Principles of Nouns: Numbers | English Class 8 PDF Download

There are two numbers in English:

1. Singular Number
2. Plural Number

1. Singular Number: Any noun that stands for only one person or thing is said to be in the singular number; e.g., chair, man, pencil, glass, book etc.

2. Plural Number: Any noun that stands for more than one person or thing is said to be in the plural number; e.g., chairs, men, pencils, glasses, books, etc.
Note: Only countable nouns can have a plural form.

FORMATION OF PLURALS
The following rules are used to change singular nouns into plural ones:

1. Most nouns form their plurals by adding –s to the singular:

2. By adding –es to nouns ending in –s, –ss, –x, –sh, –ch:

Note: When ‘ch’ has the sound of ‘k’, the plural is formed by adding ‘s’, not ‘es’; as
Stomach – stomachs
monarch – monarchs

3. By changing –y into –ies when a noun ends in –y and the –y has a consonant before it:

4. By adding –s when a noun ends in –y and the –y has a vowel before it:

5. Nouns ending in –f or –fe form their plurals by changing –f or –fe into–ves:

Note: However, the following nouns form their plurals by simply adding –s to the singular:

chief – chiefs
gulf – gulfs
proof – proofs
roof – roofs

6. Nouns ending in –o form their plurals by adding –es to the singular:

Note: But there are some exceptions:

photo – photos
piano – pianos

7. By changing the inside vowels:

8. By adding –en to the singular:

9. By adding –s to the principal word in compound nouns:

10. Some nouns have the same form in both the numbers; e.g.,          
deer,    dozen,    fish,    score,    sheep

11. Some nouns are used only in plural number; e.g., 
cattle, socks, shoes, scissors, spectacles, trousers, measles

12. Some nouns are used only in singular number; e.g., 
furniture, news, innings, scenery, economics, politics, summons