Nouns : Singular and Plural Nouns for Class 3 English

The singular and plural nouns are important when you need to write or speak about one and many. They are also vital as the verb in a sentence depends on the number of the noun in the subject of the sentence. This concept details the definition of these nouns with lucid examples, and their usage in sentences.

The students will also identify the following from the concept:

• The nouns that have the same singular and plural form.
• Plural spelling rules.
• Common mistakes made while using these nouns.

This learning concept of English grammar has been explained in an interesting way by using pictures, tables, and diagrams for the students of Class 3. Students can also attempt to answer the two free printable singular and plural nouns worksheet provided at the end of the page to examine their understanding. They can also check their answers with the solutions provided for these worksheets which can be downloaded in PDF format.

Definition:

• A singular noun indicates only one person or animal or thing.

         Examples:

No.	Nouns Type	Singular Nouns
1.	People	girl, boy, child, player, prince, king, etc.
2.	Places	town, state, city, continent, country, Australia, etc.
3.	Things	orange, plant, tree, apple, animal, chair, building, desk, computer, paper

 

• Singular nouns use helping verbs like is, was, has, am and does.

        Examples:

1. 
2. She has a yellow car.
3. I am not going to school today.

 

• Plural Noun refers to more than one person or thing or animal etc.

No.	Nouns Type	Plural Nouns
1.	People	girls, boys, children, players, babies etc.
2.	Places	towns, states, cities, continents, countries, villages, lakes, etc.
3.	Things	oranges, plants, trees, apples, animals, chairs, buildings, tables, computers, papers, etc.

 

• The plural nouns use helping verbs like are, have, were, and do.

        Examples:

1. 
2. Are your shirts clean?
• Usually, emotions, ideas, beliefs, and concepts are considered as singular nouns.

Rules for Spelling changes of Plural Nouns:

1. Use an ‘es’ for singular nouns that end with the letter(s) s, sh, ss, ch, x, z to make it plural.

        Examples:

1. Mass — Masses
2. Match — Matches
3. Bush — Bushes

      2. Use ‘es’ for the singular nouns that end with ‘O’ to make them plural.

          Examples:

1. Hero — Heroes
2. Mango — Mangoes
3. Buffalo — Buffaloes
4. Mosquito — Mosquitoes

      3. Use ‘s’ to make it plural nouns, if there are two vowels at the end of the noun.

         Examples:

1. Portfolio — Portfolios
2. Ratio — Ratios
3. Studio — Studios
4. Bamboo — Bamboos

       4. If the word ends with ‘y’ and a consonant before it, ‘ies’ is added to the noun in the plural              form.

          Examples:

1. History — Histories
2. City — Cities

       5. If the noun ends with ‘y’ and a vowel before it, ‘s’ is added to the noun in the plural form.

          Examples:

1. Ray — Rays
2. Play — Plays
3. Day — Days 

       6. Plural form of the noun ends with ‘ves’, if a noun ends with ‘f’ or ‘fe’.

          Examples:

1. Knife — Knives
2. Shelf — Shelves
3. Life — Lives
4. Self — Selves

        7. On changing the vowels inside the singular form, some nouns convert into a plural.

           Examples:

1. Man — Men
2. Mouse —Mice
3. Woman — Women

        8. By adding ‘en’ to the plural form, we can change some nouns into plural.

            Examples:

1. Child — Children
2. Ox — Oxen

Common Mistakes

1. Usage of ‘This’. With the singular noun ‘this’ use the helping verb ‘is’.

Examples:

This is a major problem.

This are a major problem.

2. Look out for plural nouns which has a different spelling from the singular form of the word. Do not add ‘s’ at the end of such words.

1. With the word 'Children'.

        Examples:

        I have two children.

          I have two childs.

      b. With the word ‘People’

         Examples:

        People have a wrong idea about his personality.

         Peoples have a wrong idea about his personality.

Confusion between Nouns with the Same Plural and Singular Forms

Some nouns have the same plural and singular forms. Then how do we understand which is singular and plural? Singular nouns have the helping verb as is/ has/ was. The plural nouns will have helping verbs like are/ have/ were/ are. For instance, deer, sheep, fish, pair, etc.

Examples:

1. Deer are easy prey for leopards. (plural as the helping verb is are)
2. Deer is an easy prey for a leopard. (singular as ‘is’ helping verb used)

Exceptions

1. Some nouns are always in the plural form. You must use a plural verb after the noun.

Examples:

1. 
2. His trousers are wet.

2. If a noun ends with ‘f’ or ‘fe’, its plural form ends with ‘ves’. However, for some words, this rule      is not applicable.

Examples:

1. Proof — Proofs
2. Dwarf — Dwarfs
3. Belief — Beliefs
4. Roof — Roofs

3. For the singular nouns that end with ‘O’ ‘es’ is used to make them plural. For some words,            this rule is not applicable.

Examples:

1. Photo — Photos
2. Stereo — Stereos
3. Piano — Pianos

4. For singular nouns that end with s, sh, ss, ch, x, z, ‘es’ is used to make it plural. However, for some words this rule is not applicable.

Examples:

1. Mass — Masses
2. Tax — Taxes
3. Match — Matches
4. Bush — Bushes

5. Some singular nouns have plural forms. You must use a singular verb after the noun. For            instance, mathematics , news, tuberculosis, politics, economics, and physics.

Examples:

1. 
2. Tuberculosis is a curable disease.
3. The news channel is no more available.