Common nouns are divided into 2 groups.

Count means that we can make the plural and use

number words with the noun. Using the noun dog, for
example, we can make the noun plural:
The dogs are in the park.
We can also use number words with one dog, two
dogs, three dogs, and so on.
Most nouns that refer to concrete objects are count
nouns.
Nouns that refer to abstractions and nouns that are
used to label things that occur in undifferentiated
masses (as opposed to individual persons, places or
things) are often noncount nouns.
Noncount means that we cannot count these nouns
with the number words or make them plural. We
cannot say one water, two waters, three waters. We
cannot use the nouns as a plural.
The waters are cold.
Most count nouns in English form their plural by
adding a sibilant sound written as –s.
a hospital some hospitals
one stethoscope four stethoscopes
an ambulance 40 ambulances
a scalpel many scalpels
one finger three fingers
a tablet some tablets
the surgeon several surgeons

This rule applies to the majority of nouns.

However, some words add -es, -ies in the plural
form.
1) race 11) phone Plurals formed this
2) bay 12) duty way are called
3) sky 13) patch REGULAR PLURALS.
4) clock 14) lady
5) subway 15) allowance Some nouns form
6) wish 16) sheet their plural in other
7) dish 17) box
ways. They are
8) try 18) story
called IRREGULAR
9) cottage 19) rose
PLURALS.
10) clash 20) key
English has some plurals that are formed in an
irregular way. Seven words form their plural by a
vowel change.
SINGULAR PLURAL ** NOTES
1) foot feet ** In addition to the usual
2) goose geese plural form of feet, the
noun foot has a second
3) louse lice plural form foot when we
4) man men use the word to refer to
5) woman women length or measurement.
6) mouse mice He is six foot three inches
7) tooth teeth tall.
Two words retain an old plural ending, -en:
SINGULAR PLURAL
1) ox oxen
2) child children
Some words ending in f form their plurals by changing
the f to v and adding the -es.
SINGULAR PLURAL
1) half halves life? thief?
2) knife knives loaf? wolf?
3) leaf leaves self?
Some words have a plural form that is identical to
their singular form. Most of these words refer to
animals or fish. For example:
SINGULAR PLURAL
a cod two cod
a deer two deer
a fish two fish
a sheep two sheep
a shrimp two shrimp
a trout two trout
Since the singular and plural forms of these nouns
are identical, the actual number of the noun can only
be determined by subject-verb agreement or by the
use of an indefinite article. For example:
 The deer was standing in the middle of the road.
 The deer were moving across the field.
 I saw a deer in the backyard.
 I saw some deer in the backyard.
1) My niece has a farm where she raises disease-resistant
varieties of sheeps.
2) Like all farmers, she has constant problem with mouses & rats.
3) She and her husband run the farm by themselfes, so it is a lot of
work for them.
4) There are coyotes and wolfs in the area.
5) The coyotes are like theifs, always waiting and watching
6) Their valley is full of deers.
7) The river in the valley is full of salmons in the fall.
8) Farming is hard work, but we all choose the lifes we want.
The types of non count nouns that you are most likely
to encounter fall into the semantic categories listed
below.
 Abstractions: beauty, charity, faith, hope, luck
 Food: butter, cheese, chicken, rice, salt
 Liquids and gases: beer, blood, coffee
 Materials: cement, glass, gold, paper
 Natural phenomena: electricity, gravity, space
 Weather words: fog, pollution, rain, snow
Many noncount nouns can be used as count nouns
with a predictable shift in meaning to something like
“different kinds of”.
 noncount: The price of gasoline is outrageous.
 count: The station sells three gasolines.
 noncount: I love cheese.
 count: The store sells a variety of cheeses.
Some words can serve as either a noncount noun or
a count noun with a slightly different meaning.
 noncount: Chicken is a heart-healthy meat.
 count: There are a dozen of chickens in the yard.
The noncount noun chicken refers to chicken as a
food. As such we cannot use it with number words or
in the plural. However, if we use the word chicken to
refer to he living animal, then it is a count noun.
Some plurals are correctly used, many plurals are
incorrectly used. Analyze them!
1) The roads were closed because of the dense fogs.
2) We had to go shopping because we were out of milks
again.
3) The team’s disappointments at their losses was obvious.
4) During the operation, the patient needed six pints of
bloods.
5) The recent storms have caused us to lose powers for
days on end.
Virtually all language have some ways of indicating
that a noun is the owner or possessor of another
noun. For example, in the phrase John’s book, John
is said to own or possess the book.
Can you tell me the difference between these words?
book ; books ; book’s ; books’
friend ; friends ; friend’s ; friends’
man ; men ; man’s; men’s
A much better way to think of plural and possessive –s
is given below. There are three types of -s endings:
PLURAL ONLY POSSESSIVE ONLY PLURAL POSSESSIVE
-s -’s -s’
Try these words!
SINGULAR PLURAL ONLY POSSESSIVE ONLY PLURAL POSSESSIVE
a) wolf
b) spy
c) boy
Try these words!
SINGULAR PLURAL ONLY POSSESSIVE ONLY PLURAL POSSESSIVE
a) dog
b) shelf
c) tree
d) lady
e) fox