Blog about English
Plural-only nouns, singular-only nouns and other exceptional noun patterns.
Some English nouns follow special grammatical patterns that differ from regular countable and uncountable nouns.
These nouns require special attention because they have unique plural forms, agreement or usage.
These scissors are very sharp.
Эти ножницы очень острые.
"Scissors" follows a special plural-only pattern.
The furniture is very expensive.
Мебель очень дорогая.
"Furniture" is normally uncountable and does not have a regular plural form.
The sheep are in the field.
Овцы находятся в поле.
"Sheep" has the same form in the singular and plural.
She bought two pairs of jeans.
Она купила две пары джинсов.
"Jeans" is normally plural-only and is counted with "pairs of".
The French are known for their cuisine.
Французы известны своей кухней.
"The French" refers collectively to French people.
We need two more pieces of information.
Нам нужны еще две части информации.
"Information" is uncountable, so individual items are expressed with a measure phrase.
The aircraft landed safely.
Самолет благополучно приземлился.
"Aircraft" has identical singular and plural forms.
The company has different policies for its overseas operations.
У компании разные правила для ее зарубежных операций.
"Policies" illustrates a special plural form derived from a noun ending in "-y".
Some nouns exist almost exclusively in the plural form.
Examples include scissors, trousers, glasses, binoculars and surroundings.
Where are my scissors?
Где мои ножницы?
"Scissors" normally takes a plural verb.
These trousers are too long.
Эти брюки слишком длинные.
"Trousers" is a plural-only noun.
My glasses are on the kitchen table.
Мои очки лежат на кухонном столе.
"Glasses" takes plural agreement when it refers to eyeglasses.
The binoculars are in my backpack.
Бинокль находится в моем рюкзаке.
"Binoculars" is normally used in the plural form.
The surroundings are beautiful.
Окрестности прекрасны.
"Surroundings" is normally used as a plural-only noun.
I need a new pair of scissors.
Мне нужны новые ножницы.
"A pair of scissors" is used to count one item.
Two pairs of jeans are in the closet.
В шкафу лежат две пары джинсов.
"Jeans" is counted with "pairs of".
The premises are closed after 10 p.m.
Помещение закрыто после 22:00.
"Premises" is commonly used only in the plural when referring to a property or building.
Some nouns normally have no plural form.
Examples include furniture, advice, information, luggage and equipment.
The furniture is new.
Мебель новая.
"Furniture" is uncountable and normally takes a singular verb.
I need some advice.
Мне нужен совет.
"Advice" is uncountable and does not normally have a plural form.
The information is on the website.
Информация находится на сайте.
"Information" is uncountable and takes a singular verb.
My luggage is still at the airport.
Мой багаж все еще в аэропорту.
"Luggage" is normally uncountable.
The equipment is ready to use.
Оборудование готово к использованию.
"Equipment" is normally uncountable and takes a singular verb.
We bought some new furniture for the apartment.
Мы купили новую мебель для квартиры.
Use "some furniture", not "some furnitures".
She gave me two pieces of advice.
Она дала мне два совета.
"Two pieces of advice" is used when individual pieces are counted.
We bought three pieces of equipment.
Мы купили три единицы оборудования.
"Pieces of equipment" is a standard way to count equipment.
Some nouns have the same form in both the singular and the plural.
Examples include sheep, deer, aircraft, series and species.
I saw one sheep in the field.
Я увидел одну овцу в поле.
"Sheep" has the same singular and plural form.
I saw ten sheep in the field.
Я увидел десять овец в поле.
"Sheep" remains unchanged after a plural number.
A deer crossed the road.
Олень перешел дорогу.
"Deer" has the same singular and plural form.
Several deer were standing near the trees.
Несколько оленей стояли возле деревьев.
"Deer" remains unchanged in the plural.
The aircraft is ready for takeoff.
Самолет готов к взлету.
"Aircraft" can be singular.
The aircraft are ready for takeoff.
Самолеты готовы к взлету.
"Aircraft" can also be plural without changing form.
This species is native to the area.
Этот вид является местным для этой территории.
"Species" is singular here.
Several species are endangered.
Несколько видов находятся под угрозой исчезновения.
"Species" has the same form in the plural.
Nationality nouns follow different pluralization patterns.
Examples include the French, the Japanese, an Italian and two Canadians.
She is an Italian.
Она итальянка.
"Italian" can function as a singular countable nationality noun.
Two Italians live next door.
Два итальянца живут по соседству.
"Italians" forms a regular plural with "-s".
The French are famous for their cuisine.
Французы известны своей кухней.
"The French" refers collectively to French people and does not take a plural "-s".
The Japanese are visiting New York.
Японцы посещают Нью-Йорк.
"The Japanese" is used for Japanese people collectively.
Three Canadians joined the group.
Трое канадцев присоединились к группе.
"Canadians" forms a regular plural.
An American helped us find the hotel.
Американец помог нам найти отель.
"American" can be used as a singular nationality noun.
The Spanish are playing tonight.
Испанцы играют сегодня вечером.
"The Spanish" refers to Spanish people as a group.
Several Mexicans live in this neighborhood.
В этом районе живет несколько мексиканцев.
"Mexicans" is a regular plural nationality noun.
Nouns referring to objects made of two connected parts are often used with pair of.
Examples include a pair of scissors, two pairs of jeans and a pair of glasses.
I bought a pair of scissors.
Я купил ножницы.
"A pair of scissors" refers to one item made of two connected parts.
She bought two pairs of jeans.
Она купила две пары джинсов.
"Two pairs of jeans" counts two separate sets.
I need a new pair of glasses.
Мне нужны новые очки.
"A pair of glasses" refers to one set of eyeglasses.
He bought three pairs of socks.
Он купил три пары носков.
"Pairs of" is used to count separate sets of socks.
The store sells several pairs of binoculars.
Магазин продает несколько биноклей.
"A pair of binoculars" refers to one binocular instrument.
I packed an extra pair of pants.
Я взял дополнительные брюки.
"A pair of pants" is used for one item of clothing.
She bought two pairs of sunglasses for the trip.
Она купила две пары солнцезащитных очков для поездки.
"Pairs of sunglasses" counts separate items.
I found an old pair of gloves in the closet.
Я нашел старую пару перчаток в шкафу.
"A pair of" can be used for objects that naturally form matching sets.
Some nouns change meaning depending on whether they are singular or plural.
Compare custom/customs, good/goods, manner/manners and force/forces.
It is a custom in this small town.
Это обычай в этом маленьком городе.
"Custom" means a traditional practice or habit.
The customs officer checked my passport.
Таможенник проверил мой паспорт.
"Customs" refers to the government service that controls goods and travelers entering a country.
This is a public good.
Это общественное благо.
"Good" as a singular noun can refer to something beneficial or morally good.
The store sells household goods.
Магазин продает товары для дома.
"Goods" means products or merchandise.
He spoke in a polite manner.
Он говорил вежливо.
"Manner" means a way of behaving or doing something.
His bad manners annoyed everyone.
Его невоспитанность всех раздражала.
"Manners" refers to social behavior and politeness.
The police used force to control the crowd.
Полиция применила силу, чтобы контролировать толпу.
"Force" can mean physical strength or power.
The armed forces protect the country.
Вооруженные силы защищают страну.
"Forces" refers to organized military groups.
Some borrowed nouns retain their original plural forms.
Examples include criterion/criteria, phenomenon/phenomena, analysis/analyses and bacterium/bacteria.
The scientist explained the criterion for success.
Ученый объяснил критерий успеха.
"Criterion" is the singular form.
The researchers established several criteria for success.
Исследователи установили несколько критериев успеха.
"Criteria" is the traditional plural of "criterion".
The phenomenon is difficult to explain.
Это явление трудно объяснить.
"Phenomenon" is singular.
Scientists studied several unusual phenomena.
Ученые изучали несколько необычных явлений.
"Phenomena" is the traditional plural of "phenomenon".
The doctor explained the results of the analysis.
Врач объяснил результаты анализа.
"Analysis" is singular.
The report contains several detailed analyses.
Отчет содержит несколько подробных анализов.
"Analyses" is the plural of "analysis".
The bacterium was found in the sample.
Бактерия была обнаружена в образце.
"Bacterium" is singular.
The laboratory found several bacteria in the sample.
Лаборатория обнаружила несколько бактерий в образце.
"Bacteria" is the traditional plural of "bacterium".
Some nouns may be countable or uncountable depending on their meaning.
Examples include chicken, paper, glass, hair and experience.
We had chicken for dinner.
Мы ели курицу на ужин.
"Chicken" is uncountable when referring to the meat as food.
There are three chickens in the backyard.
Во дворе три курицы.
"Chickens" is countable when referring to individual birds.
I need some paper to print this document.
Мне нужна бумага, чтобы распечатать этот документ.
"Paper" is uncountable when referring to the material.
I signed two papers at the office.
Я подписал два документа в офисе.
"Papers" can mean individual documents.
She poured some water into the glass.
Она налила немного воды в стакан.
"Glass" can refer to the material.
She drank a glass of water.
Она выпила стакан воды.
"A glass" is countable when it means a container.
I have a lot of experience in software development.
У меня большой опыт в разработке программного обеспечения.
"Experience" is uncountable when referring to general knowledge or skill gained over time.
We had several interesting experiences on our trip.
Во время поездки у нас было несколько интересных событий.
"Experiences" refers to individual events or things that happened to someone.
Academic and scientific English frequently preserves traditional plural forms.
Examples include datum/data, nucleus/nuclei, syllabus/syllabi and stimulus/stimuli.
The scientist recorded one datum.
Ученый записал один факт.
"Datum" is the singular form traditionally associated with "data".
The report contains several data points.
Отчет содержит несколько точек данных.
"Data" is traditionally the plural of "datum", although modern English also often treats "data" as an uncountable mass noun.
The nucleus is inside the cell.
Ядро находится внутри клетки.
"Nucleus" is singular.
The nuclei of the cells were examined.
Ядра клеток были исследованы.
"Nuclei" is the traditional plural of "nucleus".
The university offers a new syllabus for the course.
Университет предлагает новую учебную программу для курса.
"Syllabus" is singular.
The syllabi for the courses were updated.
Учебные программы курсов были обновлены.
"Syllabi" is a traditional plural of "syllabus".
The stimulus caused a reaction.
Раздражитель вызвал реакцию.
"Stimulus" is singular.
The researchers tested several stimuli.
Исследователи проверили несколько раздражителей.
"Stimuli" is the traditional plural of "stimulus".
Some special noun forms differ between British and American English.
Examples include accommodation/accommodations, sport/sports and different treatments of collective nouns.
She booked accommodations near the beach.
Она забронировала жилье возле пляжа.
American English commonly uses plural "accommodations" for a place or places to stay.
The hotel can provide accommodation for two guests.
Отель может предоставить жилье для двух гостей.
British English commonly uses uncountable "accommodation" in this sense.
American English often uses "sports" in compounds such as "sports car".
В американском английском часто используется "sports" в сочетаниях вроде "sports car".
"Sports" remains plural in this established modifier.
The team is playing tonight.
Команда играет сегодня вечером.
American English normally favors singular agreement with collective nouns.
In British English, the team are playing tonight can occur.
В британском английском возможно "the team are playing tonight".
British English more readily permits plural agreement when the individual members are emphasized.
The apartment complex has several parking lots.
В жилом комплексе несколько парковок.
American English often prefers everyday countable terms where British English may use a different uncountable pattern.
The company provides different benefits to employees.
Компания предоставляет сотрудникам различные льготы.
"Benefits" has the same basic meaning in both varieties, illustrating that regional differences affect some noun patterns but not all nouns.
The faculty is meeting this afternoon.
Преподаватели университета собираются сегодня днем.
American English commonly treats "faculty" as a singular collective noun when referring to the body as a whole.
Learn special noun forms individually because they often do not follow regular grammar patterns.
Common mistakes include using informations, furnitures, scissor and incorrect foreign plurals.
I need some information about the course.
Мне нужна информация о курсе.
Do not use the nonstandard plural "informations".
The furniture is new.
Мебель новая.
Do not use "furnitures" for ordinary furniture; "furniture" is normally uncountable.
I need a pair of scissors.
Мне нужны ножницы.
Do not normally use singular "scissor" for one complete cutting tool.
She gave me two pieces of advice.
Она дала мне два совета.
Use "pieces of advice", not the nonstandard plural "advices".
The equipment is ready.
Оборудование готово.
"Equipment" is normally uncountable; do not use "equipments" for ordinary equipment.
Several criteria must be considered.
Необходимо учитывать несколько критериев.
"Criteria" is the traditional plural of "criterion"; do not automatically add "-s".
Several analyses were included in the report.
В отчет включили несколько анализов.
"Analyses" is the plural of "analysis".
Two deer were standing near the road.
Два оленя стояли возле дороги.
Do not say "deers" when referring to the ordinary plural of "deer".