What Is Number in Grammar? Types Of Number with examples

What Is Number? Types of Number

Definition of Number?

Number: The word that indicates the number of person or thing is called number.

Easy Examples of Number

Boy- Singular Number But Boys- Plural Number;

Pen- Singular Number But Pens- Plural Number;

Dog- Singular Number But Dogs- Plural Number;

Man- Singular Number But Men- Plural Number;

 

More example:-

Read the following passage: 

1. Andrew is our next door neighbour. He is a banker and his wife is a teacher. They have only one Daughter. Theirs is a small family. They had a happy life.
2. Both Mr. and Mrs. Baten are bankers. They have two sons. They are very good students. They are also good football players. In the evening they play with other children. Their parents maintain good relation with other families in the neighbourhood.

• In the first passage above, the nouns — neighbor, banker, wife, teacher, daughter, family, life refer to a person or an object. So, these nouns are singular.
• In the second passage, the nouns — bankers, students, players, children, families refer to more than one person or object.So, these nouns are plural.

 

Types of Number / kinds of Number

 There are Two types of Number:

1. Singular Number.
2. Plural Number.

 

Singular Number

What is Singular Number with examples?

Singular Number: The noun that indicates only one person or thing is called singular number.

For example: man, pen, Boy etc. 

Plural Number

What is Plural Number with examples?

Plural Number: The noun that indicates more than one persons or things is called plural number.

For example: men, boys. pens etc. 

 

How to change Singular Number to Plural Number

 

Rule 1: In general, Add ‘s’ at the end of a singular noun to make it plural.

For example:

Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Pen	Pens	Cow	Cows
Boy	Boys	Rose	Roses
Book	Books	Bottle	Bottles
Girl	Girls	Shop	Shops
Dog	Dogs	Desk	Desks
House	Houses	Bird	Birds
Coat	Coats	Mobile	Mobiles

 

Rule 2:  Add ‘-es’. If the noun ends with ‘’s, ss, sh, ch, x and z” to make it plural.

For example: 

Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Bus	Buses	Watch	Watches
Box	Boxes	Glass	Glasses
Dish	Dishes	Hero	Heroes
Branch	Branches	Potato	Potatoes
Dress	Dresses	Bush	Bushes
Branch	Branches	Fox	Foxes
Ass	Asses	Mango	Mangoes

 

Rule 3: If the pronunciation of Ch is similar “k”, just “s” is added at the end.

For example: 

Singular	Plural
Monarch	Monarchs
Matriarch	Matriarchs
Patriarch	Patriarchs
Hierarch	Hierarchs
Stomach	Stomachs

 

Rule 4: If there is ‘y’ at the end of Singular Noun and if there is Consonant before ‘y’ then ‘y’ is replaced by ‘i’ and then ‘es’ has to be added to make it Plural.

For example: 

Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Baby	Babies	Fly	Flies
Story	Stories	City	Cities
Lady	Ladies	Army	Armies
Fairy	Fairies	Reply	Replies
Family	Families	Duty	Duties
Country	Countries	Copy	Copies

 

Rule 5: But If there is a vowel before y, there is no change in y. just “s” is added at the end.

For example: 

Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Boy	Boys	Toy	Toys
Day	Days	Play	Plays
Donkey	Donkeys	Monkey	Monkeys
Valley	Valleys	Joy	Joys

 

Rule 6: If there is ‘f’ or ‘fe’ at the end of Singular Noun, f’ or ‘fe’ is replaced by ‘v’ and then ‘es’ has to be added to make it Plural.

For example: 

Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Leaf	Leaves	Wife	Wives
Loaf	Loaves	Knife	Knives
Elf	Elves	Half	Halves
Thief	Thieves	Wolf	Wolves

 

Rule 7: If there is ‘ief’, ‘if’, ‘off’, ‘rf’ or ‘eef’ at the end of Singular Noun. just “s” is added at the end.

For example: 

Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Cliff	Cliffs	Roof	Roofs
Reef	Reefs	Chief	Chiefs
Belief	Beliefs	Dwarf	Dwarfs

 

Rule 8: If there is ‘o’ at the end of Singular Noun and if there is Consonant before ‘o’. “es” is added at the end.

For example: 

Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Hero	Heroes	Tomato	Tomatoes
Potato	Potatoes	Mango	Mangoes
Mosquito	Mosquitoes	Cargo	Cargoes

 

Rule 9: But If there is a vowel before ‘O’, just “s” is added at the end.

For example: 

Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Cuckoo	Cuckoos	Studio	Studios
Bamboo	Bamboos	Portfolio	Portfolios
Cameo	Cameos

 

Rule 10: Some nouns can be made plural by changing the middle vowel.

For example: 

Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Man	Men	Mouse	Mice
Woman	Women	Louse	Lice
Goose	Geese	Ox	Oxen
Foot	Feet	Tooth	Teeth

 

Rule 11: Add ‘en’, ‘ren’, ‘ne’ at the end of a some singular noun to make it plural.

For example: 

Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Ox	Oxen	Brother	Brethren
Child	Children	Cow	Kine/cows
Sister	Sistren /sisters

 

Rule 12: If the last part of the compound noun is man and it means human being, “men”replaces that ‘man’.

For example: 

Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Fisherman	Fishermen	Boatman	Boatmen
Man of war	Men-of-war	Salesman	Salesmen
Workman	Workmen

 

Rule 13: But if man is part of a word or refers to race or citizen, then it has to be plural by adding s with man.

For example: 

Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
German	Germans	Norman	Normans
Mussalman	Mussalmans	Brahman	Brahmans

 

 

Rule 14: If there is ‘ful’ at the end of Compound word . “s” is added at the end. 

For example: 

Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Handful	Handfuls	Mouthful	Mouthfuls
Spoonful	Spoonfuls	Armful	Armfuls

 

Rule 15: If compound noun contains several words, “s” is added at main part.

For example: 

Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Brother-in-law	Brothers-in-law	Father-in-law	Fathers-in-law
Passer-by	Passers-by	Commander-in-chief	Commanders-in-chief
Step-brother	Step brothers	Maid servant	Maid-servants

 

Rule 16: But in some cases, ‘s’ comes in every part of some Compound Noun.

For example: 

Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Lord Justice	Lords-Justices	Woman-servant	Women-servants
Man-servant	Men-servants

 

Rule 17: Some compound nouns have to be plural by adding s at the end.

For example: 

Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Book-shelf	Book-shelves	Major-general	Major-generals
Book-case	Book-cases	Poet-laurete	Poet-lauretes
Forget-me-not	Forget-me-nots

 

Rule 18: Some Nouns are used only in Singular Number. They do not have Plural.

For example: 

Furniture

Poetry

Scenery

Machinery

Expenditure

Information

Issue

Bread

 

Rule 19: Similarly, Some Nouns are used only in Plural Number. 

For example: 

Spectacles

Assets

Mumps

Machinery

Scissors

 

Rule 20: Some nouns look like singular but they are plural

For example: 

Aristocracy

gentry

nobility

majority

poultry

cattle

peasantry

Perfumery

Artillery

Vermin

People

Public

Mankind

Clergy

Government

 

Rule 21: Similarly, Some nouns look like plural but they are singular. 

For example: 

Mathematics

Physics

news

innings

economics

optics

ethics

gallows

Politics

athletics

wages

 

Rule 22: Some singular and plural nouns are the same.

For example: 

Deer Corps canon gross apparatus swine spices salmon Sheep

 

Rule 23: Some Nouns have two different plurals form.

1. Word: Brother

Brothers (singular) : Andraw has two brothers.

Brethren (plural) : The brethren of the Club are active.

 

2. Word: Cloth

Cloths (singular): Matthew bought some cloths

Clothes (plural) – Jack put on new clothes.

 

3. Word: Beef

Beefs-( singular): Beefs are available in this restaurant.

Beeves (plural): The beeves are strong.

 

4. Word: Die

Dies (singular): Dies are used for various purposes.

Dice (plural): Alonzo likes to play on dice.

 

5. Word: Shot

Shot (singular): Jack spent two shot to kill the tiger.

Shots (plural): Several shots were heard.

 

6. Word: Index

Indexes (singular): Indexes are useful for readers.

Indices (plural): Students should learn the indices very carefully.

 

7. Word: Penny

Pennies (singular): Lend me some pennies.

Pence (plural):  This pen cost me eight pence.

 

8. Word: Fish

Fishes (singular): Different fishes are available in the market.

Fish (plural):  They are catching fish.

 

9. Word: Sail

Sail (singular): Many sail left the port.

Sails (plural):  The ship set sails.

 

10. Word: Genius

Genii (singular): I do not believe in genii.

Geniuses (plural):  Geniuses are respected.

 

Miscellaneous

For example: 

For example: 

Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Mr.	Messrs	Mrs. Zaman	Mrs. Zamans
Madame	Mesdame	Miss Zaman	Miss Zamans
Mr. Zaman	Messrs Zaman	Master Zaman	Misses Zamans
	Mr. Zamans		The Master Zamans

 

Number of pronoun

There is no specific rule for changing the number of pronouns. It’s all about memorizing.

Singular	plural	singular	plural
I	We	Him/her	Them
My	Our	His/Her	Their
Mine	Ours	This	These
Me	Us	That	Those
You	You	It	They
He/she	they

 

Foreign Plural

Singular	plural	singular	plural
Axis	Axes	Hypothesis	Hypotheses
Medium	Media	Hippopotamus	Hippopotami
Memorandum	Memoranda	Datum	Data
Phenomenon	Phenomena	Parenthesis	Parentheses
Cherub	Cherubium/ Cherubs	Bureau	Bureaux/Bureaus
Criterion	Criteria	Analysis	Analyses
Radius	Radii/Radiuses	Referendum	Referenda
Agendum	Agenda	Bandit	Banditti/Bandits
Erratum	Errata	Terminus	Termini/ Terminuses
Focus	Foci	Alumnus	Alumni
Basis	Bases	Crisis	Crises
Analysis	Analyses	Syllabus	Syllabi/Syllabuses
Formula	Formulae/ Formulas Genera	Thesis	Theses
Locus	Loci/Locuses	Appendix	Appendices