What is Number and Formation Rules of Plural Nouns
Hello friends ! Today we are going to study in detail about “What is Number and Formation Rules of Plural Nouns.” In the previous notes, we knew about the Noun Rules well. Hope you have cleared all these rules
Today you are going to tell about some such rules, with the help of which you can easily do number formation. After understanding this topic, your English grammar’s knowledge will get a stronger foundation. So let’s start today’s topic : What is Number and Formation Rules of Plural Nouns
What is Numberin English Grammar
Friends! You have already read about Noun and Numbers in all the small classes. Number simply means : count. That is, Noun words that indicate the number of a person or thing. We all know that a noun has two types of Numbers :
Singular Number
Plural Number
Singular : Noun word that denotes a person or thing.
Plural : Noun word that denotes more than one person or thing.
Formation Rules of Plural Nouns
Friends! Today we will know about all the rules with the help of which you can easily form singular into plural. There are some basic rules in English grammar. Keeping in mind that you can do Formation of Plurals. So let’s understand all these rules one by one :
Rule : 1.
Plural is usually formed by adding “s” to the end of the singular. like :
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Girl
Girls
Father
Fathers
Mother
Mothers
Book
Books
Pencil
Pencils
Cat
Cats
King
Kings
Queen
Queens
Rule : 2.
The singular nouns ending in – s, sh, ch, ss, x or z etc. are formed plurals by adding “es” after them. like :
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Bus
Buses
Watch
Watches
Match
Matches
Dish
Dishes
Class
Classes
Box
Boxes
Fox
Foxes
Buzz
Buzzes
Rule : 3.
A. When a singular noun ends with “y” and is preceded by a Consonant, is formed plurals by adding “ies” in place of “y”. like :
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Baby
Babies
Lady
Ladies
Army
Armies
City
Cities
Duty
Duties
Family
Families
Country
Countries
Story
Stories
B. When a singular noun ends with “y” and is preceded by a Vowel, is formed plurals by adding only “s” after “y”. like
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Boy
Boys
Monkey
Monkeys
Day
Days
Donkey
Donkeys
Key
Keys
Journey
Journeys
Toy
Toys
Valley
Valleys
Rule : 4.
A. When a singular noun ends with “o” and is preceded by a Consonant, is formed plurals by adding “es” in place of “o”. like :
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Tomato
Tomatoes
Hero
Heroes
Potato
Potatoes
Buffalo
Buffaloes
Mango
Mangoes
Motto
Mottoes
Echo
Echoes
Volcano
Volcanoes
There can be some exceptions to this rule which you must take care of :
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Piano
Pianos
Photo
Photos
B. When a singular noun ends with “oo” or “io”, is formed plurals by adding only “s” after them. like :
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Ratio
Ratios
Studio
Studios
Cuckoo
Cuckoos
Bamboo
Bamboos
Rule : 5.
A. When a singular noun ends with “f” or “fe”, is formed plurals by adding “ves” in place of “f” or “fe”. like :
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Knife
Knives
Half
Halves
Wife
Wives
Thief
Thieves
Life
Lives
Wolf
Wolves
Leaf
Leaves
Calf
Calves
B. When a singular noun ends with “f”, “ff” or “fe”, is formed plurals by adding only “s” after them. like :
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Chief
Chiefs
Roof
Roofs
Brief
Briefs
Proof
Proofs
Gulf
Gulfs
Belief
Beliefs
Cliff
Cliffs
Strife
Strifes
Rule : 6.
The plural is also changed by changing the vowel between some singular nouns. like :
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Man
Men
Woman
Women
Foot
Feet
Tooth
Teeth
Rule : 7.
A. To make a compound word plural, its principle word is changed into plural. like :
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Sister-in-law
Sisters-in-law
Daughter-in-law
Daughters-in-law
Watch-man
Watch-men
Commander-in-chief
Commanders-in-chief
Boy-friend
Boy-friends
Girl-friend
Girl-friends
Major-general
Major-generals
Chief-minister
Chief-ministers
B. But, to make the plural of some compound words, both its parts are changed into plurals. like :
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Man-servant
Men-servants
Lord-justice
Lords-justices
Woman-doctor
Women-doctors
Lord-lieutenant
Lords-lieutenants
Rule : 8.
In some cases the plural is also formed by adding “en” to singular nouns. like :
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Ox
Oxen
Child
Children
Rule : 9.
The method of pluralizing some foreign words is quite different. Which you can understand from the table below :
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Basis
Bases
Crisis
Crises
Medium
Media
Premium
Premia
Radius
Radii
Syllabus
Syllabi
Memorandum
Memoranda
Phenomenon
Phenomena
Rule : 10.
There are also some noun words which have two plurals with different meanings. like :
Singular
Plural
Plural
Brother
Brothers – भाई
Brethren – एक ही समाज के सदस्य
Genius
Geniuses – प्रतिभाशाली
Genii – पिशाच
Index
Indices – सूचकांक
Indexes – सूची
Thus friends! Today you must have understood this topic of “What is Number and Formation Rules of Plural Nouns”. These are very easy rules which are not difficult to understand and remember. But their incomplete information can definitely make it difficult for you. Therefore, you are requested to learn them.