number of noun in English Grammar

number of nouns in english-maihanweb

 

The Noun :Number


Notice the change of the form in the second word of the each pair--

{ Tree    {Box    {Ox    {Men

{ Trees {Boxes {Oxen { 


A Noun that denotes the one person or thing , is said to be in the singular Number .as ,

boy . girl . cow .


A Noun that denotes the more than one person or thing , is said the  to be in the Plural Number ;as .

boys . girls . cows .

Thus there are two Numbers in the English - The Singular and the Plural .


Noun+Noun

Noun plus noun is called compound noun , In these nouns the first noun is the entire time singular and functions as an adjective and modify the second noun .

Ex: bus driver . Right.

Ex: bus drivers.  Right.

Ex: Buses driver . Wrong.


Extra information : We can use compound nouns in the following cases below .


Ex: College student    Noun+Noun

Ex:Fruit packing . Noun+Gender 

Ex:Learning  center. Gender+Noun,

Ex: Brother in law . Noun+pre+Noun


How Plurals are Formed

The Plural of the  noun is the generally formed by adding -s to the singular; as.

(Boy, boys)    ( Girl,Girls )

(Pen ,Pens)    ( Desk, desks .)

(Book,books)    ( Cow .Cows)


But Nouns ending in .s-sh-ch -(soft ), or , x form the plural by adding as to the singular.as.

(Class , classes )   ( Kiss,Kisses )

(brush ,brushes )    (March.matches )

(branch .branches )  (tax.taxes)


Most noun ending in -o also form the plural by adding -es to the singular ; as,

(Buffalo.classes )        Mango .Mangoes .

(Potato.Potatoes )        (Cargo.cargoes )

(Negro.Negroes )        ( Volcano ,Volcanoes)


A few noun ending in -o merely the  add.s;as,

(dynamo.dynamos)       (solo.solos)

(canto.cantos)               (memento .mementos)

(piano.pianos)              (photo.photos)

(Kilo.kilos)                  (logo.logos)


Noun ending in -y. preceded by a consonant. form their plural the by changing -y into -i and adding -es ;as.

baby.babies.            lady.ladies .

army.armies            story.stories 

city.cities;                pony.ponies 


The following nouns ending the in-f or -fe form their the plural by changing-f or -fe into v and adding -es ;as 

(thief.thieves)           (wife.wives)

(life.lives)                (calf.calves)

loaf.loaves             knife.knives 

half.halves;            elf.elves.

sheaf.sheaves          wolf.wolves.


The noun dwarf the  ,hoof, scarf and the wharf the take either -s or -ves in the plural.

(dwarfs or dwarves)           (hoofs or hooves)

(wharf's or wharves)


Other word the ending in -f or -Fe add -s ; as .

(chief .chiefs)             (safe.safes)

(gulf.gulfs)              ( cliff.cliffs)

(Proof.proofs) 

A few nouns the form their plural by changing the inside vowel of the singular ;as,

man.men         woman.women

goose.geese          mouse.mice.

foot.feet                louse.lice

tooth,teeth

There are  the  a few nouns that form the their plural by adding -en to the singular ;as.

ox.oxen             child.children.

The plural of fish is fish or fishes. In current the English fish is the usual plural. Fishes can be used to the refer to different kinds of fish ,


Some nouns have the singular and the plural alike  the ;as.

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


I bought three dozen oranges.

Some people the reach the age of three score and ten.

The sari cost me the five thousand rupees .

Stone. hundredweight.

He weighs above nine stone.

Twenty hundredweight make one ton .

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