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Advice plural. Singular and plural in English

There are a lot of men and womens in our team.

Ay-ay! Did you also find two mistakes in this sentence? Even adults often make mistakes when an exception suddenly appears.

But it's not all that scary.

Let me say optimistically that English is not French after all. It would seem, what is optimistic about this? The fact is that in French you have to change the form of everything: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and even articles. AEnglish pluralshows with just one noun. If the word "cat"singular in English- cat, then the plural is cats.

Plural: English and French

Do you see how many things change in French to show that there are many things? Why, in French, the situation is the same in both Italian and Spanish. Therefore, let us rejoice once again that we are learning the language of Shakespeare and John Lennon.

Plural Formation in English

Ending -s

In the table above to the wordshouse And floweronly one letter addeds:

House - house s
Flower - flower s

And it turned out: houses, flowers.

In 90% of cases this is how the plural is formed.

Pronunciation secrets

There is one nuance in this seemingly simple situation. Depending on what sound the word ends with,Smay sound like [s], And How [ z] (hereinafter square brackets are used to indicate sounds). If you know and use this, then it is quite possible to make great progress in your listening comprehension, not to mention the fact that it will allow others to understand you better.

General rule: if the final consonantdeaf, That S reads like [ s].

What are voiced/voiceless consonants?

Imagine two brothers. One of them is modest and quiet. His name is Peter. If he does something, no one notices. He is thin and short. He speaks quietly, with just his lips, as if he doesn’t have enough strength. Or maybe you don’t have enough confidence to express yourself.

P-p-piter
p-pain
p-lease

Try also to pronounce the sound [p] after Peter, without using the power of your voice. The lid on the pan rises with approximately this sound if the porridge in it is boiling and will soon run away. The hedgehog also puffs like that.

When [p] or a consonant similar to it is at the very end of a word, we pronounce it like this - without a voice, we simply close our lips:

Lip, hip.

But Bill, Peter's brother, is very loud. He sings, plays the guitar and is generally the first guy in the village. It seems like he has nothing sensible on his mind, but when he says something, everyone hears it - whether they want it or not:

b-reak
b-ring
b-ad
b-ill

Make the sound [b] by placing your fingers on your neck under your jaw - you will feel the vibration. This is a voiced consonant, pronounced with a good flow of air. If you remove this flow, reduce the strength of your voice, you will get modest Peter. Compare:

Bad-pad
Bark-park

If [b] or similar voiced consonants are at the end of a word in the singular, then the plural S is also voiced and pronounced as [z]:

Pad-pads
Lad-

Also [s] turns into [z] after vowels, as well as after a combinationvowel + r:

doors

Ending -es

-esadded to nouns that end in-sh, -ch, -s, -z, and -x:

Pronunciation rules

Letter eat the end of words likecakes, clothes, lakes, eyesnot pronounced:

clothes
cakes [keɪks]

We pronounce the final -es, How [- iz] after the following sounds: [z], [ dʒ], [ s], [ ʃ ], [ tʃ], [ ks]

Words starting with -y

Nouns ending inconsonant + y, type lady, candy, family, city, the plural is discardedyand assign the endingies.

In fact, this rule only applies to spelling. It's still the same sounds, placed at the end of a word. By the way, if you remember, the same writing rules are valid for verbs in the third person singular ending in y:

I cry (first person) - he cries(third party)

Note: This rule does not apply to proper names.

The Kennedy family = the Kenned ys

If the word ends iny, but there is a vowel in front of it, then we simply adds, as in most words:

Irregular nouns

English wouldn't be English if it didn't have some "wrong" words. You've most likely heard a lot about irregular verbs. By analogy with them, someplural nouns in Englishchange differently than most. They don't joins, and they transform into different things:

The English themselves laugh at the illogicality of their language. Here's even a poem they wrote:

We'll begin with box, and the plural is boxes;
But the plural of ox should be oxen, not oxes.
You may find a lonely mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not good.
If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
So our English, I think, you all will agree,
Is the craziest language you ever did see.

Our free translation:

One box and more boxes,
Why ox Not oxes?
One mouse, a lot of mice,
well and house what not nice?
Man one and men- people.
Hello, Christmas tree, New Year.

Nouns ending in -o

o add - esin the plural.

echo - echoes
hero - heroes
potato - potatoes
tomato - tomatoes
And some add only s:

auto - autos
kangaroo - kangaroos
kilo - kilos
memo-memos
photo-photos
piano - pianos
radio - radios
solo - solos
soprano - sopranos
studio - studios
tattoo - tattoos
video-videos
zoo - zoos Well, some nouns in -OIn general, they can afford both, depending on their mood. But still, the ending is considered more standard-es.

memento - mementoes, mementos
mosquito - mosquitoes, mosquitos
tornado - tornadoes, tornados
volcano - volcanoes, volcanos
zero - zeroes, zeros

Words starting with -f and -fe

Some nouns ending in –f or - fe, change the ending to –ves:

life - lives
wolf-wolves
calf-calves
half-halves
knife-knives
leaf - leaves
shelf - shelves
thief - thieves

And some words in -f, -fejust adds.

For example, the word "proof" pluralforms in the standard way: by addings. These words take their example from him:

belief - beliefs
chief - chiefs
cliff-cliffs
roof - roofs

Plural forms that coincide with singular forms

Words deer, fish, means, offspring, series, sheep, shrimp, species are written and pronounced the same - regardless of the quantitative value:

deer - deer, deer
fish - fish, fish
means - way, methods
offspring - offspring, offspring
series - series, series
sheep - sheep, sheep
shrimp - shrimp, prawns
species - species, species

Coincidence? We don't think so. This phenomenon has several explanations. The most popular theory is that these words came into English from other languages, and for themplural of EnglishI borrowed it from there. For example, the wordspeciescame from Latin, and in Latin there is a fifth mood of nouns, in which the plural does not differ from the singular.

Blue Whale is an endangeredspecies

The blue whale is an endangered species.

How many endangeredspecies are there in Russia?

How many endangered species are there in Russia?

Loan words

They need to be mentioned separately - too many absurd mistakes are made due to ignorance. Some borrowed words have retained their plural form from the original language. Although these words moved into English a long time ago, changing habits was apparently not part of their plans.

Meanwhile, they are very often used. They will be especially useful for those who write a scientific paper. “Thesis” and “brackets”, “phenomenon” and “formula” - all this in English has such an unusual appearance that it is necessary to focus attention on it.

Uncountable nouns

And here English, pluralwhich you now know how to use, has prepared another surprise.

Uncountable nouns are nouns that we cannot count. We cannot put a number in front of them to indicate quantity. You can't ask for three oils, and we don't say "oils" either. Oil is an uncountable noun. Often uncountable food products are: bread (bread), sugar (sugar), salt (salt), soup (soup), abstract concepts - beauty (beauty), confidence (confidence), honesty (honesty), things without a specific form - cotton (cotton), air (air), toothpaste (toothpaste).

Accordingly, plural forms (honesties, sugars, airs) do not exist.On the other hand, when never, such forms still occur, but the meaning changes. For example, when you ask the waiter:

- Two waters, please.- Two waters please

then this means “two bottles of water.” In other words, what is meant is not the uncountable substances themselves, but the countable containers that contain them.

Possessive case and plural

To express ownership, S is used.

Daddy's little monster- Daddy's little monster.

The teacher's salary- Teacher's salary.

But the plural uses the same letter! And how do they coexist if something belongs to someone, and that someone is in the plural? Is it really necessary to hiss two sounds?s?

No, of course not necessary. In English, the superfluous is always eliminated. The letter S, which denotes quantity, wins, and all that remains of the possessive S is the tail - the apostrophe:

Teachers’ salaries - Teachers’ salaries.
Students’ council - Student Council.

Okay, but what if S is part of the root? As in boss, goddess or some names?

If a singular noun ends in s, there are two options: 1. Apostrophe and s: Thomas’s book
2. Only apostrophe Thomas’ book

And if, for example, there are several bosses, then there is no choice - we only put an apostrophe:

Mybosses' new cars are expensive

My bosses new cars are expensive

Goddesses' outfits were stunning

The goddesses' outfits were amazing

As for irregular nouns, nothing special happens to them in the possessive case, they simply add an apostrophe and S:

The men's cars are black.

These men's cars are black.

Only singular or only plural

Glasses, scissors, trousers, shorts - take a closer look at these words and you will understand that they are in the plural. They cannot be used in any other way - you cannot say "one scissor", "one trouser" simply due to the paired nature of these items. The trousers have two legs, the glasses have two glasses.

In English the same picture is observed:

headphones - headphones
glasses - glasses
scissors - scissors
jeans - jeans
surroundings - surroundings
clothes - clothes

These and similar words are used only in the plural. That is, no matter how great the temptation is to say “my clothes IS warm” (my clothes are warm) by analogy with Russian (in Russianclothalthough it is a collective noun, but in the singular form), you need to step on the throat of your own song and say:

My clothes are warm.

And finally, nouns that are used in the singular, even if they ends. These are the names of educational subjects:

Economics (economics), mathematics (mathematics), physics (physics),

names of sports:

Gymnastics (gymnastics), aerobics (aerobics),

diseases:

Measles (measles), mumps (mumps)

and the word news(news).

That's how he is English: plural nounsreplete with a variety of forms. But that's why we love him.

The plural in English is formed according to a certain rule. When learning a language, beginners often have difficulties, since this rule has its own characteristics and exceptions.

In this article you will learn:

rules for forming the plural of nouns
words of exception to the rule
words that do not change according to numbers

The rule for forming the plural of nouns in English

In English, plurals are formed by adding the ending -s to a word:

cat - cat s
cat - cats

cup - cup s
cup - cups

book - book s
book - books

phone - phone s
telephone - telephones

pen - pen s
pen - pens

It would seem that everything is extremely simple. However, as with many English rules, there are exceptions.

In some cases, instead of -s we need to add an ending -es. Let's look at which ones:

1. If the word ends in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -z

kiss-kiss es
kiss - kisses

church - church es
church - churches

bus - bus es
bus - buses

dish - dish es
dish - dishes

tax - tax es
tax - taxes

2. If the word ends with -O

potato - potato es
potato - potatoes

zero - zero es
zero - zeros

hero - hero es
hero - heroes

But there are exception words, to which, despite the fact that they end in O, we add the ending -s. You just need to remember these words:

photo - photo s
photography - photographs

video-video s
video - several videos

piano - piano s
piano - several pianos

kilo - kilo s
kilogram - kilograms

3. If the word ends with -y, then we change y on i and add the ending -es

secretary - secretary ies
secretary - secretaries

factory - factor ies
factory - factories

theory - theory es
theory - theories

reply-reply es
answer - answers

However, if the word ends with -y and we pronounce the ending like [th], then we do not change it in any way, but simply add -s:

boy - boy s
boy - boys

toy-toy s
toy - toys

way - way s
way - ways

4. If the word ends with -fe, That f change to v and add -es

knife-kni ves
knife - knives

wife-wi ves
wife - wives

life-li ves
life - life

We looked at the basic rules that allow us to make two or more from one item. But in the English language there are exception words that do not follow these rules.

Plural elimination words in English

There are words in the English language whose plural forms are not formed according to the rules. Such words can be divided into two groups:

1. Words that change their form regardless of the rules

The formation of the plural form of these words does not lend itself to any logic; it just needs to be remembered.

man-men
man - men

person - people
person people

woman - women
woman's woman

mouse - mice
mouse - mice

foot - feet
leg legs

child - children
children

tooth - teeth
tooth teeth

2. Words that don't change at all

There is no need to add an ending to these words or change them, regardless of whether we are talking about one subject or several.

fish - fish
fish - fish

fruit - fruit
fruit - fruit

deer - deer
deer - deer

sheep - sheep
sheep - sheep

aircraft - aircraft
airplane - airplanes

means - means
way - ways

trout - trout
trout - trout

Words that do not vary by number in English

Just like in the Russian language, in English there are words whose number cannot be changed at all (glasses, trousers, dishes, honey, etc.). Such words can only be singular or plural.

1. Words that are used only in the singular

We cannot put such words in the plural, even if there are several objects. Remember, we also have such words in Russian: video, piano, flamingo, etc. Agree, we cannot say: “There were three pianos in the classroom.” We say: “There were three pianos in the classroom,” although we mean several objects.

advice - advice
furniture - furniture
information - information
money - money
friendship - friendship
love - love
news - news

2. Words that are used only in the plural

We cannot put such words in the singular. For example, we say: “Give me a pair of scissors,” although we mean one object. We cannot say, “Give me a scissor.”

scissors - scissors
trousers - trousers
glasses—glasses
goods - goods, goods
clothes - clothes
stairs - stairs
arms - weapon

So, we looked at how to correctly change words when we talk about two or more subjects. Now let's practice doing this.

Do a workout exercise

Put the following words into plural form:

Tomato, box, sheep, dictionary, flower, day, video, child, plate, fruit, class, key, foot, window, country, brush, photo, fish, woman, party.

Leave your answers in the comments below the article.

Names of people, names of objects, cities, countries, various institutions; names of plant and animal species; designation of a process of action - all this cannot be expressed without nouns. It would not be an exaggeration to say that perhaps 90% of sentences cannot do without this part of speech, if we exclude the simplest constructions with pronouns and adjectives. Today we will look at this most important category of English grammar. Let's find out how it is used, what varieties it has, as well as how the plural of nouns is formed in the English language. The topic is simple and beginners usually master it quickly; they just have to learn a few exceptions and reinforce the theory by completing a practical task.

This part of speech denotes persons or objects when answering questions what?who?(what/who?). In a sentence, such words can play the role of subject, object, circumstance, and even attribute, provided that the noun is used in the possessive case. By the way, this is the only case of changing the ending of this part of speech, with the exception of the formation of the plural form.

This category is divided into the same sections as in Russian: common nouns, proper nouns, collective nouns, concrete nouns, abstract nouns, countable and uncountable nouns. For our topic, it is important to note that abstract and uncountable representatives of this category cannot have plural constructions. At the same time, there are words that are used exclusively in a collective form: policeclothes,glasses,scissors,peopletrousers and so on. We will talk about all other types of words in detail in the next section.

The English language, and in this it is similar to Russian, has endowed the noun with two numerical categories: singular and plural. And, if everything is clear in principle with the singular number, since this is the dictionary form of the word, then the formation of multiple meanings requires knowledge of certain grammatical laws. Let's look at them in more detail.

Endings –s/-es

The simplest and most widespread way to obtain the plural form of nouns is to add a letter to the base of the word s.

I bought a magazine for my mother yesterday – YesterdayIboughtForhismothersmagazine.
I bought magazine s for my mother yesterday – YesterdayIboughtmagazinesForhismothers.

Note that the indefinite article can only accompany the singular, while the definite article appears with nouns of both categories.

Usually, I read the newspaper in the morning – Usually, II'm readingthisnewspaperin the morning.
Usually, I read the newspaper s in the morning s - Usually, II'm readingthesenewspapersByin the morning.

Some nouns in English perceive this rule in a peculiar way. The table below will help us consider special cases of adding endings.

Situation

Example

Translation

If the word ends with letter combinations — sh ch ss, tch, as well as letters – s, x, z , it gets ending es .

There are many buses es in the street s of this city.

She bought several antique pocket watch es when she was in Italy.

There are many buses on the streets of this city.

She bought several antique pocket watches when she was in Italy.

English nouns ending in – o , accept the ending es . Words of foreign origin, as well as abbreviations with the ending O and words in which the letter O preceded by a vowel sound, only the ending is added s .

My grandparent s grow potat oes and tomato oes at their dacha.

I have a lot of photos os and video os in the SD-card of my smartphone.

There are four piano s in the music school.

My grandparents grow potatoes and tomatoes at their dacha.

I have a lot of photos and videos on the memory card of my smartphone.

This music school has four pianos.

Words with endings y The plural is formed by transforming this letter and adding the ending.

y ⟶ i+es

But, if in a word y preceded by vowels a, e, o, then the usual is added s .

Granny told me many interesting things ries about her childhood.

The last lesson our teacher brought 20 dictiona ries .

Jack lost his k eys .

My daughter has two favorites oys : a small horse and a gray dog.

Grandmother told me many interesting stories about her childhood.

Our teacher brought 20 dictionaries to the last lesson.

Jack lost his keys.

My daughter has two favorite toys: a small horse and a gray dog.

Noun ending in f/ fe , can, when switching to the plural form, change these letters to v/ ve .

f/ fe ⟶ ves.

There are exceptions to this group: cliffs,roofs,chiefs,cuffs.

There are many different kni ves in the kitchen drawer.

The lea ves of the trees are red and yellow.

I like to walk on the roo fs of buildings.

There are many different knives in the kitchen drawer.

The leaves of this tree are red and yellow.

I like to walk on the roofs of buildings.

These rules must be carefully worked out and remembered, because they are the ones used to form the plural of nouns in the English language in the vast majority of cases. It remains to add comments about how these endings are pronounced.

Pronunciation of the ending s depends on the letter preceding it. If a word ends with a dull vowel, then the ending sounds like [s] (Russian S). And when a word ends in a vowel or a voiced consonant, the ending s pronounced as [z] (Russian Z). Additional ending - es , with transcription, in all words pronounced as IZ.

Ending en and vowel alternation

English is a dynamic language, and constantly strives to simplify its system. But some forms of words become so firmly established in everyday speech that they subsequently no longer obey the rules adopted in modern grammar. Therefore, the formation of the plural of definite nouns in English has retained its structure since ancient times.

The singular becomes plural by alternating vowels in the following words: foot,gooselouse,mousetooth. In this case, the root letter combinations turn into one letter: oo ⟶ ee , ou ⟶ i .

My elder sister is afraid of mice - Myoldersisterfearsmice.
Last night the geese flew to the south – Pastat nightthesegeeseflew awayonsouth.

Joining the ending en to construct the plural in English it is typical for words such as childmanwoman,ox. In some of these examples, the root vowel is replaced rather than added to produce en.

The child was afraid of oxen - Child scaredbulls.
Women read fairy tales for them children more often than men do – Womenreadfairy tales For children more oftenhow, howThisdomen.

This group of words is very small in number, so it is quickly and easily remembered.

Matching Forms

There are situations when in English both forms of a noun will sound the same. In such cases, the noun receives absolutely no changes, and the number can only be determined by the context of the sentence. This category includes words deerswine,series, seriessheep,fish.

Yesterday I saw a deer in the forest – YesterdayIsawVforestdeer.
Yesterday I saw 8 days in the forest – YesterdayIsawVforest8 deer.
The fish is tasty – Fishdelicious.
There there are many fish in this lake – Inthislakea lot offish.

In this category, it is important to note that this method of obtaining the plural in English is used when denoting representatives of nationalities whose names end in – es/ese.

Iknowthatthis Swiss lives inNorway – I know that this Swiss man lives in Norway.
These Swiss live inmyflat – These Swiss people live in my apartment.
Five Japanese and five Chinese play football in the yard – 5 JapaneseAnd5 ChineseplayVfootballinyard.
Jessicasawa lot of Portuguese inSpain – Jessica saw a lot of Portuguese in Spain.

In this grammatical subgroup there are also lexical examples that have the same types of stems in the singular and in plural. But they are used extremely rarely, so there is no point in memorizing them at the initial stage of learning.

Compound Basics

In complex combinations connecting two or more stems, the construction of the plural in English can be done using different methods. The choice of method depends on the original construction of the expression and the meaning of the statement.

The largest group of compound nouns constructs their plural using the traditional method - by adding a letter s to the end of the word, i.e. to the last base.

There there are many different merry-go-rounds for children in this park – Bthisparka lot ofvariouscarouselsForchildren.
I picked many forget-me-nots for you in the field – IcollectedVfielda lot offorget-me-notsForyou.

There are compound constructions in which each noun is used in the plural. This method should be used when the expression begins with the words woman or man.

Usuallywomen- drivers cannotrepairtheircars – Usually, female drivers do not know how to repair their cars.
Behind her stood the parents, the friends, the guests and the menservants - Behindherstoodparents, Friends, guests and servants.

In some phrases, the basis in which the main meaning of the word lies is subject to changes.

Many husbands hate them mothers-in-law – Manyhusbandshatetheirmother-in-law.
Thosepassers- by gavemetheEnglishtextbook – Those passers-by gave me this English textbook.

Archaic forms

It is worth mentioning that some words that came from Latin or Greek still retain their original forms in English. Consequently, the multiple meanings of such expressions are not formed according to general rules.

The most common examples of this group: crisis ⟶ crises, species ⟶ species, thesis ⟶ theses, formula ⟶ formulae and so on. As you can see, these are mostly scientific terms that are unlikely to appear in colloquial speech. Therefore, if you do not plan to engage in scientific activities, you can safely not memorize these forms. It is enough just to keep in mind that such a category exists and, if necessary, use a dictionary.

So, we have completed our study of the topic and learned how to get the plural of almost any noun in English. It remains to fix the mentioned rules with practical work, i.e. perform exercises reinforcing the material. Good luck in your studies and see you again!

It is, of course, impossible to speak a language without distinguishing between singular and plural. Fortunately, recognizing and using plurals correctly in English is not as difficult as, for example, in French. Let's take a closer look. Ready?

The plural in English is formed according to certain rules which, of course, have their exceptions. It would seem that everything is not so complicated, but when learning a language, beginners often have difficulties, since the rules have their own characteristics. Let's start with something simple.

Plural of nouns

There was a fruit on the plate. /There were some fruit on the plate.

It is also worth considering that there are also uncountable nouns. In this case, we use only the single form of the verb to be.

There is some money in the valley.

Some nouns, on the contrary, can only be used in the plural: scissors, glasses, trousers, tweeters,pajamas etc. For example:

Where are my favorite jeans? They must be on the chair.

Words in the singular

Uncountable nouns are used only in the singular. Pronouns each, either, neither, another and all compound words with the component - one, -body or - thing, always refer to the only one number.

Everybody was surprised when they saw him.

There is a lot of debate about the plural form of words ending in - us. Historically, words ending in -us are of Latin origin. In the plural they take on the ending - i instead of -us. However, not all such words are of Latin origin, hence the controversy. Eg:

The plural of virus is viruses, not viri.

Some Latin borrowings take the regular English ending - es: campus - campus es; bonus - bonus es.

Some Latin borrowings take the ending -i: radius - radii, stimulus - stimuli.

Plural rules in English

To sum up, we can safely say that in order to have a good understanding of singular and plural nouns in English, it is necessary first of all to study the main exceptions. There are not many such words. You can use everyone’s favorite method with stickers - stick them with a list of words in the most eye-catching places, and return to repetition from time to time. The table will also help you study the plural in English.

After examining the exceptions, return to the rules on which everything is built. There aren't many of them. The main thing is to feel it, and you will be able to apply them intuitively in the subconscious, as if English were your native language. If you doubt that you can handle it on your own, you can always contact a teacher who will advise and test you. Nothing is difficult or impossible, the main thing is faith and desire.

Conclusion

The formation of the plural in English is the basics, which we begin with at school, so this topic should be given special attention. No matter how old you are, this topic should always be among the initial topics to learn. If you use structured, high-quality educational materials to learn English, or study individually with a teacher, you will definitely be pointed in the right direction. If you study on your own, be sure to take care not to ignore this topic.

Have a nice and productive learning experience!

Big and friendly EnglishDom family

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, factory− 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

Plural of exclusion

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.

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

My new job is a success. − My new job is just a happy accident.
We learn from our success es and failures. − We learn from our successes and mistakes.

2. In English, some nouns can agree with a verb in the singular or plural, depending on the context, without changing their form.

My family is large. — My family is big.(Family as a whole)
My family are early risers. — Everyone in our family gets up early. (Family is like a set of individual members of a team)

3. In English, the same noun can be countable in one meaning and uncountable in another.

Uncountable: iron − iron
Calcul.: an iron iron-iron s irons

4. In English, some nouns have endings -s have a singular meaning and accordingly agree with singular verbs.