Singular and Plural Words: Definition, Rules & Examples

Singular and Plural Words: In our daily life we talk about many different things, visit different places, and purchase many different things, sometimes we say Rita has three brothers, I want one parker pen, etc. In all these situations we refer to different types of nouns that may be singular or plural. Singular and Plural words pertain to the number. When we talk about a single person, place, thing, or instance it tends to indicate singular words whereas when we talk about more than one person, place, thing, or instance it tends to indicate plural words. So in this article, we will discuss in detail singular and plural words.

What are Singular and Plural Words?

The singular words in grammar mean “noting or pertaining to indicate or denote one person, place, thing or instance, etc." Plural words in grammar mean “noting or pertaining to indicate or denote more than one person, place, thing or instance, etc." Generally, plural nouns are formed by adding -s or -es to the end of singular nouns. For example- 

 Rules for Singular and Plural Words 

The rules for singular and plural words are-

Rule 1: In general the plural of a noun is formed by adding -S to the noun. 

Rule 2: When the noun ends in S, SH, CH, X, or Z*, we add -ES to the noun.

Rule 3:  When the noun ends in a VOWEL + Y, we add -S to the noun.

Rule 4: When the noun ends in a CONSONANT + Y, we remove Y and add -IES to the noun.

Rule 5: If the noun ends in F or FE, we remove the F/FE and add -VES to the noun.

Rule 6:  If the noun ends in a CONSONANT + O, we normally add -ES to the noun.

Rule7: There are a number of nouns that don't follow these rules. They are irregular and you need to learn them individually because they don't normally have an S on the end.

Rule 8: There are some nouns in English that are the same in the singular and the plural.

Singular Words Examples

• The boy had a football in his hand.
• My dog prefers to wear an English saddle.
• That cat never seems to tire of jumping in and out of the carton.
• You stole my invention and didn’t give me any credit.
• Your dad is going to be happy with your result. 

Plural Words Examples

• The boys were throwing footballs back and forth between bases.
• Our dogs are much happier wearing lightweight English saddles.
• Those cats never seem to tire of chasing one another in and out of those cartons.
• You stole my inventions and didn’t give me any credit.
• Our dads are going to be happy with our results. 

Singular and Plural Words Exercise 

Below are some questions based on the same:

1. The pet is sitting on my ………
2. There are four ……… on my desk.
3. I have three ……….
4. They are riding on their …….
5. We have a ………….
6. How many ……….. do you have in your cupboard?
7. My husband has a new ………
8. There are three windows in the ………..
9. Sushmita has four …………
10. There is no  ………..on the floor.

Answers-

1. bed
2. pencils
3. sisters
4. bikes
5. cat
6. books
7. computer
8. room
9. posters.
10. pen