Before we start learning singular and plural nouns, we are going to learn the gender of a noun. The gender of a noun can affect the form of adjectives and articles that are used with it, as well as the form of certain verb conjugations. Before learning the gender of noun, you may learn the Noun and Its Type.
Gender of Noun
The noun which denotes male or female sex is known as Gender. For example, Tiger, Nephew, Uncle, Dog, etc. are the examples of masculine gender and Sister, Queen, Mother, Madam, Girl, etc. are the examples of feminine gender.
In grammar, the gender of a noun refers to the classification of a noun as masculine, feminine, or neutral. This is often based on the noun’s ending or the words that it is associated with.
The assignment of gender to nouns is often arbitrary and does not always reflect the natural gender of the object or being referred to.
Types of Gender of Noun
Gender of noun is classified into four categories as mention below:
(a) Masculine Gender
(b) Feminine Gender
(c) Common Gender
(d) Neuter Gender
(a) Masculine Gender: – The noun which denotes male sex is known as Masculine Gender. It refers to words or nouns that are associated with or considered to have qualities traditionally associated with men or male beings.
For Example, Tiger, Nephew, Uncle, Dog, King, Father, Sun, Boy, Summer, Brother, Time, Lion, Horse, Prince, Author, Thunder, Priest, Actor, Ox, Hero, Fox, etc.
(b) Feminine Gender: – The noun which denotes female sex is known as Feminine Gender. It refers to words or nouns that are associated with or considered to have qualities traditionally associated with women or female beings.
For Example, Wife, Niece, Aunt, Sister, Queen, Mother, Madam, Girl, Cow, Lady, Goose, Princess, Lioness, Hen, Authoress, Mare, Vixen, Miss, etc.
(c) Common Gender: – The noun which does not specify the sex but only indicates a living thing is known as Common Gender. It refers to nouns or words that can be used to refer to both male and female beings. It doesn’t have a gender-specific classification, unlike masculine or feminine nouns.
For Example, Engineer, Baby, Student, Professor, Person, Parent Child, Teacher, Servant, Writer, Citizen, Cousin, Infant, Doctor, Boss, Thief, Employee, Friend, Neighbors, Partner, etc.
(d) Neuter Gender: – The noun which denotes a non-living thing object or thing with life is known as Neuter Gender. It refers to nouns or words that are not classified as masculine or feminine. These are typically associated with inanimate objects, rather than living things.
For Example, Tree, Camera, Phone, Inkpot, Pen, House, Window, Table, Mountain, Chair, Book, Room, Paper, Box, T.V., River, Car, etc.
Singular and Plural Nouns
Nouns can be classified into two group based on numbers i.e., singular noun and plural noun. Now let’s learn singular noun and proper in more depth.
(a) Singular Noun: – A singular noun is a word that refers to one person, place, thing, or idea. It is used to indicate that there is only one of something. They represent one unit or one item. They are often used in sentences to indicate that one specific thing is being referred to. For example, book, dog, city, news, information, child, man, etc.
Please remember that some nouns are always singular such as news, information, advice, luggage, math, etc. regardless of how many items are being referred to.
Examples of Singular Noun in Sentences
- The car is red.
- The apple is ripe.
- The book is on the table.
- The flower is beautiful.
- The cat is sleeping.
- The dog is barking.
- The chair is comfortable.
- The bird is singing.
- The pencil is sharp.
- The music is playing.
- The news is on TV.
- The information is important.
(b) Plural Noun: – A plural noun is a word that refers to more than one person, place, thing, or idea. It is used to indicate that there is more than one of something. They are often used in sentences to indicate that multiple items or concepts are being referred to. For example, books, dogs, cities, news, information, children, men, women, etc.
Please remember that some nouns are always same in singular and plural form such as deer, fish, sheep, aircraft, scissors, trousers, water, air, sugar, time, music, etc.
Examples of Plural Noun in Sentences
- The cars are parked in the street.
- The apples are fresh from the orchard.
- The books are on the shelf.
- The flowers are in full bloom.
- The cats are playing in the garden.
- The dogs are barking in the park.
- The chairs are comfortable to sit on.
- The birds are singing in the morning.
- The pencils are sharpened.
- The apples are ripe.
- The advices are from my friend.
- The math problems are difficult.
General rules for converting singular nouns into plural nouns
Rule-1: Add ‘s’ to the end of singular common noun to convert into plural noun.
| Singular Form | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Book | Books |
| Dog | Dogs |
| Fan | Fans |
| Chair | Chairs |
| Pen | Pens |
| Boy | Boys |
| Girl | Girls |
| Table | Tables |
| Shirt | Shirts |
| Friend | Friends |
Rule-2: Add ‘es’ to the end of singular common nouns that end in ‘s’, ‘ss’, ‘sh’, ‘ch’, ‘x’, or ‘z’.
| Singular Form | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Bus | Buses |
| Glass | Glasses |
| Dish | Dishes |
| Box | Boxes |
| Tax | Taxes |
| Batch | Batches |
| Class | Classes |
| Buzz | Buzzes |
| Brush | Brushes |
| Gas | Gases |
Rule-3: If ‘y’ is the last letter of a singular common nouns and ‘y’ is preceded by a vowel then add ‘s’ to convert into plural noun.
| Singular Form | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Boy | Boys |
| Toy | Toys |
| Valley | Valleys |
| Monkey | Monkeys |
| Ray | Rays |
| Day | Days |
| Key | Keys |
| Pay | Pays |
| Say | Says |
| Donkey | Donkeys |
Rule-4: If ‘y’ is the last letter of a singular common nouns and ‘y’ is preceded by a consonant then replace ‘y’ by ‘ies’ to convert into plural noun.
| Singular Form | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Country | Countries |
| Spy | Spies |
| City | Cities |
| Lady | Ladies |
| Duty | Duties |
| Salary | Salaries |
| Fly | Flies |
| Army | Armies |
| Baby | Babies |
| Try | Tries |
Rule-5: If ‘o’ is the last letter of a singular common nouns and ‘o’ is preceded by a vowel then add ‘s’ to convert into plural noun.
| Singular Form | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Studio | Studios |
| Ratio | Ratios |
| Video | Videos |
| Radio | Radios |
| Zoo | Zoos |
| Portfolio | Portfolios |
| Cameo | Cameos |
| Folio | Folios |
| Patio | Patio |
| Bamboo | Bamboos |
Rule-6: If ‘f’ or ‘fe’ is the last letter of a singular common nouns then replace ‘f’ or ‘fe’ by ‘ves’ to convert into plural noun.
| Singular Form | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Calf | Calves |
| Half | Halves |
| Knife | Knives |
| Life | Lives |
| Self | Selves |
| Shelf | Shelves |
| Wife | Wives |
| Wolf | Wolves |
| Leaf | Leaves |
| Elf | Elves |
Rule-7: If ‘um’ is the last letter of a singular common nouns then replace ‘um’ by ‘a’ to convert into plural noun.
| Singular Form | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Datum | Data |
| Medium | Media |
| Memorandum | Memoranda |
| Stratum | Strata |
| Curriculum | Curricula |
| Bacterium | Bacteria |
| Maximum | Maxima |
| Minimum | Minima |
| Dictum | Dicta |
| Sanatorium | Sanatoria |
Rule-8: If ‘um’ is the last letter of some singular common nouns then add ‘um’ by ‘a’ or add ‘s’ to convert into plural noun
| Singular Form | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Curriculum | Curriculums/Curricula |
| Medium | Mediums/Media |
| Memorandum | Memorandums/Memoranda |
| Aquarium | Aquariums/ Aquaria |
| Stratum | Stratums/ Strata |
| Podium | Podiums/Podia |
| Millennium | Millenniums/ Millennia |
Rule-9: If ‘um’ is the last letter of some singular common nouns then add ‘s’ to convert into plural noun.
| Singular Form | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Album | Albums |
| Forum | Forums |
| Pendulum | Pendulums |
| Museum | Museums |
| Stadium | Stadiums |
| Premium | Premiums |
| Auditorium | Auditoriums |
| Harmonium | Harmoniums |
| Asylum | Asylums |
Rule-10: If ‘is’ is the last letter of some singular common nouns then replace ‘is’ by ‘es’ to convert into plural noun.
| Singular Form | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Axis | Axes |
| Basis | Bases |
| Crisis | Crises |
| Thesis | These |
| Analysis | Analyses |
| Diagnosis | Diagnoses |
| Synthesis | Syntheses |
| Synopsis | Synopses |
| Hypothesis | Hypotheses |
| Hypnosis | Hypnoses |
Rule-11: If ‘on’ is the last letter of some singular common nouns then replace ‘on’ by ‘a’ to convert into plural noun.
| Singular Form | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Criterion | Criteria |
| Phenomenon | Phenomena |
| Automaton | Automata |
| Polyhedron | Polyhedra |
Rule-12: If ‘on’ is the last letter of some singular common nouns then add only ‘s’ to convert into plural noun.
| Singular Form | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Demon | Demons |
| Neutron | Neutrons |
| Electron | Electrons |
| Proton | Protons |
| Lesson | Lessons |
| Nation | Nations |
| Person | Persons |
| Dragon | Dragons |
| Coupon | Coupons |
| Button | Buttons |
Rule-13: If ‘us’ is the last letter of some singular common nouns then replace ‘us’ by ‘i’ or ‘ii’ to convert into plural noun.
| Singular Form | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Cactus | Cacti |
| Focus | Foci |
| Fungus | Fungi |
| Nucleus | Nuclei |
| Stimulus | Stimuli |
| Alumnus | Alumni |
| Bacillus | Bacilli |
| Radius | Radii |
| Terminus | Termini |
Rule-14: If ‘us’ is the last letter of some singular common nouns then replace ‘us’ by ‘i’ or ‘ii’ or adding ‘es’ to convert into plural noun.
| Singular Form | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Genius | Genii/Geniuses |
| Syllabus | Syllabi/Syllabuses |
| Cactus | Cacti/cactuses |
| Focus | Foci/focuses |
| Fungus | Fungi/funguses |
| Nucleus | Nuclei/nucleuses |
Rule-15: Some nouns have the same singular and plural forms.
| Singular Form | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Deer | Deer |
| Fish | Fish |
| Sheep | Sheep |
| Series | Series |
| Species | Species |
| Aircraft | Aircraft |
| Furniture | Furniture |
| Apparatus | Apparatus |
| Innings | Innings |
Rule-16: There are some nouns, we have to change the middle vowels of some singular nouns to convert into plural noun.
| Singular Form | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Foot | Feet |
| Tooth | Teeth |
| Goose | Geese |
| Man | Men |
| Woman | Women |
| Child | Children |
| Mouse | Mice |
| Louse | Lice |
| Dormouse | Dormice |
Rule-17: There are only three nouns, that are converted into plural noun by adding ‘en’ or ‘ren’.
| Singular Form | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Child | Children |
| Ox | Oxen |
| Brother | Brethren |
Rule-18: Generally, we add ‘s’ to the main word of singular compound noun to convert into plural.
| Singular Form | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Son-in-law | Sons-in-law |
| Daughter-in-law | Daughters-in-law |
| Brother-in-law | Brothers-in-law |
| Sister-in-law | Sisters-in-law |
| Father-in-law | Fathers-in-law |
| Mother-in-law | Mothers-in-law |
| Passer-by | Passers-by |
Rule-19: There are some compound nouns in which we have to add ‘s’ to the last word to convert into plural noun.
| Singular Form | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Bookcase | Bookcases |
| Notebook | Notebooks |
| Cupboard | Cupboards |
| Keyboard | Keyboards |
| Drawback | Drawbacks |
Rule-20: If ‘f’, ‘ff’ or ‘ef’ is the last letter of some common singular nouns then add only ‘s’ to convert into plural noun. (Exception)
| Singular Form | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Cliff | Cliffs |
| Cuff | Cuffs |
| Hoof | Hoofs |
| Proof | Proofs |
| Reef | Reefs |
| Turf | Turfs |
| Sheriff | Sheriffs |
| Handkerchief | Handkerchiefs |
| Chief | Chiefs |
| Grief | Griefs |
Rule-21: If ‘o’ is the last letter of some common singular nouns and ‘o’ is also preceded by consonant but add only ‘s’ to convert into plural noun. (Exception)
| Singular Form | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Photo | Photos |
| Solo | Solos |
| Commando | Commandos |
| Embryo | Embryos |
| Piano | Pianos |
| Kilo | Kilos |