Plural in English: the rules of education. How is the plural of nouns in English formed?

The subject may be one or there may be many. In most languages this means that the noun will change its form even slightly, and English is no exception.

Multiple and single

As a rule, there is a difference in how to name one or several objects. And the need to do this arises so often that it is not even always realized. Nevertheless, when studying foreign dialects, one of the first and main themes is the formation of the plural. In English it is usually not too difficult to do, but there are different nuances, subtleties and exceptions that need to be remembered. Without it, it's easy to hit your finger in the sky.

The forms of numbers in English are called Singular and Plural. Some nouns do not have one of these forms at all, and others simply form them in a special way. So, we need to figure out what nouns are talking about, what are their features.

Nouns: the general rule

In order to form a Plural form, the ending -s is added to the initial form of the word . This is the most common and simple rule, for example:

• A truck - trucks (trucks);
• A cup-cups;
• A flag - flags (flags).

In this case it is necessary to take into account that after deaf sounds the ending is read as [s], while in the remaining cases - [z] or [iz].

Nevertheless, this does not always happen. If the noun ends in s, ch, x, sh, tch, z, then the ending will be -es , since it's so much more convenient to say:

• A box - boxes;
• A boss - bosses (bosses).

Words ending with o in the plural also add -es :

• A tomato - tomatoes.

Those words that in the singular contained at the end of f or fe , in the plural it will be replaced by v :

• A wolf - wolves (wolves);
• A leaf - leaves.

It should be noted that this does not always happen, but in most cases. If there are doubts, it is better to refer to dictionaries or reference books.

In addition, there is also a special rule for nouns ending in y . If the penultimate letter is not a vowel, and the word itself is proper, then y changes to i :

• A pony - ponies (ponies);
• A lady - ladies.

But:

• A monkey - monkeys (monkeys);
• Mary - Marys (Mary, Mary).

These are the simplest examples of how a plural of nouns is formed in English. Next, we will talk about more complex examples in which different subtleties will have to be taken into account.

Composite nouns

Another kind of words invariably causes difficulties. It's about compound nouns, such as daughter-in-law, good-for-nothing, etc. Many just add the ending -s to the whole construction, but that's not true. In this case, you need to highlight the main word and work with it. That is, the right options are daughters-in-law ( daughters-in-law ), but, for example, good-for-nothings (idlers), since there is no nominal part here. Apparently, to form a Plural form is not so difficult even for compound words. The main thing is to know about this rule and be able to apply it.

Borrowed words

The stumbling block in the subject of the plural form is the concepts that came
From Latin, Greek, etc. Remembering them can be difficult, but almost all of them are related to special scientific vocabulary, so it's unlikely that they will meet with them in the usual text. Examples can be:

• A criterion - criteria;
• An index - indeces.

Apparently, in this case the formation of plural nouns in English coincides with how this form looked in the original source. In case of doubt, it is better to look into the dictionary, especially since the same words in different subjects will behave differently. For example, the noun antenna in electronics forms the form antennae, and in biology - antennas.

Exceptions

Unfortunately, not always the plural of nouns in English falls under one of the above rules. There are also exceptions. The most famous and most used in the general lexicon are the following:

• A tooth - teeth;
• A foot - feet;
• A child - children;
• A (wo) man - (wo) men (female / male);
• A mouse - mice;
• A penny - pence;
• A sheep-sheep (sheep);
• A goose - geese (geese);
• A swine - swine;
• A deer-deer;
• An ox - oxen (bulls).

There is still some number of words that also have a special form,
But they are used much less often. Since the list is rather small, it's easier to just memorize it. And then you do not have to think about what form the plural in the English language is in this or that case.

In addition, the same category may include the names of nationalities ending in -se or -ss. Examples can be:

• A Japanese - Japanese;
• A Swiss - Swiss (Swiss);
• A Portuguese - Portuguese (Portuguese);
• A Chinese - Chinese.

Features of collective nouns

Another special category has no nuances in the formation of the very form of Plural. But grammatically, it can, in different situations, perform both in Singular and in Plural. By the way, this is even more influenced by the nationality of the interlocutor.

The fact is that in the United Kingdom and the United States, the perception of collective nouns is seriously different: the British are, rather, individualists, while Americans are more inclined to collectivism. In grammar, this is expressed in matching the predicate to the subject.

Such words as crew, committee, family, team, class, company, corporation, etc., belong to the category of collective words. If it is meant that the noun expresses a single policy or collective action, Singular is used. If we talk about the multitude of people that make up the family, the team, etc., then the plural is applied. In English, as already mentioned, there are many nuances and subtleties that are not always easy to remember, so as not to make mistakes.

If you do not want to make mistakes at all, it's easier to replace collective nouns with similar constructions. Instead of the class, students are suitable, and the team can be changed to players. In other cases, just members or participants. The coordination of verbs with these words of problems should not cause.

Only single

Often the stumbling block is uncountable nouns and generally abstract concepts. If the real is more or less clear, then with the rest - not very.

This type of hair can be referred to as hair (not in the sense of "individual hairs"), money, information, water, progress, relationship, advice, knowledge, etc. Separately it is worth mentioning about those that end in -s : news, mathematics , Physics, politics, statistics, etc. The plural number in the English language in this case is not formed at all, and the coordination occurs in a single:

• You information is quite interesting.
• Physics is an important science.

Words such as fruit and fish, already mentioned earlier, will either form a plural in different cases, or not, depending on the semantics. In the sense of "different kinds" they will add at the end -s , and if it's just about the number more than one, then no.

Since there are quite a few examples that fall under this rule, if it is suspected that a particular word forms non-standardly in the English language or does not do so, it is better to double-check itself. In the end, even experienced translators and carriers sometimes make mistakes. What can we say about those who are just beginning to learn the language, but the practice will help.

Only multiple

This category also includes a large number of examples, including among the collective nouns: military, police, people, clothes, goods, etc. In addition, there are also items that can be called pair: scissors (scissors), braces (Suspenders), trousers (trousers) and some others. Obviously, to speak about how the plural in the English language is formed, these examples do not make sense, because they are already in it. It is important to remember these examples and correctly coordinate verbs with them.

Language is a living substance that is constantly changing. Some rules disappear, but others replace them. It is possible that the plural of nouns in English in a few dozen years will occur entirely on other principles.