📘 NUMBER (Singular & Plural) – Full Competitive Exam Guide:
🔹 Definition of Number
👉 Number in grammar shows whether a noun/verb refers to one (singular) or more than one (plural).
🔹 Classification
-
Singular Number → one person/thing. (pen, boy, child)
-
Plural Number → more than one. (pens, boys, children)
🔹 Detailed Rules of Number Change with Expanded Examples
1️⃣ Regular Plural – Add -s
Rule: Most nouns form plural by simply adding -s.
Examples:
book → books
pen → pens
flower → flowers
boy → boys
chair → chairs
girl → girls
star → stars
king → kings
river → rivers
door → doors
doctor → doctors
engine → engines
school → schools
teacher → teachers
table → tables
2️⃣ Add -es to nouns ending in -ch, -sh, -s, -x, -o
Rule: To make plural, add -es.
Examples:
box → boxes
brush → brushes
dish → dishes
class → classes
match → matches
church → churches
hero → heroes
potato → potatoes
echo → echoes
tomato → tomatoes
buffalo → buffaloes
mosquito → mosquitoes
mango → mangoes
volcano → volcanoes
torpedo → torpedoes
3️⃣ Nouns ending in -y → change to -ies (after consonant)
Rule: If a noun ends with consonant + y, replace y → ies.
Examples:
baby → babies
lady → ladies
city → cities
party → parties
enemy → enemies
family → families
fly → flies
army → armies
berry → berries
duty → duties
❌ Exception: If vowel + y, just add -s.
Examples: boy → boys, toy → toys, key → keys, monkey → monkeys, day → days
4️⃣ Nouns ending in -f / -fe → change to -ves
Examples:
wolf → wolves
knife → knives
wife → wives
life → lives
leaf → leaves
calf → calves
elf → elves
loaf → loaves
self → selves
thief → thieves
❌ Exceptions (only add -s):
roof → roofs
belief → beliefs
chief → chiefs
handkerchief → handkerchiefs
cliff → cliffs
5️⃣ Irregular Plurals (Vowel Change / Special Form)
Examples:
man → men
woman → women
foot → feet
tooth → teeth
mouse → mice
goose → geese
child → children
ox → oxen
louse → lice
person → people
6️⃣ Foreign Words (Latin/Greek origin)
👉 Many English words are borrowed from Latin or Greek. Their plurals follow original rules, though sometimes Anglicized forms are also used.
(A) Latin Words
-
-us → -i
alumnus → alumni
focus → foci
radius → radii
cactus → cacti (also cactuses)
stimulus → stimuli
terminus → termini
2. a → -ae
alumna → alumnae
formula → formulae (also formulas)
larva → larvae
vertebra → vertebrae
nebula → nebulae
3. um → -a
bacterium → bacteria
datum → data
medium → media
curriculum → curricula
stratum → strata
ovum → ova
4. ex / -ix → -ices
index → indices (also indexes)
appendix → appendices (also appendixes)
matrix → matrices
vertex → vertices
5. is → -es
basis → bases
analysis → analyses
thesis → theses
crisis → crises
diagnosis → diagnoses
oasis → oases
6. on → -a (Greek words)
phenomenon → phenomena
criterion → criteria
automaton → automata
(B) Greek Words
-
-ma → -mata
stigma → stigmata
dogma → dogmata
lemma → lemmata
schema → schemata
drama → dramata (rare) -
Other irregulars
hypothesis → hypotheses
ellipsis → ellipses
axis → axes
nemesis → nemeses
cactus → cacti / cactuses
alumnus → alumni
alumna → alumnae
datum → data
medium → media
bacterium → bacteria
phenomenon → phenomena
criterion → criteria
analysis → analyses
thesis → theses
7️⃣ Compound Nouns
Rule: The main word takes plural form.
Examples:
passer-by → passers-by
mother-in-law → mothers-in-law
commander-in-chief → commanders-in-chief
editor-in-chief → editors-in-chief
son-in-law → sons-in-law
sister-in-law → sisters-in-law
runner-up → runners-up
maid-servant → maid-servants
court-martial → courts-martial
looker-on → lookers-on
8️⃣ Plural of Proper Nouns, Letters, Figures, Abbreviations
Examples:
There are two Gandhis in this town (persons like Gandhi).
Mind your p’s and q’s.
He knows his ABCs well.
I bought two DVDs yesterday.
The 1980s were full of political unrest.
There are three Miss Indias from Bengal.
She got all A’s in her exams.
He used too many if’s and but’s.
9️⃣ Zero Plural (same in singular & plural)
Examples:
deer → deer
sheep → sheep
fish → fish
aircraft → aircraft
series → series
species → species
salmon → salmon
swine → swine
bison → bison
cod → cod
🔟 Different Meanings in Singular & Plural
Examples:
Good → goodness (virtue), goods (commodities)
Custom → custom (habit), customs (duties)
Manner → manner (way), manners (etiquette)
Force → force (strength), forces (army)
Work → work (job), works (literary/artistic creations / factories)
Iron → iron (metal), irons (chains / instruments)
Physic → physic (medicine), physics (science)
People → people (nation), peoples (different nations/races)
Colour → colour (shade), colours (flag / uniform)
Ground → ground (soil), grounds (reasons / premises)
🔹 Special Categories
✅ True Singular (Always Singular)
news, poetry, scenery, information, furniture, advice, knowledge, bread, hair (as a whole), stationery.
-
The news is surprising.
✅ True Plural (Always Plural)
cattle, police, trousers, tongs, scissors, spectacles, people (common use), clothes.
-
The police are looking for the thief.
✅ Singular in Form but Plural in Meaning
cattle, gentry, poultry, clergy.
-
The cattle are grazing in the field.
✅ Plural in Form but Singular in Meaning
measles, mumps, rickets, politics, economics, physics, ethics.
-
Mathematics is a tough subject.
✅ Zero Plural
sheep, deer, fish, series, species, aircraft, salmon, cod, bison, trout.
-
One sheep / ten sheep
✅ Words with Different Meaning in Plural
-
Work → works (factories/books)
-
Custom → customs (duties)
-
Good → goods (merchandise)
-
People → peoples (nations)
-
Colour → colours (flag)
-
Ground → grounds (premises/reasons)
-
Letter → letters (alphabets) / letters (literature)
-
Quarter → quarters (living places)
🔹 Exam Tricks (Error Spotting)
❌ The sceneries of Kashmir are beautiful.
✅ The scenery of Kashmir is beautiful.
❌ Politics are dangerous.
✅ Politics is dangerous.
❌ He gave me many advices.
✅ He gave me much advice.
❌ The cattle is grazing.
✅ The cattle are grazing.
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