Number of Nouns

The nouns baby and toy stand for one person, animal or thing. They are, therefore, said to be Singular Number.

A noun which is used for only one person, animal or thing is said to be in the Singular Number.

Example:

1. The baby has a toy.

2. The man filled the glass.

3. A wolf killed the sheep.

A noun which is used for more than one person, animal or thing is said to be in the Plural Number.

Example:

1. The babies have toys.

2. The men filled the glasses.

3. Wolves killed the sheep.

Rules Of Forming The Plural Of Nouns

Rule 1: Most Singular Nouns form their Plurals by adding –s.

Example:

Rule 2: Nouns that ends in –s, -ss, -x, -sh, or –ch form their Plurals by adding –es to the Singular

Rule 3: Noun that ends in –y, and the –y has a consonant before it, its Plural is formed by changing –y into –ies; as,

Example:

Rule 4: But if the Noun ends in –y, and the –y has a vowel before it, its Plural is formed by adding –s to the Singular

Example:

Rule 5: Noun that ends in –f or –fe form their Plurals by changing –f or –fe into –ves

Example:

But the following Nouns form their Plurals by simply adding –s to the Singular

Example:

Rule 6: Nouns that ends in –o, if they have a consonant before them, generally form their Plurals by adding –es to the Singular

Example:

But the following Nouns form their Plurals by simply adding –s to the Singular

Example:

Rule 7: The following Nouns form their Plurals by a change of the inside vowel

Example:

Rule 8: The following Nouns form their Plurals in –en or –ren

Example:

Rule 9: The following Nouns have the same form for the Plural as for the Singular.

Example: