuals:
Our team are wearing their new T-shirts.

When a possessive adjective is necessary, a plural verb with their is more used than a
singular verb with its, though sometimes both are possible:
The jury are considering their verdict.
The jury is considering its verdict.

5. NOUNS ALWAYS IN THE PLURAL

- Garments consisting of two parts: breeches, pants, pyjamas, trousers etc.
- Tools/ instruments consisting of two parts: binoculars, glasses, scales
scissors, spectacles etc.
- Others: arms (weapons), damages (compensation), earnings, goods, greens
(vegetables), outskirts, premises, riches, savings, spirits (alcohol)etc.
- A number of words ending in ics which normally take a plural verb: acoustics,
athletics, ethics, physics, politics etc.
His mathematics are weak.
Mathematics is an exact science.
- Words plural in form but singular in meaning: news, mumps, rickets, billiards,
darts, dominoes etc.

6. NOUNS OF GREEK/ LATIN ORIGIN

They form their plural according to the rules of Greek and Latin:
Crisis- crises
Erratum- errata
 Memorandum- memoranda
Phenomenon- phenomena
Curriculum- curricula
Radius- radii
Terminus- terminii
Criterion- criteria

However, some of them follow the English rules:

Dogma- dogmas
Formula- formulas
Gymnasium- gymnasiums

Nouns with two plural forms and different meanings:

1.Appendix- appendixes/ appendices (medical term)
Appendix- appendices (additions to a book)
2.Index- indexes (in a book)
Index- indices (in mathematics)

7. PLURAL OF COMPOUND NOUNS

Normally the last word is made plural:
Boy-friends, break-ins, travel agents

Where man and woman is prefixed, both parts are made plural:
Men drivers, women drivers

The first word is made plural with compounds formed of verb+er, nouns+adverb:
Hangers-on, lookers-on, runners-up
Also with compounds made of noun+preposition+noun:
Ladies-in-waiting, sisters-in-law, wards of court

Initials can be made plural:

MPs (Members of Parliament)
VIPs (very important persons)
UFOs (unidentified flying objects)

8. GENDER
Masculine: men, boys, male animals (pronoun he/they)
Feminine: women, girls, female animals (pronoun she/they)
Neuter: inanimate things, animals whose sex we don’t know, sometimes babies whose
sex we don’t know (pronoun it/they)
Exceptions: ships and sometimes cars and other vehicles when regarded with
affection or respect are also normally considered feminine:
The ship struck an iceberg, which tore a huge hole in her side.
Scotland lost many of her brave men in the rebellion.
 Masculine/ feminine denoting people
Different forms: bachelor- spinster groom-bride
widower-widow nephew-niece
duke-duchess king-queen
Exceptions: baby, child, infant, spouse, teenager, relative
Most nouns indicating occupations have the same form: artist, assistant, driver,
dancer, doctor, guide etc
Exceptions: actor-actress conductor-conductress
heir-heiress host-hostess
hero-heroine waiter-waitress
Also salesman- saleswoman, but sometimes –person is used instead of –man, -woman:
salesperson, spokesperson.

Masculine/ feminine denoting animals

Domestic animals and many of the larger wild animals have different forms:
bull-cow cock/rooster-hen
duck-drake stallion-mare
lion-lioness tiger-tigress

9. PRONUNCIATION
/s/ /iz/ /z/
after /f/, /k/, /p/, /t/, /θ/ after /s/, /ks/, /ʃ/, /tʃ/, after other sounds
/dʒ/, /z/, /ʒ/
cliffs, books, lollipops, buses, foxes, brushes, pens, babies, songs,
spots, baths churches, bridges, roses, meals, records, rooms
mirages
 II. ACTIVITIES
Teach the category of number to Intermediate Level Students. Devise four
activities of introducing the different rules and uses of THE CATEGORY OF
NUMBER in English. Specify: the aim(s), the estimated time, students’ level,
students’ age.

We can adopt a four-stage procedure for teaching students about the plural of
nouns.

STAGE 1/ LEAD-IN ACTIVITY

LEVEL: Intermediate
AGE: 14-16 year-old students
ESTIMATED TIME: 5 minutes
AIM: to allow students to recognize and practice the rules of plural nouns.

Activity 1. Fill in with the appropriate plural form in the correct column:

Noun +S +ES +IES +VES Irregular Same form Uncountable Compound

plural in the nouns
plural
Dolphin

Knife

Sand

Lady

Bush

Deer Deer

Milk two glasses of milk

Passer-by

Cheese

Box

Wife

Family

Table

Tooth

Sheep

Child

Mother-in-law
 STAGE 2 / ACTIVITY 2
LEVEL: Intermediate
AGE: 14-16 year-old students
ESTIMATED TIME: 5 minutes
AIM: to give students practice in the use of the correct plural form of nouns.

Activity 2. Underline the correct noun form:

1. People play billiard / billiards all over the world.
2. The passers-by / the passer-bys walk quietly, absorbed in their own thoughts.
3. You’ll have to give me more informations / information about this.
4. One of my favourite school subjects is Physics / Physic.
5. It would be a bad idea to get involved in politic / politics nowadays.
6. The people in my area planted some apples-trees / apple-trees.
7. Are there any shoe-shops / shoes-shops around here?
8. They study the recent natural phenomenons / phenomena.
9. My two daughter-in-laws / daughters-in-law are both wonderful women.
10. I need two handkerchiefs / handkerchieves to put in my bag.

STAGE 3 / ACTIVITY 3
LEVEL: Intermediate
AGE: 14-16 year-old students
ESTIMATED TIME: 10 minutes
AIM: to enable students to recognize and correct the mistakes in using the
plural form of nouns.
Activity 3: The following text contains some errors in the use of singular and plural nouns.
Find the mistakes and correct them:

There is little doubts that pollution is contributing to changes in weather

patterns. The melting of the polar ice is receiving a great deals of publicity but there are
other phenomenons which we can also attribute to global warming. Plant and animal
species is losing their natural habitats and are in danger of extinction. Meanwhile, living
condition in many countries has been affected by floods and drought. Some say that
government are not doing enough to solve the problem, while politicians claim they are
doing the best they can with limited resource. In any case, we find ourselves at a
crossroads. Perhaps only a crises will encourage us to change our habits.
 STAGE 4 / ACTIVITY 4: FOLLOW-UP
LEVEL: Intermediate
AGE: 14-16 year-old students
ESTIMATED TIME: 20 minutes
AIM: to have students use the correct plural forms of nouns, to improve
grammar skills and to understand the different meanings of singular/ plural
forms.

Activity 4. Translate the following texts into English:

Desi tatal meu are un par negru si bogat, are si cateva fire de par grizonat. (hair/hairs)

In general, soacrele pot fi severe. (mothers-in-law)

Care sunt criteriile si formulele pe care le-ai aplicat aici? (criteria/ formulas)

Da-mi, te rog, foarfeca si binoclul. (scissors/ binoculars)

Aceste informatii sunt foarte utile, iti multumesc. (information)

S-au adunat cu totii in gradina: barbati, femei, copii. (men, women, children)

El a facut mult rau prin actiunile sale. Trebuie sa cerem despagubiri. (damage/ damages)

Un incendiu a distrus o casa din sudul Londrei. Toti membrii familiei sunt in siguranta,
dar lucrurile lor au fost distruse si vor ramane fara casa pentru o perioada de timp.
Familia a spus ca nu au idee ce anume a cauzat incendiul. Politia trateaza incidentul ca
fiind suspect.
(members/ belongings/ family/ police)