Louse is plural in English. Singular and plural nouns. Countable and uncountable nouns. Strengthening exercises

One of the categories of English nouns is the number, and it is with it that many students quite often have problems. At the same time, the division itself into the singular and plural of nouns is quite understandable; the difficulty arises with how to determine the necessary forms of using certain structures, since quite often there are words that form singular and plural forms (singular and plural) non-standard. From this follows the need to consider in detail the process of how nouns change in numbers, how the plural of nouns is formed in English language to correctly navigate in this area of ​​grammar and not make mistakes.

The main essence of singular and plural forms

The essence of what constitutes a singular number of nouns is quite clear: this form shows an object or phenomenon in a single form. Nouns in the singular, which is logical, do not cause any special problems (unless any special words that are used exclusively in singular forms are implied). It is worth saying that the grammar rule provides for the use of the article before the noun in singular form, however, this applies exclusively to countable nouns, that is, those that can be counted.

Much more attention should be paid to plural forms of nouns. The rules for the formation of the plural in English are often non-standard and may contradict the usual grammatical norms, especially when it comes to exceptional and unique structures. Plural nouns reflect the fact that an object or phenomenon is not in the singular. The definite article is not always placed before plural forms (the indefinite article with them is not possible in principle), and this requires a special context.

Plural Rules

Perhaps many people know that the typical plural of nouns in English is usually formed by adding the ending -s: chair - chairs, monkey - monkeys, boy - boys, etc. However, if everything were that simple, problems with the plural form would hardly arise.

The fact is that in addition to -s, there are a number of other features that must be taken into account. For example, the ending -es, which is relevant in the following cases:

• If the noun ends in a hissing (or whistling) sound: branch - branches (branch - branches), box - boxes (box - boxes), bus - buses (bus - buses), etc.
• If the noun ends in -y, preceded by any consonant. In this case, y will change to i: lady - ladies (lady - several ladies), baby - babies (baby - babies), story - stories (history - stories), family - families (family - families), etc. (This rule does not apply to proper names: Mary - Marys)
• If the noun ends in -o: tomato - tomatoes (tomato - tomatoes), cargo - cargoes (ship - ships), hero - heroes (hero - heroes), etc.

Note: there are some popular nouns that end in -s rather than -es, even though they end in -o (often determined by the fact that the word is borrowed or abbreviated): piano (piano), solo (solo), photo (photo), radio (radio), lotto (lotto), etc. Also, if the last -o is preceded by another vowel, the -es ending will also not appear: portfolio(s), kangaroo(s), etc.

Exceptional plurals

The plural of nouns is not always formed in accordance with the methods described above; English has other features of using nouns in plural forms, and various exceptions are quite common.

Nouns with ending –f/–fe

This includes, for example, the formation of the plural with nouns ending in -f (-fe). In such variants, the root consonant f changes to v. Here are some examples of such words:

wife(wife) - but: wives(wives)
shelf(shelf) - but: shelves(shelves)
leaves(sheet) - but: leaves(leaves)
knife(knife) - but: knives(knives)
wolf(wolf) - but: wolves(wolves)
life(life) - but: lives(life)

However, there are also nouns used with the conservation of the consonant f: cliff (rock) - cliffs (rocks), roof (roof) - roofs (roofs), chief (chief) - chiefs (chiefs) and some others.

Nouns with non-standard education plural forms

In some cases, in the form of noun in plural, there is a complete change in structure, and not just endings. These are the so-called irregular plural nouns, which include pairs foot - feet (foot - feet), person - people (person - people). Often there are options child - children (child - children), goose - geese (goose - geese), tooth - teeth (tooth - teeth). Any table with them, as a rule, also presents gender differences such as man - men (man - men) and woman - women (woman - women). Sometimes there are cases that are convenient to remember by consonance: mouse - mice (mouse - mice) and louse - lice (lice - lice).

Using the plural with compound nouns

Compound nouns, which consist of two or more grammatical stems, also have an unusual plural in English. For example, words such as merry-go-round, which translates as "carousel", or the unusual word forget-me-not, which means "forget-me-not", must have an -s ending at the end, since they do not have a key significant words.

However, structures such as looker-on (observer) or mother-in-law (mother-in-law) have plural forms such as lookers-on and mothers-in-law, since the -s ending is added to the noun inside, carrying basic meaning.

Nouns with the same singular and plural form

For some lexical units that display an object or phenomenon, both the singular and the plural form are formed in the same way. In order to find out exactly which words refer to this rule, it is worth remembering that basically these cases refer to the animal world: sheep (sheep) - sheep (sheep), or, for example, deer (deer) - deer (deer). Here are some other cases:

salmon(salmon) - salmon (several salmon)
swine(pig) - swine (pigs)
trout(trout) – trout (several trout)

Such nouns as fish and fruit have a feature: if there is no mention of varieties, the form will remain unchanged, but when listed, the words will take on the form of fishes and fruits.

In addition, this group also includes some nouns, which, despite the letter s at the end, have the same form of both singular and plural:

means(means) - means (means)
series(series) – series (series)
species(species) - species (species)

Borrowed nouns in plural forms

A separate category is occupied by nouns borrowed from ancient languages, for example, Latin, as well as Greek words, often used as scientific terms (example - datum (date) - data (data)). Here it becomes necessary to remember them exclusively, since there are usually no auxiliary ways to determine their desired form, although the endings have common features:

formula(formula) - formulae(formulas)
phenomenon(phenomenon) - phenomena(phenomena)
cactus(cactus) - cacti(cacti)
crisis(a crisis) - crises(crises)
stimulus(stimulus) - stimuli(stimuli)

Nouns used only in the singular and only in the plural
Some nouns are characterized by the use of only one form: singular or plural.

Nouns specific only to singular forms

Some structural units that are used only in the singular are completely atypical for use in the singular form in Russian, since they initially have a plural translation: news (news), watch (clock), money (money), hair (hair) and some other:

advice- advice
furniture- furniture
knowledge- knowledge
information– information

Note: in some cases, the meaning of such nouns can change, and then they become countable: a hair (hair), a light (lamp), etc.

Nouns used only in plural forms

Lexical structures that are used only in the plural are also quite common. The following are plural-only nouns that do not have singular forms:

goods- goods
clothes- cloth
scissors- scissors
wages- salary
glasses- glasses
police- police
trousers- trousers

All the above cases of using nouns in singular and plural forms are extremely important to remember, since their use in the language, as can be seen from the examples provided, is typical for quite standard lexical situations, and not for any intricate grammar. Knowing all these nuances and exceptions, it will not be difficult to make your speech correct and use the appropriate cases in the right context.

Countable nouns in English are countable in order to be put in singular or plural. There are certain rules for this. Most often, the ending -s or -es is used for this - even a schoolboy knows this. But there are other rules that we will consider today. The plural of nouns in English (plural) is used when there are two or more objects.

Plural formations of nouns in English

The formation of the plural of nouns in English is as follows: -s, which we put at the end of nouns for formation, reads like z if it comes after vowels

The same story - if there is a voiced consonant at the end
pen - pens.

If there is a voiceless consonant at the end of the word, s is read like this:

But if hissing or whistling (s, ss, x, sh, ch) are placed before the end, then some changes in the end occur. Now it takes the following form -es:

bass - basses
match - matches
leash-leashes
box - boxes

If there is a letter -y at the end of the word, we change it to i, and add the traditional -es already familiar to us

lobby - lobbies
sky - skies

Exceptions are proper nouns and compound nouns.

At the same time, in cases where the letter -y is preceded by a vowel, we do not touch -y, we only add the ending s

bay - bays
day - days
way - ways

When a word ends in -o, the ending -es is added to form the plural:

potatoes - potatoes
tomato – tomatoes
hero - heroes

The most difficult thing is when -f or -fe are in the ending. Then you have to learn one rule: replace -f or -fe with -v- and add the ending -es

If the noun ends in the letters -f or -fe, then in the plural they change to -v- and the ending -es is added:

thief-thieves
wolf - wolves
half-halves
wife - wives

An exception in the formation of plurals in English

As with any rule, there are exceptions to the pluralization of English nouns. An exception in the formation of plurals in English occurs in the following cases:

Nouns have their own plural form

man - men
woman-women
tooth-teeth
foot - feet
goose-geese
mouse - mice
louse-lice
child - children
ox-oxen
brother - brethren (brothers, brethren)

The singular looks the same as the plural:

sheep-sheep
swine – swine
deer - deer
grouse – grouse
series-series
species - species
corps - corps

Borrowed words that have retained the features of plural formation according to the rules of their “native” language.

basis - bases
crisis-crises
phenomenon - phenomena
stimulus – stimuli
formula - formulae
datum-data
index-indices
bureau – bureaux

The plural in English (plurals of nouns) can be formed in several ways. The choice of method depends on the ending of the word in the singular.

How are plural nouns formed?

Most English nouns are pluralized simply by adding -s to the end. For example, cat-cats, dog-dogs, etc. But some words form the plural differently. We will analyze each such case separately.

Nouns ending in -y

The ending -y preceded by a consonant becomes -ies in the plural:

Nouns that end in -ch, -s, -sh, -x, or -z

If a word in English ends in -ch, -s, -sh, -x, or -z, the plural ending -es is added:

There is one exception to this rule. If the ending -ch is pronounced like a ‘k’ sound, only -s is added in the plural:

Nouns ending in f or -fe

Nouns ending in a consonant or single vowel + endings -f or -fe change those endings to -ves:

Nouns that end in -o

Most nouns with -o at the end are pluralized simply by adding an -s after it:

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Even if the -o is preceded by another vowel, only -s is added in the plural:

Studio - studio	Studios - studios
Zoo - zoo	Zoos - zoos
Embryo - embryo	Embryos - embryos

However, some words ending in -o require -es in the plural. Here are the most common ones:

Exception words

In all the cases of plural formation described above, one way or another, the letter -s appears at the end. But there are nouns in English, the plural form of which is formed in other ways:

Nouns that have the same form in singular and plural:

aircraft– airplane/planes

bison- bison– bison / bison

code-code– cod

Deer - deer- deer / deer

fish-fish– fish/fish

Moose – moose– moose/moose

Offspring–offspring– offspring

Pike-pike– pike/pikes

salmon - salmon– salmon/salmons

Sheep-sheep– sheep/sheep

shrimp - shrimp– shrimp/shrimp

Swine - swine– pig/pigs

Trout - Trout- trout

Nouns that are used only in the singular

All are used in the singular. In addition, there are nouns that in Russian can have a plural form, but not in English:

fruit- fruit

Advice- advice

Knowledge– knowledge

Hair- hair

Money- money

Vacation- holidays

Plural in compound nouns

In most compound nouns, consisting of two or more separate words, only the key word takes the plural form:

He now has two mothers-in-law“Now he has two mother-in-laws.
They were visited by the Knights Templar“They were visited by the Templars.
I have my own tennis shoes I have my own tennis shoes.

If a compound noun consists of two or more words combined into one, the plural is formed according to the usual rules, that is, by adding the appropriate ending.

We want to see the greenhouses We want to see the greenhouses.
Don't forget to buy three toothbrushes Don't forget to buy three toothbrushes.

Video about plural nouns:

More recently, we have already analyzed the exception words on the topic "plural". But the English language has surpassed itself here too, since it has a certain number of nouns that have the same shape for singular and plural. And you may also come across words that can only be used in one variant. It is about such non-standard cases that we will talk today.

Exception words. Irregular plural (Advanced English)

Let's start with those exception words, plural which is the same as the only one. English the language is not very rich in such units. But, nevertheless, they meet, so you should pay attention to them. These words are listed below.

1. deer (deer) – deer (deer)

2. means (way) - means (ways)

3. sheep (sheep) - sheep (sheep)

4. swine (pig) - swine (pigs)

5. series (series, cycle) - series (series, cycles)

6. species (species, variety) - species (species)

7. fish (fish) - fish (fish)

8. fruit (fruit) – fruit (fruit)

There are some nuances regarding paragraphs 7-8. If we are talking about different varieties of fish and fruits, then the plural of these nouns should be formed in a standard way.

Examples:

There are different fruits on the table: bananas, apples, pine-apples, and peaches. There are different fruits on the table: bananas, apples, pineapples and peaches.

Where are you going? – I would like to buy some fruit.

Where are you going? I would like to buy some fruits (of the same kind).

English nouns singular and plural

Now let's look at English nouns , which are only in the form the only numbers And only plural. Let's start with the first group.

How did it get on this list? news, because here at the end -S? Everything is very simple - this word is always used with verbs in the singular. Pay attention to the following suggestion.

Is this news good or bad? Is this news good or bad?

Words like money And hair also do not fit into the standard rules. It seems that in Russian it turns out to be plural ( money, hair), but in English money And hair always used with singular verbs.

Her hair is beautiful but too short. Her hair is beautiful, but too short.

Is this money yours? Is this money yours?

There is also such a moment that if we mean a certain number of hairs, then we can say a hair (1 hair), three hairs (3 hairs) etc.

look! There is a hair in my glass!- Look! There is a hair in my glass!

Now let's learn nouns that occur only in the plural form.

Do not forget about uncountable nouns (concepts that cannot be counted). Such words are usually referred to as singular. What could it be? For example: water (water), sand (sand), patience (patience), love (love), snow (snow) and etc.

Names of people, names of objects, cities, countries, various institutions; names of breeds of plants and animals; designation of the process of actions - 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 analyze this most important category of English grammar. We will learn how it is used, what varieties it has, and how the plural of nouns is formed in English. The topic is simple and beginners usually master quickly, you just have to learn a few exceptions and consolidate the theory by completing a practical task.

This part of speech refers to persons or objects, answering questions what?who?(what/who?). In a sentence, such words can play the role of subject, object, circumstance, and even definition, 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, collective, concrete, abstract, 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: police,clothing,glasses,scissors,people,trousers and so on. All other types of words will be discussed in detail in the next section.

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

Endings –s/-es

The simplest and most widely used way of obtaining the plural form of nouns is to add letters to the stem 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 readthisnewspaperin the morning.
• Usually, I read the newspaper s in the morning s - Usually, II readthesenewspapersByin the morning.

Some nouns in English take this rule in a peculiar way. Consider special cases joining the ending will help us the table given below.

Situation	Example	Translation
If the word ends in letter combinations — sh, ch, ss, tch, as well as letters – s, x, z , it gets the ending es .	There are many buses es in the street s of this city. She bought several antique pocket watches es when she was in Italy.	There are many buses on the streets of this city. She bought some antique pocket watches when she was in Italy.
English nouns ending in – o , take the ending es . Words of foreign origin, as well as abbreviations with an ending O and words in which the letter O preceded by a vowel, attach only the ending s .	My grandparent s grow potat oes and tomato oes at their dacha. I have a lot of photos os and vide os in the SD card of my smartphone. There are four pianos s in the music school.	My grandparents grow potatoes and tomatoes in their dacha. I have a lot of photos and videos on my smartphone's memory card. This music school has four pianos.
Words with an ending 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, oh, then add the usual s .	Granny told me many interesting things ries about her childhood. The last lesson our teacher brought 20 dictiona ries . Jack lost his k eyes . My daughter has two favorite t oys : a small horse and a gray dog.	Grandma told me a lot interesting stories about her childhood. Our teacher brought 20 dictionaries to the last lesson. Jack has lost his keys. My daughter has two favorite toys: a small horse and a gray dog.
Noun ending in f/ fe , can change these letters to v/ ve . f/ fe ⟶ weight. There are exceptions in this group: cliffs,roofs,chiefs,cuffs.	There are many different kni weight in the kitchen drawer. The lea weight of the tree 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 it is according to them that the plural of nouns in English is made up in the vast majority of cases. It remains to add notes on how these endings are pronounced.

End pronunciation s depends on the letter that precedes it. If there is a deaf vowel at the end of the word, then the ending sounds like [s] (Russian C). And when a word ends in a vowel or voiced consonant, the ending s pronounce as [z] (Russian З). Extra ending - es , with transcription , is pronounced as IZ in all words.

Ending en and vowel alternation

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

The singular becomes plural by alternating vowels in the following words: foot,goose,louse,mouse,teeth. 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.

Attaching an ending en for the construction of the plural in English is typical for words such as child,man,woman,ox. In some of these examples, not adding, but replacing the root vowel to get 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, so it is quickly and easily remembered.

Matching Shapes

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 from the context of the sentence. Words in this category are deer,swine,series,sheep,fish.

• Yesterday I saw a deer in the forest- YesterdayIsawVforestdeer.
• Yesterday I saw 8 deers in the forest - YesterdayIsawVforest8 deer.
• The fish is tasty - fishdelicious.
• There are many fish in this lakethislakea lot offish.

In this category, it is important to note that this way of getting the plural in English is used when referring to representatives of nationalities whose names end in - es/ese.

• Iknowthatthis Swiss lives inNorway – I know that this Swiss lives in Norway..
• These Swiss live inmyflat – These Swiss live in my apartment.
• Five Japanese and five Chinese play football in the yard - 5 JapaneseAnd5 ChineseplayVfootballinyard.
• Jessicasawa lot of Portuguese inSpain - Jessica has seen many Portuguese people 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 it makes no sense to memorize them at the initial stage of training.

Compound bases

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

The most numerous group of compound nouns builds the plural in the traditional way - by adding a letter s to the end of the word, i.e. to the last base.

• There are many different merry-go-rounds for children in this parkthisparka lot ofvariouscarouselsForchildren.
• I picked many forget-me-nots for you in the field - IcollectedVfielda lot offorget-me-notForyou.

There are compound constructions in which each noun is used in the plural. This method should be used when an expression starts with 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, changes are made to the basis in which the main meaning of the word is laid.

• Many husbands hate their 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 plural meanings of such expressions are not formed according to general rules.

The most common examples of this group are: crisis ⟶ crises, species ⟶ species, thesis ⟶ theses, formula ⟶ formulae and so on. As you can see, these are mostly scientific terms that are unlikely to ever flash 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 the study of the topic and learned how to pluralize almost any noun in English. It remains to fix the mentioned rules practical work, i.e. perform strengthening exercises. Good luck with your studies and see you soon!

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