Number

In English grammar, number refers to the grammatical distinction between singular and plural forms of nouns, pronouns, and verbs. It indicates whether a word refers to one item (singular) or more than one item (plural).

Cambridge Dictionary: A grammatical category that refers to whether something is singular or plural.

Oxford English Dictionary: A feature of nouns, pronouns, and verbs that indicates whether the reference is to one person or thing (singular) or more than one (plural).

Merriam-Webster Dictionary: A grammatical category that expresses the distinction between singular and plural.

In English grammar, "number" refers to the grammatical distinction between singular and plural forms of nouns, pronouns, and verbs. There are two main types of number:

1. Singular Number: Singular Number refers to the form of a noun or verb that denotes one person, thing, or idea. It contrasts with the plural number, which refers to more than one person, thing, or idea.

Examples:

• Noun: book (one book)
• Pronoun: he (referring to one male)
• Verb: runs (The dog runs every morning.)

2. Plural number: The plural number in English grammar refers to the form of a noun (or verb) that indicates more than one person, thing, or concept. It contrasts with the singular number, which indicates one.

Examples:

• Noun: books (more than one book)
• Pronoun: they (referring to multiple people or things)
• Verb: run (The dogs run every morning.)

In English grammar, number refers to whether a noun, pronoun, or verb is singular or plural. It is important because it helps ensure agreement between different parts of a sentence, making communication clear and grammatically correct. Here’s why number matters:

Noun Form

• Singular: dog, child, house
• Plural: dogs, children, houses

Pronoun Agreemen

• Singular: He, she, it, this, that
• Plural: They, we, these, those

Subject-Verb Agreemen: Verbs change based on singular or plural subjects

• Singular: He runs fast.
• Plural: They run fast.

'Is' vs. 'Are'

• The dog is barking. (Singular)
• The dogs are barking. (Plural)

Determiners & Quantifier: Some words change depending on number

• Singular: this book, each child
• Plural: these books, all children

Possessive

• Singular: The boy's hat (one boy)
• Plural: The boys' hats (multiple boys)

Collective Nouns: Some nouns can be singular or plural depending on context.

• The team is winning. (Team as one unit)
• The team are celebrating. (Team as individuals)

Number in nouns refers to whether a noun is singular or plural. It indicates how many of something there are. There are two types of number in nouns:

1. Singular Noun: A singular noun refers to one person, place, thing, or idea.

• Example: boy, cat, book, apple, city

2. Plural Noun: A plural noun refers to more than one person, place, thing, or idea.

• Example: boys, cats, books, apples, cities

Rules for Forming Plural Nouns

• Adding '-s': Most nouns form the plural by simply adding '-s' to the singular form.
  • dog → dogs
  • car → cars
• Adding '-es': If a noun ends in '-s, -sh, -ch, -x, -z' add '-es' to form the plural.
  • bus → buses
  • box → boxes
  • watch → watches
• Changing '-y' to '-ies': If a noun ends in a 'consonant + y', change 'y' to 'ies'.
  • baby → babies
  • city → cities
  (But if the noun ends in a 'vowel + y', just add '-s'.)
  • boy → boys
  • key → keys
• Changing '-f' or '-fe' to '-ves': Some nouns ending in '-f' or '-fe' change to '-ves' in the plural.
  • knife → knives
  • leaf → leaves
  • wolf → wolves
  (Exceptions: Some words just add '-s', like roof → roofs, chief → chiefs.)
• Irregular Plurals: Some nouns have irregular plural forms that do not follow the usual rules.
  • man → men
  • woman → women
  • child → children
  • foot → feet
  • tooth → teeth
  • mouse → mice
• Nouns that Stay the Same in Singular & Plural: Some nouns have the same form for both singular and plural.
  • sheep → sheep
  • deer → deer
  • fish → fish
• Foreign Plural Forms: Some nouns borrowed from other languages keep their original plural forms.
  • cactus → cacti
  • datum → data
  • radius → radii
  • phenomenon → phenomena

Countable & Uncountable Nouns

Countable Nouns: have both singular and plural forms (e.g., book/books, apple/apples).

Uncountable Nouns: do not have a plural form (e.g., water, rice, information, furniture).

Number in pronouns refers to whether a pronoun is singular or plural, meaning whether it represents one person/thing or more than one.

1. Singular Pronouns: Used when referring to one person or thing.

• Subject Pronouns: I, you, he, she, it
  Example: She is my best friend.
• Object Pronouns: me, you, him, her, it
  Example: John helped me with my homework.
• Possessive Pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, its
  Example: This book is mine.
• Reflexive Pronouns: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself
  Example: He hurt himself while running.

2. Plural Pronouns: Used when referring to more than one person or thing.

• Subject Pronouns: we, you, they
  Example: They are going to the park.
• Object Pronouns: us, you, them
  Example: The teacher gave us homework.
• Possessive Pronouns: ours, yours, theirs
  Example: The red car is theirs.
• Reflexive Pronouns: ourselves, yourselves, themselves
  Example: We enjoyed ourselves at the party.

Special Case: 'You' can be both singular and plural, depending on context.

• Singular: You are my best friend.
• Plural: You are all invited to the meeting.

Number in verbs refers to how verbs change their form to agree with the number of the subject. This is called subject-verb agreement.

1. Singular and Plural Verbs

In English, verbs change based on whether the subject is singular or plural, especially in the 'present tense'.

• Singular Subject → Singular Verb
  • She walks to school.
  • He runs every morning.
  • A dog barks loudly.
• Plural Subject → Plural Verb
  • They walk to school.
  • We run every morning.
  • Dogs bark loudly.
• Key Rule: In the present tense, singular subjects (except 'I' and 'you') take a verb with '-s' or '-es', while plural subjects take the base form of the verb.

2. Number in "Be" Verbs

The verb 'to be' changes depending on the number (singular or plural) and person (first, second, or third).

Subject	Singular Verb	Plural Verb
I	am	—
You	are	are
He/She/It	is	—
We/They	—	are

Examples:

• Singular: She is happy.
• Plural: They are happy.

3. Number in Past Tense

Most verbs 'do not' change based on number in the past tense, except for 'was' and 'were' in the verb 'to be'.

• Singular: She was tired.
• Plural: They were tired.

4. Number in Helping Verbs

Some helping (auxiliary) verbs change depending on whether the subject is singular or plural.

Examples:

• Singular: He has finished the work.
• Plural: They have finished the work.
• Singular: She does the homework.
• Plural: We do the homework.

The plural form of a noun is generally created by following specific rules. Here are the key rules for changing singular nouns to plural nouns:

• 1. Adding 's': Most singular nouns become plural by simply adding 's'.
  • Cat → Cats
  • Book → Books
  • Car → Cars
• 2. Adding 'es': If a singular noun ends in 's, ss, sh, ch, x, or z', add 'es'.
  • Class → Classes
  • Brush → Brushes
  • Box → Boxes
  • Buzz → Buzzes
• 3. Changing 'y' to 'ies': If a noun ends in 'a consonant + y', change 'y' to 'ies'.
  • Baby → Babies
  • City → Cities
  • Story → Stories
  However, if the noun ends in 'a vowel + y', just add 's'.
  • Boy → Boys
  • Key → Keys
  • Toy → Toys
• 4. Changing 'f' or 'fe' to 'ves': Some nouns ending in 'f' or 'fe' change to 'ves' in the plural form.
  • Leaf → Leaves
  • Knife → Knives
  • Wolf → Wolves
  However, some just add 's'.
  • Roof → Roofs
  • Chief → Chiefs
• 5. Changing 'o' to 'es': Some nouns ending in 'o' take 'es' in the plural.
  • Tomato → Tomatoes
  • Potato → Potatoes
  • Hero → Heroes
  But others simply take 's'.
  • Piano → Pianos
  • Photo → Photos
  • Radio → Radios
• 6. Irregular Plurals: Some nouns change completely.
  • Man → Men
  • Woman → Women
  • Child → Children
  • Tooth → Teeth
  • Foot → Feet
  • Mouse → Mice
• 7. Nouns That Remain the Same in Singular and Plural
  • Sheep → Sheep
  • Deer → Deer
  • Fish → Fish
  • Aircraft → Aircraft
• 8. Plural of Compound Nouns: If the noun is a compound word, the plural is usually formed by making the main noun plural.
  • Mother-in-law → Mothers-in-law
  • Passer-by → Passers-by

Determiners and Quantifiers help specify the number or amount of a noun. These words indicate whether a noun is singular, plural, or uncountable. Understanding how they function is essential for constructing grammatically correct sentences.

1. Determiners and Number

Determiners introduce a noun and provide information about its quantity, possession, definiteness, or specificity.

Singular Determiners: Used with singular countable nouns

• a/an → a book, an apple
• this/that → this chair, that pen
• each/every → each student, every car
• one → one bottle

Plural Determiners: Used with plural countable nouns

• these/those → these shoes, those houses
• some/any → some apples, any books
• several → several people
• many → many birds
• both → both hands
• few/a few → few friends, a few questions

Uncountable Determiners: Used with uncountable nouns

• much → much water
• little/a little → little sugar, a little advice
• some/any → some rice, any information

2. Quantifiers and Number

Quantifiers specify the amount or degree of a noun. They can be used with countable, uncountable, or both types of nouns.

Quantifiers for Countable Nouns

• many → many books
• several → several students
• a few/few → a few oranges, few chances
• a number of → a number of complaints

Quantifiers for Uncountable Nouns

• much → _much water
• a little/little → a little patience, little hope
• a great deal of → a great deal of effort
• an amount of → an amount of work

Quantifiers for Both Countable and Uncountable Nouns

• some/any → some tea, some apples
• a lot of/lots of → a lot of books, a lot of sugar
• plenty of → plenty of food, plenty of chairs
• enough → enough time, enough pens
• all/most → all students, all information

Nouns can be classified as countable or uncountable based on whether they can be counted as individual items or not.

Countable Nouns

Countable nouns are nouns that refer to things that can be counted individually. They have both singular and plural forms.

Examples:

• Singular: a book, a cat, an apple, a chair
• Plural: books, cats, apples, chairs

Usage:

• Countable nouns can be used with numbers.
  Example: I have three books.
• They can take 'a/an' in singular form.
  Example: She bought an orange.
• They can be used with many, few, some, any (when plural).
  Example: I have many friends.

Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns refer to substances, concepts, or abstract ideas that cannot be counted individually. They do not have plural forms.

Examples:

• Materials & Substances: water, milk, sugar, salt, air
• Abstract Ideas: happiness, knowledge, love, information
• Grouped Items: furniture, luggage, equipment, advice

Usage:

• Uncountable nouns 'do not' take 'a/an'.
  • I need some water.
• They cannot be counted directly, but we can use measurement units.
  • A glass of water
  • A piece of advice
  • A bottle of milk
• They are used with much, little, some, any.
  • There isn’t much sugar left.

Nouns That Can Be Both Countable and Uncountable

Some nouns can be both countable and uncountable, depending on their meaning.

Examples:

Noun	Countable Meaning	Uncountable Meaning
Chicken	I bought a chicken. (a whole bird)	I ate chicken for lunch. (meat)
Paper	I need a paper to write on. (a newspaper)	I need some paper for printing. (material)
Hair	There is a hair in my soup. (a single strand)	She has beautiful hair. (all hair in general)

In most cases, adjectives do not change based on whether the noun is singular or plural. Unlike some other languages, they stay the same regardless of the noun they describe.

Key Rules:

• Adjectives Stay the Same
  • Singular: a large house
  • Plural: large houses
• Demonstrative Adjectives Change Based on Number
  • Singular: this book, that car
  • Plural: these books, those cars
• Quantifiers May Change Based on Number
  • Singular: each student, every day
  • Plural: several students, many days
• Adjectives Used Only with Plural Nouns
  • various ideas, numerous reasons, countless opportunities
• Uncountable Nouns with Adjectives
  • Some nouns are uncountable and take singular adjectives, e.g., 'much water, little sugar, sufficient information'.
  • They don’t use plural forms like 'much waters' or 'sufficient informations' (which are incorrect).

Number refers to the singular and plural forms of nouns, pronouns, and verbs. Here are some common mistakes related to number:

Subject-Verb Agreement Errors

• ✘ The book on the shelves are interesting.
• ✓ The book on the shelves is interesting.
  ('Book' is singular, so the verb should be singular: 'is'.)


• ✘ The group of students are going on a trip.
• ✓ The group of students is going on a trip.
  ('Group' is singular, so the verb should be singular: 'is'.)

Incorrect Pluralization of Nouns

• ✘ She has many childs.
• ✓ She has many children.
  ('Children' is the correct plural form of 'child'.)


• ✘ I have two deers in my backyard.
• ✓ I have two deer in my backyard.
  (Some nouns, like 'deer' and 'sheep', have the same singular and plural forms.)

Confusion Between Singular and Plural Pronouns

• ✘ Every student must bring their book.
• ✓ Every student must bring his or her book.
  ('Every student' is singular, so the pronoun should be singular.)

Collective Nouns Mistakes

• ✘ The team are playing well.
• ✓ The team is playing well.
  (When referring to a team as a single entity, use a singular verb: 'is'.)


• However, if referring to individuals within the team, a plural verb is correct:
  ✓ The team are arguing among themselves.

Misuse of Irregular Plural Forms

• ✘ She bought three looses of bread.
• ✓ She bought three loaves of bread.
  ('Loaf' → 'Loaves', not 'Looses'.)


• ✘ The womans are talking.
• ✓ The women are talking.
  ('Woman' → 'Women', not 'Womans'.)

Incorrect Use of Countable and Uncountable Nouns

• ✘ I have many furniture in my house.
• ✓ I have a lot of furniture in my house.
  ('Furniture' is uncountable, so 'many' should not be used.)


• ✘ There are less people in the room today.
• ✓ There are fewer people in the room today.
  ('People' is countable, so 'fewer' is correct.)

Pluralizing Compound Nouns Incorrectly

• ✘ Three brother-in-laws came to visit.
• ✓ Three brothers-in-law came to visit.
  (The plural form is applied to the main noun: 'brothers'.)