NOUNS: THE CATEGORY OF NUMBER

I.

Variable and invariable nouns

1) Variable nouns
They have one form for the singular and another form for the plural. Most

English nouns build their plural form by adding the inflection s to the singular,
and, thus, are included in the category of regular plurals.
e.g. friend friends, day days, eye eyes

Nouns which do not follow the general rule and achieve the singular plural
contrast by other means belong to the class of irregular plurals:
a) ves plurals
Several English nouns ending in f(e), pronounced [f], have their plural in
ves, pronounced [vz]:
e.g. calf calves, half halves, knife knives, leaf leaves, life lives, loaf
loaves, shelf shelves
b) Internal vowel change
There are seven English nouns which form their plural by changing the
internal vowel, a phenomenon which represents a survival from Old English (e.g.
foot feet)
c) en plurals
Other survivals from the past are three nouns which take en in the plural:
e.g. child children

d) Identical singular and plural forms (zero plurals)

There are nouns which have the same form in the singular and in the plural.
e.g. This sheep is very old./ These sheep are grown primarily for wool.
Several categories of such nouns can be mentioned here:
names of certain animals: deer, sheep, moose, grouse, plaice, fish,
salmon, trout, carp
e.g. Two deer were rescued from the Mississippi River yesterday.
NOTE: When reference is made to species of fish, the regular plural
fishes can be used:
e.g. There is a great diversity of fishes in this museum.
certain nationality names (generally ending in ese): Chinese,
Japanese, Portuguese, Swiss
e.g. There were two Portuguese and three Swiss in our group.
some quantitative nouns, like dozen, hundred, thousand, million,
stone, brace, yoke, head, when they are preceded by a number, or
when they are used as modifiers before other nouns
e.g. This city has two million inhabitants.
He sold sixty head of cattle last year.
The wind toppled a thirty-foot tree.
some nouns ending invariably in s: crossroads, headquarters,
means, barracks, works, series, species
e.g. You must find a useful means of analyzing it./ These means of
production are very effective.
This species is classified as vulnerable./ Over four hundred species
of birds have been recorded on the island.

b) Foreign plurals
In English, there are several nouns which were borrowed from other foreign
languages, and which tend to preserve their original plurals. Some of them also
have a regular plural in s.
e.g. Latin plurals: alga algae, appendix appendices (also appendixes),
bacterium bacteria, cactus cacti (also cactuses), corpus corpora,
formula formulae (also formulas), matrix matrices (also matrixes),
medium media (also mediums), nucleus nuclei (also nucleuses), stimulus
stimuli, stratum strata, vertebra vertebrae (also vertebras)
Greek plurals: analysis analyses, basis bases, crisis crises,
criterion criteria, diagnosis diagnoses, oasis oases, paranthesis
parantheses, phenomenon phenomena, schema schemata, thesis theses
French plurals: adieu adieux (also adieus), bureau bureaux (also
bureaus), chateau chateaux (also chateaus)
Hebrew plurals: cherub cherubim (also cherubs), kibbutz
kibbutzim, seraph seraphim (also seraphs)

NOTE
1. Inflection s is preceded by an apostrophe when we build the plural of
letters, and, sometimes, of dates and abbreviations:
e.g. He wrote imitate with two ms.
I really love the music of the 1980s. (also: 1980s)
Can a company have two CEOs? (also: CEOs)
2. In forming the plural of the compound nouns, several situations can
be identified:
inflection s is generally added to the final element, especially in
noun/ gerund + noun combinations (e.g. washing machines,

girlfriends, frying pans), or when no noun is present (e.g. grownups, take-offs)

inflection s is added to the first element in noun + adverb
combinations (e.g. runners-up, goings-out), in compounds made
up of two nouns linked by a preposition (e.g. editors-in-chief,
men-of-war,

mothers-in-law),

or

in

noun

adjective

combinations (e.g. courts-martial, attorneys general)

Exceptions: In American English, some of these compounds are
often used with the plural ending s added to the last element (e.g.
mother-in-laws, court-martials, attorney generals)
both elements are made plural in compounds which contain man
or woman as gender markers (e.g. men drivers, women students)
Exceptions: man-eaters, woman-haters
2)Invariable nouns
a) Singular invariable nouns
They have only a singular form and are followed by a singular verb. There
are several types of singular invariable nouns:
Uncountable nouns: they refer to entities which are perceived as an
undifferentiated mass or continuum, and not as separate objects;
uncountable nouns typically include:
- concrete nouns: various substances, species of plants, but also
objects which are presented as indivisible entities
e.g. gold, silver, cotton, bread, butter, milk, meat, oil, sugar,
smoke, air, glass, water, wine, coffee, grass, rice, onion, cabbage,
furniture, luggage, money, jewelry, equipment
- abstract nouns

e.g. advice, information, knowledge, news, music, beauty,

progress, experience, poetry, research, business, laughter, peace,
happiness, hatred, jealousy, kindness, joy, love, patience, luck
NOTE: If reference is made to a specific quantity or to a certain
number of pieces of an uncountable entity, the nouns in the above
mentioned categories must be used with partitives. According to
the types of uncountable nouns that they can precede, partitives
are of several types:
a) general partitives are words that co-occur with a wide
range of lexical items: piece, item, bit
e.g. a piece of information, a piece of meat, an item of
news, an item of luggage, a bit of advice, a bit of luck
b) specific partitives have a more specialized meaning and,
consequently, are restricted to certain nouns: bar, loaf,
lump, sheet, blade, fit
e.g. a bar of soap, a loaf of bread, a sheet of paper, a
blade of grass, a fit of coughing
c) measure partitives denote exact measurement: gramme,
kilogram, metre, foot, mile, pound
e.g. a kilogram of sugar, a metre of cloth, a pint of beer
- sciences and fields of study
e.g. linguistics, mathematics, statistics, economics, optics,
medicine, agriculture, engineering, electronics, journalism,
philosophy, politics, advertising
- names of sports and games
e.g. tennis, basketball, football, soccer, gymnastics, athletics,
swimming, rugby, golf, wrestling, hunting, fishing, chess,
checkers, draughts, cards, billiards

- illnesses
e.g. measles,

mumps,

pneumonia, tuberculosis, diabetes,

laryngitis, diphtheria, appendicitis

Abstract substantivized adjectives: the adjective, preceded by the
definite article, denotes a generalized notion
e.g. the good, the evil, the supernatural, the unusual, the beautiful
Proper nouns: names of persons, countries, towns, rivers, languages,
days of the week and months
e.g. Catherine, Denmark, Paris, the Thames, Romanian, Thursday,
August
b) Plural invariable nouns
They have only a plural form and are followed by a verb in the plural.
Grammarians mention several types of plural invariable nouns:
Binary nouns (cf. Quirks summation plurals): tools, instruments and
articles of dress comprising two parts which are joined together
e.g. glasses, scissors, binoculars, tweezers, pliers, trousers, shorts,
overalls, tights, leggings, pyjamas, etc.
NOTE:
1. In order to make these nouns countable, we use them in
combination with a pair of :
e.g. A pair of binoculars can be rather expensive.
I need two pairs of trousers for tomorrow.
2. When used in front of another noun, as part of a compound, such
nouns can have a singular form:
e.g. One trouser leg is longer than the other.

Pluralia tantum nouns: they are nouns ending in s, which do not

allow a singular form with the same meaning, or the use of a number in
front of them

e.g. thanks, remains, goods, clothes, regards, belongings, earnings,

outskirts, riches, stairs, etc.
Unmarked plurals: they have only one form, which, in spite of the fact
that it does not end in s, has a plural meaning, and is always followed by
a plural verb
e.g. the police, the clergy, the military, people, cattle, vermin, etc.
Substantivized adjectives denoting a group of people: the + adjective
is used to talk about a group of people having the quality expressed by
that adjective
e.g. the rich, the poor, the unemployed, the black, the white, the deaf and
dumb, the English, the French, etc.
Proper nouns: mostly geographical names, or family names in the plural
e.g. the Alps, the Hebrides, the Shetlands, the Bahamas, the Atkinsons,
etc.

II.Number and meaning

Several types of nouns can be discussed:
1) Nouns which can be both uncountable and countable
e.g. paper, coffee, wine, beauty, experience
Obs: character, game
2) Nouns which are uncountable in one meaning and plural
invariable in another meaning
e.g. advice, damage, content
3) Nouns which are countable in one meaning and plural invariable
in another meaning

e.g. minute, spectacle, custom

Obs: horse, cannon, people
4) Nouns which can be classified as countable, uncountable or plural
invariable, according to their meaning
e.g. glass, colour
5) Countable nouns which have two plural forms, each having its own
meanings
e.g. genius, brother, medium