Singular And Plural Nouns

Matches 

sibilants, -o + es: 

• archipelagoes
• boxes
• brushes
• buffaloes
• cargoes
• churches
• dominoes
• echoes
• embargoes
• haloes
• heroes
• innuendoes
• jingoes
• kisses
• mosquitoes
• potatoes
• tomatoes
• tornadoes
• torpedoes
• vetoes

Autos

words of foreign origin+o+s: 

• albinos
• altos autos
• cantos
• casinos
• concertos
• discos
• dynamos
• hairdos
• kilos
• kimonos
• logos
• photos
• pianos
• pimentos
• portfolios
• pros
• solos
• sombreros
• sopranos
• tangos
• zeros

Cuckoos

vowel + os:

• bamboos
• cameos 
• cuckoos 
• embryos 
• kangaroos 
• patios 
• portfolios 
• radios 
• ratios 
• scenarios 
• studios 
• tattoos 
• videos 
• zoos

Babies

Consonant + y

y --> ies:

• babies 
• countries
• flies 
• ladies

vowel + y + s:

• boys 
• days 
• donkeys 
• guys

Knives

f(e) --> ves

• calves
• halves
• knives
• leaves
• lives
• loaves
• sheaves
• shelves
• thieves
• wives
• wolves

but

• hoof – hoofs/hooves 
• scarf – scarfs/scarves 
• wharf – wharfs/wharves
• cliff – cliffs
• safe – safes
• handkerchief – handkerchiefs

Plural noun with a vowel change

• child – children
• foot – feet
• goose – geese
• louse – lice
• man – men
• mouse – mice
• ox – oxen
• penny – pennies
• person – people
• tooth – teeth
• woman – women

Advice

never plural

Uncountable nouns (also known as non-count nouns or mass nouns)

Names of substances considered generally:

• beer
• bread
• cloth
• coffee
• cream
• dust
• gin
• glass
• gold
• ice
• jam
• oil
• paper
• sand
• soap
• stone
• tea
• water
• wine
• wood, etc

Abstract nouns:

• advice
• beauty
• courage
• death
• experience
• fear
• help
• hope
• horror
• information
• knowledge
• mercy
• pity
• relief
• suspicion
• work, etc

Other nouns:

• baggage
• camping
• damage
• evidence
• furniture
• hair  but: Whenever she finds a grey hair she pulls it out
• information
• knowledge
• luggage
• machinery
• news
• parking
• rubbish
• shopping
• weather, etc

1. A lot of research is conducted in the laboratory.

2. Here is the pocket money my uncle has sent me today. It will be enough to settle all my debts.

3. The latest news from the Middle East countries is disturbing.

4. Reliable evidence about everyday clothing from the past is hard to obtain.

5. There is enough evidence to suggest that job stress may increase a man's risk of dying from heart disease.

6. Advice is what one should not be ashamed of asking.

7. There is a lot of machinery in the shop and skilled workers operate it.

Words ending in -ics

are plural in form take a plural verb:

• acoustics
• athletics
• ethics
• hysterics
• mathematics
• physics
• politics, etc

His mathematics are weak.

But names of sciences are considered singular:

Mathematics is an exact science

Clothes

always plural nouns:

• arms (weapons)
• binoculars
• breeches
• clothes
• damages (compensation)
• earnings
• glasses
• goods/wares
• greens (vegetables)
• grounds
• inches
• outskirts
• pains (trouble/effort)
• pants
• particulars
• pliers
• police
• premises/quarters
• pyjamas
• savings
• scales
• scissors
• shears
• spectacles
• spirits (alcohol)
• stairs
• surroundings
• trousers
• valuables

1.The proceeds of the campaign have been spent on the construction of the Children's Care Centre.

2. Roadworks are being held there to build a new pedestrian crossing.

3. A close-up camera showed a man running somewhere. His face was bruised and his clothes were torn.

4. The premises the company has moved are big enough.

5. Lodgings are currently too expensive.

6. Our surroundings are too severe for such birds and they leave them early in September.

7. The crossroads are rather tense near the supermarket.

8. There are temporary traffic lights because of the roadworks.

9. Police conduct random breath tests.

10. Nature reserves were set up around new power stations to mollify local conservationists.

11. Where are your pyjamas? — They are on the bed.

12. His earrings have decreased because his salary has been cut by 7 percent.

13. She was well aware of her extraordinary good looks, and was perfectly prepared to discuss them, just as a man seven feet high might talk of advantages and in conveniences of being tall.

Phenomenon — phenomena

• alga – algae
• alumna – alumnae
• alumnus – alumni
• analysis – analyses
• antenna – antennae
• automaton – automata
• axis – axes
• bacillus – bacilli
• bacterium – bacteria
• basis – bases
• cactus – cacti
• crisis – crises
• criterion – criteria
• curriculum – curricula
• datum – data
• ellipsis – ellipses
• erratum – errata
• erratum – errata
• focus – foci
• fungus – fungi
• gymnasium – gymnasia
• hypotheses – hypothesis
• larva – larvae
• libretto – libretti
• locus – loci
• medium – media
• memorandum – memoranda
• nebula – nebulae
• neurosis – neuroses
• nucleus – nuclei
• oasis – oases
• ovum – ova
• paralysis – paralyses
• parenthesis – parentheses
• phenomenon – phenomena
• phenomenon – phenomena
• polyhedron – polyhedra
• pupa – pupae (or pupas)
• radius – radii
• stimulus – stimuli
• stratum – strata
• syllabus – syllabi
• synopsis – synopses
• synthesis – syntheses
• tempo – tempi
• terminus – termini
• thesis – theses
• torus – tori
• vertebra – vertebrae
• vita – vitae

1. The criteria are too vague. If there were a sharper criterion to make our choice, I would be happy.

A means/means

identical singular and plural: 

• aircraft
• craft (boat/boats)
• carp
• cod
• mackerel
• pike
• plaice
• salmon
• squid
• trout
• turbot
• bison
• deer
• moose
• offspring
• sheep
• quid (slang for £1)
• counsel

1.That species of birds is migrant and is found in Africa in winter.

2. Many species are doomed to extinction.

3. The producer presented his new two-series film.

4. A new documentary series about the lives of the famous has been recently presented.

The family/the crew

collective nouns: 

• crew
• family
• team etc.,

can take a singular or plural verb. 

Singular if we consider the word to mean a single group or unit:

1. Our team is the best. Our team are wearing their new jerseys.

When a possessive adjective is necessary, a plural verb with their is more usual than a singular verb with its, though sometimes both are possible:

1. The jury is considering its verdict. The jury are considering their verdict.

2. The family are sitting round the table playing draughts.

Darts/draughts

plural in form but singular in meaning:

• billiards
• bowls
• darts
• dominoes
• draughts
• mumps
• news
• rickets
• shingles

1. Draughts is my favourite game.

2. The news is good

3. Measles is a dangerous disease and a lot of children catch it at an early age.

Merry-go-rounds

• forget-me-nots
• grasshoppers
• haircuts
• teaspoonfuls
• toothbrushes

1. The child was stand-ing between merry-go-rounds.

2. The walls are decorated with forget-me-nots.

3. There are a lot of lilies-of-the-valley in our garden.

Hyphened basic nouns 

• fillers-in
• hangers-on
• makers-up
• passers-by

Hyphened expression with no noun

• also-rans
• go-betweens
• higher-ups
• mix-ups
• run-ins
• stand-ins
• take-offs