Plurals in English: rules of formation. How the plural of nouns is formed in English. Formation of the plural of nouns in English Pluralizing nouns in English

Names of people, names of objects, cities, countries, various institutions; names of plant and animal species; designation of a process of action - all this cannot be expressed without nouns. It would not be an exaggeration to say that perhaps 90% of sentences cannot do without this part of speech, if we exclude the simplest constructions with pronouns and adjectives. Today we will look at this most important category of English grammar. Let's find out how it is used, what varieties it has, as well as how the plural of nouns is formed in the English language. The topic is simple and beginners usually master it quickly; they just have to learn a few exceptions and reinforce the theory by completing a practical task.

This part of speech denotes persons or objects when answering questions what?who?(what/who?). In a sentence, such words can play the role of subject, object, circumstance, and even attribute, provided that the noun is used in the possessive case. By the way, this is the only case of changing the ending of this part of speech, with the exception of the formation of the plural form.

This category is divided into the same sections as in Russian: common nouns, proper nouns, collective nouns, concrete nouns, abstract nouns, countable and uncountable nouns. For our topic, it is important to note that abstract and uncountable representatives of this category cannot have plural constructions. At the same time, there are words that are used exclusively in a collective form: policeclothes,glasses,scissors,peopletrousers and so on. We will talk about all other types of words in detail in the next section.

The English language, and in this it is similar to Russian, has endowed the noun with two numerical categories: singular and plural. And, if everything is clear in principle with the singular number, since this is the dictionary form of the word, then the formation of multiple meanings requires knowledge of certain grammatical laws. Let's look at them in more detail.

Endings –s/-es

The simplest and most widespread way to obtain the plural form of nouns is to add a letter to the base of the word s.

• I bought a magazine for my mother yesterday – YesterdayIboughtForhismothersmagazine.
• I bought magazine s for my mother yesterday – YesterdayIboughtmagazinesForhismothers.

Note that the indefinite article can only accompany the singular, while the definite article appears with nouns of both categories.

• Usually, I read the newspaper in the morning – Usually, II'm readingthisnewspaperin the morning.
• Usually, I read the newspaper s in the morning s - Usually, II'm readingthesenewspapersByin the morning.

Some nouns in English perceive this rule in a peculiar way. The table below will help us consider special cases of adding endings.

These rules must be carefully worked out and remembered, because they are the ones used to form the plural of nouns in the English language in the vast majority of cases. It remains to add comments about how these endings are pronounced.

Pronunciation of the ending s depends on the letter preceding it. If a word ends with a dull vowel, then the ending sounds like [s] (Russian S). And when a word ends in a vowel or a voiced consonant, the ending s pronounced as [z] (Russian Z). Additional ending - es , with transcription, in all words pronounced as IZ.

Ending en and vowel alternation

English is a dynamic language, and constantly strives to simplify its system. But some forms of words become so firmly established in everyday speech that they subsequently no longer obey the rules accepted in modern grammar. Therefore, the formation of the plural of definite nouns in English has retained its structure since ancient times.

The singular becomes plural by alternating vowels in the following words: foot,gooselouse,mousetooth. In this case, the root letter combinations turn into one letter: oo ⟶ ee , ou ⟶ i .

• My elder sister is afraid of mice - Myoldersisterfearsmice.
• Last night the geese flew to the south – Pastat nightthesegeeseflew awayonsouth.

Joining ending en to construct the plural in English it is typical for words such as childmanwoman,ox. In some of these examples, the root vowel is replaced rather than added to produce en.

• The child was afraid of oxen - Child scaredbulls.
• Women read fairy tales for them children more often than men do – Womenreadfairy tales For children more oftenhow, howThisdomen.

This group of words is quite small, so it is quickly and easily remembered.

Matching Forms

There are situations when in English both forms of a noun will sound the same. In such cases, the noun receives absolutely no changes, and the number can only be determined by the context of the sentence. This category includes words deerswine,series, seriessheep,fish.

• Yesterday I saw a deer in the forest – YesterdayIsawVforestdeer.
• Yesterday I saw 8 days in the forest – YesterdayIsawVforest8 deer.
• The fish is tasty – Fishdelicious.
• There there are many fish in this lake – Inthislakea lot offish.

In this category, it is important to note that this method of obtaining the plural in English is used when denoting representatives of nationalities whose names end in – es/ese.

• Iknowthatthis Swiss lives inNorway – I know that this Swiss man lives in Norway.
• These Swiss live inmyflat – These Swiss people live in my apartment.
• Five Japanese and five Chinese play football in the yard – 5 JapaneseAnd5 ChineseplayVfootballinyard.
• Jessicasawa lot of Portuguese inSpain – Jessica saw a lot of Portuguese in Spain.

In this grammatical subgroup there are also lexical examples that have the same types of stems in the singular and in plural. But they are used extremely rarely, so there is no point in memorizing them at the initial stage of learning.

Compound Basics

In complex combinations connecting two or more stems, the construction of the plural in English can be done using different methods. The choice of method depends on the original construction of the expression and the meaning of the statement.

The largest group of compound nouns constructs their plural using the traditional method - by adding a letter s to the end of the word, i.e. to the last base.

• There there are many different merry-go-rounds for children in this park – Bthisparka lot ofvariouscarouselsForchildren.
• I picked many forget-me-nots for you in the field – IcollectedVfielda lot offorget-me-notsForyou.

There are compound constructions in which each noun is used in the plural. This method should be used when the expression begins with the words woman or man.

• Usuallywomen- drivers cannotrepairtheircars – Usually, female drivers do not know how to repair their cars.
• Behind her stood the parents, the friends, the guests and the menservants - Behindherstoodparents, Friends, guests and servants.

In some phrases, the basis in which the main meaning of the word lies is subject to changes.

• Many husbands hate them mothers-in-law – Manyhusbandshatetheirmother-in-law.
• Thosepassers- by gavemetheEnglishtextbook – Those passers-by gave me this English textbook.

Archaic forms

It is worth mentioning that some words that came from Latin or Greek still retain their original forms in English. Consequently, the multiple meanings of such expressions are not formed according to general rules.

The most common examples of this group: crisis ⟶ crises, species ⟶ species, thesis ⟶ theses, formula ⟶ formulae and so on. As you can see, these are mostly scientific terms that are unlikely to appear in colloquial speech. Therefore, if you do not plan to engage in scientific activities, you can safely not memorize these forms. It is enough just to keep in mind that such a category exists and, if necessary, use a dictionary.

So, we have completed our study of the topic and learned how to get the plural of almost any noun in English. It remains to fix the mentioned rules with practical work, i.e. perform exercises reinforcing the material. Good luck in your studies and see you again!

Views: 235

Countable nouns in English are countable in order to be put in singular or plural. There are certain rules for this. Most often, the ending -s or –es is used for this - even a schoolchild knows this. But there are other rules that we will consider today. The plural of nouns in English (plural) is used when there are two or more objects.

Plural formation of nouns in English

The formation of the plural of nouns in English occurs as follows: -s, which we put at the end of nouns for formation, is read as z if it comes after vowels

The same story - if there is a voiced consonant at the end
pen - pens.

If there is a voiceless consonant at the end of a word, s is read like this:

But if hissing or whistling sounds (s, ss, x, sh, ch) are placed before the ending, then some changes in the ending occur. Now it takes the following form -es:

bass – basses
match – matches
leash – leashes
box – boxes

If at the end of a word there is a letter –y, change it to i, and add the traditional –es, which is already familiar to us

lobby – lobbies
sky-skies

The exceptions are proper names and compound nouns.

At the same time, in cases where the letter -y is preceded by a vowel, we do not touch the -y, we just add the ending s

bay-bays
day – days
way - ways

When a word ends in -o, the ending -es is added to form the plural:

potato – potatoes
tomato – tomatoes
hero – heroes

The most difficult thing is when –f or –fe is located at the ending. Then you will have to learn one rule: replace –f or –fe with –v- and add the ending -es

If the noun ends in the letters -f or -fe, then in the plural they change to -v- and the ending -es is added:

thief –thieves
wolf - wolves
half – halves
wife - wives

Exception in the formation of plurals in English

As with any rule, there are exceptions to the formation of the plural of English nouns. An exception to the formation of plurals in English occurs in the following cases:

Nouns have their own plural form

man - men
woman - women
tooth–teeth
foot – feet
goose – geese
mouse – mice
louse-lice
child – children
ox-oxen
brother – brethren (brothers, brethren)

The singular number looks the same as the plural:

sheep – sheep
swine – swine
deer – deer
grouse – grouse
series – series
species – species
corps - corps

Borrowed words that have retained the features of forming the plural according to the rules of their “native” language.

basis – bases
crisis – crises
phenomenon – phenomena
stimulus – stimuli
formula – formulae
datum – data
index – indexes
bureau – bureaux

In English there are two numbers of nouns, just like in Russian: singular and plural (in some languages ​​it happens differently). At first glance, it may seem that the plural of nouns in English is formed according to some difficult, incomprehensible rules. In fact, everything is simple, since in most cases the plural is formed according to the basic rule, and the remaining cases are quickly memorized with practice.

Rules for forming the plural of nouns in English

1. Basic rule

In most cases, the plural of nouns in English (plural) is formed using the ending -s. Pay attention to how this ending is pronounced:

• After vowels and voiced consonants - like [z],
• After voiceless consonants - like [s].

However, if you are confused about the pronunciation of -s at the end of a word, you will probably be understood.

2. Nouns ending in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, -z, -ss

What if the word ends with – s? In this case (for greater euphony and ease of pronunciation) you need to add -es. The same goes for words -ss,-sh, – ch, – x, -z.

Ending -es helps to pronounce combinations of sounds that would be difficult to pronounce without it. Let me remind you, -es added at the end of words to -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -z. Imagine what it would be like without -es:

watchs, matches, boxes, buss (!), classes (!!!)

Agree, it’s much easier to pronounce the words:

watches, matches, boxes, buses, classes.

3. Nouns ending with consonant + y

consonant + ending -y, That -y changes to -ies .

If a noun ends in vowel + ending -y, then to -y is added -s. In other words, the plural is formed according to the basic rule.

4. Nouns ending with -o

If a noun ends in -o, you need to add -es.

Exceptions:

• photo – photos (photo),
• memo – memos (memo).
• piano – pianos (piano),

5. Nouns ending in -f, -fe

In nouns ending in -f or - fe, need to replace -f or - fe on -ves.

6. Table: plural nouns in English

This image provides a quick summary of the rules for forming the plural of a noun.

Special cases of plural formation in English

In English there are exceptions to the rules for forming plurals. Most of them concern rather rare words; the most important thing to remember is the cases from the first paragraph (man - men, woman - women, etc.), since they are the most frequent.

1. Main exceptions: the plural is not formed according to general rules

A number of nouns form their plurals in a non-standard way:

Note: the word women is pronounced [ˈwɪmɪn].

2. The plural and singular forms are the same

Some nouns have the same plural and singular forms. These include:

3. Nouns used only in the singular

As in Russian, some nouns in English are used only in singular or plural. These include:

1. Abstract, uncountable nouns

• Knowledge - knowledge,
• Love - love,
• Friendship - friendship,
• Information - information,

2. Names of sciences and academic disciplines in -ics

Although they end in -s, these words are used in the singular.

• Ecomonics - economics,
• Physics - physics,
• Aerobics - aerobics,
• Classics – classical literature.

3. And others

• Money - money,
• Hair - hair.

3. Nouns used only in the plural

As in Russian, many names of paired objects do not have a singular number

• Pants - trousers,
• Scissors - scissors,
• Glasses – glasses (for the eyes, not glasses in the game),

Some words, used in English only in the plural, are used in Russian in the plural and singular:

• Goods – product, goods.
• Clothes - clothes.

Note: clothes is or clothes are?

Often have difficulties with words clothes - clothes. Should we use it as singular or plural? How to write correctly: clothes is or clothes are?

We are accustomed to the fact that “clothes” is a singular number in the Russian language, so we strive to use the English clothes in the Russian manner, as if it were a singular noun, but this is a mistake. In English this word is plural and is used accordingly:

• Wrong: Your clothes are so dirty. -Your clothes are so dirty.
• Right: Your clothes are so dirty. -Your clothes are so dirty.

4. Plural of compound nouns

Compound nouns are made up of more than one word and can be written:

1. Separately or with a hyphen: mother-in-law(mother-in-law), assistant headmaster(assistant school principal).
2. Together: postman(postman), schoolboy(schoolboy).

In separate compound nouns, as a rule, the word with the main meaning takes the plural form:

Friends! Now I’m not doing tutoring, but if you need a teacher, I recommend this wonderful site - there are native (and non-native) language teachers there👅 for all occasions and for every pocket :) I myself took more than 50 lessons with teachers I found there !

The English language, like Russian, is built on the interaction of various parts of speech, each of which has its own individuality. One of the most striking features of a noun is the category of number. Many of you know that the plural form is formed by adding the ending -s. But it's not that simple. In this case there are more exceptions than the rule itself.

When studying the plural number in English, you will have to strain and remember dozens of words and cases of their use. The ending - s in nouns does not always indicate plurality. How do you know how to put it correctly, how to say it correctly? We will divide all nouns into two large groups: changeable (variable) and immutable (invariable).

Variable nouns

• Regular nouns. Nouns that we can classify as “regular” form their plural form in English using endings - s: question-questions, group-groups. But, when adding - s, they arise features of writing.

1. if the word ends with - s, ss, sh, ch, x, z, then we add es: box-boxes, bush - bushes, branch-branches.
2. if the word ends with acc + y, then instead "y" is written "i+es" : city-cities, story-stories, lady-ladies. But if the structure goes vowel + y, then at the end of the word only -s without any changes: boy-boys, toys-toys, day-days.
3. if a singular word ends in agree + o, then we add es : tomatoes, potatoes, heroes. But in words: vowel + o - s: zoos, radios.

Exceptions:

1. photos- photos, kilos- kilograms, autos- cars, memos- memorandum, directive, note, logos- logos, torsos- torsos, sopranos- soprano, solos- solo, concertos- concerts, commandos- special forces units, Eskimos- Eskimos, piano- pianos (piano), video- videos (video).

2. two options: buffalo- buffaloes (buffalo), buffalos; volcano- volcanoes, volcanos (volcano); mosquito- mosquitoes, mosquitos (mosquito); zero- zeroes, zeros (zero); tornado- tornadoes, tornados (tornado), flamingo- flamigos, flamigoes (flamingos).

4. One more ending puts a spoke in our wheels: f (or fe) changes to -v (or ve) and adds - s. English plural words with this ending look like this: wife-wives, wolf-wolves, knife-knives, life-lives, half-halves, thief-thieves.

Exceptions:

1.belief- beliefs (faith), chef- chefs (cook), chief- chiefs (head, leader), proof - proofs (proof), roof- roofs (roof), safe- safes (safe), cliff- cliffs (cliff, cliff), cuff- cuffs (cuff).

2. have two correct options: scarfs- scarves (scarf), dwarfs- dwarves (dwarf, gnome), handkerchiefs- handkerchieves (handkerchief), hoofs- hooves (hoof), wharfs- wharves (pier), turfs- turves (turf).

• Irregular nouns. We can classify irregular nouns as those whose plural formation does not lend itself to any rule. This means that everything depends on your will, memory and desire.

1. The plural of nouns is formed by vowel changes :

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

2. The plural is formed using the ending -en :

child— child r en - children; ox-oxen - bulls; brother- bretheren - brothers, brotherhoods

3. Words that have same shape both singular and plural.

a sheep- sheep (sheep); a swine- swine (pig); a deer- deer (deer); a fish- fish (fish - but: different types of fish: fishes); a craft- craft (vessel); a salmon— salmon (salmon); a trout- trout (trout).

4. WITHfishing-foreigners , who came from Latin or Greek, but have already become full-fledged inhabitants of the “English world”. If the word ends with:

- us - i : stimulus - stimuli - stimulus

- a - ae : vertebra - vertebrae - vertebra, spine

- um - a : datum - data - data

- is - es : basis - bases - basis, foundation, base

- on - a : phenomenon - phenomena - phenomenon

- ex, ix - ices: appendix - appendices - application

- eau - eaux: bureau - bureaux - bureau

Invariable nouns

1. There is a group of nouns that are used only in singular , which means they require the same verb after themselves.

• uncountable: sand, gold, water
• abstract: love, music, homework, advice
• some diseases: diabetes, mumps, meats, rabies, rickets, shingles
• some games, despite the ending -s: bowls, billiards, drawghts, darts, skittes
• word news
• names of objects ending in ics: aerobics, classics, genetics, linguistics, mathematics, phonetics, statistics
• some proper names: Athes, Brussels, Wales, the United States, The United Nations
• collective nouns: money, information, jewellery, fruit(but fruits in plural: several types of fruits)
• Let us separate into a separate group nouns that sound in the plural in Russian, and in the singular in English:

applause (applause), cream (cream), debate (debate), fightings (fights), gossip (gossip, rumors), hair (hair), ink (ink), knowledge (knowledge), gate (gate), watch (watch ),vacation (vacation)

2. A similar situation exists with other nouns that can be used only in the plural (Plurals).

• Nouns denoting a pair: braces, shorts, glasses, trousers, binoculars, jeans, leggins, tights, scissors, scales. But, if we still need to mark the singular number, then in front of these nouns we will put the phrase: a pair of (jeans), and then we will use a singular verb.

• Substantivized adjectives denoting people: the rich (rich), the poor (poor), the old (old people), the young (youth), the English (English).
• Some proper names: the Netherlands, the Midlands, the Hebriedes, the East Indies
• A couple of nouns that have a singular form in Russian and a plural form in English:

wages (wages), sweepings (garbage), the contents of the book (contents), arms (weapons), greens (greens), looks (view), stairs (staircase), manners (manners), minutes (protocol), outskirts (outskirts), riches (wealth), thanks (gratitude), The Middle Ages (Middle Ages).

Plural of compound nouns

• The plural number of such nouns is usually formed with -s, which is added to the last element: housewife - housewives, shoe-shop - shoe-shops.
• If the composition contains the words “woman, man”, then the two words take the plural form: woman-doctor - women-doctors, man - driver - men - drivers(But, if the word is written together, then only men, woman: policemen change)
• If the composition contains prepositions, then the first element takes the plural form: mothers-in-law, men-of-war, editors-in-chief. If the word consists of: noun + preposition, then add only to the noun: passers-by, lookers-on. But if there is a conjunction, then to the second word: gin-and-tonics.
• But if the word does not contain a noun, but it has such a meaning, then we add the ending -s to the entire phrase: forget-me-nots (forget-me-nots), merry-go-rounds (carousels), stand-bys (followers), grown-ups (adults), pick-ups (random acquaintances), drop-outs (deserters).

As you can see, the rule “Plurals in English” is a complete exception. But don’t grab your head or think that you can’t remember it. Millions already know this by heart, which means you can too. A little patience, diligence and practice is all you need to absorb all the information.

The plural in English is formed according to a certain rule. When learning a language, beginners often have difficulties, since this rule has its own characteristics and exceptions.

In this article you will learn:

• rules for forming the plural of nouns
• words of exception to the rule
• words that do not change according to numbers

The rule for forming the plural of nouns in English

In English, plurals are formed by adding the ending -s to a word:

cat - cat s
cat - cats

cup - cup s
cup - cups

book - book s
book - books

phone - phone s
telephone - telephones

pen - pen s
pen - pens

It would seem that everything is extremely simple. However, as with many English rules, there are exceptions.

In some cases, instead of -s we need to add an ending -es. Let's look at which ones:

1. If the word ends in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -z

kiss-kiss es
kiss - kisses

church - church es
church - churches

bus - bus es
bus - buses

dish - dish es
dish - dishes

tax - tax es
tax - taxes

2. If the word ends with -O

potato - potato es
potato - potatoes

zero - zero es
zero - zeros

hero - hero es
hero - heroes

But there are exception words, to which, despite the fact that they end in O, we add the ending -s. You just need to remember these words:

photo - photo s
photography - photographs

video-video s
video - several videos

piano - piano s
piano - several pianos

kilo - kilo s
kilogram - kilograms

3. If the word ends with -y, then we change y on i and add the ending -es

secretary - secretary ies
secretary - secretaries

factory - factor ies
factory - factories

theory - theory es
theory - theories

reply-reply es
answer - answers

However, if the word ends with -y and we pronounce the ending like [th], then we do not change it in any way, but simply add -s:

boy - boy s
boy - boys

toy-toy s
toy - toys

way - way s
way - ways

4. If the word ends with -fe, That f change to v and add -es

knife-kni ves
knife - knives

wife-wi ves
wife - wives

life-li ves
life - life

We looked at the basic rules that allow us to make two or more from one item. But in the English language there are exception words that do not follow these rules.

Plural elimination words in English

There are words in the English language whose plural forms are not formed according to the rules. Such words can be divided into two groups:

1. Words that change their form regardless of the rules

The formation of the plural form of these words does not lend itself to any logic; it just needs to be remembered.

man-men
man - men

person - people
person people

woman - women
woman's woman

mouse - mice
mouse - mice

foot - feet
leg legs

child - children
children

tooth - teeth
tooth teeth

2. Words that don't change at all

There is no need to add an ending to these words or change them, regardless of whether we are talking about one subject or several.

fish - fish
fish - fish

fruit - fruit
fruit - fruit

deer - deer
deer - deer

sheep - sheep
sheep - sheep

aircraft - aircraft
airplane - airplanes

means - means
way - ways

trout - trout
trout - trout

Words that do not vary by number in English

Just like in the Russian language, in English there are words whose number cannot be changed at all (glasses, trousers, dishes, honey, etc.). Such words can only be singular or plural.

1. Words that are used only in the singular

We cannot put such words in the plural, even if there are several objects. Remember, we also have such words in Russian: video, piano, flamingo, etc. Agree, we cannot say: “There were three pianos in the classroom.” We say: “There were three pianos in the classroom,” although we mean several objects.

advice - advice
furniture - furniture
information - information
money - money
friendship - friendship
love - love
news - news

2. Words that are used only in the plural

We cannot put such words in the singular. For example, we say: “Give me a pair of scissors,” although we mean one object. We cannot say, “Give me a scissor.”

scissors - scissors
trousers - trousers
glasses—glasses
goods - goods, goods
clothes - clothes
stairs - stairs
arms - weapon

So, we looked at how to correctly change words when we talk about two or more subjects. Now let's practice doing this.

Do a workout exercise

Put the following words into plural form:

Tomato, box, sheep, dictionary, flower, day, video, child, plate, fruit, class, key, foot, window, country, brush, photo, fish, woman, party.

Leave your answers in the comments below the article.