Singular and Plural Nouns | Basic English Grammar for Competitive Exams - Bank Exams PDF Download

What are Nouns?

A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea.

Usually, the first page of a grammar book tells you about nouns. Nouns give names to concrete or abstract things in our lives. As babies learn "mom," "dad," or "milk" as their first word, nouns should be the first topic when you study a foreign language.

For the plural form of most nouns, add s.

• bottle – bottles
• cup – cups
• pencil – pencils
• desk – desks
• sticker – stickers
• window – windows

For nouns that end in ch, x, s, or s sounds, add es.

• box – boxes
• watch – watches
• moss – mosses
• bus – buses

For nouns ending in f or fe, change f to v and add es.

• wolf – wolves
• wife – wives
• leaf – leaves
• life – lives

Some nouns have different plural forms.

• child – children
• woman – women
• man – men
• mouse – mice
• goose – geese

Nouns ending in vowels like y or o do not have definite rules.

• baby – babies
• toy – toys
• kidney – kidneys
• potato – potatoes
• memo – memos
• stereo – stereos

A few nouns have the same singular and plural forms.

• sheep – sheep
• deer – deer
• series – series
• species – species

Q. Choose the correct form of the noun in each sentence.

(i) In the exhibit, there were several (phenomenon, phenomena) that left the scientists baffled.

Ans: phenomena

(ii) The ancient city was inhabited by mysterious (species, specie) that had never been documented before.

Ans: species

(iii) The research paper discussed the intricate relationships among various (cactus, cacti) in the desert ecosystem.

Ans: cacti

(iv) The library contained a vast collection of (datum, data) from different time periods.

Ans: data

(v) The orchestra performed a medley of classical (opus, opera) at the grand concert.

Ans: opus

(vi) During the expedition, the team discovered remnants of ancient (bacterium, bacteria) in the frozen tundra.

Ans: Bacteria

(vii) The professor explained the complex (phenomenon, phenomena) using a series of detailed diagrams.

Ans: phenomenon

(viii) The hikers encountered a variety of (fungus, fungi) during their trek through the dense forest.

Ans: fungi