ALF Guide - Plural and singular forms

Why is it important to understand singular and plural word forms?

Singular and plural word forms are important because they distinguish one thing from many. The use of correct singular and plural word forms means that the grammatical structure of sentences will be correct. The use of singular and plural forms is linked to:

Knowing the rules of forming singular and plural.
The use of countable and uncountable nouns.
Correct matching of the singular or plural subject with the singular or plural verb (also known as subject-verb agreement).

Variation in formation of regular plural noun forms

Adding an ‘s’ to singular nouns is one of the most frequent ways to change singular into plural:

Spelling rules	Singular	Plural
Simply add an ‘s’ to a singular form	student boy	students boys
If ‘y’ is preceded by a consonant, change ‘y’ to ‘ie’ before adding ‘s’	country university	countries universities
If a singular form ends in ch, sh, s, x, or z, add ‘es’	branch	branches

In English, there are many nouns which do not follow the regular pattern of forming singular or plural. Some words such as university subjects or activities may look plural but are used as a singular nouns. For example:

The news about university rankings was in all Australian newspapers.
Maths (=mathematics) is a challenging subject.

Exceptions in formation of plural noun forms: plural-looking nouns

Some words look plural but they can be either plural or singular depending on the context:

Rules	Singular	Plural
The word is the same but is used as singular or plural depending on a context.	Demographics is a study of information about various populations. Statistics is the science of collecting, analyzing and interpreting numbers and numerical data.	Such diverse student demographics are representative of universities across Australia. The statistics indicate a gradual increase in international student enrolments.

Exceptions in formation of plural noun forms: Latin and other foreign origins

Rule	Singular	Plural
Remember irregular singular and plural forms for Latin words	alumnus appendix crisis criterion curriculum datum thesis	alumni appendices crises criteria curricula data theses

Examples:
Based on this specific criterion, researchers differentiate between native and non-native speakers of English.
Success criteria for such programs vary across the sector.

Exceptions in formation of singular and plural noun forms: always plural

‘Plural only’ nouns are always used in a plural form. However, sometimes you need to talk about one, or more than one, of these nouns.

Rule	1	More than 1
‘A pair of’ or ‘pairs of’ for ‘plural only’ nouns such as glasses, headphones, jeans, scissors, sunglasses	A pair of scissors is on the table = Scissors are on the table. My new headphones are not working = My new pair of headphones isn’t working.	Several pairs of scissors were brought to the lab. Several pairs of headphones were not working last time.

Exceptions in formation of singular and plural noun forms: uncountable nouns

It is important to know which nouns are countable and uncountable in English. The rules may be different from other languages so it is important to check this information in a dictionary when you are using a word you are not very familiar with.

Uncountable nouns cannot be counted and are always considered singular but sometimes you need to talk about one or more than one of these nouns. We use ‘a something of’ phrase (for example, a piece of, a bottle of, a box of, an item of, an article of, etc.) as well as little/much and all/no/some/any.

Examples of uncountable nouns	1 or little	More than 1 or much
Advice, electricity, equipment, furniture, information, knowledge, luggage, money, music, news, research.	A piece of advice is always welcome. Knowledge of grammar rules needs to be applied in real-life settings.	All this advice about university study was extremely valuable. Much knowledge about student expectations was acquired during the research process.

Avoiding common mistakes with plural and singular forms: subject-verb agreement

A singular or plural subject must match with a singular or plural verb. It is known as subject-verb agreement:

Rule	Singular	Plural
A singular subject takes a singular verb; a plural subject takes a plural verb. Pay attention to phrases between subjects and verbs as they may cause confusion.	The folder with resources is on your Moodle site. Sam, as well as all the other students, was going to the seminar.	The folders with resources are on your Moodle site. All the students, including Sam, were going to the seminar.
When two or more subjects are joined by the conjunction "and", a plural verb is used.		My mother and sister live in Tasmania.
When "or" or "nor" are used in a sentence, the verb should agree with the noun (or pronoun) closest to the verb.	My friend or my lecturer is going to help me. Neither the students, nor the lecturer knows what to do.	My lecturer or my friends are going to help me. Neither the lecturer, nor the students know what to do.

Avoiding mistakes with plural and singular forms: subject-verb agreement (continued)

Rule	Singular	Plural
The words everything, everybody, everyone mean more than one thing or person but are treated as singular nouns.	Everyone was happy to be at a university. Everything is ready.
The words each and every are used with singular nouns and singular verbs.	Every primary, secondary and tertiary student needs to study consistently. Each boy and girl is going to the orientation.
Collective nouns (for example, audience, committee, crew, government, team, police, etc.) can be used with plural or singular verbs depending on their function	= a group as a whole The police come quickly if you press this button.	= a collection of individuals The police were extremely helpful and responded to all our questions very politely.

Apply what you have learnt in this module and click on the correct option(s) below

Most of the school equipment are old but they still work well.

The chief examiner and markers try to provide feedback on first assignments as soon as possible.

The whole lecture including the literacy and numeracy sections were interesting.

Try again

Equipment is uncountable and always singular. Suggested revision:
Most of the school equipment is old but it still works well.

Correct

The subject of this sentence is a singular noun lecture so the verb must be singular as well. Appropriate punctuation would make this clear. Suggested revision:
The whole lecture, including the literacy and numeracy sections, was interesting.

Quick Tip 1

Ask yourself, “one or many?” when using nouns, pronouns and verbs in sentences.

Quick Tip 2

Understand subject and verb agreement, including how this works in sentences where the subject and the verb are separated.

Quick Tip 3

Learn the singular, plural, countable and uncountable noun forms for your discipline.

Download This Module

Copyright © Monash University (2017). All rights reserved. Except as provided in the Copyright Act 1968, this work may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of English Connect web administrator. Material created by Dr Anna Podorova, Ms Julia Ghazarian and Dr Amber McLeod.

The ALF Guide

Example from a student assignment – read through this paragraph looking for mistakes with plural and singular forms

For explanation, click on the underlined text

Suggested revision