English grammar today

Nouns: form

Singular and plural nouns

Nouns can be either singular or plural. Singular means just one of the person, animal or thing which the noun refers to. Plural means more than one.

singular	Plural
a car	three cars
my house	some new houses
that cow	those cows

We use singular verbs with singular nouns, and plural verbs with plural nouns:

My house is the white house on the corner.

Those houses were all built in the 1950s.

Forming the plural of nouns

The rules for making the plural of nouns depend on the spelling and pronunciation. Most nouns form their plural by adding -s:

face - faces	school - schools
hole - holes	store - stores
monkey - monkeys	week - weeks
part - parts

In other cases, the plural depends on how the noun ends.

Singular	plural	rule
box, watch, bus	boxes, watches, buses	If the noun ends in -ch, -s, -sh, -x or -z, add -es. The plural ending -es. is pronounced /ɪz/ (/ˈbɒksɪz/, /ˈwɒtʃɪz/).
university, baby, ferry	universities, babies, ferries	If the noun ends in a consonant plus -y, change y to i and add -es.
wife, thief, loaf	wives, thieves, loaves	For some nouns ending in -f, change -f to -ves but note: roof-roofs, belief-beliefs, cliff-cliffs.
potato, cargo, torpedo	potatoes, cargoes, torpedoes	If the noun ends in -o, add -es but note: radio-radios, video-videos.
formula, phenomenon, crisis	formulae, phenomena, crises	Some nouns which come from Latin and Greek form their plurals in special ways.

Here are some important exceptions to the spelling and pronunciation of plural nouns.

Singular	Plural
Child	children /ˈtʃɪldrən/
Man	Men
woman	women /ˈwɪmɪn/
tooth, foot	teeth /ti:θ/, feet /fi:t/
mouse	mice /maɪs/
sheep, fish, deer	sheep, fish, deer*

The plural has the same form as the singular.

Nouns: singular and plural

Nouns used only in the singular

Some nouns are used only in the singular, even though they end in -s. These include: the names of academic subjects such as classics, economics, mathematics/maths, physics; the physical activities gymnastics and aerobics; the diseases measles and mumps; and the word news:

Maths was never my best subject at school.

Aerobics is great fun – you should try it!

Nouns used only in the plural

Some nouns only have a plural form. They cannot be used with numbers. They include the names of certain tools, instruments and articles of clothing which have two parts.

Tools and instruments

binoculars	headphones	Sunglasses
glasses	scissors	Tweezers

Clothing

jeans	pyjamas	tights
knickers	shorts	trousers
pants

I’ve got new sunglasses. Do you like them?

He always wears shorts, even in the winter.

A pair of

We can use pair of to refer to one example of these nouns:

I bought a new pair of binoculars last week.

That old pair of trousers will be useful for doing jobs in the garden.

We use pairs of to refer to more than one example of this type of noun:

They’re advertising two pairs of glasses for the price of one.

I bought three pairs of shorts for the summer.

Other nouns which are always plural in form

belongings	Outskirts
clothes	premises (buildings)
congratulations	savings (money)
earnings	Stairs
goods	Surroundings
likes/dislikes	Thanks

Please ensure that you take all your belongings with you as you leave the aircraft.

They live on the outskirts of Frankfurt, almost in the countryside.

My clothes are wet. I’ll have to go upstairs and change.

She spent all her savings on a trip to South America.

Collective nouns (group words)

Some nouns refer to groups of people (e.g. audience, committee, government, team). These are sometimes called collective nouns. Some collective nouns can take a singular or plural verb, depending on whether they are considered as a single unit or as a collection of individuals:

audience	crew	Public
committee	enemy	Team
company	government	Manchester United

Compare

seen as a single unit	seen as individuals
The audience was larger than average and the concert was a success.	The audience were all cheering wildly.
The government is hoping that online voting will attract more young people to vote.	The government are all very nervous about the report, which will be published tomorrow.
Manchester United is the world’s most famous football club.	Manchester United are looking forward to meeting Valencia in the final next week.

In general, a plural verb is more common with these nouns in informal situations.

Nouns: forming nouns from other words

We often form nouns from other parts of speech, most commonly from a verb or an adjective. We can then use the noun phrase instead of the verb or adjective to create a more formal style. We call this nominalisation:

excite → excitement	grow → growth	invade → invasion
fly → flight	industrial → industrialisation	wide → width

After 1900 there was a growth in trade with Europe. (less formal: After 1900 trade with Europe grew.)

The closure of the Meteorcorp factory caused 200 workers to lose their jobs. (less formal: Meteorcorp closed the factory and 200 workers lost their jobs.)

Nominalisation is common in writing, especially formal writing.

Nouns: compound nouns

Some nouns consist of more than one word. These are compound nouns. Compound nouns can be formed in different ways. The most common way is to put two nouns together (noun + noun); other common types are adjective + noun and verb + noun.

noun + noun

car park Iceland shopkeeper website

adjective + noun

blackberry grandstand greenhouse small talk

verb + noun

breakwater fall-guy go-kart runway

Writing compound nouns

Many compound nouns are written as one word, but some are written with hyphens or spaces. In modern English, hyphens are less common than they were in the past. A good learner’s dictionary will tell you how each compound is usually written.

1. 
   Examples of one word
   
2. 
   bathroom sheepdog windscreen
   
3. 
   Examples of hyphens
   
4. 
   check-in fire-fighter son-in-law
   
5. 
   Examples of spaces
   
6. 
   bottle opener New Year’s Day Prime Minister
   

Plurals of compound nouns

We form the plural of most compounds by adding a plural ending to the last part of the compound:

We saw some large greenhouses with vegetables growing in them.

They’re building two new car parks in town.

Warning:

The compounds mother-in-law, brother-in-law, etc. form their plurals on the first noun:

I’ve got one brother-in-law and two sisters-in-law.

Not: two sister-in-laws

Compound nouns and spoken stress

Compound nouns normally have the spoken stress on the first part:

CAR park, BATHroom, WEBsite, BROther-in-law, DOORbell, CHECK-in

However, not all compound nouns follow this rule. Some have spoken stress on the second part, especially in proper names and titles:

Mount EVerest, Prime MINister, New YORK

Nouns and prepositions

Many nouns have particular prepositions which normally follow them. Here are some common examples:

nouns	preposition	examples
age, attempt, point	at	18 is the age at which you are allowed to vote. Fisk is making his third attempt at the world record.
need, reason, responsibility	for	What’s the reason for your unhappiness? Nobody seems to have responsibility for the budget.
changes, differences, increase	in	Changes in society have meant that young people leave home earlier. There’s been a steady increase in the value of the euro.
inquiry, investigation, research	into	The police inquiry into the theft continues. She did some research into the causes of back pain.
cause, example, way	of	This is an example of international collaboration. We need to find another way of doing things.
approach, reaction, response	to	My reaction to it all was to try to forget it. Her response to the criticism was very strong.

Typical errors

These are some of the most typical errors with nouns. A good learner’s dictionary will tell you which prepositions to use after nouns.

address	Go to our website to get the address of your nearest branch. Not: … the address to your nearest branch.
advertisement	I saw an advertisement for a teaching job in Malawi which looked interesting. Not: … an advertisement of a teaching job …
awareness	There is a growing awareness of the impact of climate change among the young. Not: … a growing awareness about the impact of climate change …
change	Changes in our diet have meant that more and more people suffer heart disease. (changes that happen) Not: Changes of our diet … The director of studies must be informed of any changes to the timetable. (changes that people purposely make) Not: … of any changes in the timetable. (This means changes that happen, not those that people purposely make.)
congratulations	Congratulations on your new job! Not: Congratulations for your new job!
course	I’d like to do a course in computer programming if I could find a good one. Not: … a course of computer programming …
exhibition	We went to see an exhibition of Viking jewellery. Not: … an exhibition about Viking jewellery.
experience	Do you have any previous experience of working with children? (usually followed by the -ing form of a verb) Not: … previous experience in working with children? She has ten years’ experience in television and radio. (usually followed by a noun) Not: … ten years’ experience on television and radio.
increase decrease growth	There has been an increase of 200,000 in the city’s population in the last ten years. (Of is used before numbers and quantities after increase/decrease/growth; in is used before the thing affected by the change.) Not: … an increase of the city’s population … (Compare change in, above.)
information	Can you give us some information on/about bus tours, please? Not: … some information of bus tours …?
interest	He seems to have less interest in everything these days. Not: … less interest to everything these days.
invitation	The invitation to the reception at the embassy arrived the next day. Not: The invitation of the reception …
knowledge	For this job you need some knowledge of Portuguese. Not: … some knowledge in Portuguese. He has an amazing knowledge of European history. Not: … an amazing knowledge about European history.
lesson	I need some lessons in how to set up a website. Not: I need some lessons of how to …
member	Can anyone become a member of your book club? Not: … a member in your book club?
method	Questionnaires are not necessarily the best method of collecting sociological data. Not: … the best method to collect …
need	We understand the need for change but we should move slowly. Not: … the need of change … (Of is used with need in the expression in need of: The village is in need of a community centre where people, especially young people, can go in the evenings.)
newcomer	I was a newcomer to windsurfing so I was very nervous. Not: I was a newcomer of windsurfing …
place	I’d love to show you some of the nice places in my hometown. Not: … the nice places of my hometown.
possibility	The possibility of making contact with other intelligent beings in the universe is very small. Not: The possibility to make contact …
problem	The problem of finding a good babysitter is one that many parents have faced. Not: The problem to find …
reason	I’ve never understood the reason for all these different forms we have to fill in. Not: … the reason of all …
risk	We all know the risks of getting a virus if we don’t protect our computer. Not: … the risks for getting a virus …
translation	She did a translation into English of some ancient Chinese poems. Not: … a translation in English …
visit	The visit to the temple was the high point of the holiday. Not: The visit in the temple …