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Guide to Singular and Plural Nouns – TOEIC® Preparation

Flow Exam team

In the English language, nouns can take either a singular form or a plural form. The construction of the plural follows various grammatical principles that we will explore in detail in this guide.

1. Forming the Regular Plural

The majority of English nouns form their plural by adding the endings -s or -es to the word base.

  • Ending in -s: Most nouns simply add an s to mark the plural.
    • cat → cats
    • table → tables
    • student → students
  • Ending in -es: Nouns ending in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, -z require the addition of -es in the plural.
    • glass → glasses
    • dish → dishes
    • church → churches
  • Transformation to -ies: Nouns whose ending includes a consonant + y replace the y with -ies in the plural.
    • baby → babies
    • country → countries
    • company → companies
  • Modification -f / -fe to -ves: Nouns ending in -f or -fe generally change this ending to -ves in the plural.
    • shelf → shelves
    • life → lives
    • half → halves

2. Irregular Plural Forms

Some nouns escape the general rule and present a specific plural form.

  • Vowel Modification: Some words change their internal vowel to form the plural.
    • person → people (person → people)
    • man → men (man → men)
    • woman → women (woman → women)
    • foot → feet (foot → feet)
    • tooth → teeth (tooth → teeth)
    • mouse → mice (mouse → mice)
  • Addition of the suffix -en: A few words form their plural by adding -en.
    • child → children (child → children)
    • ox → oxen (ox → oxen)
  • Unchanged Form: Some nouns keep the same spelling in the singular and plural.
    • sheep → sheep (sheep → sheep)
    • deer → deer (deer → deer)
    • fish → fish (fish → fish)(One can also use "fishes" to refer to different species of fish.)

3. Collective Nouns and Verb Agreement

Collective nouns represent a group of individuals or items and can agree with either a singular or plural verb depending on the speaker's intent.

  • The committee is meeting today.
  • The committee are divided on this issue.

4. Uncountable Nouns Without a Plural Form

Uncountable nouns do not have a plural form. To express their quantity, quantifying expressions such as a piece of, a bottle of, a cup of, etc., are used.

  • ❌ furnitures → ✅ some furniture
  • ❌ advices → ✅ a piece of advice
To delve deeper into this concept, you can consult the course on countable and uncountable nouns.

5. The Plural of Compound Nouns

Compound nouns use various strategies to form their plural form:

  • Pluralizing the Main Element
    • passer-by → passers-by (passer-by → passers-by)
    • attorney-at-law → attorneys-at-law (attorney-at-law → attorneys-at-law)
    • father-in-law → fathers-in-law (father-in-law → fathers-in-law)
  • Pluralizing at the End of the Compound
    • bookshop → bookshops (bookshop → bookshops)
    • toothbrush → toothbrushes (toothbrush → toothbrushes)
    • notebook → notebooks (notebook → notebooks)
If this topic interests you, you can consult the course on compound nouns.

Additional Resources

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