Although some do not have a plural form as a single word, their plural form can be expressed in two words, e.g. Evidence, school of fish The correct form is: “My gorilla had fifteen loaves of bread for breakfast.” Some nouns may be plural only with one meaning and singular/plural with other meanings. For example, plural glasses mean a pair of lenses that we wear to help us see better. Not to be confused with the words: glass, glasses (countable name): a drinking container. I would like two glasses of orange juice please. Glass (uncountable name): transparent material for windows, mosquito nets, etc. Be careful not to break the glass. For “initiative,” I assume you think of initiative, which is a characteristic, as in “it takes initiative.” You are right to oppose a plural form of this usage. Elk – although she may never have a reason to use it! Isn`t English fun?! Hi, Sandy. Please don`t be annoyed by “employees”. When you hear it, people may intend the possessive form: “Staff prefer to leave early.” However, there are also COUNTABLE nouns that do NOT HAVE PLURAL FORMS. To be more precise, they have plural forms, but plural forms are the same as singular forms. Furniture Information Knowledge Jewelry Homework Marketing Breeding Courage Cowardice Honesty Evidence Insurance Mud Weather Racism Sexism Patriotism (and Other Words –ism) Some words ending in -s do not change in the plural.
Here are some examples: These nouns do not exist in the singular and are generally referred to as “plural nouns only”. I am a Chinese woman with “Chinese as my mother tongue” and I don`t think this statement (“I work with an executive who speaks English as a second language, with Chinese as my first language.”) is offensive to me. This is a common mistake for most Chinese like me. I appreciate your efforts to explain it to people who have the same problem as me. (I`m sorry for my broken English) I love that you respond to every comment, letting us know what`s really right. Finally, let`s look at the rare cases where countless nouns are used with plural forms: there are also nouns that seem plural, but in fact they are countless disguised. You can`t trust them at all. Remember to follow these singular nouns verbs: however, did you know that there are nouns that you cannot include in the plural by adding an “s”? For these names, it doesn`t matter if you say the singular or plural form of the noun, they are both identical. Here is a list of some nouns that are written in the same way in the singular and plural. Counsel.
It can be in the Russian plural. A Russian woman I know says, “Let me give you some advice.” Hello, Mavis. “Frames” is correct in the plural. I am wondering if you are perhaps referring to “members of the board of directors,” which is also correct. Can you see the errors in the above sentence? I`ll give you a hint: that`s four letters too many. Yes, it`s the letter S! Can you say knowledge? No, you can`t. What for? This word, like information, furniture and jewelry, does NOT have a plural form. However, when “initiative” means “project,” it has a plural form: “Both initiatives were not included in the budget.” Since they are countable, these nouns can be followed by PLURAL verbs: R. Selvaraju, thank you for asking for “gratitude”. It appears in my two current American dictionaries.
It also appears in my “Canadian Oxford Dictionary.” Interestingly, in this volume, I see in parentheses information about the etymology of the word contained in the word “obsolete”. This word applies to “rust,” which is now obsolete as an adjective. Hello, Preshita. Thank you for your suggestions. They are not really nouns without plural form. These are nouns whose plural form is identical to the singular form. Subsequent plurals are not marked that do not end in -s. Examples: cattle and plural. However, I have a question – I have always used music sticks as a plural of staff, is this wrong or is it about having two options? Lynne, all the words you mention are among those that most English as a Second Language (ESL) textbooks call countless (or non-count) names. You can find lists of them by googling “list of uncountable English names”. The issue is further complicated by names such as stone, which can be countable or uncountable! Someone left a comment that I accidentally deleted, with these suggestions: These examples are all plural forms (and also singular except “livestock”), so they do not fit into the category of words without plural form. Many plural nouns are tools or clothing that have two parts (such as pants that have two legs).
In fact, “breads” and “works” can be plural: note that in the correct version, the word bread does not end in -s. This is because it does not have a plural form. Some innumerable singular nouns end in -s. They do not have plural forms. Examples: news, billiards, drafts, measles, etc. Is it really correct to say that mass nouns are nouns without plural form? Or could we say that these are nouns that have both a singular form and a plural form. But where the usual rules of plural noun formation do not apply. It therefore seems that the mass name contains in itself the understanding that the name can mean one of one or more objects. “Insurance” is “insurance” in the singular or plural. There is a small group of nouns that exist only in plural form, for example: Hello, Chippy.
“Pisces” can be singular or plural: However, I know several corporate trainers who use “workouts” in the plural, which means “workouts.” I never liked that usage. That`s an interesting suggestion, Dominic. “Goods” is actually a plural form, as in “The goods have been delivered. Staff. I get so angry when I hear people say “personal.” Moreover, “initiative” does not have a plural form. Maharshi, thank you very much for your suggestion. In fact, I`ve heard people use the noun “formation,” but it always seemed strange to me. Here`s an example: “I led four workouts this week.” What about “business” and “food”? As I know, food is not plural, but many people tell me food.
I would like to know which one is the right one? Hello, Lynn. Thank you for the reply; My Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary only lists staff in the plural, but it also lists staff as an alternative to staff in certain situations. One of the first grammatical rules you`ll learn when you start an English class is that if you have a plural of something, add an “s” to the noun to show you have more than one. However, “luck” has no plural. Ok! In English, there are several nouns that exist only in the plural. With the exception of a few, they all end in –s. Other nouns that do not change in the plural are crafts, sheep, fish and deer. TRAINING – has no plural form; It is a collective noun. I hope this helps.
Remember to always use these names in order to get used to them. I don`t want to depress you either, but these are just a few, there are many more! I was born in India, but when I was three years old, my family and I all moved to the United States. I hold a bachelor`s degree in international business and a master`s degree in corporate law. Today, I enjoy teaching English to students from all over the world. I have no knowledge or information about antique furniture and jewelry. Hi, Joey. I think you are referring to other words without plurals. Am I right? Can you help me? Is there a plural form for ketchup, such as ketchupS? If there are none, is it okay to say “three plastic ketchups”? I should point out that mass nouns are nouns without plural form. Thus, “moose”, “sheep” and “shrimp” are not really mass names. All of these words can be used both singularly and pluralically: would you join me in creating a list of these words for them? I have started the following list, and I would appreciate your additions.
None of my reference works have a list of nouns without plural forms. [Note added January 20: Dala Beld suggested googling “list of countless English names,” which gave me several long lists. Thank you, Dala.] Hello, Vanessa. “Baggage” has no plural, but “staffs” is possible: Hello, Chris. My American Heritage College Dictionary and Merriam-Webster`s Collegiate Dictionary list both plurals. What does your dictionary show? I work with an executive who speaks English as a second language, with Chinese as a first language. She was very surprised to learn that the words information, knowledge and jewelry do not have plural forms. We use them with plural verbs and plural pronouns, for example: Hi, Dan.
