Species singular. Plural or Singular? Singular or plural nouns? Irregular plural forms in English

Nouns have two numbers: singular and plural.

1. The singular number is characterized by the absence of an ending:

a cup, a table, a teacher, a day.

2. The plural of nouns is formed using the ending -s or -es:

a sea - seas, a tent - tents, a bus - buses.

However, you should know that:

singular nouns ending in -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -z, form the plural using the ending -es:

a process - processes; a box - boxes;

nouns ending in -O, in the plural ending in -es or at -s:

hero - heroes, potato - potatoes, tomato - tomatoes

bamboos, photos, pianos, radios, solos, videos.

1. Some nouns form the plural by changing the root vowel:

a man - men, a woman - women, a tooth - teeth, a foot - feet;

a goose - geese, a mouse - mice, etc.

2. There are nouns that have singular and plural match up:

aircraft (plane - airplanes), deer (deer - deer);

means (means - means), salmon (salmon - salmon);

series (row - rows, series - series);

sheep (sheep - sheep), trout (trout - trout);

works (factory - factories).

3. Noun child children.

4. Noun Oh in the plural it has the form oxen.

5. Noun penny has a plural form rence, If we're talking about about the amount of money, and the form pennies, if we mean individual coins:

It costs three pence. - It costs 3 pence.

Pennies are made of bronze. - Pence is made of bronze.

6. Nouns gate, sledge, watch, clock used in singular and plural:

The gate is open. - The gate is open.

My watch is slow. - My watch is slow.

(At the same time, in Russian the verb always has a plural form, although the noun itself is used in the singular.)

All the gates are open. - All gates are open.

He has two watches. - He has two hours.

7. Prefixed nouns man-, woman- have plural form on both sides of the word:

a man-servant - men-servants

8. Nouns that contain a preposition or adverb have an ending -s in its first part, if used in the plural:

a mother-in-law - mothers-in-law

a commander-in-chief - commanders-in-chief

9. Particularly noteworthy are nouns of Latin-Greek etymology, the formation of the plural of which has many options (it is difficult to list them, so we recommend that in cases where English language learners have doubts about the correctness of the option, check the plural in dictionaries):

-us -es (chorus - choruses, circus - circuses, bonus - bonuses etc.), ending -i (stimulus - stimuli), have both options at the same time (cactus - cactuses/cacti; This group also includes words such as focus, nucleus, radius, syllabus);
nouns of Latin origin -A can form plurals with the ending -ae (alumna - alumnae, larva - larvae), with ending -s (area - areas, arena - arenas, dilemma - dilemmas, diploma - diplomas, drama - dramas etc.), have both options (antenna - antennas, as a term in electronics, and antennae- in biology; formula - formulas in general terms and formulae- in mathematics;
nouns of Latin origin -um end in plural in -s (album - albums, museum - museums, chrysanthemum - chrysanthemums, stadium - stadiums etc.), on -a (stratum - strata, curriculum - curriculum), can have both options ( symposium - symposiums/symposia, memorandum - memorandums/memoranda and etc.);
nouns of Latin origin -ex, -ix can have both double plural forms with endings -es And -ices (index - indices/indexes, appendix - appendices/appendixes, matrix - matrices/matrixes) or just the ending -ices at the noun codex - codes;
nouns of Greek origin -is form the plural by changing the ending to -es (thesis - theses, crisis - crises, analysis - analyses, basis - bases etc.), there are cases of forming the plural by adding the ending -es (metropolis - metropolises) and many other variants of plural formation.

The English language, like Russian, is built on the interaction of various parts of speech, each of which has its own individuality. One of the most striking features of a noun is the category of number. Many of you know that plural form formed by adding the ending -s. But it's not that simple. In this case there are more exceptions than the rule itself.

Learning the plural in English language(the plural number), you will have to strain and remember more than a dozen words and cases of their use. The ending - s in nouns does not always indicate plurality. How do you know how to put it correctly, how to say it correctly? We will divide all nouns into two large groups: changeable (variable) and immutable (invariable).

Variable nouns

Regular nouns. Nouns that we can classify as “regular” form their plural form in English using endings - s: question-questions, group-groups. But, when adding - s, they arise features of writing.

1. if the word ends with - s, ss, sh, ch, x, z, then we add es: box-boxes, bush - bushes, branch-branches.
2. if the word ends with acc + y, then instead "y" is written "i+es" : city-cities, story-stories, lady-ladies. But if the structure goes vowel + y, then at the end of the word only -s without any changes: boy-boys, toy-toys, day-days.
3. if a singular word ends in agree + o, then we add es : tomatoes, potatoes, heroes. But in words: vowel + o - s: zoos, radios.

Exceptions:

1. photos- photos, kilos- kilograms, autos- cars, memos- memorandum, directive, note, logos- logos, torsos- torsos, sopranos- soprano, solos- solo, concertos- concerts, commandos- squads special purpose, Eskimos- Eskimos, piano- pianos (piano), video- videos (video).

2. two options: buffalo- buffaloes (buffalo), buffalos; volcano- volcanoes, volcanos (volcano); mosquito- mosquitoes, mosquitos (mosquito); zero- zeroes, zeros (zero); tornado- tornadoes, tornados (tornado), flamingo- flamigos, flamigoes (flamingos).

4. One more ending puts a spoke in our wheels: f (or fe) changes to -v (or ve) and adds - s. English plural words with this ending look like this: wife-wives, wolf-wolves, knife-knives, life-lives, half-halves, thief-thieves.

Exceptions:

1.belief- beliefs (faith), chef- chefs (cook), chief- chiefs (head, leader), proof - proofs (proof), roof- roofs (roof), safe- safes (safe), cliff- cliffs (cliff, cliff), cuff- cuffs (cuff).

2. have two correct options: scarfs- scarves (scarf), dwarfs- dwarves (dwarf, gnome), handkerchiefs- handkerchieves (handkerchief), hoofs- hooves (hoof), wharfs- wharves (pier), turfs- turves (turf).

Irregular nouns. We can classify irregular nouns as those whose plural formation does not lend itself to any rule. This means that everything depends on your will, memory and desire.

1. The plural of nouns is formed by vowel changes :

man- men - men; woman- women - women; goose- geese - geese; tooth- teeth - teeth; foot- feet - feet, legs; mouse- mice - mice; louse- lice - lice

2. The plural is formed using the ending -en :

child— child r en - children; ox-oxen - bulls; brother- bretheren - brothers, brotherhoods

3. Words that have same shape both singular and plural.

a sheep- sheep (sheep); a swine- swine (pig); a deer- deer (deer); a fish- fish (fish - but: different types of fish: fishes); a craft- craft (vessel); a salmon— salmon (salmon); a trout- trout (trout).

4. WITHfishing-foreigners , who came from Latin or Greek, but have already become full-fledged inhabitants " English world" If the word ends with:

- us - i : stimulus - stimuli - stimulus

- a - ae : vertebra - vertebrae - vertebra, spine

- um - a : datum - data - data

- is - es : basis - bases - basis, foundation, base

- on - a : phenomenon - phenomena - phenomenon

- ex, ix - ices: appendix - appendices - application

- eau - eaux: bureau - bureaux - bureau

Invariable nouns

1. There is a group of nouns that are used only in singular , which means they require the same verb after themselves.

uncountable: sand, gold, water
abstract: love, music, homework, advice
some diseases: diabetes, mumps, meats, rabies, rickets, shingles
some games, despite the ending -s: bowls, billiards, drawghts, darts, skittes
word news
names of objects ending in ics: aerobics, classics, genetics, linguistics, mathematics, phonetics, statistics
some proper names: Athes, Brussels, Wales, the United States, The United Nations
collective nouns: money, information, jewellery, fruit(but fruits in plural: several types of fruits)
Let us separate into a separate group nouns that sound in the plural in Russian, and in the singular in English:

applause (applause), cream (cream), debate (debate), fightings (fights), gossip (gossip, rumors), hair (hair), ink (ink), knowledge (knowledge), gate (gate), watch (watch ),vacation (vacation)

2. A similar situation exists with other nouns that can be used only in the plural (Plurals).

Nouns denoting a pair: braces, shorts, glasses, trousers, binoculars, jeans, leggins, tights, scissors, scales. But, if we still need to note singular, then before these nouns we put the phrase: a pair of (jeans), and then we use a singular verb.

Substantivized adjectives denoting people: the rich (rich), the poor (poor), the old(old people), the young (youth), the English (English).
Some proper names: the Netherlands, the Midlands, the Hebriedes, the East Indies
A couple of nouns that have a singular form in Russian and a plural form in English:

wages (wages), sweepings (garbage), the contents of the book (contents), arms (weapons), greens (greens), looks (view), stairs (staircase), manners (manners), minutes (protocol), outskirts (outskirts), riches (wealth), thanks (gratitude), The Middle Ages (Middle Ages).

Plural of compound nouns

The plural number of such nouns is usually formed with -s, which is added to the last element: housewife - housewives, shoe-shop - shoe-shops.
If the composition contains the words “woman, man”, then the two words take the plural form: woman-doctor - women-doctors, man - driver - men - drivers(But, if the word is written together, then only men, woman: policemen)
If the composition contains prepositions, then the first element takes the plural form: mothers-in-law, men-of-war, editors-in-chief. If the word consists of: noun + preposition, then add only to the noun: passers-by, lookers-on. But if there is a conjunction, then to the second word: gin-and-tonics.
But if the word does not contain a noun, but it has such a meaning, then we add the ending -s to the entire phrase: forget-me-nots (forget-me-nots), merry-go-rounds (carousels), stand-bys (followers), grown-ups (adults), pick-ups (random acquaintances), drop-outs (deserters).

As you can see, the rule “Plurals in English” is a complete exception. But don’t grab your head or think that you can’t remember it. Millions already know this by heart, which means you can too. A little patience, diligence and practice is all you need to absorb all the information.

According to the basic rule, the plural of nouns in English is formed by adding the ending to the end of the word –s or –es(if the noun ends in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, as well as for a number of nouns having Spanish origin and ending with -o, like tomato, mosquito, potato, hero, veto: tomato - tomatoes).

In nouns ending with a letter -y with a preceding consonant, y changes to i and adds -es: lady - ladies, party - parties. If the letter -y is preceded by a vowel, then simply add -s: boy - boys.

In the words calf, half, knife, leaf, life, loaf, self, sheaf, shelf, thief, wife, wolf, f in the plural changes to v+(e)s: shelf – shelves.

Some nouns, for historical reasons, have other ways of constructing the plural: man – men, woman – women, tooth – teeth, foot – feet, goose – geese, mouse – mice, louse – lice, child – children, ox – oxen, brother – brethren(brethren).

Now let's look at some special cases. You can practice using them and learn more during individual lessons with your teacher.

1. Collective nouns. They can be considered as a single indivisible whole or as a collection individuals, objects. These include words such as class, team, crew, staff, group, army, team, committee, audience, family etc. If collective nouns denote a group as a single collective, then the predicate verb is used in the singular form, for example: His family was large. If collective nouns mean individual representatives, making up the group, then the predicate verb is used in the plural form, for example: My family are early risers. (My family members get up early).

Among collective nouns there are words that are always perceived as a set - nouns of Multitude. This: people, police, militia, clothes, cattle, poultry. They are used with plural verbs ( e.g. The police were on duty).

Noun people in the meaning of “people” it has the meaning of plural person: People are so mean here. However, in the meaning of “people” it can be used in both singular and plural: UNO helps all peoples of the world.

2. Uncountable nouns agree with the singular predicate. These are the nouns: meat, tea, butter, bread, juice, weather, accommodation, advice, permission, behavior, chaos, damage, furniture, luggage, baggage, news, knowledge, scenery, traffic, work, luck, research, progress, information etc.

3. Nouns that have the same singular and plural forms. Some of them end in -s: species, series, means (e.g. That species is rare. Those species are common). The other part never ends in -s: sheep, deer, fish (e.g. That deer is young. Those deer are old).

4. Nouns that do not have a plural form. This:
- names of sciences and sports: mathematics, physics, economics, statistics, ethics, gymnastics ( e.g. Physics was his favorite subject);
- some abstract nouns: news, politics ( e.g. What is the news?);
- names of diseases: measles, mumps, herpes.

5. B compound nouns Usually only the second element takes a plural form: housewives, schoolchildren.
In compound nouns with the first element man/woman in the plural, both parts are changed: women-writers, gentlemen-farmers.
In words with the component -man it changes to -men: policeman – policemen.
If parts of a compound word are written with a hyphen, then the key component in meaning is placed in the plural form: man-of-war – men-of-war; hotel-keeper – hotel-keepers.
If in compound word there is no noun element, then to form the plural you need to add -s to the last element: forget-me-nots, drop-outs.

6. Nouns denoting objects two-part, are used only in the plural form, for example: scissors, trousers, jeans, shorts, pajamas, spectacles, scales. Similar words are often used in the phrase a pair of -s, for example: a pair of scissors, a pair of trousers etc.

7. Only in the singular form are used the nouns hair, money, knowledge, information, progress ( e.g. His hair was grey. The money is on the table).

8. Expression a number of agrees with the plural verb, and the number of requires a singular verb ( e.g. The number of people we need to hire is thirteen. A number of people have written in about this subject).

9. Nouns Latin and Greek origin:

Is > -es (Greek) basis, crisis, hypothesis, analysis, thesis, axis ( e.g. The hypothesis was supported by the data)
-on > -a (Greek) criterion, phenomenon ( e.g. These phenomena follow the Newton Law)
-us > -i (lat.) radius, alumnus, nucleus, genius
-a > -ae (lat.) formula, vita
-um > -a (lat.) datum, medium, bacterium
-ix /-ex > -ices (lat.) index, appendix

10. Words like dozen, score (ten), couple, pair, stone (measure of weight stone), head (cattle head) have both number forms, but if they are used together with a specific numeral, they remain singular: e.g. four dozen eggs, two score tables. If they are used to mean “many,” they take the plural form: e.g. scores of people, dozens of boxes.

Hello dear readers! Today you will learn how the plural is formed in English. The topic at first glance is not complicated, but there are many nuances that you should pay attention to.

In English, only countable nouns form the plural, that is, those that can be counted. Such nouns can have a singular or plural form. I think it's no secret to anyone what the plural is. If the singular is used to denote one thing or concept, then the plural is used to denote several things. So, now we will look at the basic rules for forming plurals in English. Plural of nouns in English

1. The plural of most nouns is formed by adding the ending −s to a singular noun.

−s reads:

[z] after vowels and voiced consonants
[s] after voiceless consonants

a tie tie- tie s ties
a teacher teacher— teacher s[ˈtiːʧəz] teachers
a room room- room s rooms
a map map— map s cards

2. Nouns that end in consonants s, ss, sh, ch, tch, x, plural endings take -es which reads [ɪz].

a match match-match es[ˈmæʧɪz] matches

3. Nouns that end in a vowel -O, in the plural also take the ending -es.

hero hero- hero es[ˈhɪərəʊz] heroes
tomato tomato−tomato es tomatoes

If before the final -O there is a vowel, then the plural noun takes the ending -s.

radio radio- radio s[ˈreɪdɪəʊz] radios
kangaroo kangaroo— kangaroo s kangaroo

If a noun that ends in -O in the singular, is an abbreviation, then in the plural it also takes the ending -s.

photo (graph) photo)— photo s[ˈfəʊtəʊz] photos
kilo(gramme) kilo (gram)- kilo s[ˈkiːləʊz] kilograms

In some cases, variations are possible with −s And -es.

flamingo flamingo— flamingo s flamingo es flamingo
volcano volcano- volcano s, volcano es volcanoes

4. To nouns that end in -y, and before the end -y a consonant is added, the ending is added -es And at changes to i.

a factory factory, plant− factor ies[ˈfæktəriz] factories, factories

In case before −y there is a vowel, no changes occur, and the plural is formed by adding the ending -s.

a day day-day s days

5. Plural of some nouns that end in f, fe, is formed by substitution f consonant v and adding the ending -es. The following nouns obey this rule:

сalf calf− cal ves calves
half half− hal ves halves
elf elf−el ves elves
knife knife−kni ves knives
leaf tree leaf−lea ves leaves
life life−li ves life
loaf loaf−loa ves loaves
self self − sel ves ourselves
sheaf bunch—shea ves[ʃiːvz] ligaments
shelf shelf− shel ves[ʃɛlvz] shelves
thief thief− thie ves[θiːvz] the thieves
wife wife− wi ves wives
wolf wolf −wolves wolves

In some cases, variations with endings are possible f And v.

hoof hoof-hoo fs, hoo ves hooves
scarf scarf—scar fs, scar ves scarves
wharf pier—whar fs, whar ves piers

Plural of exclusion

6. Some nouns retain archaic plural forms. The plural of such nouns is formed by changing root vowel or by adding an ending —en.

a man man− m e n men
a woman woman− wom e n [ˈwɪmɪn] women
brother ["brʌðər] brother− br e thr en["breðrɪn] brethren
foot leg−f ee t legs
goose goose-g ee se geese
louse ["laus] louse− l i ce lice
mouse mouse— m ic e mice
tooth tooth-t ee th teeth
a child [ʧaɪld] child− childr en[ˈʧɪldrən] children
ox [ɒks] bull- ox en[ˈɒksən] bulls

7. In English, the singular and plural forms of some nouns are the same.

craft ship - ships
works factory - factories
species["spi:ʃi:z] biol. species - species
headquarters ["hed"kwɔ:təz] main department - central authorities
alms [ɑːmz] alms − alms
barracks [ˈbærəks] barracks - barracks
corps military diploma housing - housings
grouse partridge − partridge
crossroads [ˈkrɒsˌrəʊdz] road intersections - crossroads
deer deer - deer
sheep [ʃiːp] sheep - sheep
fish ["fɪʃ] fish - fish
fruit fruit − fruit
gallows [ˈgæləʊz] gallows - gallows
trout trout − trout
means means - means
salmon ["sæmən] salmon - salmon
series ["sɪəri:z] series − series
swine pig - pigs

8. Some nouns that have Latin or Greek origin, in the plural retained the archaic form.

analysis [ə"næləsɪs] analysis− analyzes [ə"næləsi:z] tests
axis ["æksɪs] axis− axes ["æksɪz] axes
basis ["beɪsɪs] the basis− bases ["beɪsi:z] basics
crisis ["kraɪsɪs] a crisis− crises ["kraɪsi:z] crises
datum ["deɪtəm] given value− data ["deɪtə] data
erratum typo− errata list of typos
formula [ˈfɔ:rmjulə] formula− formulae ["fɔ:rmjuli:], formulas ["fɔ:rmjuləz] formulas
locus ["ləukəs] location− loci ["ləusaɪ] locations
memorandum [, memə"rændəm] record "for memory"− memoranda [, memə"rændə], memorandums [, memə"rændəmz] notes
nucleus cell-nuclei cells
phenomenon phenomenon− phenomenal phenomena
radius ["reɪdɪəs], [ˈreɪdjəs] radius− radii ["reɪdɪaɪ] radii
species [ˈspiːʃiːz] type, type- species [ˈspiːʃiːz] types, types
thesis [ˈθiːsɪs] thesis- theses [θiːsiːz] theses

9. In English there are a number of nouns that are used only in the plural.

binoculars − binoculars
breeches ["brɪtʃɪz] − breeches
glasses ["aɪglɑːsɪz] − glasses
jeans [ʤiːnz]− jeans
pajamas, pajamas − pajamas
pliers [ˈplaɪəz] − pliers
scissors [ˈsɪzəz] − scissors
shorts ʃɔːts − shorts, panties
stockings[ˈstɒkɪŋz] − socks
tights − tights
tongs - forceps
trousers [ˈtraʊzəz] - trousers
proceeds [ˈprəʊsiːdz] − income
surroundings neighborhood
riches [ˈrɪʧɪz] − wealth
thanks [θæŋks] − Gratitude
wages [ˈweɪʤɪz] − earnings

Pluralizing compound nouns

1. Compound nouns that are written together form the plural by adding an ending to the second element.

schoolgirl schoolgirl— schoolgirl s schoolgirls
policeman police officer— policem e n police

2. If a compound noun, which is written with a hyphen, includes the words man or woman, as one of components words, then all parts of the word take the plural.

woman-writer writer− wom e n-writer s writers
gentleman-farmer gentleman farmer− gentlem e n-farmer sgentleman farmers

3. Compound nouns, which are written with a hyphen, form the plural by changing the key element.

family-name surname− family-name s surnames
commander-in-chief commander in chief− commander s-in-chief commanders-in-chief

4. If in compound name noun has no noun element, the plural is formed by adding the ending −s to the last element.

forget-me-not forget-me-not− forget-me-not s forget-me-nots
merry-go-round carousel− merry-go-round s carousels

Note!

1. In English some uncountable nouns can be used as countable.

Uncountable: success - luck, success (in general terms))

Success is in the details. − A scrupulous attitude to business is the path to success.

Calc. :a success successful result− success essuccessful results

My new job is a success. − My new job is just a happy accident.
We learn from our success es and failures. − We learn from our successes and mistakes.

2. In English, some nouns can agree with a verb in the singular or plural, depending on the context, without changing their form.

My family is large. — My family is big.(Family as a whole)
My family are early risers. — Everyone in our family gets up early. (Family is like a set of individual members of a team)

3. In English, the same noun can be countable in one meaning and uncountable in another.

Uncountable: iron − iron
Calcul.: an iron iron-iron s irons

4. In English, some nouns have endings -s have a singular meaning and accordingly agree with singular verbs.