Plural nouns are a form of noun that mainly refers to more than one person, thing, or place. In English literature, plural nouns are mostly formed with ‘s’ or ‘es’ at the end of a singular noun. Plural nouns help us to understand communication precisely while they indicate multiple persons or things.
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Nouns are separated into two forms, singular and plural nouns, based on their numbers. This division is implied in common nouns that refer to a particular person or thing. This article is going to describe all about plural nouns and various rules for plural nouns.
Definition of Plural Nouns
In English grammar, the plural's literal meaning is more than one. A plural noun indicates more than a person, thing, place item, etc. it describes multiple instances of the noun. Mostly, plural forms are made by adding 's' or ‘es’ to the end of the singular noun. Generally, plural nouns are used to make understand a specific and clear conversation.
Example:
Singler noun |
Plural noun |
Cat |
Cats |
Box |
Boxes |
Child |
Children |
City |
Cities |
Baby |
Babies |
Rules for Plural Nouns
To apply plural nouns in a sentence, some fundamental rules for plural nouns need to be followed.
- Formation rule:
In the case of regular plural add s or es to the end of nouns.
Example: Dog-Dogs, Bus-Buses.
In irregular plural, a few nouns have unique plural forms.
Example: Child- Children, Mouse- Mice.
- Subject- Verb collaboration:
When using plural nouns, the subject and verb agree with the plural subject.
Example: Horses run fast. (instead of Horses runs fast)
- Consistency:
In a sentence need to maintain consistency to make better understanding.
Example: The babies and puppies play together.
- Determiners and articles:
It shows using specific determiners and articles helps in better and clearer communication.
Example: Many students, some oranges
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- Possessive plural nouns:
In the case of indicating possession, an apostrophe is added to the end of the noun.
Example: The principal’s room.
- Clarity on contextual:
Make sure the context is clear, whether the noun is singular or plural.
Example: Kids are running in the garden.
Additionally, in common cases, singular noun to plural noun transformations s, es, ves, ies, etc. are used. There are some common nouns as well, which remain the same in both singular and plural forms. A few others that do not follow any rules or come under any section are called irregular nouns. The common nouns can be transformed into plural by changing their spelling or suffix. Plural nouns help us to express our thoughts in a clear way that builds perfect communication.
Plural nouns are a fundamental part of the English language that increases the ability to convey information through conversation. To know more about plural nouns, visit our website www.98thpercentile.com or you can try our 1-week free trial classes on the ELA program.
FAQs
Q.1. How can I transform a singular noun into a plural noun?
Ans: It is simple, by adding s, es, ies, ves, is, etc as suffixes of the noun.
Q.2. What are the irregular plural nouns?
Ans: Irregular nouns are those that do not follow any rules in grammar. Example: Child-children.
Q.3. What is the use of plural nouns in English grammar?
Ans: Plural noun indicates a specific number of people, things or places to convey accurate communication.
Q.4. How to identify nouns in a sentence?
Ans: Nouns are mainly defined as person, place, or thing in a sentence.
Q.5. How to teach plural nouns?
Ans: Formulas for nouns need to be followed and practicing more grammar would be helpful.
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