Overview of nouns

➢ Nouns in English can be classified into the following types:

• Singular nouns & Plural nouns
• Countable nouns & Uncountable nouns

➢ So, what are the differences between these types, and how do they affect sentence grammar? Let's find out below!

1. Singular and Plural Nouns

✅ Summary:

➢ Unlike Vietnamese, nouns in English have two forms: singular and plural.

➢ If we refer to a quantity of two or more, we must use the plural form.

Cases of plural nouns:

• Regular: Add -s or -es to the singular noun.
• Some nouns have irregular plural forms.
• Some nouns have the same form for both singular and plural.

1.1. Concept

➢ In Vietnamese, nouns do not change based on quantity:

• He has one apple.
• I have two apples.

=> The noun "apple" remains "apple" whether it is one apple or two apples.

➢ In English, there is a distinction between a quantity of one and a quantity of two or more:

• If the quantity is one, we must use the singular noun:
  • He has an apple.
• If the quantity is two or more, we must use the plural noun:
  • He has two apples.

➢ However, for most nouns in English, the singular and plural forms are quite similar. In most cases, the plural form can be easily derived from the singular form, for example:

• pen → pens
• cat → cats
• tomato → tomatoes

1.2. Rules for Changing Singular Nouns to Plural Nouns

Case 1: Add -s or -es to the singular noun

For most nouns in English, we simply add the suffix -s or -es to the singular noun to form the plural.

➢ So, when do we add -s, and when do we add -es? Let's look at the summary table below:

Singular Noun	Plural Noun
Most nouns	Add -s: dog → dogs bird → birds hand → hands
Most nouns ending in -ch, -s, -sh, -x, -z	Add -es: box → boxes bus → buses match → matches However, if -ch is pronounced /kə/, then add -s: stomach → stomachs Some cases do not add -es: means → means series → series species → species fish → fish
Nouns ending in -y	If preceded by a consonant, change -y to -i, then add -es: family → families baby → babies party → parties If preceded by a vowel, add -s normally: boy → boys key → keys toy → toys
Nouns ending in -o	Most nouns ending in -o add -s: zero → zeros solo → solos studio → studios A few add -es: hero → heroes tomato → tomatoes potato → potatoes
Most nouns ending in -f or -fe	Change -f to -v, then add -es: knife → knives half → halves shelf → shelves Some exceptions: chef → chefs chief → chiefs roof → roofs

Case 2: Irregular plural forms

➢Some nouns in English do not form their plural forms by adding -s or -es.

It may sound a bit complicated, but since these are common nouns, you'll encounter them repeatedly, and you'll soon memorize these special plural nouns!

➢ Here are some common nouns:

• man → men
• woman → women
• child → children
• person → people
• foot → feet
• tooth → teeth
• mouse → mice

➢ Additionally, English words borrowed from other languages may have two plural forms: one with -s /-es and one borrowed from the original language:

• antenna → antennae or antennas
• cactus → cacti or cactuses
• formula → formulae or formulas
• millennium → millennia or millenniums

➢ These nouns can be learned as you encounter them. There's no need to memorize all such nouns at once, as it can be hard to remember and easy to confuse!

Case 3: Plural forms identical to singular forms

➢ Additionally, some nouns have the same form for both singular and plural. Interestingly, these words are often nouns referring to animals:

• fish → fish
• quail → quail
• sheep → sheep
• shrimp → shrimp

Other words in this category:

• means → means
• series → series
• species → species

2. Grammar Related to singular and plural nouns to Singular and Plural Nouns

➢ Singular and plural nouns affect grammar in two ways:

If the noun refers to a quantity of two or more items or people, we must use the plural form.

Among determiners, some can only be used with singular nouns, some only with plural nouns, and some can be used with both.

If the noun acts as the subject, the verb must change depending on whether the noun is singular or plural.

➢ The last point is extremely important in English grammar. Below is a summary table of verb conjugation based on singular and plural nouns:

	Singular Verb	Plural Verb
Verb to be in present tenses	is	are
Verb to be in past tenses	was	were
Verb to have in present tenses	has	have
Other regular verbs in present tenses	(add suffix -s or -es) Example: works, washes	(base form) Example: work, wash
Modal verbs (e.g., will, can, may,...)	(base form) Example: will, can, may	(base form) Example: will, can, may

3. Special Cases of Nouns

✅ Summary:

➢ There are some special cases to note to avoid confusion:

• Some nouns only have a plural form, with no singular form.
• Some nouns ending in -s are singular nouns.

Special Case 1: Nouns that only have a plural form, with no singular form

➢ In English, some nouns only have a plural form and no singular form, as they often refer to items with two similar parts.

Here are some typical examples:

• Clothing:
  • jeans
  • pyjamas
  • pants
  • shorts
• Tools:
  • binoculars
  • headphones
  • glasses
  • scissors

➢ Additionally, there are other nouns that only have a plural form, such as:

• belongings
• clothes
• congratulations
• earnings
• goods
• savings
• stairs
• surroundings
• thanks

Special Case 2: Nouns ending in -s but are singular nouns

➢ Avoid confusing the following nouns as plural. Here are some typical examples:

• news
• mathematics
• physics
• aerobics
• gymnastics
• politics

4. Countable and Uncountable Nouns

✅ Summary:

Uncountable nouns are nouns that cannot be counted as 1, 2, 3 items but can only be measured through another unit.

Example:

• water = water (uncountable noun)
• a glass of water = one glass of water (measured by the unit of a glass)

5. Grammatical Features of Uncountable Nouns

➢ Uncountable nouns have the following grammatical features:

Uncountable nouns do not have singular or plural forms; they have only one form.

Among determiners, only certain ones can be used with uncountable nouns.

If an uncountable noun acts as the subject, the verb is conjugated in the singular form.

	Singular Verb
Verb to be in present tenses	is
Verb to be in past tenses	was
Verb to have in present tenses	has
Other regular verbs in present tenses	(add suffix -s or -es) Example: works, washes
Modal verbs (e.g., will, can, may,...)	(base form) Example: will, can, may