Number

Defenition

In English grammar, number refers to the grammatical contrast between singular (the concept of one) and plural (more than one) forms of nouns, pronouns, determiners, and verbs.

Types of Number

1.       Singular number A singular noun is a word that indicates that there is only one person, animal place, thing, or idea.Example:- Book, Brother, Cow, Tree etc.
2.       Plural number A plural noun is a word that indicates that there is more than one person, animal place, thing, or idea.Example:- Books, Brothers, Cows, Trees etc.

Examples of Number

Although most English nouns form the plural by adding -s or -es to their singular forms, there are numerous exceptions. Below are examples of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and verbs in the two number categories:

Word Type Number Category
Singular Example Plural Example
Noun cat, mouse cats, mice
Pronoun I, me, you, he, him, she, her, it we, us, you, they, them
Adjective this, that, a, an, my, your, his, her, its these, those, our, your, their
Verb am, is, was, has, I play, he plays Are, were, have, they play

Rules on changing Singular number to Plural Number

Rule 1: By suffixing s to the singular-noun.

Singular Plural Singular Plural
Cow  cows boat boats
Boy Boys toy toys
Girl Girls idea ideas
Cat Cats lion lions
House Houses house houses
Hand Hands cat cats
Eye Eyes river rivers
Tiger Tigers bug bugs
Desk Desks truck trucks
Run runs  Chair chairs 

Rule 2: By suffixing es to the singular-noun if a Singular noun ends with o, x, z, ss, sh, ch. 

Singular Plural Singular Plural
Bus Buses fox foxes
Class Classes beach beaches
Brush Brushes quizzes quiz
Bush Bushes wish wishes
Box Boxes pitch pitches
Brunch Brunches Bench benches 
Inch Inches Church churches 
Watch Watches Buffalo buffaloes 
Match matches Negro negroes
Hero heroes  Mango mangoes 
Echo echoes Potato potatoes 

Exceptional: In the case of singular nouns, if the pronunciation of the ending ‘ch’ sounds like ‘k’ instead of ‘ch’, we add only ‘s’ to make it plural instead of adding ‘es’. For example –

Singular Plural Singular Plural
Stomach Stomachs Monarch Monarchs
Patriarch Patriarchs    
   

Rule 3:  If the last letter of a singular noun is ‘o’ and the letter before it is a consonant, we add ‘es’ at the end to make the noun plural. For example –

Singular Plural Singular Plural
Mango Mangoes Cargo Cargoes
Potato Potatoes Volcano Volcanoes
Hero Heroes Buffalo Buffaloes
Negro Negroes    

Some nouns are exceptions where, despite ending with ‘o’ and having a consonant before the ‘o’, we add only ‘s’ to make them plural.

Singular Plural    
Photo Photos Momento momentos 
Solo Solos Dynamo dynamos 
Piano Pianos kilo kilos
Canto Cantos    

Rule 4: If a singular noun ends with ‘o’ and has a vowel before the ‘o’, we simply add ‘s’ to make it plural.

Singular Plural Singular Plural
Radio Radios Bamboo Bamboos
Cuckoo Cuckoos Studio Studios
Stereo Stereos    

Rule 5:  By changing the last letter y into ies.

Singular Plural Singular Plural
City Cities penny pennies
Baby Babies spy spies
Army Armies daisy daisies
Body Bodies family families
Hobby Hobbies party parties
Lady Ladies Story-stories   

However, if there is a vowel before ‘y’, then for singular nouns, we simply add ‘s’ to make them plural.

Singular Plural Singular Plural
Key Keys Boy Boys
Donkey Donkeys Toy Toys
Monkey Monkeys Day Days
Joy joys     

Rule 6: By changing f , ef or fe into ves.

Singular Plural Singular Plural
Calf Calves Knife knives 
Leaf Leaves Wolf wolves 
Wife Wives Shelf shelves 
Thief Thieves Life Lives

For exceptions, words that end with ‘ief’, ‘oof’, ‘ff’, ‘rf’, ‘if’, ‘eef’, ‘ife’, or ‘fe’ require adding only ‘s’ at the end to make them plural.

Singular Plural Singular Plural
Roof Roofs Belief Beliefs
Hoof Hoofs Chief chiefs 
Safe Safes Gulf gulfs 
Dwarf Dwarfs Proof proofs 
Cliff Cliffs Reef Reefs

Rule 7: By changing the inside vowel of the singular.

Singular Plural Singular Plural
Man Men Foot Feet
Woman Women Tooth Teeth
Mouse Mice Goose geese

Rule 8: By suffixing en to the singular.

Singular Plural Singular Plural
Ox Oxen Child Children
Brother Brethren    

Rule 9: By suffixing s to the main word or changing vowel in a compound noun.

Singular Plural Singular Plural
Brother-in-law Brothers-in-law Commander-in-chief commanders-in-chief 
Son-in-law Sons-in-law Man-servant men-servant 
Washer-man Washer-men Step-son Step-sons
Passer-by Passers-by Maid-servant Maid-servants

Rule 10: Compound nouns without a hyphen are made plural by simply adding ‘s’ at the end.

Singular Plural Singular Plural
Handful Handfuls Armchair Armchairs
Bookcase Bookcases Spoonful Spoonfuls

Rule 11: Several compound nouns are made plural by adding ‘s’ at the end.

Singular Plural Singular Plural
Man-servant Men-servants Woman-servant Women-servants
Lord-justice Lords-justices Knight-templar Knights-templars

Rule 12:  Some compound nouns require adding ‘s’ to the last noun in order to make them plural.

Singular Plural Singular Plural
Bookcase Bookcases Showcase Showcases
Inspector-general Inspector-generals Armchair Armchairs

Rule 13: Few nouns have the same forms both in singular and plural forms. 

Singular Plural Singular Plural
Sheep Sheep Dozen Dozen
Pair Pair Gross Gross
Swine Swine cod cod
Deer Deer fish fish
species species aircraft aircraft

Rule 14: Few collective nouns, though they are in singular forms, are used in plural forms.
Examples: poultry, people, cattle, gentry, public, vermin, majority, mankind.
Rule 15: Few common nouns, though they are in singular forms, are used in plural forms.
Examples: the rich, the poor, the virtuous, the pious.
The rich are not always happy.
The virtuous are blessed.
Rule 16: Special cases few nouns which end in s are used in singular form.
Examples: physics, mathematics, politics, economics, wages, athletics, news, innings optics, linguistics darts billiards statistics. etc

Mathematics is hard subject to me.
This news is is important. .
Rule 17: Few nouns are always used in plural forms.
Examples: Furniture, alphabet, brick, business, hair, information, scenery, machinery, beard, issue, poetry, progress, money, abuse, expenditure, baggage. Mumps, measles,  billiards, draughts,. trousers, drawers , spectacles, scissors
Her hair is very black.
Money is not a matter.
Rule 18:To make letters, numbers, or symbols plural, an apostrophe (’) is used.

– There are five M.A’s in our village.
– Add four 3’s and five 2’s.
Rule 19: Few nouns have different meanings in the singular and in the plural:

Singular             

Plural

Singular             

Plural

Advice (counsel)

Advices (information) 

Good (morally correct)

goods (merchandise) 

Wood (portion of tree)

woods (a grove of trees) 

Force (strength)

forces (troops) 

Physic (medicine)

physics (a branch of science) 

Sand (বালি)

Sands (desert) 

Air (atmosphere)

airs (artificial manners) 

Physic (medicine)

physics (a branch of science) 

Custom (habit)

customs (habits & taxes collected on imports 

Quarter (one fourth & a direction)

quarters (fourth parts, living places & directions) 

Effect (result)

effects (results & property) 

 

 

Rule 20. Few nouns have two different forms in plural. But the two forms have different meanings. 

Singular Plural Plural
Brother Brothers (sons of same parents) Brethren (members of a society) 
Cloth Cloths (pieces of cloth) Clothes (items of cloth) 
Fish Fish (more than one of same variety) Fishes (of different varieties) 
Genius Geniuses (persons of great talent) Genii (spirits)
Index Indexes (tables of contents) Indices (signs used in algebra) 
     

Rule 21: Material nouns generally do not have a plural form.

Example: water, sugar, iron, cooper, oil, silver, wood.
Rule 22: abstract nouns do not have a plural form either.
 

Example: kindness, hope, charity, love, honesty.   

Rule 23:.Letters, numbers and other symbols form their plural by adding an apostrophe ands.
Examples: Write your i’s and l’s clearly.
Add two 8’s and six 4’s.

Note the use of foreign plurals

Singular

Plural

Singular

Plural

Agendum

Agenda

Curriculum

Curricula

Erratum

Errata

Memorandum

memoranda

Axis

Axes

Crisis

Crises

Index

 indices

Terminus

termini/ terminuses

Analysis

Analyses

Focus

Focuses /foci

Basis

bases

Hypothesis

hypotheses

Criterion

criteria

Formula

Formulas /formulae

cactus

cacti

Cherub

cherubim/ cherubs

Medium

Media

Oasis

Oases

Parenthesis

parentheses

fungus

fungi

Radius

Radii

Genus

Genera

nucleus

nuclei

syllabus

syllabi/syllabuses

Forum

Forums

analysis

analyses

diagnosis

diagnoses

thesis

theses

datum

data

phenomenon

phenomena

Stratum

Strata

Appendix

Appendixes/appendices

Alumnus

Lumni

Medium

Media

Bacterium

Bacteria

Stimulus

Stimuli

 

Exercises

 1. Give the plural number of the following

branch, tomato, monarch, knife, monkey story, box, stomach, house, boy, army, hero, photo, roof, hoof potato, cuckoo, bamboo, mango, mosquito, dish, man-of-war, woman, ox, salesman, Musalman, fisherman, German, brother-in-law, maid servant, servant, man servant, major-general, bookcase, handful, spoonful, party, scarf, analysis, agendum, bandit, basis, Mr., Mrs., crises, phenomenon

2. Give the singular number of the following:

asses, dishes, monarchs, flies, leaves, babes, wives, mangoes, studies, pionos, heroes, staffs, Chiefs, feet, geese, mice, oxen, lice, boatmen, brahamans, spoonfuls, step brothers, fathers in-law, lords-justices, men-servants, book-cases

3. Give the opposite number of the following:

loaves, bus, bones, days, cliff, radio, foot, workmen, Norman, passer-by, commanders-in-chief, memorandum, criterian, data, hypothesis, these fez, key

4. Give the correct number of the nouns in the brackets.

(a) The girl lost all her — (tooth).

(b) The green — (leaf) look fresh.

(c) He has two — (brother-in-law).

(d) He bought ten —- (sheep).

(e) He has one — (maid-servants).

(f)The — (passer-by) were looking at the sky.

(g)Local — (buses) does not run fast.

(h) A — (lice) fell from her head.

(i) The cat killed two — (mouse).

(j) Seven — (fox) are grazing in the field.

5. Give the correct number of the nouns in the brackets

(a) (Fly) — sit on uncovered food.

(b) The — (baby) are crying.

(c) The — (day) have become shorter.

(d) The — (women) in the room is my sister.

(e) The — (lady) in the club are gossiping.

(f) (Child) — are playing.

(g) (Herd) — are always welcome.

(h) The — (woman) of our country are poor.

(i) The — (boatmen) is taking rest.

(j) (Mango) — are not available.

6. Change the following sentences into singular

(a) Roses are flowers.

(b) Do are animals

(c) Houses are shelters

(d) Nouns are the names of things

(e) Dogs have tail.

(f) Soldiers carry guns 

(g) The workers are clearing the floors.

7. Change the following sentences into singular.

(a) These oranges are very sweet.

(b) Those mangoes are not ripe.

(c) Three boys were present yesterday.

(d) Good children are liked by all.

(e) There are ten geese in the pond.

(f) Some women are waiting at the station.

(g) Many boatmen are sailing their boats in the sea.

(h) Some oxen are found in the field.

(i) Mosquitoes are insects.

(j) Babies are playing with their toys.

8. Change the following sentences into singular.

(a) The brave are heroes.

(b) The guests were narrating their stories.

(c) Our friends send us letters.

(d) Many women are garment workers.

(e) Asses carry loads.

(f) Lions are ferocious animals.

(g) Owls are nocturnal birds.

(h) Children like toys.

(i) Fishermen catch fishes.

(j) Nurses serve patients.

9. Change the following sentences into plural.

(a) There is a deer on the hill side.

(b) This sheep is white.

(c) That bookcase is made of wood.

(d) He has caught a fish.

(e) I am going to pay the workman.

(f) My school is big.

(g) He is a school boy.

(h) This woman has an umbrella.

(i) This is a boy.

(j) That is a big house.

10. Change the following sentences into plural.

(a) I saw a man sleeping.

(b) This is the boy whose pen is lost.

(c) This is a woman.

(d) A cow is a useful animal.

(e) Chair is made of wood.

(f) Loaf is made from flour.

(g) Chair is made of wood.

(h) A cat is under my table.

(i) A horse is useful to farmers.

(j) A noun is the name of a thing.

11. Choose the correct number in brackets.

(a) More than one — (singer/singers) sang beautiful songs.

(b) I always use — (spectacle/ spectacles).

(c) His — (circumstance/circumstances) are good.

(d) Spare — (part/parts) are sold in the market.

(e) I bought three — (dozen/dozens) oranges.

(f) He addressed all — (lady/ladies) present there.

(g) I bought five — (kilo/kilos) meat.

(h) There are many — (wolf/wolves) in the zoo.

(i) The old man has not a single — (tooth/teeth).

(j) He divided the mangoes into two — (hall/halves).

12. Choose the correct number in brackets.

(a) The police arrested all the — (thief/thieves).

(b) (That/those) — trees are very tall.

(c) I like to wear ready-made — (trouser/trousers).

(d) The (brother/brothers) — of the club are very co-operative.

(e) The (salesman/salesmen) — in this shop are very skilled.

(f) His (step-brother/step-brothers) — like him very much.

(g) (Bamboo/Bamboos) — are used for various purposes.

(h) (Baby/Babies) — usually like to play with toys.

(i) Seven (day/days) — make a week.

(j) (Hero/Heroes) — are respected by all.

13. Give the correct number of the nouns in the brackets.

(a) The — (wage) of sin is death.

(b) There are many — (fox) in this jungles.

(c) (Potato) — grow plenty in Bangladesh.

(d) His shop is full of — (piano).

(e) All the — (chief) met together.

(f) He used to tell me many — (story).

(g) Beware of — (fly).

(h) The old man has two — (wise).

(i) Meghna is the deepest — (river) in Bangladesh.

(j) The Padma is one of the biggest — (river) in Bangladesh.

14. Use the right form of nouns in the brackets.

(a) (Child) — like sweets. (b) (Baby) — love toys.

(c) The farmer has five — (sheep).

(d) The hunter killed three — (deer).

(e) He bought two dozen of — (pen).

(f) Ten — (mile) is a long way.

(g) She will draw some — (picture).

(h) He has six — (ox).

(i) There are three —– (knife) on the table.

(j) He lost all his — (tooth).

15. Use the right form of nouns in the brackets.

(a) The green — (leaf) look beautiful.

(b) He has five — (man-servant) in his house.

(c) A large number of  — (people) have gathered.

(d) Every — (babies) has a toy.

(e) The furniture is made of — (woods).

(f) — (lice) fell from her head.

(g) There are some — — (boatman) in the river.

(h) A few — (passer-by) are crossing the road.

(i) He has sold all his — (furnitures).

(j) Both of his — (foot) are injured.