Hello dear readers! Today you will learn how the plural is formed in English. The topic is not complicated at first glance, but there are many nuances that you should pay attention to.
In English, the plural is formed only by countable nouns, that is, nouns that can be counted. Such nouns can be either singular or plural. I think it's no secret to anyone what the plural is. If the singular is used to refer to one subject or concept, then the plural is used to refer to several items. So, now we will consider the basic rules for the formation of the plural in English. Plural of nouns in English
1. The plural of most nouns is formed by adding the ending −s to a singular noun.
−s reads:
[z] after vowels and voiced consonants
[s] after voiceless consonants
- a tie tie— tie s ties
- a teacher teacher- teacher s[ˈtiːʧəz] teachers
- a room room— room s rooms
- a map map-map s cards
2. Nouns that end in consonants s, ss, sh, ch, tch, x, take the plural ending -es, which is read [ɪz].
- a match match- match es[ˈmæʧɪz] matches
3. Nouns that end in a vowel -O, in the plural also take the ending -es.
- hero hero— hero es[ˈhɪərəʊz] heroes
- tomato tomato−tomato es tomatoes
If before the end -O there is a vowel, then the plural noun takes the ending -s.
- radio radio- radio s[ˈreɪdɪəʊz] radio receivers
- kangaroo kangaroo– kangaroo s kangaroo
If a noun that ends in -O in the singular, is an abbreviation, then in the plural it also takes the ending -s.
- photo (graph) photo)— photo s[ˈfəʊtəʊz] photos
- kilo (gramme) kilo (gram)-kilo s[ˈkiːləʊz] kilograms
In some cases, variations with −s And -es.
- flamingos flamingos— flamingo s flamingo es flamingos
- volcano volcano—volcano s volcano es volcanoes
4. To nouns that end in -y, and before the end -y there is a consonant, the ending is added -es And at changes to i.
- a factory factory, factory− factor ies[ˈfæktəriz] factories, factories
In case before −at there is a vowel, no change occurs, and the plural is formed by adding the ending -s.
- a day day— day s days
5. Plural of some nouns that end in f, fe, formed by replacing f consonant v and adding an ending -es. The following nouns are subject to this rule:
- calf calf− cal weight calves
- half half− hal weight halves
- elf elf−el weight elves
- knife knife−kni weight knives
- leaves tree leaf−lea weight leaves
- life life−li weight life
- loaf loaf-loa weight loaves
- self self−sel weight we ourselves
- sheaf bundle— shea weight[ʃiːvz] bundles
- shelf shelf− shel weight[ʃɛlvz] shelves
- thief thief-thie weight[θiːvz] the thieves
- wife wife− wi weight wives
- wolf −wolves
In some cases, variations with endings are possible f And v.
- hoof hoof— hoo fs, hoo weight hooves
- scarf scarf— scar fs, scar weight scarves
- scarf jetty- whar fs, whar weight pier
Plural exclusion 6. Some nouns have preserved archaic plural forms. The plural of such nouns is formed by changing root vowel or by adding an ending —en.
- a man man− m e n men
- a woman woman−wom e n [ˈwɪmɪn] women
- brother ["brʌðər] brother−br e thr en["breðrɪn] brethren
- foot leg− f ee t legs
- goose goose— g ee se geese
- louse ["laus] louse−l i ce lice
- mouse mouse— m ic e mice
- teeth tooth— t ee th teeth
- a child [ʧaɪld] child− children en[ˈʧɪldrən] children
- ox [ɒks] bull— ox en[ˈɒksən] bulls
7. In English, the forms of some nouns in the singular and in the plural are the same.
- craft ship - ships
- works factory - factories
- species["spi:ʃi:z] biol. view - views
- headquarters ["hed" kwɔ:təz] headquarters - central authorities
- alms [ɑːmz] alms - alms
- barracks [ˈbærəks] barracks - barracks
- corps military dipl. hull - hulls
- grow partridge − partridges
- crossroads [ˈkrɒsˌrəʊdz] road crossing - intersections
- deer deer - deer
- sheep [ʃiːp] sheep − sheep
- fish ["fɪʃ] fish - fish
- fruits fruit - fruits
- gallows [ˈgæləʊz] gallows - gallows
- trout trout - trout
- means means - means
- salmon ["sæmən] salmon - salmon
- series ["sɪəri:z] series − series
- swine pig - pigs
8. Some nouns that are of Latin or Greek origin have retained an archaic form in the plural.
- analysis [ə"næləsɪs] analysis− analyzes [ə"næləsi:z] analyzes
- axis ["æksɪs] axis− axes ["æksɪz] axes
- basis ["beɪsɪs] the basis− bases ["beɪsi:z] basics
- crisis ["kraɪsɪs] a crisis− crises ["kraɪsi:z] crises
- datum ["deɪtəm] given value− data ["deɪtə] data
- erratum typo− errata list of typos
- formula [ˈfɔ:rmjulə] formula− formulae ["fɔ:rmjuli:], formulas ["fɔ:rmjuləz] formulas
- locus ["ləukəs] location− loci ["ləusaɪ] locations
- memorandum [, memə "rændəm] record for memory− memoranda [, memə "rændə], memorandums [, memə" rændəmz] notes
- nucleus cell− nuclei cells
- phenomenon phenomenon− phenomena phenomena
- radius ["reɪdɪəs], [ˈreɪdjəs] radius− radii ["reɪdɪaɪ] radii
- species [ˈspiːʃiːz] kind, type— species [ˈspiːʃiːz] kinds, types
- thesis [ˈθiːsɪs] thesis- theses [θiːsiːz] theses
9. There are a number of nouns in English that are used only in the plural.
- binoculars - binoculars
- breeches ["brɪtʃɪz] − breeches
- glasses ["aɪglɑːsɪz] − glasses
- jeans [ʤiːnz]- jeans
- pajamas, pajamas pajamas
- pliers [ˈplaɪəz] − pliers
- scissors [ˈsɪzəz] − scissors
- shorts ʃɔːts − shorts, underpants
- stockings[ˈstɒkɪŋz] − socks
- tights - tights
- tongs- forceps
- trousers [ˈtraʊzəz] - trousers
- proceeds [ˈprəʊsiːdz] − income
- surroundings - neighborhood
- riches [ˈrɪʧɪz] − wealth
- thanks [θæŋks] − Gratitude
- wages [ˈweɪʤɪz] − earnings
Plural Formation of Compound Nouns
1. Compound nouns that are written together, form the plural by adding an ending to the second element.
- school girl schoolgirl— schoolgirl s schoolgirls
- policeman police officer— policem e n policemen
2. If a complex noun, which is written with a hyphen, includes words man or woman, as one of the constituent parts of the word, then all parts of the word take the plural.
- woman-writer writer−wom e n-writer s writers
- gentleman farmer gentleman farmer− gentleman e n farmer sgentleman farmers
3. Compound nouns that are written with a hyphen form the plural by changing the key element in the meaning.
- family-name surname− family-name s surnames
- commander-in-chief commander in chief− commander s-in-chief commanders-in-chief
4. If there is no noun element in the compound noun, then the plural is formed by adding the ending −s to the last element.
- forget-me-not forget-me-not− forget-me-not s forget-me-nots
- merry-go-round carousel− merry-go-round s carousels
Note!
1. In English, some uncountable nouns can be used as countable.
Uncountable: success - luck, success (generally)
- Success is in the details. − A meticulous attitude to business is the path to success.
Calc. :a success successful result− success esgood results
- My new job is a success. − My new job is just a happy accident.
- We learn from our success es and failures. − We learn from our successes and mistakes.
2. In English, some nouns can agree with the verb in the singular and in the plural, depending on the context, without changing their form.
- my family is large. — My family is big.(Family as a whole)
- my family are early risers. — Everyone in our family gets up early.. (Family - as a set of individual members of the team)
3. In English, the same noun can be countable in one sense, and uncountable in another.
Uncountable: iron iron
Calc.: an iron iron— iron s irons
4. In English, some nouns with endings -s have a singular meaning and accordingly agree with singular verbs.
In the lesson, we will learn how to determine the number of nouns, learn about the features of the use of nouns in the plural, about the correct placement of stress. Let's do a lot of interesting tasks.
We speak correctly:
No boots, boots, boots .
Pair boots, boots, boots .
A lot of places, cases, soldiers, apples .
No socks , pair socks .
Many kilograms tangerines, oranges, tomatoes .
Let's write sentences, adding letters where necessary.
Bought a pair of noses in the store….
Tanya has a lot to do…..
There are no empty seats on the bus….
There are a lot of tomatoes on the market…. and apples...
There are many soldiers on the parade ....
Examination.
Bought a pair of socks from the store.
Tanya has a lot to do.
There are no empty seats on the bus.
There are many tomatoes and apples in the market.
There are many soldiers on the parade.
Peculiarities of stressing plural nouns
And now let's get acquainted with the correct placement of stress in some nouns that are in the plural form.
Rice. 13. We speak correctly! ()
director-director A
Chauffeur - chauffeur yo ry
Cake - t O mouths
To find out how to pronounce a word correctly, you can turn to the spelling dictionary or stress dictionary for help.
There are unusual nouns in Russian. What is their secret?
Let's find out.
Let's look at the pictures.
Let's name the items.
Milk, flour, honey, leaves.
These nouns do not have a plural form.
Let's consider another example.
Let's name the items.
Chess, clocks, glasses, sledges, scissors.
These nouns do not have a singular form.
We conclude: in Russian there are nouns that do not have a singular or plural form. We will get to know them in more detail in high school.
In this lesson, we learned that nouns change in number. There are two forms of number: singular and plural.
It turns out that in the Old Russian language, in addition to the singular and plural numbers that are familiar to us, there was another number that was used to designate paired objects. This is a dual number. The dual number was used to designate two or paired objects.
For example, eyes, sleeves, shores, horns.
Now this role is played by the plural.
Some nouns have several possible number forms that differ in meaning:
« leaves" on the tree - " sheets» paper, « teeth» man - « teeth» pitchfork
- Klimanova L.F., Babushkina T.V. Russian language. 2. - M.: Education, 2012 (http://www.twirpx.com/file/1153023/)
- Buneev R.N., Buneeva E.V., Pronina O.V. Russian language. 2. - M.: Balass.
- Ramzaeva T.G. Russian language. 2. - M.: Bustard.
- Festival of pedagogical ideas "Open Lesson" ().
- Nsportal.ru ().
- Do.gendocs.ru ().
- Klimanova L.F., Babushkina T.V. Russian language. 2. - M.: Enlightenment, 2012. Part 2. Do ex. 118, 119 p. 88.
- Divide the nouns from the poem into two columns: singular and plural.
The wind is blowing on the sea
And the boat is urging;
He runs in waves
On inflated sails .. (A. Pushkin)
- * Using the knowledge gained in the lesson, come up with 2 rebuses or 3 riddles for the singular and plural of a noun.
- trousers, rakes, sleds, scissors, pitchforks, pants, shorts, tights, wire cutters, spikes, pliers.
What words in Russian do not have a singular
In Russian, nouns denote objects that can be counted and, accordingly, have singular and plural forms. But some nouns have both singular and plural forms, but are more often used in the plural form, for example: skis, socks, reins and others.
There are also nouns that have only the singular and only the plural. In this case, we are interested in those nouns that have only the plural. They can be roughly divided into several categories:
- Category of paired items: scissors, sleigh, asshole, pants, tights, etc.
- Category of temporary representations: holidays, days, weekdays, etc.
- Category of any indefinite mass of matter: cream, yeast, perfume, etc.
- Category of indeterminate activities or games: chess, hide-and-seek, gatherings, towns, backgammon, checkers, etc.
- Category of proper names in their original meaning: Carpathians, Alps, Essentuki, etc.
The question arises: how to explain that some nouns in the Russian language have an exclusively plural form. The thought suggests itself that these nouns denote objects that are, so to speak, in a pair, such as, say, scissors, socks, glasses, trousers, and so on. This is logically explainable, but the use of the other categories of nouns listed above only in the plural cannot be explained by logic, and here, most likely, there are other, deeper explanations that require a professional approach.
There are many such words. For example, rake, shorts, pants, etc.
There are words in Russian that have only a plural form. Accordingly, their gender is not determined, so you will not attribute them to one of the three declensions and they are inclined according to the type of nouns that have a plural.
These nouns include:
1) the name of the time intervals: weekdays, days, holidays
2) the name of composite and paired items: scissors, wire cutters, tongs, trousers
3) the name of the action: chores, seeing off, elections, funerals, fees
4) names of materials, waste: white, yeast, perfume, canned food, cream, bran, wallpaper
5) some geographical names: Carpathians, Zhiguli, Kholmogory, Fili
There are many plural words in the Russian language, for example: sleigh, scissors, pitchfork, weekdays, twilight, gates, checkers, day, ticks, cream, perfume, glasses, trousers, railings, chess, pasta, finance, tesky, sawdust , holidays, chores, nippers, wallpapers, funerals, pantyhose, yeast are the most used words.
I offer the following words:
underpants, name days, christenings, glasses, pitchforks, rakes, cream, gates, ink, chess, checkers, sawdust, eyes, yeast, blush, sleigh, blind man's blind man's, elections, chores, frosts, day, weekdays, holidays, Alps, Carpathians, people, spirits, pasta, ticks.
In Russian, there are a lot of such words. For example, these are cream, rakes, trousers, pants, holidays, days, scissors, canned food, yeast, bran, pasta, tongs, tongs (tool), wire cutters, waste, gates and many others.
In Russian, nouns have two numbers: singular and plural. Rather, nouns change by number- singular and plural.
Singular denotes an object always denotes one object, for example: school, pen, school desk, chair, board; A plural denotes two or more objects, for example: schools, pens, desks, chairs, boards.
But in Russian there are nouns that are used only in the plural; for example: sled, goggles, pants, pitchfork, rake; among such nouns that do not have a singular form, there are nouns that denote paired items: trousers, glasses, scissors.
There are many such words in Russian, they can only be in the plural:
scissors, glasses, rakes, wire cutters, pliers, tongs, jeans, trousers, hide-and-seek, rosary, beads, scales, slop, people, sled, milk (for fish), name day, christening, Christmas time, lies
Well, also the name of the mountains, for example: Andes, Alps, countries - the Netherlands and other geographical names.
There are plenty of such words in Russian, for example: sleigh, scissors, gates, ticks, glasses, trousers, checkers, chess, day, pasta, cream, weekdays.
Holidays, twilight, perfume, ink, chores, finances, canned food, darkness, whitewash, sawdust, rakes, railings, vise.
There are really a lot of words that are in the Russian language and are used only in the plural, for example: ink, name day, elections, attacks, intrigues, Karakum, Carpathians, beatings, twilight, day, weekdays, holidays, sawdust, cleaning, money, finances, jungle.
Nouns that have only a plural form are otherwise called pluralia tantum. There are about 600 such words in Russian. Most of them are divided into several categories:
1) proper nouns - geographical or astronomical names (Balkans, Gorki, Pyrenees, Carpathians, Cherkasy, Kholmogory, Zhiguli, Libra, Gemini, Alps, etc.)
2) abstract nouns denoting complex actions, processes, rituals, games (elections, holidays, seeing off, funerals, bridesmaids, name days, blind man's blind man's eyes, catch-up, hide and seek, etc.), natural phenomena (twilight, frost, darkness), time periods ( day), etc.;
3) specific nouns denoting compound objects, including paired ones (forks, vise, glasses, scissors, trousers, railings, rakes, checkers, chess, swings, tongs, watches, etc.);
4) real nouns denoting either the substance itself, the material, or its waste, residues (firewood, bran, pasta, canned food, whitewash, sawdust, perfume, yeast, shavings, ink, cream, etc.)
Burial is always plural.
In fact, there are many such words that initially have only the plural. Here are just some examples
Nouns are the main component of our speech. Of the many possible words, we always choose the most suitable for us in style and color. The way a person builds his speech can say a lot about his personality and mindset to the interlocutor. Therefore, it is very important to be able to correctly and clearly express your thoughts. To do this, you need to know the basics of the grammar of the Russian language and be able to apply them in real life while communicating with people. In this article, we will analyze such a category as the number of nouns.
A noun in Russian can be used in one of two possible forms - in the singular or in the plural. Number is one of the main features of the part of speech called the noun. But there are Russian nouns that can be used in speech only in the singular or only in the plural. Let's deal with everything in order.
Singular nouns
With nouns in the singular, in general, everything is clear and understandable even without grammatical rules: they denote one thing or person, that is, any (for example, a pen, a book, a house, a cat). Such nouns in the singular have their own gender (feminine, masculine or neuter; sometimes common), and also, regardless of the number, decline in cases.
Plural nouns
The same nouns can also be used in the plural (pens, books, houses, cats). These are nouns denoting several things. Very often in Russian there are nouns that have only the plural form. You can read about them below.
Plural nouns that are often misspelled
It would be possible to write more than one full-fledged article about the most common mistakes in everyday speech in Russian, but here we will focus our attention only on the incorrect use of nouns. In nouns, the plural and the correct formation of forms are very often questioned.
Be sure to pay attention to the spelling of the following words in the genitive case: boots - boots, felt boots - boots, boots - boots, soldiers - soldiers, places - places, apples - apples.
And mistakes in using these words in the genitive case can be very often heard in grocery stores: tangerines - tangerines, nectarines - nectarines, tomatoes - tomatoes, oranges - oranges. Nouns that have only the plural form differ somewhat from the data in terms of case declension.
Formation of plural forms: features
Sometimes in the formation of the plural form for a certain category of nouns, some difficulties arise. There are no rules as such in Russian that determine which ending is required for the plural of nouns that we need to apply at a particular moment. Therefore, it can be quite difficult to use the word correctly. Let's take a look at the special cases of plural nouns. It is better to just memorize them so as not to make mistakes and not to doubt the correct use of words.
First of all, these are masculine nouns (s in the singular), with the endings -ы, -и, most often denoting professions. For example, a trainer - trainers (not a trainer!), an agreement - contracts, an accountant - accountants, a lecturer - lecturers, a cream - creams and so on.
The next group is the same nouns as in the previous one, but with the endings -а, -я: professor - professors, doctor - doctors, director - directors, anchor - anchors and so on.
Nouns always used in the singular
There are many nouns in Russian that do not change in number and are always used exclusively in the singular form. Consider the groups into which such nouns can be conditionally divided:
Denoting different feelings, features of the state and human qualities (tenderness, anger, anger, hatred, lust, dependence, security, weakness, kindness);
Denoting signs of an object (grayness, blueness, redness, thinness, fullness, density);
Real (oil, gold, steel, tin, silver, nickel, sugar, sour cream, butter, pearls);
Denoting several of some identical items in the aggregate (dishes, foliage, children, animals);
Denoting objects that exist in all of nature in a single copy (Sun, Earth, sky, Moon); geographical names (Argentina, Stockholm, Moscow, Irtysh, Novosibirsk, Crimea, Ob) also belong to this group.
Nouns that have only plural form
The following nouns exist in the Russian language only in the plural:
Denoting various kinds of substances (rouge, perfume, ink, yeast);
Denoting objects in a pair (jeans, rakes, rollers, trousers, leggings, pants, leggings, glasses, sleds, sleds);
Denoting games or some processes (checkers, tags, hide and seek, blind man's blind man's blind, catch-up, elections);
Denoting natural phenomena or time periods (day, holidays, twilight, weekdays);
Being geographical or astronomical names (Sochi, Alps, Kuriles, Libra).
So, let's summarize: in Russian there are two forms of nouns - singular and plural. Most words have both forms, but there are also nouns that have only the plural form, and, of course, those that are used only in the singular.
The main component of our speech is nouns, because, in fact, our sentences are built from them, which are given style and coloring. When a person speaks, you can immediately understand whether he is educated or does not have a large vocabulary, many interlocutors do not pay attention to the correct spelling of words or their declension, which is heard in their conversation. Therefore, it is so important to know the rules and be able to clearly express your thoughts in our time. Knowledge of the grammar of the Russian language and the basic rules will help in communicating with people of different levels and classes.
Definition of "number"
Number is the grammatical category of the verb and names. A noun can change in numbers. There are two numbers - singular and plural. In the first case, one object is indicated, for example, "He put a chair" or "They brought him a bun." In the second, there are more than two items, for example: “We washed the windows” or “They went for watermelons and melons.”
Examples of only plural nouns
Separately, we can distinguish a group of nouns that are only in the plural and do not have a singular. Such words do not have a gender category, do not belong to any declension, but are inclined in a special way.
So, changing the number of a noun, its form and ending change, which in the plural can be -i, -ы (I have one flower - all flowers smell delicious) or -а, -я (there is only one poplar near the house - poplars grow along roads).
There are many other nouns that have both declension forms, such as puff - puffs, laptop - laptops, mouse - mice, corrector - correctors, etc.
If we divide nouns by meaning, then plural nouns are divided into the following groups:
- Nouns with a real meaning: slop, canned food, ink, sawdust, blush, cleaning, wallpaper, shavings.
- Denoting the names of games, states of nature or periods of time, for example: tag, everyday life, hide and seek, towns, day, twilight, holidays, darkness, frost.
- Names of paired or complex items: shorts, jeans, glasses, trousers, sledges, sleds, sleds, railings, scissors, tongs, trousers, wire cutters, stretchers.
- Examples of proper nouns are the following words: Sayans, Cordillera, Pyrenees, Carpathians, Himalayas, Velikiye Luki.
- Names of actions: tours, elections, maneuvers, beatings, negotiations, seeing off, name days, chores.
Although in principle everything is clear, often people doubt the correctness of the formation of a particular word, and most often this applies to the plural. For example, in some cases, the spelling of words in the genitive case is slightly different, for example: “These are green apples” - “We didn’t have green apples”, “It’s raining outside, and I’ll put on boots” - “I won’t go for a walk, I have no boots", "All seats were taken" - "We have no more seats, come tomorrow."
Even in stores, you can often see or hear the mistakes of sellers and buyers - "Take your kilogram of tangerines" or "We have a large selection of tomatoes, come in, choose." There are also several groups of nouns that are used.
