Noun and spoken English are interconnected. A noun is a word that refers to a person, place, thing, or idea.
Singular nouns refer to one person, place, thing, or idea, while plural nouns refer to more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
For example:
Singular: dog, book, city, happiness
Plural: dogs, books, cities, happinesses
There are several nouns in English that have the same form for both singular and plural. These are known as “unchanging nouns” or “invariant nouns”. Some examples include:
Deer
Sheep
Fish
Series
Hair
Aircraft
Species
Moose
Bison
Swine
Trout
Salmon
Spacecraft
Shrimp
Luggage
Furniture
Information
News
Poetry
Machinery
Bread
Soap
Advice
Scenery
There is no need to add suffixes like ‘s’ or ‘es’ at the end of the root word
Note that while these nouns are the same in both singular and plural forms, they may still be used with singular or plural verbs depending on the context.
There are some nouns in English which are in plural form but are used as singular when referring to a specific subject or discipline. Some examples include:
Mathematics
Physics
Politics
Economics
Linguistics
Ethics
Aerobics
Mechanics
Statistics
Robotics
Acoustics
Genetics
Billiards
Civics
Gymnastics
Note that while these words are typically used as singular, they may also be used as plural nouns when referring to multiple subjects or disciplines. For example, “the politics of different countries” or “the ethics of various religions”.
There are many nouns in English that are always used as plurals, meaning they do not have a singular form. Most of them are used as pairs. Some examples include:
Scissors
Pants
Glasses
Tongs
Shorts
Pajamas/pyjamas
Tweezers
Clothes
Belongings
Goggles
Savings
Riches
Annals
Quarters
Thanks
Assets
Liabilities
Savings
Note that even when referring to a single item, these nouns still take a plural verb. For example, “These scissors are sharp” (not “This scissors is sharp”).
Note that in some cases, the plural form of the noun may be used to refer to a single entity made up of multiple parts. For example, “my glasses are broken” refers to a single pair of glasses.
We don’t use ‘s ‘ with some words such as Score, Dozen, Hundred, Thousand etc. when they are used with things.
For example:- I bought 3 dozen bananas.
Relation nouns can be both singular and plural, depending on the context in which they are used.
For example:
Family: “My family is coming over for dinner” (singular), “My extended family are all flying in for the reunion” (plural).
Friendship: “I have a close friendship with him” (singular), “Our group of friendships all went out together” (plural).
Romance: “She’s my current romantic interest” (singular), “I’ve had several romances throughout my life” (plural).
Professional: “My boss is very demanding” (singular), “I’ve had many bosses throughout my career” (plural).
Society: “Being a good citizen is important” (singular), “Citizens have the power to shape society” (plural).
Acquaintance: “I met a new acquaintance at the party” (singular), “I have many acquaintances from different stages of my life” (plural).
Some plurals of Compound nouns are formed by placing ‘s’ to the root word.
For example: Sisters-in-law
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Daily use phrasal verbs by Converse Academy
