Nouns Countable nouns Uncountable nouns Uncountable nouns ending with '-s' Nouns - plural nouns Nouns - pronunciation of plural nouns Nouns with the same singular and plural forms

Nouns with unusual plural form (of foreign origin)

Nouns with only plural form Collective Nouns Possessive nouns with 's

In English most of nouns belong to the category of countable nouns. Here it is only a short list including examples of countable nouns.

accident account actor address adultanimal answer apartment article artistbaby bag ball bank battlebeach bed bell bill birdboat book bottle box boybridge brother bus bush campcaptain car card case castlecat chair chapter chest childcigarette city class club coatcollege computer corner country crowdcup daughter day desk doctordog door dream dress driverear edge effect egg electionengine eye face factory farmfather field film finger footfriend game garden gate girlgroup gun hall hand handlehat head heart hill horsehospital hotel hour house husbandidea island issue job journeyjudge key king kitchen ladylake library line list machinemagazine man meal meeting membermessage method minute mistake modelmonth motor mouth nation necknewspaper office page park partypath picture plan plane plantproblem product programme project ringriver road room scheme schoolship shirt shock shop sistersmile son spot star stationstream street student table taskteacher tent thought tour townvalley village walk wall weekwindow woman year

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Uncountable nouns In English some nouns belong to the category of uncountable nouns. Not always the same uncountable nouns in English correspond with uncountable nouns in other languages. Below you can find a list of the most common uncountable nouns in English. In bold you can the most troublesome cases.

Uncountable nounsabsence access accommodation advice ageagriculture anger applause assistance atmospherebaggage beauty behaviour bread business (=trade)capital (=money) cardboard capacity cash chaoschess childhood china clothing coalcomfort concern confidence cookery countrysidecourage crockery cutlery damage dancingdemocracy depression design dirt dutyearth education electricity energy environmentequipment evidence evil existence experiencefailure faith fashion fear financefire flesh flu food freedomfruit fun furniture garbage grassground growth hair (= all the hairs on

the head)happiness harm

health help history homework hospitalityhousework ice independence industry informationinsurance intelligence jealousy jewellery joyjustice knowledge labour laughter leisurelightening loneliness love luck luggagemachinery magic marriage meat mercymoney moonlight mud music naturenews nonsense paper parking patiencepeace peel permission philosophy pleasurepolicy poetry the post (= letters) poverty powerpride produce progress protection purityrain reality relief religion researchrespect rubbish safety salt sandscaffolding scenery seaside security sewingshopping silence sleep smoking snowsoap spaghetti spelling stream strengthspite status stuff stupidity sunshineteaching technology thunder timber timetoast (=bread) trade traffic training transporttravel trust truth underwear violencevocabulary wealth weather work writing

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In English there is a group of uncountable nouns which end with -'s'. Although one may think that a plural verb should be used with such nouns, one should remember that these nouns are followed by a singular verb. Below you can find a list with examples of such uncountable nouns.

Uncountable nounsSTUDIES AND ACTIVITIES

acoustics aerobics aerodynamics aeronautics

athletics classics economics electronics geneticslinguistics logistics mathematics mechanics obstetricsphysics politics statistics thermodynamicsGAMES billiards bowls cards dartsILLNESSES diabetes measles mumps rabiesdraughts skittles rickets shingles

Nouns, plural nounsGeneral rules

regular spelling singular plural

'-s' in most cases

cat cats

tub tubs

dog dogs

house houses

'-es' when a noun ends with:

-opotato potatoes

tomato tomatoes

-ss class classes

-x box boxes

-ch watch watches

-sh bush bushes

WARNINGwords of foreign origin take '-s' -o

dynamo dynamos

kilo kilos

kimono kimonos

photo photos

piano pianos

soprano sopranos

consonant + -y turns into ies

country countries

baby babies

fly flies

lady ladies

cry cries

vowel + y takes '-s'

-ay day days

-ey key keys

-oy boy boys

-uy guy guys

proper nounsFry the Frys

Kennedy the Kennedys

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nouns ending with -f / -fe -ves

loaf loaves

knife knives

life lives

calf calves

leaf leaves

shelf shelves

thief thieves

wife wives

wolf wolves

half halves

wharf wharves

EXCEPTIONS

chief chiefs

cliff cliffs

handkerchief handkerchiefs

roof roofs

some nouns have both forms -s or -ves

hoof hoofs / hooves

scarf scarfs / scarves

dwarf dwarfs / dwarves

nouns which change vowels

foot feet

louse lice

mouse mice

woman women

goose geese

man men

tooth teeth

child children

ox oxen

Pronunciation of plural nounsThe pronunciation of plural nouns is very important. Below you will find the rules which should be followed in the pronunciation of plural nouns.

regular spelling pronunciation singular plural

when a noun ends with a vowel or voiced consonant with the exception of/z/ and / dz /

/ z /

bed bedsstove stovesdog dogs

room rooms

when a noun ends with voiceless consonant with the exception of:/s/, /f/ /tf/

/ s /

clock clockscat cats

roof roofs

month months

when a noun ends with a consonant/z/, /s/, /f/, /dz/ or /tf/

or when a singular noun ends withs, ss, sh, ch, z

/ iz /

gas gasesglass glassesnose nosesbrush brusheswatch watchesjudge judges

box boxes

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a consonant + -y turns into ies

country countriesbaby babiesfly flieslady ladies

a vowel + y takes -s

-ay day days-ey key keys-oy boy boys-uy guy guys

proper nounsFry the FrysKennedy the Kennedys

nouns ending with -f / -fe -ves

loaf loaveswife wiveswolf wolveshalf halves

some nouns have double forms -s or -ves

hoof hoofs / hoovesscarf scarfs / scarves

wharf wharfs / wharves

nouns which change vowels

foot feetlouse licemouse micewoman womengoose geeseman mentooth teeth

Nouns with the same singular and plural formsIn English there is a group of nouns with the same singular and plural forms. Here it is a list with examples of such nouns.

Singular = Pluralbison crossroadsdeer dicegreenfly fruit

grouse gallowsmoose grapefruitreindeer insignia

sheep mews

cod offspringfish seriesgoldfish specieshalibut bourgeoismullet chassissalmon corpsshellfish patois

trout preciswhitebait rendezvousaircraft meanshovercraft spacecraft

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Nouns with very unusual plural formIn English there is a group of nouns with very unusual plural form. This group consist mainly of nouns of foreign origin especially of Latin and Greek. Below you can find a list with examples of such nouns.

Singular Pluralanalysis analyses

appendixappendixes/appendices

axis axesbacterium bacteriabasis basescactus cactuses/cacticriterion criteriacrisis crisesdatum datadiagnosis diagnosesfocus focuses/fociformula formulae / formulasfungus fungiindex indexes/indicesmedium mediums/medianucleus nucleioasis oasesoctopus octopuses/octopiphenomenon phenomenastimulus stimulisyllabus syllabuses/syllabiterminus termini / terminusesthesis theses

Nouns with only plural formIn English there is a group of nouns with only plural form. Below you can find a list of such nouns.

PluraltrousersscrissorspliersshortsjeansgoodsclothesBUT: a clothglassesBUT: a glassspectacles

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Collective nounsIn English there is a group of nouns which despite their singular form they stand for collection. Below you can find a list of examples of such nouns.

Nounscrowdcrewfamilyjuryflockteam

These nouns can be used with verbs in plural and singular. In the last case we refer to the collection as a whole.My family consists of 5 people. My family are always quarrelling with one another.The crew of this ship is too numerous. The crew were all wondering about the deck

Possessive nouns with ‘sIn English possessive form of nouns is created by adding to the noun apostrophe (') and letter -s.

General rulesPossessives

typical possessive form

John's car

the girl's father

James's sister

a dog's life

plural nouns get apostrophe after the final letter

the boys' father

our neighbours' dog

the Browns' house

the Joneses' car

plural nouns get apostrophe and -s

the children's toys

women's rights

men's clothing

gentlemen's agreement

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nouns referring to things

a pound of sugar

the door of the room

the conquest of space

a proof of honesty

nouns in case of personification of the names of countries, town, rivers, some nature phenomena

Poland's economy

England's sons

Warsaw's pride

the sun's rays

in expressions referring to time and measure concepts

a day's journey

a four-weeks' holiday

a three-miles' walk

a yard's distance

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