Do all nouns have a plural form?

Answer 1

There are two major groups of nouns called count nouns and uncountable (or mass) nouns. The majority of nouns are count nouns.

Count nouns are words that have both singular and plural forms; some examples are:

• apple, apples
• boy, boys
• cow, cows
• desk, desks
• egg, eggs
• frog, frogs

Uncountable nouns, words that don't have plural forms, fall into several types:

• nouns for substances
  • aluminum
  • concrete
  • flour
  • sand
  • tea
  • water

Note: The plural form for many substance nouns are used for 'types of' or 'kinds of'; for example, sands include molding sand, concrete sand, graded sane; a selection of teas include black tea, green tea, oolong tea, herbal tea.

• abstract nouns for concepts
  • advice
  • bravery
  • courage
  • information
  • knowledge
  • trust

Uncountable nouns also include aggregate nouns, words for things comprised of an indefinite number of parts. Aggregate nouns have no singular form; some examples include:

• congratulations
• goods
• means
• news
• series
• thanks

Another group of nouns that appear to be a plural form but are used as both singular and plural, are a shortened form for 'a pair of', called binary nouns; words for things that are made up of two parts to form the whole. Examples are:

• glasses: one pair of glasses, two pairs of glasses
• binoculars: one pair of binoculars, two pairs of binoculars
• pants: one pair of pants, two pairs of pants
• pajamas: one pair of pajamas, two pairs of pajamas
• scissors: one pair of scissors, two pairs of scissors
• tweezers: one pair of tweezers, two pairs of tweezers

Answer 2

No, not all nouns have a plural form. Some nouns are only used in the singular form, meaning they do not change when referring to more than one. Examples include "furniture," "rice," and "milk."