In English there are two numbers:
Singular and Plural.
When one thing is spoken of, the noun is singular; but when more than one thing is spoken of, the noun is plural.
Rules for forming the plural :
(a) Most nouns form their plural by adding s to the singular:— book-s, pen-s, chair-s.
(b) Nouns ending in s, sh, ch (soft), x and z take es in the plural :—
loss-es, bush-es, bench-es, box-es, topaz-es.
But when ch is pronounced as k, only s is added:— monarch-s.
(c) Nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant or qu change y into i and add es in the plural:— lad-ies, cit-ies, soliloqu-ies. But if y is preceded by a vowel, add only s: boy-s, key-s, money-s
(d) Nouns ending in for fe change for fe into v before adding es :—
life-lives; calf-calves; knife-knives.
But nouns ending in ief, ff, oof, rf, eef, generally take only s:— chiefs, cliffs, preofs, dwarfs, reefs.
NOTE:
(i) But safe—safes; strife—strifes; thief—thieves.
(ii) Some take both the forms:—
staff—staffs, staves (sticks); wharf—wharfs, wharves; scarf—scarfs, scarves.
(e) Nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant generally take es in the plural :
hero-es, mango-es, volcano-es.
Exceptions:— Canto-s, halo-s , piano-s,
manifesto-s, photo-s, memento-s, dynamo-s, portico-s.
(f) Nouns ending in o preceded by a vowel generally take only s in the plural:— radio-s, bamboo-s, folio-s.
In the following image : g + h
(g) Some nouns form their plural by change of vowels:—
(h) Some nouns add en:—
Nouns with two plural forms of different meanings:
He has two brothers.
He was cheered by his brethren in the class.
He will give these cloths to the poor.
Put on your clothes.
The dies for the pictures in the book are ready.
Let us have a game of dice.
There are many fish in this tank.
He bought both the fishes.
We should honour our geniuses.
God Shiva came with his genii.
Consult the indexes at the end of the book. This is a sum of indices.
Give me pennies for this shilling.
The book costs 13 pence.
The fleet consisted of 20 sail.
The boat hoisted all the sails.
The enemies were stopped by our shot.
We fired three shots.
Nouns with two meanings in the singular but one in the plural:
I have never heard any abuse from him. There has been an abuse of power.
There have been abuses of power.
He came on foot.
The foot charged the enemy.
Man has two feet.
A strong police force was sent there.
He took me there by force.
The German forces spread over the north of France.
The horse (or, horses) can run fast.
Our horse charged the enemy.
What was the issue of the fight?
He died without any issue.
What were the issues of the war?
He is enjoying the sun-light.
Put out the light (or, one of the lights).
The Americans are a rich people (nation).
People are happy, here.
Different peoples (nations) have different customs.
Give up this bad practice (or, these bad practices).
This lawyer has a good practice.
Nouns with one meaning in the singular but two in the plural:
Raise your right arm.
Man has two arms.
The prisoners gave up arms.
Under what circumstance (or circumstances) did you do it?
His circumstances are poor.
This is of white colour.
The sunlight has seven colours.
They entered the city with their colours flying.
The Hindus have the custom of burning the dead. Respect the customs of these tribes.
What is our income from customs duty ? This will have a good effect.
This will have good effects.
He has sold off his effects.
He did it in a clever manner.
The two men did the same thing in two different manners.
His manners are rude.
He came in a minute (or, in two minutes). The minutes of the last meeting were confirmed.
What is the moral of the story?
The story teaches us two morals.
The morals of these boys are bad.
What is the number of the house?
I have noted down the numbers of the taxis. He sang the praise of God in numbers.
I have a pain in the stomach.
This pill will remove all your pains.
He took great pains to help me.
He has done his part of the work.
They have done their parts of the work.
He is a man of parts.
His premise is (or premises are) wrong.
A meeting was held in the school premises.
It is a quarter to three.
He has finished three-quarters of the work. He will get free quarters.
It was a horrible spectacle.
He was charmed by the spectacles there.
He has lost his pair of spectacles.
Nouns having different meanings in different numbers:
Follow my advice.
Advices of despatch of goods have been received.
The morning air is fresh.
He has the airs of a rich man.
He grows corn in the field.
He has corns on his right foot.
This will do you some good.
He has lost all his goods.
Iron is a useful metal.
He was put in irons.
Physic alone will do him no good.
He is strong in physics.
I await his return.
He has submitted his income-tax returns.
Mix more sand with lime.
He crossed the sands (-desert) of Arabia.
NOTE:
Hangings=things hung, curtains; belongings=things that belong;
leavings=things left;
sweepings=things swept.
Similarly, savings, earnings, surroundings, etc. are always used in the plural in these senses. Vegetables also is always used in the plural.
Nouns singular in form but plural in sense:
Aristocracy, nobility, gentry, clergy, cattle, poultry, people, vermin, folk .
The aristocracy (or gentry, or nobility, or clergy) are on the king's side.
Cattle are grazing in the field.
Who are those people?
Try to kill those vermin.
The old folk have gone.
NOTE:
(a) When 'people' means nation, its plural is 'peoples'.
(b) The modern tendency is to treat aristocracy, nobility, gentry, clergy, cattle like other collectives-singular or plural according to sense.
*MEU has — The cattle is sold. The cattle are in the hay.
["Returns (statistics), minutes (proceedings of a meeting) are sometimes quoted, but singular usages have been developed. ('I have sent in my income-tax return." 'The first minute was badly drafted.")"–Smith.]
The cattle is sold; The cattle are in the hay. — MEU**
Nouns plural in form but singular in use: Gallows, mathematics, news, physics, politics, smallpox, whereabouts.
A gallows was raised there.
The news is true.
Smallpox has broken out there.
Mathematics (or physics, or politics or ethics="ics") is my favourite subject.
His whereabouts is not known.
NOTE: Some assert that politics is singular when used as the name of a science, but plural when used with a demonstrative or qualifying word to denote some particular examples:
Politics is my favourite subject.
But,
His politics (=political principles) are always changing.
Nouns that have no plural forms: Alphabet, expenditure, furniture, information, luggage, off-spring (child or children), poetry, scenery.
He has learnt the alphabet.
He has sold all his furniture or luggage.
All his expenditure is shown here.
These are my offspring.
I got all the information I wanted.
These flowers by the riverside are a beautiful scenery.
He writes good poetry.
Nouns which have no singular forms:
Aborigines, alms, amends, annals, ashe, assets, auspices, bellows, billiards, bowels, dregs, eaves, entrails, fetters, measles, mumps, nuptials, obsequies, odds, proceeds, scissors, shears, spectacles, thanks, tidings, vitals, wages, deer.
NOTE: Of these, alms, amends, mumps, odds, tidings, and wages are sometimes treated also as singular. All the rest are plural.
Nouns which have the same form in both the number:
Apparatus, cannon, corps , deer, innings, means, public, series, sheep, species, swine, and the nouns. of number, weight or money, such as dozen, score, yoke, stone (weight), hundred, weight, when used after a numeral, especially if they join with the numeral to make a compound adjective (as in 'two-ton lorry').
The singular meaning is expressed by putting a singular adjective, such as a, an, one, this, that, etc. before them.
A deer, one sheep, this pice, but, two deer, two pice.
NOTE: (a) A ten-rupee note; an eight-day clock, a ten-year old child, three-year Degree Course; but, ten years old; two dozen pencils; six pound or pounds of butter.
(b) But when the nouns of number are preceded by many and some, or, when they are not preceded by numerals, the plural inflexion is used: as, many dozens ; some dozens; hundreds of people.
(c) As measures of distance, fathom, foot and yard have sometimes the singular forms even with plural numerals:
The tree is 10 foor (also 10 feet) high:
It is 3 yard (also yards) long;
The river is 50 fathom (also fathoms) deep.
"The names of various animals, etc., when spoken of collectively as objects of hunting, are used with plural force without inflexion: He Las gone to shoot tiger in Nepal; I am going to shoot duck, green pigeon, partridge"– E. Smith, Oxford Eng. Grammar.
True singulars are nouns in which the final s is a part of the original singular noun, and not a sign of the plural; as, alms, eaves, riches, summons. Of these eaves and riches are now used as plurals, but the last has the plural summonses.
True Plurals are nouns in which the final s is really a sign of the plural; as, amends, annals, auspices, bellows, gallows, innings, means, news, remains.
Of these, amends, means and innings are used in both numbers; gallows and news are used as singulars; the rest are used as plurals.
Thus:—
The news is true. His means are (or, is) fare.
I have made amends (or, a full amends) for his loss.
The annals of Rajasthan are full of such deeds.
The Plural of Compound Nouns (except nouns ending in full and fall) is generally formed by adding s to the important word; as, Governors-General (Governor-Generals is also used); passers-by; brothers-in-law; on-lookers; but mouthfuls, handfuls, pitfalls, waterfalls.
In Nouns ending in man, the plural is formed by changing man into men when man is used in the sense of a human being; as, Englishmen, noblemen, workmen.
When, however, the final man does not mean a human being, but is a part of the word itself, the plural is formed by adding s only; as.: Germans, Mussalmans, Brahmans. "Mankind. Singular number, referred to by it and its, not they and their."
- Current English Usage by F. T. Wood.
Plurals of letters of the alphabet and of numbers are formed by adding ('s); B.A.'s, D.D.'s, cut your t's and dot your i's; 3's, 5's, etc.
Some add only s in the plural, leaving the apostrophe for the genitive.
NOTE: "The modern usage, however, is to do away with the apostrophe (') and add only s; as, B. Sc.s; M.B.s" – Smith.
Plurals of Abbreviations Single letters are doubled:—
pp. for pages, ll. for lines, MSS. for Manuscripts, Curt forms take s form : Secs for sections, etc.
Miscellaneous :
NOTE: (a) "The form the 'Misses Brown is still used on formal occasions, e.g., in written invitations; but at other times, and especially in conversation, the Miss Browns is more common."
(b) "The form, Messrs Smith, is limited to business language, the form, the Mr Smiths, being the one in general use."
Foreign Plurals:
N.B. The tendency of modern English is to reject all foreign forms.
[ "Agenda, though in form plural, has been admitted to the language as a singular word. Nobody would say the agenda for Monday's meeting have not yet reached me. If a word is needed for one of the components of the agenda, say 'item No. so of the agenda,' not, 'agendum No. so,' which would be the extreme of pedantry'. If one is wanted for the plural of the word itself it must be agendas or agenda papers." — The Complete Plain Words by Sir Ernest Gowers. See also Current English Usage by F. T. Wood. ]
The name of a country, or a thing, though plural in form, is treated as singular; as, "The United States of America is a rich country"; "The Folk Tales of Bengal is a nice book."
NOTE: (a) Counsel in the sense of 'barrister' has the same form in both the numbers. He engaged two counsel to defend his case.
(b) Word in the sense of 'promise' or 'speech' has no plural. He gave me word (not words). He is a man of his word. He sent word.
(c) When the same nouns are joined by to, after, etc., they are used in the singular; as, from generation to generation; day after day.
(d) More than one is "treated as compound of one, and....agrees with a singular noun and a singular verb."
But more than two is treated as a compound of two, and hence followed by a plural noun and a plural verb.
More than one man was present there.
More than two boys were present there.
(e) Fruit — ("Usu. pl.) vegetable products fit for food (usu. fruits of the earth); plant's or tree's odible product of seed with its envelope (also collect. in sing. as. feeds on fruit") — COD.
(f) Half, heaps, lots, two-thirds, three-fourths, etc. take singular verbs when they are followed by singular nouns with of, but plural verbs when followed by plural nouns with of:
Half of our work was done;
Half of the apples were bad,
"There is heaps of ammunition. There are heaps of cups. There is lots of work to do; Lots of people think so." — MEU.
Two-thirds of the work is done;
Two-thirds of the men were killed.
(g) After one and a half use plural nouns and singular verbs. — MEU:
one and a half lemons was enough.
(h) "Twice two is four and twice two are four are equally correct." — MEU
(i) All can be used as singular or plural:
All is lost in the fire.
All's well.
All are present in the meeting.
All are invited.
(j) Number — "Though grammatically singular, a number of, when it means. several or many, is treated as plural and takes a plural verb:
A number of people were present. But the number of people present was greater than we expected'; since here number has the more definite meaning of a numerical total"-Wood; also Gowers (p. 187).
(k) Majority 'is' or 'are'? — The word 'majority' follows the same rules for number as other collective nouns; but when it means 'most', 'the greater part', it has a plural verb:
The majority is scanty but sufficient.
The majority are in my favour.
The majority of my friends agree.
(l) "The greater/greatest part is singular when it refers to amount or quantity, plural when to number. The greater part of the land is uncultivated. The greater part of the apples are bad." — Wood.
(m) None is "singular when the reference is to amount or quantity (None of the food was wasted'). When number is indicated, either singular or plural, according to the sense. Of his three sons none has any great ability. None of the suggestions was acceptable. (Singular, because none individualises, taking each one singly.) 'None of the letters have been opened yet.' number of people are expected but none have arrived yet.' (Plural, because, none has the meaning 'not any")." — Wood.
(n) 'Nouns like century, age etc. mostly take the plural form when referring to more than one and qualified by more than one adjunct in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries; between the ages of the 14 and 18.' — Zandvoort.
(o) The words hundred, thousand, million, dozen, score, when preceded by a definite numeral, or by several or a few, are never made plural:
one hundred boys; five hundred men two the sand and five pounds; three million people; one million rupees; one dozen or two dozen pencils, five score eggs; a few hundred boys; several hundred or dozer boxes.
But when these words are not preceded by numerals and used 'merely to convey the idea of a large number' or are preceded by some, many, they are made plural:
many dozens; some dozens; hundreds of people; thousands of ants; scores of animals; many thousands.
Gross never takes a plural suffix and is always followed by of:
a gross of pencils;
two gross of pencils.
'After a definite numeral, pair is found both with or without the plural suffix'—Zandvoort:
I have one pair or two pair(s) of shoes.
But, I want some more pairs of shoes.
EXERCISE
1. Indicate the numbers of:—
furniture, gallows, mathematics, series, means, cattle, agenda, summons, riches, apparatus, pence, auspices, thanks, wages, sheep, physics, news, gentry, people.
2. Give the plurals of:—
Mr, Miss, Mrs, man-servant, Miss Baker, Mrs Baker, formula, cherub, basis, Governor-General, son-in-law, foot-man, fisherman, Frenchman, gentleman, clergyman, German, Norman.
3. Fill up the blanks:—
News — brought to us.
Mathematics—taught by him.
Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare —an interesting book.
Cattle —grazing on the green.
The gentry —present there.
Alms —distributed among the poor.
Thanks— due to him.
Three counsel — engaged by me.
Fish— abundant in this tank.
The people — running away.
People— not like it.
