Blog about English
Frequent learner mistakes involving English nouns.
A singular countable noun normally needs a determiner such as a, an, the, this, my, or each when used as a normal noun phrase.
For example, I bought a book, She opened the window, and My friend called.
Many uncountable nouns do not normally take a plural form when referring to the substance or concept generally.
For example, information, advice, furniture, equipment, and news are normally uncountable.
Advice and information are normally uncountable and do not usually take a or an or a regular plural ending.
Use a piece of advice or a piece of information when referring to one item.
Furniture and equipment are generally uncountable in standard English and normally do not take plural -s.
Use a piece of furniture or a piece of equipment when referring to an individual item.
News is an uncountable noun that normally takes singular verb agreement despite ending in -s.
For example, The news is good, not The news are good.
People is normally the plural of person, while peoples refers to distinct ethnic, cultural, or national groups.
For example, Many people attended the meeting, but the peoples of the region have different traditions.
Person is singular and people is its usual plural in general English.
For example, one person, two people.
The irregular plural of child is children.
For example, one child, two children.
The irregular plural of man is men.
For example, one man, two men.
The irregular plural of woman is women, with a change in pronunciation as well as spelling.
For example, one woman, two women.
The irregular plural of foot is feet.
For example, one foot, two feet.
The irregular plural of tooth is teeth.
For example, one tooth, two teeth.
The irregular plural of mouse is mice.
For example, one mouse, two mice.
The irregular plural of goose is geese.
For example, one goose, two geese.
Apostrophes are not normally used to form ordinary noun plurals.
For example, books, cars, and students are correct, not book's, car's, and student's.
Possessive nouns require apostrophes according to whether the noun is singular, regular plural, or irregular plural.
For example, the girl's bag, the girls' bags, and the children's toys.
Collective nouns can take singular or plural agreement depending on meaning and variety, especially in British English.
For example, The team is ready focuses on the group, while The team are changing can emphasize individual members.
Some nouns normally occur only in plural form and take plural agreement.
Examples include scissors, trousers, clothes, and belongings.
Nouns such as scissors, trousers, and glasses can refer to one object but have plural grammatical form.
For example, These scissors are sharp. Use a pair of scissors when a singular unit is required.
Some nouns referring to groups are grammatically plural or have special agreement patterns.
For example, The police are investigating the case, while cattle are grazing in the field.
Series and species have the same form in the singular and plural, so number must be understood from context or agreement.
For example, one species, several species, one series, and several series.
Means has the same form in the singular and plural and can refer to one method or several methods.
For example, a means of communication and several means of communication.
Criterion is singular, while criteria is its traditional plural.
For example, one criterion, two criteria.
Phenomenon is singular, while phenomena is the traditional plural.
For example, a rare phenomenon and several phenomena.
Choose singular or plural forms according to the grammatical number and lexical behavior of the noun.
Common mistakes include using regular plural forms for irregular nouns, treating uncountable nouns as countable, and using singular verbs with plural-only nouns.