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21.5 Singulars and Plurals

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This is “Singulars and Plurals”, section 1.5 (from appendix 1) from the book Writers' Handbook (v. 1.0). For details on it (including licensing), click here.








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21.5 Singulars and Plurals

English count nouns have singular and plural forms. Typically, these nouns are formed by adding -s or -es. Words that end in -ch, -sh, or -s usually require the addition of -es to form the plural. Atypical plurals are formed in various ways, such as those shown in the following table.



Singular Nouns

Plural Nouns


dog dogs (-s added)
table tables (-s added)
peach peaches (-es added)
wish wishes (-es added)
kiss kisses (-es added)
man men (atypical)
sheep sheep (atypical)
tooth teeth (atypical)
child children (atypical)
alumnus alumni (atypical)
leaf leaves (atypical)

Proper nouns are typically either singular or plural. Plural proper nouns usually have no singular form, and singular proper nouns usually have no plural form.



Singular Proper Nouns

Plural Proper Nouns


Kentucky Sawtooth Mountains
Alex The Everglades

Noncount nouns typically have only one form that is basically a singular form. To quantify them, you can add a preceding phrase.



Noncount Nouns

Sentences with Noncount Nouns and Quantifying Phrases


gas We put twelve gallons of gas in the car this morning.
anguish After years of anguish, he finally found happiness.


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