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Plural Nouns
Questions and answers related to the formation of regular and irregular plural nouns in the English language.
14,791 Questions
What are the words that have a singular that ends with f and at the plural ves?
Nouns ending with -f or -fe (but not -ff or -ffe) replace the -f or -fe with -ves. Examples:
- calf; calves
- elf; elves
- half; halves
- hoof' hooves
- knife; knives
- leaf; leaves
- loaf; loaves
- shelf; shelves
- wife; wives
- wolf; wolves
There are exceptions to this rule, for example:
- belief; beliefs
- chef; chefs
- chief; chiefs
- roof; roofs
When in doubt which does change form and which just adds -s, consult a dictionary.
Are words that stay the same irregular plurals?
Yes, words that keep the same form in singular and plural are considered irregular plurals. Examples include sheep, deer, and aircraft.
Is story a plural possessive noun?
No, the noun "story" is singular.
The plural form of the noun story is stories.
The plural possessive form is stories'.
What does singular plural noun mean?
A singular noun is a word for one person, place, or thing.
A plural noun is a word for two or more people, places, or things.
Examples:
singular / plural
arrow / arrows
baby / babies
church / churches
day / days
egg / eggs
foot / feet
gate / gates
house / houses
inch / inches
joke / jokes
knife / knives
lake / lakes
man / men
nose / noses
oar / oars
photo / photos
queen / queens
rose / roses
swan / swans
tomato / tomatoes
urchin / urchins
vault / vaults
wish / wishes
x-ray / x-rays
youth / youths
zero / zeros
What is the plural possessive noun of wives?
The possessive form for the plural noun wives is wives'.
The plural of "zen" is also "zen." The word "zen" does not change in the plural form.
What are nouns that end in y and add s?
Probably none. You change y to ie.
- country - countries
- city - cities
- baby - babies
- ability - abilities
etc.
What are some plural nouns that end with ies?
Some examples of nouns that the plural form ends with -ies are:
- try, tries
- fry, fries
- supply, supplies
- party, parties
- panty, panties
- patty, patties
- lady, ladies
- baby, babies
- worry, worries
- cherry, cherries
How do you make baffle plural?
The plural of "baffle" is "baffles." To make it plural, simply add an "s" to the end of the word.
What is the plural form of beliefs?
The word beliefs is the plural form of the singular noun "belief".
What is the plural possessive noun of lady?
The plural form of the noun lady is ladies.
The plural possessive form is ladies'.
example: We're planning a ladies' night out.
Does the word pharynx have a singular or plural form?
The plural form of the noun pharynx is pharynges or pharynxes, both are accepted.
What is the plural possessive noun of room?
The plural form for the noun room is rooms.
The plural possessive form is rooms'.
example: I've made a list of all the rooms' dimensions.
Do all nouns have a plural form?
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
- 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
What is the possessive form for a name?
A name is a proper noun. The possessive form for proper nouns is the same as for common nouns. Examples:
- Amy's coat
- Chris's brother
- Illinois' capital
- Mark Marcus's bike
- The Marcuses' house
What is the singular and plural possessive of cost?
The singular possessive is cost's (e.g. The cost's increase was staggering.)
The plural is costs. The plural possessive is costs' (apostrophe only).
(e.g. As the prices of raw materials and energy rose, the costs' major impact was on small businesses.)
The word 'fried' is the past participle, past tense of the verb 'to fry'. The past participle of the verb also functions as an adjective.
Examples:He fried the pork chops for dinner. (verb)
She would rather have fried chicken. (adjective)
The word 'fry' is both a verb (fry, fries, frying, fried) and a noun (fry, fries).
The noun 'fry' as a word for recently hatched fish is an uncountable noun, it has no plural form.
The plural form of the noun 'fry' as a word for a get-together where fried food is served; an informal word for something fried (French fry) or children (small fry) is fries (French fries, small fries).
How can you make the word work in plural form?
The plural form for the noun work is works. Example:
The works of William Shakespeare sometimes need translation for modern English speakers.
