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Singularandpluralnouns|EnglishGrammarGuide

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SINGULAR AND PLURAL

NOUNS
REGULAR NOUNS
Most singular nouns form the plural by adding -s.

EXAMPLES
Singular

Plural

boat

boats

house

houses

cat

cats

river

rivers

A singular noun ending in s, x, z, ch, sh makes the plural by adding-es.

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EXAMPLES
Singular

Plural

bus

buses

wish

wishes

pitch

pitches

box

boxes

A singular noun ending in a consonant and then y makes the plural by dropping the y and adding-ies.

EXAMPLES
Singular

Plural

penny

pennies

spy

spies

baby

babies

city

cities

daisy

daisies

IRREGULAR NOUNS
There are some irregular noun plurals. The most common ones are listed below.

EXAMPLES
Singular

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Plural

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woman

women

man

men

child

children

tooth

teeth

foot

feet

person

people

leaf

leaves

mouse

mice

goose

geese

half

halves

knife

knives

wife

wives

life

lives

elf

elves

loaf

loaves

potato

potatoes

tomato

tomatoes

cactus

cacti

focus

foci

fungus

fungi

nucleus

nuclei

syllabus

syllabi/syllabuses

analysis

analyses

diagnosis

diagnoses

oasis

oases

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thesis

theses

crisis

crises

phenomenon

phenomena

criterion

criteria

datum

data

Some nouns have the same form in the singular and the plural.

EXAMPLES
Singular

Plural

sheep

sheep

fish

fish

deer

deer

species

species

aircraft

aircraft

IRREGULAR VERB/NOUN AGREEMENT

Some nouns have a plural form but take a singular verb.

Plural nouns used with a singular verb

Sentence

news

The news is at 6.30 p.m.

athletics

Athletics is good for young people.

linguistics

Linguistics is the study of language.

darts

Darts is a popular game in England.

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darts

Darts is a popular game in England.

billiards

Billiards is played all over the world.

Some nouns have a fixed plural form and take a plural verb. They are not used in the singular, or they have a
different meaning in the singular. Nouns like this include: trousers, jeans, glasses, savings, thanks, steps, stairs,
customs, congratulations, tropics, wages, spectacles, outskirts, goods, wits

Plural noun with plural verb

Sentence

trousers

My trousers are too tight.

jeans

Her jeans are black.

glasses

Those glasses are his.

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