Singular & Plural Nouns | Subject-Verb agreement | Common confusion and Errors | Proper use of plural & singular nouns | Rules & exceptions | Changing singular noun to plural noun |
Many English learners have difficulty with subject-verb agreement, even in normal sentences where it is hard to determine if the subject is singular or plural. You should know that the subject and the verb must agree in number.
This means that if the subject is singular, then the verb has to be singular as well, and if the subject is plural, the verb has to be plural as well.
It is really necessary to learn all the basics of nouns to avoid difficulties. In this article, we will learn how to identify and use the proper form of a noun in a sentence.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
WHAT IS A NOUN AND THE SINGULAR & PLURAL FORMS OF A NOUN?
A noun is a word that identifies a person, place, or thing and if it is only referring to one person or thing, it is a singular noun. If it is referring to more than one person or thing, it is a plural noun.
CHANGING SINGULAR NOUNS TO PLURAL NOUNS
The Basic Rule is by placing "s" or "es" at the end of the noun and by replacing "y" with "ies" and "f" with "ves" at the end of the noun.
1. By placing "s" at the end of the singular nouns.
Examples: Toys, Days, Pens, Books.
2. By placing "es" at the end of singular nouns ending in 'ch', 's', 'sh', 'ss', 'x', or 'z'.
Examples: Matches, Buses, Brushes, Glasses, Boxes.
3. By replacing "y" at the end of a noun with "ies" (if consonant before the letter "y").
Examples: Baby - Babies, Family - Families
4. By replacing "f" or "fe" at the end of a noun with "ves".
Examples: Calf - Calves, Wife- Wives
EXCEPTIONS AND SOME OTHER COMPLEX RULES
1. SOME NOUNS ONLY HAVE PLURAL FORMS
Stairs, Earnings, Goggles, Pants, jeans...
2. SOME NOUNS DO NOT HAVE PLURAL FORMS
Moose, Shrimp, Deer, Series, Swine...
3. SOME NOUNS LOOK PLURAL BUT SINGULAR
Athletics, Economics, Gymnastics, Mathematics, Ethics...
4. SOME NOUNS CHANGES VOWELS IN THEIR PLURAL FORMS
Tooth - Teeth, Foot - Feet, Man - Men, Woman - Women...
5. SOME NOUNS HAVE DIFFERENT SPELLINGS IN THEIR PLURAL FORMS
Person - People, Child - Children, Mouse - Mice, Ox - Oxen, Louse- Lice...
6. SOME NOUNS HAVE DIFFERENT MEANINGS IN THEIR PLURAL FORMS
Airs, Characters, Woods, Goods, Customs, Respects...
7. SOME WORDS TAKEN FROM LATIN OR GREEK HAVE DIFFERENT RULES FOR MAKING THEIR PLURAL FORMS
Bacterium - Bacteria, Radius - Radii, Axis - Axes, Phenomenon - Phenomena...
Did you know "Bacteria" and "Data" is the plural form of "Bacterium" and "Datum"?
SOME ADVANCED POINTS THAT YOU MUST KNOW WHILE
USING ANY NOUN IN A SENTENCE
1. THE NOUN THAT COMES IN PAIRS OR IN TWO PARTS TREAT THEM AS
PLURAL NOUNS.
1. THE NOUN THAT COMES IN PAIRS OR IN TWO PARTS TREAT THEM AS
PLURAL NOUNS.
2. WHEN WE USE A "PAIR OF / SET OF /COUPLE
OF " IT BECOMES SINGULAR NOUNS. 
4. USUALLY COLLECTIVE NOUNS
ARE TREATED AS SINGULAR.
5. CAREFULLY USE THESE CONFUSING NOUNS
NOW PRACTICE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN
Fill in the blanks.
Q1. A lot of different ___ ___ a bouquet.
A. type of buses.
B. types of buses.
C. type of bus.
D. types of bus.
B. types of buses.
C. type of bus.
D. types of bus.
Q3. Data _____ still being collected.
A. is
B. are
B. are
Q4. The police _____ investigating this case.
A. is
B. are
B. are
Q5. The trousers ______ very tight.
A. is
B. are
B. are