Phenomenon plural in English. Plurals of English nouns. Countable and uncountable nouns in English

In English, nouns vary in number, that is, they can have a singular or plural form (as, in fact, in the Russian language). As a general rule, most nouns in the plural in English end in –s. But there are certain nuances. This topic is one of the simplest in grammar, and is studied at the initial stages of language acquisition. So let's get started.

General rule for forming plurals with examples

The general scheme for forming the plural of nouns is given in this handy table:

Exception words

The following nouns have a special plural form, without adding the ending –s, that is, they do not follow the general rule:

manmen– man – men

woman –women- woman's woman

foot –feet – foot - feet

toothteeth – tooth teeth

goose – geese – goose - geese

mouse – mice– mouse – mice

sheep - sheep– sheep – sheep

deer – deer – deer - deer

fish – fish – fish - fish

ox-oxen– bull – bulls

trout – trout– trout – trout

child – children – children

louse – lice – louse - lice

means – means – way - ways

species –species – species - species

These nouns need to be remembered.

Plural formation of compound nouns in English

The plural of compound nouns is formed according to the rules described above, but only one of the parts of the compound word takes on the plural form:

Nouns that are used only in the singular

There are quite a few such nouns, but I will give an example of the most common and used:

• advice- advice, tips
• information– information, information
• money- money
• furniture- furniture
• knowledge– knowledge
• weather– weather
• vacation- holidays
• news- news, news (note that this word has a plural form, but is used in the singular form. For example, What is the news today? - What is the news today? The verb to be is in singular form)
• progress- success, progress
• names of school subjects and sciences, for example, MathsPhysics, although they have a plural form, are used in the singular. For example, Maths is my favorite subject.

Nouns that are used only in the plural

These include items that are paired or have a plural meaning. For example:

scissors- scissors

glasses- glasses

trousers– trousers, trousers

clothes- cloth

stairs– stairs, stairs

goods– goods, goods

people- People

This group of nouns is used in the plural meaning. numbers, accordingly, requires the use of verbs for the plural form.

For example, His clothes are dirty. His clothes are dirty. The verb to be is used in plural form. numbers.

Exercises to practice the topic

If you want to practice, you can do the following exercises to reinforce the material.

Exercise 1. Form the plural form of the following nouns:

dog, book, table, goose, potato, book,pencil, bridge,boxfoot, match,rose,busparty, grape, watch,garlic,onion, shop, fish,press, day, fly,goal, lady, key,rate, clock,pet, lorry, zoo,office,owlcity, window,story, tummy, city, country, berry, dictionary, key, party, bay, tray, boy, knife, life, thief, loaf, wolf, dish, dress, glass, match, fox, potato, tax, bus, tomato, piano, woman-doctor

Exercise 2. Form a unit shape. numbers:

oxen, children, leaves, roses, berries, cities, snails, mother-in-law, cats, rulers, men, photos, roofs, drop-outs, fish, eagles, birds, lice, deer, trees, seas, trout, wives, ties, vases, flats

Exercise 3. Correct errors in the formation of the plural of nouns, if any:

teeth, dogs, pens, deer, erasers, radioes, potatos, keys, leave, tables, torches, glasses, advices, moneys, scissors, newses, shelves, handkerchieves, oxes, lice

That's all for today. Good luck in learning English.

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 the plural form is formed by adding the ending -s. But it's not that simple. In this case there are more exceptions than the rule itself.

When studying the plural number in English, you will have to strain and remember dozens of 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- special forces units, 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 of the “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 mark the singular number, then in front of these nouns we will put the phrase: a pair of (jeans), and then we will 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.

Here you can find plurals in English/ Plural formation of nouns.

NUMBER

1. In English, nouns have two numbers: singular and plural. Countable nouns are used in the singular and plural; Uncountables do not have a plural form.

The plural of nouns is formed by adding the ending -s to the singular form, which is “pronounced as [s] after voiceless consonants and as [z] after voiced consonants and vowels:

ship -ship s[s]
gun gun s[z]
boy - boy s[z]

2. The plural of nouns ending in the singular with a hissing or whistling sound, expressed by the letters s, ss, x, sh, ch, is formed by adding the ending -es to the singular form, which is pronounced as:

class - class - class es["kla:siz]
box - box - box es["boxiz]

3. The plural of singular nouns ending in -o is formed by adding the ending -es, which is read as [z]:

torpedo - torpedo - torpedo es

4. The plural of singular nouns ending in -y with a preceding consonant is formed by adding the ending -es, with y changing to i:

army - army - arm ies
navy - fleet - nav ies

If there is a vowel before y, then the plural is formed according to the general rule:

day - day - day s

5. The plural of nouns ending in -f, -fe is formed by adding the ending -s or -es, while f changes to v:

wolf - wolv es
knife knife - kniv es
But: chief chief - chief s

6. Nouns borrowed from Greek and Latin retain the plural form they had in these languages:

basis ["beisis] - basis - bases ["beisi:z]
crisis ["kraisis] - crisis - crises ["kraisi:z]
radius - radius - radii ["reidiai]
nucleus ["nju:klies] - nucleus of an atom - nuclei ["nju:kliai]
curriculum [kə"rikjulem] - course of study, curriculum - curricula [kə"rikjule]

7. In English there are special cases of forming the plural of nouns. These include:

man man -men
woman ["women] woman -women ["wimin]
child -children
foot - feet
tooth tooth -teeth
ox bull - oxen ["oksen]
goose goose -geese
mouse mouse -mice

8. For complex nouns that are written together, the plural form is formed according to the general rule, i.e. using the plural ending that the second noun takes:

schoolboy - schoolboy - schoolboy s

9. For complex nouns that are written with a hyphen, the plural form is usually taken by the semantically basic word:

commander-in-chief - commander s-in-chief

10. In compound nouns, the first component of which is the words man, woman, both stems take the plural form:

man-journalist - journalist - men-journalists
woman-typist - typist - women-typists

11. The ending -s does not always indicate the plural of nouns. Some singular nouns end in -s:

physics physics
mathematics mathematics
economics economics

Mathematics is his favorite subject. His favorite subject is mathematics.

The nouns athletics athletics, gymnastics gymnastics have only the plural form:

Athletics is very popular in our country. Athletics are very popular in our country.

The category of nouns ending in -s in both the singular and plural includes such nouns as: works plant, headquarters, etc.

12. The number of nouns in English and Russian often does not coincide.

13. Paired objects in both English and Russian are used only in the plural:

scissors - scissors
spectacles - glasses
trousers - trousers

14. The noun people in the meaning people is used in the plural; when the noun people means people, nation, it is used in both singular and plural, for example: people people- peoples peoples.

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

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 are of Latin or Greek origin have retained their archaic form in the plural.

• 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 the constituent parts of a word, 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 there is no noun element in a compound noun, then 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 nouns.

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

The category of numbers in English is only nouns And pronouns. We've already looked at , so this time we'll focus only on nouns.

The well-known rule for forming the plural (plural) from English singular nouns (singular) is adding an ending to the stem - s or - es . The rule is postulated by school textbooks as universal, with the exception of cases where the concept is not used in the plural, as well as special forms of word formation.

It should be noted that the ending is s does not always mean multiplication of objects; Often the noun formed by it takes on a new meaning: singular. The closest example: word - word, word s – words (plural), but also: conversation, speech, spat, quarrel (singular).

1. Phonetics of forms of English nouns formed by endings –s and –es. Changing the vowels and consonants of the stems of some words.

Even when plural forms are formed in the “traditional” way, English nouns take on different sounds: with voiced [z] or deaf [s] at the end. The stem to which the ending is added can modify the vowel ( y → i ) or consonant letter ( f → v ).

There are variants (often referring to concepts borrowed from other languages) with the possibility of forming the plural in two ways, by adding the ending –s or –es.

Table 1 provides a detailed examination of this issue.

2. Concepts used only in plural or singular form.

English words, examples of which are given in Table 2, do not form a plural (or do not assume it for some of their meanings).

The agreement of all these concepts with verbs occurs according to the rules for singular nouns.

Some nouns, on the contrary, take plural form only. These include examples from Table 3:

Some nouns have the same singular and plural form. Their examples are given in Table 4.

3. Ancient, non-standard forms of word formation

Some words form their plural by adding the ending - en (an ancient form of word formation), in a number of “exceptions” (usually recommended for memorization in the school curriculum along with the conjugation table for irregular verbs) when moving from singular to plural the root vowel changes. In writing, it can be represented either by one letter or by letter combinations - oo , — ou .

Examples of such word formation are presented in Table 5.

4. Compound nouns consisting of several stems

form the plural by changing, according to the rules, the second stem:

school boy – school boys (schoolchild - schoolchildren)

house wife – house wives (housewife – housewives)

post man – post men (postman - postmen)

If the composition includes a preposition, plural. formed by adding the ending -s to head noun stem:

passer-by - passer s -by (passerby, passer-by – passers-by, passers-by)
sister-in-law - sister s -in-law (sister-in-law - sisters-in-law)

By the way, you can play with grammar like this: word bypasser will have plural h. bypassers

When a noun is formed from a phrasal verb, the ending “clings” to the preposition:

hand-out - hand-out s (handout - materials)

take(-)away — take(-)away s — (dish to go - meals to go)

If the first half of a compound word is man or woman , both parts change:

wom a n-doctor - wom e n-doctor s (female doctor, “doctor” – female doctors, “doctors”)

m a n-servant - m e n-servant s (servant - servants)

Words without a noun form the plural. accession – s :

forget-me-not – forget-me-not s (forget-me-not - forget-me-nots)

And finally

About small pocket money. English in words penny stands for 1 pence. If we believe real coins, plural will look like penn ies (three pennies ). If we are talking about an abstract amount (for example, the cost of a product), you will need to use the word form pen ce (three pence ).

You can consolidate your knowledge in a playful way: we recently discussed on the forum (there are both simple and complex).