Number in Grammar | Number and Person - English Grammar

Number, in English Grammar, is all about the counting noun in a sentence. Number, in English grammar, shows the number of persons in a sentence.

E.g.- 

An apple a day keeps the doctors away.

 - here the word 'apple' denotes the number of apple - that is one.

Apples are not sweet.

-here also the noun 'apples' denotes the number of apples that is more than one.

 

  Number is of two types –

• i) Singular Number  and
• ii) Plural Number .

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i) Singular Number – 

    The singular number of a noun represents only one person, object or animal. 

E.g- A boy , an apple, a mango, a cow etc.

A singular noun, when used as the subject, agrees with a singular verb.

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ii) Plural Number –

    The plural number of a noun represents more than one person, object or animal.

E.g.- Two boys, five apples, many mangoes, a number of cows.

A plural noun, when used as the subject, agrees with a plural verb.

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Don't you know what a singular verb or plural verb is?

Well,

In case of action verbs,

The base form (V1) of a verb is considered as plural, 

and -

When '-s' / '-es' / '-ies' is added to the base form of a verb, it is considered as singular.

So, you can easily understand - 

Do, take, walk are plural, and

Does, takes, walks are singular.

Here are some simple rules to add  '-s' / '-es' / '-ies' to a verb.

On the other hand,

'Am', 'is', 'was', 'has' are singular auxiliary verbs as they are used with singular subjects.

'Are', 'were', 'have' are plural auxiliary verbs as they are used with plural subjects.

These were the definitions of singular number and plural number.

But do you know how to make a singular noun plural? 

Follow these rules... 👇

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Rules to Make a Singular Noun Plural :-

 Rule -1:- 

Add '-s' to the singular noun:

    To make a regular noun plural put an ‘-s’ to the end.

  E.g. -

Singular	Plural
Boy	boys
Girl	girls
Sister	sisters
Uncle	uncles
Bird	birds
Animal	animals
Tiger	tigers
Pigeon	pigeons

Subject 'boy' takes a singular verb, 'boys' takes a plural verb.

Use:

The boy plays cricket. (Singular)

The boys play cricket. (Plural)

Read more: List of important words and their singular and plural numbers.

 Rule 2 :- 

Use apostrophe -s ('s)

The plural form of any letter or digit or any abbreviation are formed by adding apostrophe -s.

Singular	Plural
A	A's
B	B's
4	4's
6	6's
C.A.	C.A.'s
D.M.	D.M.'s
Shall	Shall's
Must	Must's

There are four O's in 'Odontology' . ✅

There are four Os in 'Odontology' . ❌

His 6's and 4's are the same. ✅

His 6s and 4s are the same. ❌

All the D.M.'s were invited. ✅

All the D.M.s were invited.❌

But in modern English, full stops after abbreviations are not used. So, to make them plural add only '-s' after them.

Like,

• All the DMs were invited. ✅
• His 6s and 4s are the same. ✅

 Rule 3 :- 

Add '-es'.

If  the noun ends with -s, -x, -z, -sh, -ch, add '-es' to make it plural.

E.g.:-

Singular	Plural
Lens	Lenses
Gas	Gases
Bus	Buses
Glass	Glasses
Class	Classes
Dress	Dresses
Pass	Passes
Loss	Losses
Box	Boxes
Fox	Foxes
Tax	Taxes
Prefix	Prefixes
Suffix	Suffixes
Quiz	Quizzes
Buzz	Buzzes
Fez	Fezzes
Fizz	Fizzes
Topaz	Topazes
Suffix	Suffixes
Bench	Benches
Conch	Conches
Watch	Watches
Catch	catches
Match	Matches
Lunch	Lunches
Branch	Branches
Dish	Dishes
Brush	Brushes
Flash	Flashes
Wish	Wishes
Bush	Bushes

 Exception:- 

 If the ‘-ch’, at the end of a word, is pronounced as ‘-k’, then we have to follow Rule 1, i.e. add an ‘-s’, in order to make it plural.

E.g.:-

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

 Rule 4 :- 

Add -s or -es where there is an -o.

   If a noun ends with -o, sometimes we add -s, sometimes -es. No specific rule is there for this case, we have to memorize the common plural forms for them or follow dictionaries.

E.g.-

Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Studio	Studios	Photo	Photos
Video	Videos	Radio	Radios
Piano	Pianos	Cameo	Cameos
Portfolio	Portfolios	Canto	Cantos
Memo	Memos	Bamboo	Bamboos
Cuckoo	Cuckoos	Zoo	Zoos

-In this case, only -s is added to each word.

And,

Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Mango	mangoes	Potato	potatoes
Tomato	tomatoes	Mosquito	Mosquitoes
Buffalo	Buffaloes	Volcano	Volcanoes
Echo	Echoes	Veto	Vetoes

In this case -es is added after each word.

 Rule 5 :- 

Change 'f' or 'fe' into 'ves'.

If a noun ends with an ‘-f’ or ‘-fe’, we generally replace it with a ‘-ves’.

E.g.:-

Singular	Plural
Leaf	Leaves
Loaf	loaves
Shelf	Shelves,
Sheaf	Sheaves
Wife	Wives
Knife	Knives
Life	Lives
Thief	Thieves
Calf	Calves
Wolf	Wolves

 Exceptions:- 

Add only an -s : 

Singular	Plural
Roof	Roofs
Proof	Proofs
Chief	Chiefs
Grief	Griefs
Belief	Beliefs
Handkerchief	Handkerchiefs
Reef	Reefs

* Some words ending in ‘-ff’ add only -s.

E.g.-

Singular	Plural
Sniff	Sniffs
Tariff	Tariffs
Cliff	Cliffs
Muff	Muffs
Scoff	Scoffs
Toff	Toffs
Stiff	Stiffs
Puff	Puffs

*Some words can be ended with either '-ves' or '-s' -

E.g.- 

Singular	Plural
Dwarf	Dwarves / dwarfs.
Scarf	Scarves / scarfs.
Hoof	Hooves / Hoofs.
Half	Halves / Halfs.
Gulf	Gulves / Gulfs.
Staff	Staves / Staffs.

 Rule 6 :- 

Replace -y with -ies.

 If a singular word ends in -y, then replace -y with -ies to make it plural.

E.g.-

Singular	Plural
Body	Bodies
City	Cities
Fly	Flies
Lady	Ladies
Baby	Babies
Story	Stories
Enemy	Enemies
Puppy	Puppies
Cherry	Cherries
Family	Families
Library	Libraries
Diary	Diaries

 Exception:- 

If a word ends with -y, and there is a vowel letter (a, e, i, o, u) right before it, then we have to add an ‘-s’ simply without changing anything.

E.g.-

Singular	Plural
Boy	Boys
Toy	Toys
Tray	Trays
Key	Keys
Day	Days
Monkey	Monkeys
Donkey	Donkeys
Valley	Valleys

 Rule 7 :- 

Irregular Plural:

Some nouns have their own specific plural forms.

E.g.-

Singular	Plural
Man	Men
Woman	Women
Tooth	Teeth
Foot	Feet
Child	Children
Mouse	Mice
Ox	Oxen
Penny	Pence

 Rule 8 :- 

Zero Plural & Always Plural:

Zero plural:-

Some nouns have no distinctive singular or plural form. They are considered singular, hence they agree with a singular verb.

E.g. –

• Curd,
• Molasses,
• Sheep,
• Deer,
• Dozen, 
• Hundred,
• Thousand,
• Million,
• Billion,
• Trillion,
• Aircraft etc.

Use:

Incorrect	Correct
She sold ten dozens bananas.	She sold ten dozen bananas.
This car costs eight thousands dollars.	This car costs eight thousand dollars.
Twenty thousands of people gathered in the rally.	Thousands of people gathered in the rally.
The government wasted fifty millions of dollars for nothing.	The government wasted millions of dollars for nothing.

Always Plural:-

Certain nouns always exist in plural form and hence take plural verbs.

E.g. –

Dress – Trousers, pants, jeans, socks, shorts, breeches, shoes, pyjamas, pants, knickers, pantaloons, trousers etc.

Articles – Scissors, goggles, spectacles, sun-glasses, clothes, handcuffs, binoculars, clippers, tongs, cards (playing cards), goods, etc.

Others – surroundings, congratulations, regards, alphabet, people, earnings, savings, assets, funds, arrears, thanks, upstairs, downstairs, tidings (news) etc.

Use:

Incorrect	Correct
Where is my trouser?	Where are my trousers?
Here is your shoe.	Here are your shoes.
Don’t refuse to give some alm to the beggar.	Don’t refuse to give some alms to the beggar.
Save your earning for future.	Save your earnings for future.

Read more: List of important words and their singular and plural numbers.

 Others :- 

Plural in Form, Singular in Meaning:

Some nouns are plural in form but singular in meaning, actually they are singular, and takes a singular verb.

E.g. –

Subjects – Mathematics, Physics, Genetics, Environmental Studies, Economics, Politics, Ethics, Linguistics etc.

Games – dominoes, darts, draughts, billiards, tennis etc.

Diseases – rickets, rabies, shingles, measles, mumps, diabetes etc.

Books – Arabian Nights, Gulliver’s Travels.

Use:

Incorrect	Correct
Mathematics are my favourite subjects.	Mathematics is my favourite subjects.
Statistics are his favourite subject.	Statistics is his favourite subject.
Ethics are the philosophical studies of moral value.	Ethics is the philosophical studies of moral value.
Politics do not follow morality.	Politics does not follow morality.
Diabetes are very common now-a-days.	Diabetes is very common now-a-days.
The Arabian Nights are very popular among the children.	The Arabian Nights is very popular among the children.
Gulliver’s Travels are a book of adventure.	Gulliver’s Travels is a book of adventure.
Virat scored a century in the first inning.	Virat scored a century in the first innings.

Singular in Form, Plural in Meaning: 

Certain nouns are singular in form but plural in meaning, and they are plural,  hence they take plural verb.

E.g. –

Cattle, cavalry, infantry, peasantry, folk, people, police, poultry, vermin, excreta, admiralty, nobility, tenantry, clergy, insignia, etc.

So, neither use a or an before them, nor make them plural by adding -s/-es.

A poultry / A cattle / An infantry / Poultries / Cattles / Infantries - All are wrong.

Use:

Incorrect	Correct
The cattle is grazing.	The cattle are grazing.
Poultry lays eggs.	Poultry lay eggs.
Folk around here doesn't smoke.	Folk around here don't smoke.
The cavalry is marching towards the enemy.	The cavalry are marching towards the enemy.
The gentry of my neighbourhood is kind.	The gentry of my neighbourhood are kind.
The clergy is hard-working.	The clergy are hard-working.
The police catches the thief.	The police catch the thief.
a	a

Is a collective noun singular? or is it plural?

A collective noun may be a singular or a plural depending on the context of he sentence.

1.  A collective noun is a singular noun and is followed by a singular verb if it is used as a single body or group.

• The jury is still out. Or, the jury was unanimous in its decision.
• The family is living together now

2.  A collective nouns is used as a plural noun and is followed by a plural verb if they are used as individuals.

• The jury were divided in their opinions.
• The family were living in different places.

3.  Gentry, Clergy, Peasantry, People, audience, cattle, majority, folk etc. are some collective nouns which are always plural.

• The people are happy with the performance of the Government.
• The majority of the customers prefer it.

Confusions regarding numerical adjectives:

The numbers - one, two, three, four... are numerical adjectives.

When a numerical adjective (one, two, three, four) joining with singular noun by a hyphen forms a compound word, then it acts as an adjective that is followed by a noun. 

And you should not make an adjective plural by adding -s/-es to it. 

E.g. -

• I got a hundred-rupee note.
• Ours is a three-room house.

In the above two sentences, hundred-rupee and three-room are adjectives for the nouns note and house respectively.

More examples,

• A fifteen year old boy was standing there.
• A three judge bench is formed.
• The eight member committee is appointed to investigate the 

Compound Nouns:

You generally put -s/-es at the end of a noun to make it plural. But in case of compound noun, you have to add -s/-es to the main word of the noun.

Suppose, Brother is a noun, any you make it plural by putting an -s at the end of it - Brothers.

But here is a compound noun - Brother-in-law. 

Now how do you make it plural?

Brother-in-laws?

No.

Brothers-in-law. 

As the main word here is 'Brother', we'll add -s to 'brother' not at the end of the compound noun 'brother-in-law'.

Similarly,

Singular	Plural
Father-in-law	fathers-in-law
Mother-in-law	mothers-in-law
Sister-in-law	sisters-in-law
Brother-in-law	Brothers-in-law.
Daughter-in-law	Daughters-in-law.
Son-in-law	Sons-in-law.
Step-brother	Step-brothers
Pick-pocket	Pick-pockets

 

Use:

Incorrect	Correct
Daughter-in-laws are still tortured in remote villages.	Daughters-in-laws are still tortured in remote villages.
Mother-in-laws are usually conservative around rural area.	Mothers-in-law are usually conservative around rural area.

Rupee or Rupees?

Rupee is singular and rupees is plural.

One rupee, two rupees, three rupees... 

Sometimes using rupee is appropriate, sometimes rupees. As -

• I bought this for one rupee.
• The ticket costs four hundred rupees.
• Mother gave me ten rupees today.
• I got a hundred-rupee note.
• Mother gave me a ten-rupee coin.

When a numerical adjective (one, two, three, four...) joining with singular noun by a hyphen forms a compound word, then it acts as an adjective that is followed by a noun. And you should not make an adjective plural by adding -s/-es to it. 

E.g.-

Correct	Incorrect
She dropped a five-rupee coin.	She dropped a five-rupees coin.
She dropped two five-rupee coins.	She dropped two five-rupees coins.

People or Peoples?

Use peoples in stead of people when it refers to the peoples from different nations or the peoples of the whole world.

E.g.-

Correct	Incorrect
People of USA and UK are very kind.	Peoples of USA and UK are very kind.
The people of the world must unite.	The peoples of the world must unite.

Person

Grammatical Person refers to one person or more, who either talk, or listen, or are talked about. Usually it is a noun or a pronoun.
    
*Three types of person are there:

• First Person (speaker) 
• Second Person (Listener)
• Third Person (who is talked about) 

Examples:

i) First Person -

Who talk / talks - I, we, my, our, me, us, mine, ours.

ii) Second Person -

Who is/are talked to - you , your, yours.

iii) Third Person -

Who is/are talked about - He  she,  his, her, him, hers,  they,  their, theirs, them.

Now you must know that the persons can also be divided into those two numbers.

  Let's have a look at the chart below to know which category a personal pronoun belongs to...

⬇

Look at the picture above thoroughly and you can find out which personal pronoun belongs to which number and person...

Following the image, It is suggested that, if anyone asks you what the first person plural number is, then you have to answer -we or related to this - our, ours, us etc. 

In the picture above, the section of 3rd person singular number is bordered in red because it is very important. 

When we make a sentence, if the subject if the sentence is a third person singular number, then we have to make little change in the main verb, though it happens only in case of a simple present tense.

Please remember what that picture suggests are :-

• First person singular number- I, me , my, mine, myself etc.

• First person plural number- we, us, our, ours, ourselves etc.

• Second person singular and plural number- you, your, yours, yourself (singular), yourselves (plural).

• *Third person singular number- he, she, his, her, him, hers, himself, herself, it, itself, this, that, name of a person/a thing/a place etc.

• Third person Plural number- they, them their, themselves etc.

Thank you...