Singular and Plural

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DEFINITION OF SINGULAR AND PLURAL

A singular noun names one person, place, thing, or idea, while a plural noun names more than one person, place, thing, or idea.

OBSERVING

Look at the pictures below.

Picture 1

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Picture 2

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Picture 3

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You can also watch the following video to get to know more about singular and plural nouns.

After observing the pictures and video above, can you tell the difference between singular and plural?

RULES OF SINGULAR AND PLURAL

1. Regular Nouns: In general, regular plurals of nouns are formed by adding -s, -es, or -ies to the singular form(e.g., girls, viruses, duties).

⏩ Plural formed by adding -s

Most singular nouns need an -s at the end to become plural.

List of plural nouns (formed by adding -s)

Singular	Plural	Translation
girl	girls	anak perempuan/gadis
house	houses	rumah
root	roots	akar
roof	roofs	atap
shoe	shoes	sepatu
piano	pianos	piano
argument	arguments	argumen
car	cars	mobil
flower	flowers	bunga
door	doors	pintu
hand	hands	tangan
finger	fingers	jari
apple	apples	apel
orange	oranges	jeruk
tree	trees	pohon
key	keys	kunci
house	houses	rumah
room	rooms	kamar/ruangan
bag	bags	tas
book	books	buku
singer	singers	penyanyi
dance	dancers	penari
rider	riders	pengendara
teacher	teachers	guru
student	students	murid
school	schools	sekolah
pen	pens	pena
board	boards	papan
bird	birds	burung
cat	cats	kucing
rat	rats	tikus
day	days	hari
ray	rays	sinar
way	ways	cara
play	plays	permainan
tray	trays	baki
ashtray	ashtrays	asbak
boy	boys	anak laki-laki
cowboy	cowboys	koboi
toy	toys	mainan
joy	joys	kesenangan
monkey	monkeys	monyet
donkey	donkeys	keledai
turkey	turkeys	kalkun
kidney	kidneys	ginjal
chimney	chimneys	cerobong asap

⏩ Plural formed by adding -es

Regular plurals are also formed by adding -es to words ending in-s, -x, -z, -ch, or -sh.

List of plural nouns (formed by adding -es)

Singular	Plural	Translation
virus	viruses	virus
bus	buses	bis
gas	gasses	gas
ax	axes	kapak
box	boxes	kotak
tax	taxes	pajak
fox	foxes	rubah
blitz	blitzes	kilat
buzz	buzzes	dengungan
quiz	quizzes	kuis
bench	benches	bangku
branch	branches	cabang
sandwich	sandwiches	roti berlapis
watch	watches	jam tangan
bush	bushes	semak
brush	brushes	sikat
dish	dishes	hidangan, piring
flash	flashes	kilatan (cahaya)
wish	wishes	harapan
marsh	marshes	rawa
dress	dresses	gaun
boss	bosses	atasan
loss	losses	kerugian
glass	glasses	gelas
class	classes	kelas
truss	trusses	tiang penopang

Note:

📌Some singular nouns ending in 's' or 'z' require that you double the 's' or 'z' before adding an 'es'. For example: a really bad day might involve you having not one pop quiz, but two pop quizzes.

📌When a word ends in -ch but is pronounced with a k sound rather than a ch sound, the plural takes an -s instead of an -es. For example:

stomach => stomachs

monarch => monarchs

⏩ Plural formed by changing -y to -ies

For words ending in a consonant followed by y, form the plural by changing -y to -ies.

Source: https://www.eslbuzz.com

List of plural nouns (form the plural by changing -y to -ies)

Singular	Plural	Translation
baby	babies	bayi
library	libraries	perpustakaan
duty	duties	tugas
lady	ladies	wanita
army	armies	tantara
battery	batteries	baterai
fly	flies	lalat
city	cities	kota
country	countries	negara
daisy	daisies	bunga aster
family	families	keluarga
hobby	hobbies	hobi
lullaby	lullabies	lagu pengantar tidur
comedy	comedies	komedi
ability	abilities	kemampuan
activity	activities	kegiatan
party	parties	pesta
celebrity	celebrities	orang terkenal
laundry	laundries	cucian
dictionary	dictionaries	kamus
diary	diaries	buku harian
story	stories	cerita
lorry	lorries	truk besar
factory	factories	pabrik
butterfly	butterflies	kupu-kupu
dragonfly	dragonflies	capung
lily	lilies	bunga bakung
copy	copies	salinan
policy	policies	kebijakan
pharmacy	pharmacies	farmasi
fantasy	fantasies	khayalan
candy	candies	permen
cherry	cherries	ceri
puppy	puppies	anak anjing
facility	facilities	fasilitas
capacity	capacities	kapasitas
opportunity	opportunities	kesempatan, peluang
possibility	possibilities	keumungkinan
probability	probabilities	kemungkinan
accessibility	accessibilities	aksesibilitas

⏩ Plural formed by adding -s to nouns ending in -f

Add -s for some nouns ending in -f to make it plural.

Singular	Plural	Translation
roof	roofs	atap
handkerchief	handkerchiefs	saputangan
proof	proofs	bukti
chief	chiefs	ketua
grief	griefs	kesedihan
belief	beliefs	keyakinan
reef	reefs	batu karang
cliff	cliffs	tebing
gulf	gulfs	teluk
dwarf	dwarfs	kurcaci
safe	safes	peti besi, brankas
strife	strifes	perselisihan

⏩ Plural formed by changing -f or -fe to -v and adding -es

For some nouns end in -f or -fe are changed to -ves to form the plural.

Source: https://www.bcsdschools.net

List of plural nouns (form the plural by changing -f or -fe to -ves)

Singular	Plural	Translation
calf	calves	anak sapi
half	halves	setengah
leaf	leaves	daun
loaf	loaves	tumpukan roti
elf	elves	peri kecil
shelf	shelves	rak
sheaf	sheaves	ikat
wolf	wolves	serigala
thief	thieves	pencuri
life	lives	kehidupan, jiwa
knife	knives	pisau
wife	wives	isteri
housewife	housewives	ibu rumah tangga
midwife	midwives	bidan
turf	turves	gambut, tanah berumput

Besides, some nouns ending in -f can be plural in both ways.

Singular	Plural	Translation
scarf	scarfs/scarves	syal
wharf	wharfs/wharves	dermaga
hoof	hoofs/hooves	tapak kuda
dwarf	dwarfs/dwarves	kurcaci

⏩ Plural formed by adding -es to -o

Nouns that end in -o preceded by a consonant, plurals are often formed by adding -es.

Source: https://www.slideshare.net/jhonalejandrom7/regular-and-irregular-plural-nouns-76188705

List of plural nouns (form the plural by adding -es to nouns end in -o)

Singular	Plural	Translation
potato	potatoes	kentang
tomato	tomatoes	tomat
hero	heroes	pahlawan
echo	echoes	gema
veto	vetoes	hak menolak
domino	dominoes	kartu domino
negro	negroes	orang negro
lingo	lingoes	bahasa aneh
cargo	cargoes	barang muatan
tornado	tornadoes	badai tornado
torpedo	torpedoes	peluru kendali
volcano	volcanoes	gunung berapi
mosquito	mosquitoes	nyamuk
embargo	embargoes	larangan

⏩ Plural formed by adding -s to -o

Nouns that end in -o preceded by a vowel are made plural by adding -s.

Source: https://pt.slideshare.net/Belenbasico/plural-nouns-5545285/3

List of plural nouns (form the plural by adding -s to nouns end in -o)

Singular	Plural	Translation
video	videos	vidio
radio	radios	radio
photo	photos	foto
hippo	hippos	kuda nil
buffalo	buffalos	kerbau
studio	studios	studio
piano	pianos	piano
memo	memos	nota peringatan
alto	altos	suara alto
albino	albinos	orang albino
logo	logos	tanda (merek)
rhino	rhinos	badak
tuxedos	tuxedos	tuksedo (jas pria)
dynamo	dynamos	mesin dinamo

However, other nouns ending in -o get either -or or -oes the plural forms:

-o becomes -os or -oes
buffalo	buffalos/buffaloes
cargo	cargos/cargoes
halo	halos/haloes
mosquito	mosquitos/mosquitoes
motto	mottos/mottoes
no	nos/noes
tornado	tornados/tornadoes
volcano	volcanos/volcanoes
zero	zeros/zeroes

2. Irregular Nouns: Irregular plural nouns are nouns that do not become plural by adding -s or -es, as most nouns in the English language do. Some nouns don’t follow the patterns above. These comprise words that have come into English from a foreign language or that follow older English rules. Such plural nouns are termed “irregular."

For example:

man => men not ~~man~~
woman => women not ~~woman~~
child => children not ~~childs~~

⏩ The most common irregular plural nouns are listed below.

For example:

Singular	Plural	Translation
woman	women	wanita
man	men	pria
child	children	anak
tooth	teeth	gigi
foot	feet	kaki
person	people	orang
postman	postmen	tukang pos
policeman	policemen	polisi (pria)
policewoman	policewomen	polisi wanita
salesman	salesmen	pria pramuniaga
saleswoman	saleswomen	wanita pramuniaga
businessman	businessmen	pria pengusaha
businesswoman	businesswomen	wanita pengusaha
hangman	hangmen	algojo
cow	kine	sapi
ox	oxen	sapi jantan
mouse	mice	tikus
goose	geese	angsa
alumnus	alumni	alumni (lulusan)
datum	data	bahan informasi
diagnosis	diagnoses	diagnose
fungus	fungi	jamur
cactus	cacti	kaktus
phenomenon	phenomena	peristiwa
nucleus	nuclei	inti sel
synopsis	synopses	ikhtisar
criterion	criteria	patokan
stimulus	stimuli	rangsangan
syllabus	syllabi/buses	silabus
formula	formulae	rumus
vertebra	vertebrae	tulang belakang
appendix	appendices/dixes	lampiran
index	indices/dexes	indeks
analysis	analyses	analisa
oasis	oases	gurun (tempat subur di gurun)
basis	bases	dasar
parenthesis	parentheses	tanda kurung
crisis	crises	krisis, masa sulit
thesis	theses	tesis
hypothesis	hypotheses	perkiraan
bacterium	bacteria	bakteri
medium	media	alat perantara
curriculum	curricula	kurikulum (rancangan pelajaran)
memorandum	memoranda	nota, surat interen

⏩ Some nouns have the same forms, in singular and plural.

For example:

Singular	Plural	Translation
sheep	sheep	domba
fish	fish	ikan
deer	deer	rusa
oxygen	oxygen	oksigen
aircraft	aircraft	pesawat terbang
aluminum	aluminum	aluminium
cattle	cattle	ternak
police	police	polisi
chalk	chalk	kapur
flour	flour	tepung
help	help	tolong
dozen	dozen	lusin
score	score	skor

⏩ Some nouns have a plural form but take a singular verb.

For example:

Singular	Plural	Translation
news	news	berita
athletics	athletics	atletik
molasses	molasses	gula tetes
billiards	billiards	bilyar
darts	darts	panahan
mumps	mumps	penyakit gondok
linguistics	linguistics	ilmu bahasa
measles	measles	campak
chopsticks	chopsticks	sumpit
windows	windows	jenis program komputer
series	series	rangkaian, seri
ethics	ethics	etika
digs	digs	penginapan
gallows	gallows	tiang gantungan
waterworks	waterworks	pusat air minum (pam)
physics	physics	ilmu fisika
polemics	polemics	perselisihan
electronics	electronics	elektronik
mechanics	mechanics	ilmu permesinan
mathematics	mathematics	matematika
economics	economics	ilmu ekonomi
statistics	statistics	ilmu statistik
optics	optics	ilmu tentang optik
gymnastics	gymnastics	olahraga senam
acoustics	acoustics	akustik
species	species	jenis
bounds	bounds	batas

⏩Some nouns have a fixed plural form and take a plural verb. They are not in the singular, or they have a different meaning in the singular.

For example:

Singular	Plural	Translation
jeans	jeans	jeans (celana tebal)
glasses	glasses	kacamata
savings	savings	tabungan
thanks	thanks	terima kasih
steps	steps	langkah
congratulations	congratulations	selamat
tropics	tropics	daerah tropis
spectacles	spectacles	kacamata
wages	wages	upah
customs	customs	bea cukai
goods	goods	barang
pajamas	pajamas	piyama
drawers	drawers	laci
breeches	breeches	celana
shorts	shorts	celana pendek
trousers	trousers	celana panjang
pants	pants	celana semi panjang
stairs	stairs	tangga
outskirts	outskirts	pinggiran kota