Nouns: number, countability and forms

English (Précis and Composition) · Grammar · Nouns, pronouns and determiners. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

Test this topic free All English (Précis and Composition) topics

The idea

Three facts about a noun are tested here: its plural, whether it can be counted, and its possessive form.

Most plurals add -s, but some are irregular, some keep a foreign plural, and a compound noun makes its main word plural. An uncountable noun (advice, furniture, luggage) has no plural, never takes a or an, and takes a singular verb. To count it, use 'a piece of' or 'an item of'.

For the possessive, first write the owner correctly, singular or plural. Then add 's, or only an apostrophe if the plural already ends in s.

Rules to remember

Irregular plurals: child → children, ox → oxen, mouse → mice, tooth → teeth.
Foreign plurals: criterion → criteria, phenomenon → phenomena, analysis → analyses, crisis → crises, thesis → theses.
Compound nouns: the main word takes the plural: sons-in-law, passers-by, commanders-in-chief.
Uncountable (no plural, no a/an): advice, information, furniture, luggage, scenery, poetry, machinery, equipment.
Always plural, with a plural verb: trousers, scissors, spectacles, thanks; also cattle, police, people.
Possessive: the girl's bag (one girl); the girls' bags (many girls); the men's room; my brother-in-law's shop ('s on the last word).
A number + noun used as an adjective stays singular and takes a hyphen: a five-rupee note, a ten-year-old boy.

Common mistake

Giving an uncountable noun a plural or an article, as in 'furnitures', 'informations' or 'an advice'. Write 'furniture', 'information' and 'a piece of advice'.

Worked example

Which sentence is correct? (a) The hotel has modern equipments. (b) He is a twelve-years-old boy. (c) Both my sons-in-law are doctors. (d) The childrens' park is closed.

(a) 'equipment' is uncountable, so it has no plural.
(b) A number + noun used as an adjective stays singular: 'a twelve-year-old boy'.
(d) 'children' is already plural and does not end in s, so the form is 'children's'.
(c) The main word of the compound takes the plural, and 'are' agrees with it.

Answer: (c) Both my sons-in-law are doctors.

Ask about this

Type what you are stuck on. The helper finds the explanation, worked examples and the notes to read, free and instant.

Read the full notes

WNM High School Grammer Solution

Keep going

← Pronouns and reference Prepositions and dependent prepositions →Take a English (Précis and Composition) test