Use nouns only in the plural and only in the singular. Plural of nouns in English Hair plural

Why VERY - you ask? What details can there be if there is nothing complicated in just adding the ending S to the word? Not everything is as simple as it seems. Don't forget that the spelling of a word can change and some nouns form their plural using different rules.

First of all, I remind you that the plural (Plural) in English they form only nouns, that is, words that answer the question “Who?” What?". Adjectives do not form plurals. Therefore, to say “Interesting articles”, we will pluralize only the word “articles” and get “interesting articles”.

You probably noticed that when studying the topic “ Plurals“(as, in principle, when studying many others), the word “exception” is constantly heard. There are exceptions, of course. And the problem is that many textbooks give them mixed for study, which complicates the process. In fact, most exceptions also follow certain rules and can be classified into groups.

1. First rule (everyone knows): add the ending -S to the noun

cat - cats
girl-girls
pen - pens

2. Rule number two: if a noun ends in -S, -SS, -SH, -CH, -Z, -X, then add -ES

bus - buses
dress - dresses
match - matches
box - boxes

3. Does the letter Y change at the end of a word?

Remember that if before Y costs vowel , then nothing changes, but the ending is simply added -S:

boy - boys
play - plays
monkey - monkeys

But if before Y consonant - That Y changes to I and is added -ES:

city ​​- cities
lady - ladies
country - countries

4. What to do with the letter -O at the end of a word?

a) The vast majority of nouns that end in ABOUT, form the plural by adding S:

photo-photos
radio - radios
studio - studios

b) Some nouns, which are considered exceptions, add -ES in plural:

potato - potatoes
tomato - tomatoes
hero - heroes
torpedo - torpedoes
echo - echoes
embargo - embargoes
veto-vetoes

c) There is another group of nouns that can form their plural in two ways ( -S or -ES). Here are some of them:

avocado - avocadoes/os
buffalo - buffaloes/os
cargo - cargoes/os
domino - dominoes/os
ghetto - ghettoes/os
flamingo - flamingoes/os
mango - mangoes/os
mosquito - mosquitoes/os
motto - mottoes/os
tornado - tornadoes/os
volcano - volcanoes/os
zero - zeroes/os

5. Nouns that end in -F and -FE can also be divided into three groups according to the same principle.

a) General rule: when forming the plural F changes to V and is added -ES.

shelf-shelves
half-halves
knife-knives
leaf-leaves
wife-wives

b) There are also nouns that are plural don't change-F to V, but just accept -S. These are words ending with -IEF, -FF and those that have double vowels (OO,EE). Here are some examples:

belief - beliefs
roof - roofs
chief - chiefs
cliff-cliffs
proof - proofs
safe - safes
brief - briefs
reef - reefs
cuff - cuffs
plaintiff - plaintiffs
sheriff - sheriffs
whiff - whiffs

c). And the third group includes several nouns that can have both forms: with -FS and -VES.

dwarf - dwarfs/ves
hoof - hoof/ves
scarf - scarfs/ves
wharf - wharfs/ve

EXCEPTIONS or IRREGULAR PLURALS

Nouns that form the plural in other ways(not by adding -S), in English they call Irregular Plurals. We call them "exceptions". However, it is also possible to group exceptions to make it easier for you to remember them.

1. Formation of the plural by changing vowels.

This group includes nouns whose plural changes only the root vowel (or vowels).

man-men
woman - women
foot - feet
goose - geese
tooth - teeth
mouse - mice
louse-lice

2. The plural ending -EN, although it is an archaism, is preserved in a few words.

child - children
ox-oxen
brother - brethren

Ending -EN still used but extremely rarely, mainly in some regional dialects and literature.

These include:

- names of fish and animals:
fish, salmon, sheep, deer, swine

- nouns that end in -S:
series, means, species

- names of nationalities that end in -ESE, as well as Swiss nationality:
Japanese, Chinese

- other words:
aircraft, spacecraft

4. A separate group - words of Latin and Greek pronunciation.

These are, of course, terms used in the sciences. Changes occur in the endings of words according to various principles.

-IS → -ES
analysis - analyzes
basis - bases
crisis - crises
parenthesis - parentheses
theses - theses

-UM → -A
bacterium - bacteria
datum-data
medium - media
forum - fora/forums

-US → -I
alumnus - alumni
focus-foci
cactus - cacti/cactuses
fungus-fungi

-IX → -CES
index - indices/xes
appendix - appendices/xes
matrix - matrices

- A → -AE (or -S added)
formula - formulae/las
larva - larvae

-ON → -A
criteria - criteria
phenomenon - phenomena

5. In English there is a group of words that have two plural forms that differ in meaning.

SINGULAR	PLURAL
antenna	antennas	antennas (radio, television)
	antennae	insect antennae
brother	brothers	brothers (sons of the same parents)
	brethren	brothers (by religion, beliefs)
cloth	cloths	types of fabrics
	clothes	cloth
index	indexes	indexes, catalogs
	indices	in mathematics
penny	pennies	several penny coins
	pence	aggregate of pence (about value)

How do we form the plural with false nouns?

1. The ending S is added to the word that carries the main meaning.

mother-in-law - mothers-in-law
passer-by - passers-by

2. If a compound noun consists of two nouns (noun + noun), then the last word is usually put in the plural. This is because the first acts as an adjective, and the second carries the main meaning

dining rooms (rooms)
baby-sitters
earrings
bookcases
toothbrushes

Lastly, if you're not sure how to spell a word in the plural, don't hesitate to consult a dictionary.

Everyone knows that nouns are inflected, that is, they change according to cases and numbers. But does the phrase from the song performed by Marina Khlebnikova sound correct:

Shall I pour you an invigorating cup of coffee?

There are exceptions to every rule. Thus, the word “coffee” refers to indeclinable nouns. It is not used in the plural and does not change according to cases. The correct usage is “a cup of coffee.” The topic of our article will be such exceptions - nouns that have only a singular form. Let's take a closer look.

Nouns: number

It exists not only in mathematics. Nouns also have the number category. Knowing this means using them correctly both in oral speech and in writing. Most nouns denote objects that can be counted. For this purpose, the Russian language has categories of both singular and plural. The most difficult thing is to understand that there are nouns that have only a singular form, or, conversely, only a plural form. At the same time, other nuances arise in speech.

Thus, there are cases when plurality is expressed by the singular form of a noun. An example is the phrase: “The enemy will not pass!” This clearly refers to the enemy army, and not one specific person.

There is a predominant use of individual nouns in the plural:

• gossip;
• rein;
• skis.

Although this is a numerically variable part of speech, and the use of words is quite acceptable:

• gossip;
• rein;
• ski.

Most often, the following nouns do not have a plural form:

• real;
• collective;
• distracted;

Let's look at this in more detail using examples.

Designation of substance, material

What are these words? Singular nouns denoting objects with real meaning. There are quite a lot of them, as evidenced by examples:

• sugar;
• milk;
• petrol;
• water;
• asphalt;
• cotton;
• ceramics;
• porcelain.

These nouns cannot be formed into another form, including the plural. You cannot add the endings -я, -а, -и, -ы to them.

Only singular nouns: examples of collective nouns

The names of sets of identical objects or persons are what we call collective nouns. They bring together those who have some common characteristic:

• students (everyone who studies at universities);
• youth (part of the population under the age of 30);
• youth (young people from 14 to 21 years old);
• childhood (from 0 to 18 years).

Collective nouns that have only a singular form can also refer to inanimate objects:

• foliage;
• spruce forest;
• Flora.

This is just something to remember.

Abstract nouns

These are words that cannot be represented objectively, nor can they be counted. These include names:

• quality or characteristic (youth, darkness, dexterity, blueness);
• states or actions (mowing, chopping, fighting, anger, delight).

How to learn to identify only singular nouns? Examples of tasks will help you cope with the task.

Thus, you can choose antonyms for words that, by analogy, also cannot be used in the plural:

• running;
• force;
• aggression;
• stuffiness;
• honesty.

(Answers: walking, weakness, calm, freshness, lie).

From a literary text, you can write out all the nouns in three columns according to the principle:

• used in two numbers;
• only in one thing;
• only in the plural.

Thanks to this, it will become clearer that there are much more of the former.

Features: inanimate noun, proper

The singular for proper names is more common. They are rarely used in plural form. This often applies to surnames, if you have to distinguish an entire group of people based on the principle of kinship. Example:

1. Only the Galkins, Lazarevs and Ivanovskys lived in the small village.
2. The Kuznetsov family was distinguished by enviable health.

If a proper name acts as a single object and is inanimate, then it must be used in the singular:

• Moscow.
• Volga.
• Mercury.
• Ural.
• Uruguay.

This also applies to compound names:

• "First channel";
• "Around the World" program;
• painting "Mona Lisa".

But this is not a complete list. Of course, these are not all nouns that only have a singular form.

Something to remember

In the Russian language, words ending in -mya do not have plural forms. These nouns are simply worth remembering:

• crown;
• burden;
• udder;
• flame.

But a tribe is tribes, a seed is seeds.

So, we list only singular nouns, examples of which we present in the table.

Another condition by which one can determine that a noun does not have plurality is the absence of a combination with

In modern Russian, nouns have two numbers: singular and plural.

Let's look at it with an example. Let's name the objects.

Notebook, pencil, lemon- these are nouns that name one thing. This is the singular form.

Notebooks, pencils, lemons- these are nouns that name several objects. This is the plural form.

Nouns are used in the singular if they name one thing, and in the plural if they name several things.

Pay attention to the singular and plural designation.

Nouns change according to number. This means that the word has both singular and plural forms.

Let's read the nouns and determine what number they are in. Let's divide the words into two columns: singular and plural.

Ant, forest, fly, sparrows, day, beetles, cat, tables, girl, apples.

Let's check.

Singular nouns name one thing. These are the words: ant, forest, fly, day, cat, girl.

Plural nouns name many things. These are the words: sparrows, beetles, tables, apples.

Let's read the nouns and put them in the plural.

Magpie

House

Hedgehog

Pencil case

Factory

Shovel

Painting

Let's check:

Magpie - magpie

Home - home

Hedgehog - hedgehogs

Pencil case - pencil cases

Factory - factories

Shovel - shovels

Painting - paintings

Peculiarities of using plural nouns

Let's get acquainted with the correct use of some nouns in the plural.

Let's say it correctly:

No boot, shoe, felt boots .

Pair boot, shoe, felt boots .

A lot of places, affairs, soldiers, apples .

But

No socks , pair socks .

Many kilograms tangerines, oranges, tomatoes .

Peculiarities of placing stress on plural nouns

Now let's get acquainted with the correct placement of stress in some nouns in the plural form.

Director-director A

Driver - driver e ry

Cake - t O mouths

To find out how to pronounce a word correctly, you can turn to a spelling dictionary or an accent dictionary for help.

There are unusual nouns in the Russian language. What is their secret?

Let's find out.

Milk, flour, honey, leaves.

These nouns do not have a plural form.

Let's look at another example.

Let's name the objects.

Chess, clock, glasses, sled, scissors.

These nouns do not have a singular form.

We draw a conclusion: in the Russian language there are nouns that do not have a singular or plural form. We will get to know them in more detail in high school.

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The category of numbers in English is only nouns And pronouns. We've already looked at , so this time we'll focus only on nouns.

The well-known rule for forming the plural (plural) from English singular nouns (singular) is adding an ending to the stem - s or - es . The rule is postulated by school textbooks as universal, with the exception of cases where the concept is not used in the plural, as well as special forms of word formation.

It should be noted that the ending is s does not always mean multiplication of objects; Often the noun formed by it takes on a new meaning: singular. The closest example: word - word, word s – words (plural), but also: conversation, speech, spat, quarrel (singular).

1. Phonetics of forms of English nouns formed by endings –s and –es. Changing the vowels and consonants of the stems of some words.

Even when plural forms are formed in the “traditional” way, English nouns take on different sounds: with voiced [z] or deaf [s] at the end. The stem to which the ending is added can modify the vowel ( y → i ) or consonant letter ( f → v ).

There are variants (often referring to concepts borrowed from other languages) with the possibility of forming the plural in two ways, by adding the ending –s or –es.

Table 1 provides a detailed examination of this issue.

Table 1. Plural of English nouns, formed according to the basic language rule (by adding the ending - s or - es).
The stem ends with:	Endingpl. h. changing stem letters	Sound	Examples
vowels and voiced consonants			toe - toe s(finger - toes)tree - tree s(tree - trees) kid - kid s(colloquial child - children) doll - doll s(doll - dolls) bomb - bomb s(bomb - bombs) pin – pin s(pin-pins) river - river s(river - rivers) spiv – spiv s(crook - crooks) film-film s(film - films, but also: cinema, film art, film industry)
Note: examples of stems ending in –y , –o are given below
voiceless consonants			hook - hook s(hook - hooks)week - week s(week – weeks) loop - loop s(loop - loops) step-step s(step - steps) raft - raft s(raft – rafts) spot - spot s(spot – spots)
silent vowel – e, which is preceded by s, s, z, g			purse – purse s(wallet - wallets) face - face s(face - faces) craze - craze s(crack – cracks) dodge – dodge s(trick - tricks) house – house s[‘hauzɪz] (house – houses) sometimes voicing of the consonant stem occurs
hissing and whistling			bus-bus es(bus - buses) moss - moss es(swamp, moss – swamps, mosses) fox - fox es(fox - foxes) fizz - fizz es(whistle - whistles) flash – flash es(flash - flashes) bench – bench es(bench - benches) pitch – pitch es(resin - resins) Some words can have different meanings: glass – glasses (glass - glasses, but also accordingly: "glass" and "glasses")
-z	doubling z		quiz - quiz zes(quiz – quizzes)
	change f on v		calf - cal ves(calf – calves) elf – el ves(elf, naughty, prankster - elves, naughty) leaf – lea ves(leaf – leaves, foliage) half – hal ves(half - half) wolf-wol ves(wolf - wolves)
Consonant change does not always occur
(the ending is pronounced [s]: belief - belief s(faith - faith) cliff – cliff s(cliff - cliffs) chief - chief s(boss - bosses) reef – reef s(reef - reefs) roof – roof s- (old form: rooves (roof - roofs) Sometimes both methods of word formation are acceptable: hoof – possibly both hooves and hoofs (hoof – hooves) wharf - wharfs, wharves (berth - berths) It is necessary to remember the ambiguity of concepts that may look like the plural of a noun with a certain meaning. beef – beeves, beefs – beef, also: an animal fattened for slaughter (bull, cow) Herd of beeves – a herd of bulls beefs - colloquial complaint, dissatisfaction brief – briefs instructions, task Plenty of briefs – large practice (lawyer) briefs - underpants
	change f on v		knife - knives (knife - knives) life - lives (life - lives) Exception: safe – safes (safe – safes) borrowed words: café – cafes (cafe – plural, singular) Cafes have been popular in London for almost 200 years. — Cafes (plural) have been popular in London for more than 200 years. not to mention the inflexible auto-da-fe (Portuguese: act of faith, ceremony accompanying the execution of heretics).
preceded by a consonant	change y on i		party – part ies(party - parties) duty - dut ies(obligation - obligations, but also: tax, stamp duty, duty)
Note: when forming the plural from proper names there is no change in the vowel - y: Kenned y–Kennedy s– Kennedy – (family) KennedySand y– Sandy s– (decrease) Sanyok, Sanya - Sanky
preceded by a vowel			way - way s(path - paths)toy - toy s(toy - toys) prey – prey s(victim - victims)
(for most nouns)			kilo – kilo s(kilogram – kilograms)lotto – lotto s(lottery – lotteries)
In particular:	Two forms of plural formation		zero – zero s,zero es(zero, zeros)
borrowings from Italian
fresco – frescos, frescoes – fresco, frescomotto – mottos, mottoes – motto (also: proverb, epigraph) – mottos grotto – grottos, grottoes – cave – caves volcano – volcanos, volcanoes – volcano – volcanoes studio – studios studio (also: atelier, workshop) – studios fiasco – fiascos – failure – failures duo – duos – duet – duets - the plural is formed only by adding the ending -s
borrowings from Spanish
amigo - amigoes, amigos - friend - friendscargo - cargos, cargoes - cargo - cargo embargo – embargos embargoes – embargo, also: delay, interference – delays, interference gringo – gringos, gringoes – foreigner – foreigners (Latin American contemptuous address) mosquito – mosquitos, mosquitoes – mosquito – mosquitoes mulatto – mulattos, mulattoes – mulatto – mulattoes hidalgo - hidalgos - hidalgo macho - machos - macho — plural is formed only by adding the ending -s
borrowings from Portuguese
flamingo - flamingos, flamingoesbuffalo - buffalos, buffaloes, also plural without changing form: buffalo - buffalo, bizon - buffalos, bison

2. Concepts used only in plural or singular form.

English words, examples of which are given in Table 2, do not form a plural (or do not assume it for some of their meanings).

Table 2. Words that have only singular meaning
Word	Meanings of singular	Notes
nouns whose individual meanings (*) also do not have a plural in Russian
advice [əd’vaɪs]	advice, consultation	legal: notice, notification, obsolete. official message
seaside [‘si saɪd]	seaside resort
news	message, notice, news
trouble [‘trʌbl]	excitement, worry, anxiety
work	labor, work
information [ɪnfə’meɪʃ(ə)n]	intelligence
	information	(*)
progress [‘prəugres]	success
	progress, development	(*)
knowledge [‘nɔlɪʤ]	knowledge
	erudition	(*) as in the Russian language, words do not have plural forms
education	education, upbringing
music [‘mjuzɪk]	music
luck	fate, fortune, luck, luck, lucky chance
luggage [‘lʌgɪʤ]	baggage
weather [‘weðə]	weather
nouns borrowed by Russian from English while preserving the singular
shopping [‘ʃɔpɪŋ]	shopping, visiting stores, buying goods
traffic [‘træfɪk]	information flow, traffic, workload
names ending in – ics (mostly names of sciences)
politics	policy	In appearance - plural, but managed according to the rules for singular: Economics is a subject which no two people can agree on, particularly Economists
mathematics	mathematics
physics	physics
economics	economy
phonetics	phonetics
some collective concepts
money [‘mʌnɪ]	money	In Russian, the corresponding words are opposite, only in plural. h.
hair	hair, hairstyle
But: hairs - hair (as individual hairs)

The agreement of all these concepts with verbs occurs according to the rules for singular nouns.

Some nouns, on the contrary, take plural form only. These include examples from Table 3:

Table 3. Plural only!
	Meaning	Notes
names of paired items
scales	scales	equally typical for the Russian language
trousers	trousers
some concepts that have a general meaning
riches	wealth, wealth
clothes	cloth
arms	weapon
goods	goods, goods
stairs	staircase (like many steps)
names of some natural products (having a generalized meaning)
carrots	carrot
oats	oats
onions	onion
potatoes	potato

Some nouns have the same singular and plural form. Their examples are given in Table 4.

Table 4. Nouns with the same spelling for singular. and many more h.
Word	Meaning	Note
some animal names (generalizing individuals as a class)
deer	deer - deer
sheep	sheep - sheep
swine	pig - pigs	swines – figuratively: They are such swines! - They are such pigs!
grouse	partridge - partridge
fish	fish (one) - fish (in a collective sense)	many fishes - a lot of fish (when we are talking about countable different fish) much fish - a lot of fish (when we are talking about a food product)
certain types of fish
salmon	salmon
code	cod
trout	trout
please	flounder
- this is the name given to a single representative of a species, a school of commercial fish, or a food product
EXCEPTIONS:
ray shark lamprey	stingray - stingrays shark - sharks lamprey - lampreys	rays sharks lampreys
other words that have the same form when naming one or more objects
fruit	fruit – fruit (collective meaning)	fruits – various fruits (when listing them)
craft and its derivatives, for example, aircraft spacecraft	ship - ships airplane - airplanes spaceship - spaceships	other meanings: dexterity, skill
Often the designation of one object in writing has the ending – s, that is, it formally looks like a plural noun.
barracks	barracks - barracks	Russian analogue, not forming plural. - housing
gallows	gallows - gallows	other meanings: goats, suspenders
alms	alms - alms	other meanings: charity, mercy
riches	wealth, treasure - wealth, treasure
crossroads	crossroads, crossroads, crossroads - crossroads, crossroads, crossroads	Example: stand at the crossroads ( But: crossroad - crossing road)
billiards	billiards	billiard – adjective: billiard (table)
concepts frequently encountered in the press
works	work - works; factory - factories
means	means - means	other meanings: wealth, condition
series	series - series; series
headquarters	main directorate - central authorities
news	news - news	The good news is to come

3. Ancient, non-standard forms of word formation

Some words form their plural by adding the ending - en (an ancient form of word formation), in a number of “exceptions” (usually recommended for memorization in the school curriculum along with the conjugation table for irregular verbs) when moving from singular to plural the root vowel changes. In writing, it can be represented either by one letter or by letter combinations - oo , — ou .

Examples of such word formation are presented in Table 5.

Table 5. Forms of forming the plural of English nouns, different from the way of adding endings – s, – es
Singular	Values
ancient forms of education plural adding the ending -en
cow	cow – cows (obsolete, dialect)	kine ( cows- modern form)
eye	eye – eyes (obsolete, poetic, dialect)	eyes ( eyes- modern form)
sow	pig - pigs	swine
ox [ɔks]	bull - bulls, cattle	oxen [‘ɔksən]
child	child - children	children [‘tʃɪldrən]
brother [‘brʌðə]	brother - brethren (in a monastery)	brethren [‘breðrɪn] ( brothers- modern form)
education plural changing the root vowel
f oo t	foot - feet	f ee t
t oo th	tooth teeth	t ee th
g oo se	goose - geese	g ee se
m a n	man - men	m e n
wom a n [‘wumən]	woman's woman	wom e n [‘wɪmɪn]
m ou se	mouse - mice	m i ce
l ou se ['laus]	louse - lice	l i ce
special plural forms, borrowed along with their original declension rules from Latin, Greek
stimulus us geni us	incentive - incentivesgenius - geniuses	stimulus i geni i
larv a	larva - larvae	larv ae[‘lɑːrvē], [‘lɑːrvi]
curriculum um	course of study, curriculum – courses, curriculum	curriculum a
code ex	code - codes	code ices
cris is these is	crisis - crisesthesis - theses	cris es these es
phenomen on	phenomenon - phenomena	phenome na

4. Compound nouns consisting of several stems

form the plural by changing, according to the rules, the second stem:

school boy – school boys (schoolchild - schoolchildren)

house wife – house wives (housewife – housewives)

post man – post men (postman - postmen)

If the composition includes a preposition, plural. formed by adding the ending -s to head noun stem:

passer-by - passer s -by (passerby, passer-by – passers-by, passers-by)
sister-in-law - sister s -in-law (sister-in-law - sisters-in-law)

By the way, you can play with grammar like this: word bypasser will have plural h. bypassers

When a noun is formed from a phrasal verb, the ending “clings” to the preposition:

hand-out - hand-out s (handout - materials)

take(-)away — take(-)away s — (takeaway dish - takeaway dishes)

If the first half of a compound word is man or woman , both parts change:

wom a n-doctor - wom e n-doctor s (female doctor, “doctor” – female doctors, “doctors”)

m a n-servant - m e n-servant s (servant - servants)

Words without a noun form the plural. accession – s :

forget-me-not – forget-me-not s (forget-me-not – forget-me-nots)

And finally

About small pocket money. English in words penny stands for 1 pence. If we believe real coins, plural will look like penn ies (three pennies ). If we are talking about an abstract amount (for example, the cost of a product), you will need to use the word form pen ce (three pence ).

You can consolidate your knowledge in a playful way: we recently discussed on the forum (there are both simple and complex).

According to the basic rule, the plural of nouns in English is formed by adding the ending to the end of the word –s or –es(if the noun ends in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, as well as for a number of nouns of Spanish origin ending in -o, such as tomato, mosquito, potato, hero, veto: tomato - tomatoes).

In nouns ending with a letter -y with a preceding consonant, y changes to i and adds -es: lady - ladies, party - parties. If the letter -y is preceded by a vowel, then simply add -s: boy - boys.

In the words calf, half, knife, leaf, life, loaf, self, sheaf, shelf, thief, wife, wolf, f in the plural changes to v+(e)s: shelf – shelves.

Some nouns, for historical reasons, have other ways of constructing the plural: man – men, woman – women, tooth – teeth, foot – feet, goose – geese, mouse – mice, louse – lice, child – children, ox – oxen, brother – brethren(brethren).

Now let's look at some special cases. You can practice using them and learn more during individual lessons with your teacher.

1. Collective nouns. They can be considered as a single indivisible whole or as a collection of individuals and objects. These include words such as class, team, crew, staff, group, army, team, committee, audience, family etc. If collective nouns denote a group as a single collective, then the predicate verb is used in the singular form, for example: His family was large. If collective nouns denote individual representatives that make up a group, then the predicate verb is used in the plural form, for example: My family are early risers. (My family members get up early).

Among collective nouns there are words that are always perceived as a set - nouns of Multitude. This: people, police, militia, clothes, cattle, poultry. They are used with plural verbs ( e.g. The police were on duty).

Noun people in the meaning of “people” it has the meaning of plural person: People are so mean here. However, in the meaning of “people” it can be used in both singular and plural: UNO helps all peoples of the world.

2. Uncountable nouns agree with the singular predicate. These are the nouns: meat, tea, butter, bread, juice, weather, accommodation, advice, permission, behavior, chaos, damage, furniture, luggage, baggage, news, knowledge, scenery, traffic, work, luck, research, progress, information etc.

3. Nouns that have the same singular and plural forms. Some of them end in -s: species, series, means (e.g. That species is rare. Those species are common). The other part never ends in -s: sheep, deer, fish (e.g. That deer is young. Those deer are old).

4. Nouns that do not have a plural form. This:
- names of sciences and sports: mathematics, physics, economics, statistics, ethics, gymnastics ( e.g. Physics was his favorite subject);
- some abstract nouns: news, politics ( e.g. What is the news?);
- names of diseases: measles, mumps, herpes.

5. B compound nouns Usually only the second element takes a plural form: housewives, schoolchildren.
In compound nouns with the first element man/woman in the plural, both parts are changed: women-writers, gentlemen-farmers.
In words with the component -man it changes to -men: policeman – policemen.
If parts of a compound word are written with a hyphen, then the key component in meaning is placed in the plural form: man-of-war – men-of-war; hotel-keeper – hotel-keepers.
If a compound word does not have a noun element, then to form the plural you need to add -s to the last element: forget-me-nots, drop-outs.

6. Nouns denoting objects two-part, are used only in the plural form, for example: scissors, trousers, jeans, shorts, pajamas, spectacles, scales. Similar words are often used in the phrase a pair of -s, for example: a pair of scissors, a pair of trousers etc.

7. Only in the singular form are used the nouns hair, money, knowledge, information, progress ( e.g. His hair was grey. The money is on the table).

8. Expression a number of agrees with the plural verb, and the number of requires a singular verb ( e.g. The number of people we need to hire is thirteen. A number of people have written in about this subject).

9. Nouns Latin and Greek origin:

Is > -es (Greek) basis, crisis, hypothesis, analysis, thesis, axis ( e.g. The hypothesis was supported by the data)
-on > -a (Greek) criterion, phenomenon ( e.g. These phenomena follow the Newton Law)
-us > -i (lat.) radius, alumnus, nucleus, genius
-a > -ae (lat.) formula, vita
-um > -a (lat.) datum, medium, bacterium
-ix /-ex > -ices (lat.) index, appendix

10. Words like dozen, score (ten), couple, pair, stone (measure of weight stone), head (cattle head) have both number forms, but if they are used together with a specific numeral, they remain singular: e.g. four dozen eggs, two score tables. If they are used to mean “many,” they take the plural form: e.g. scores of people, dozens of boxes.