Nouns - Countables and uncountables

Singular and plural

There are countable and uncountable nouns in English.

Countable nouns:

Most of the nouns are countable. You can combine them with numbers, e.g one, two or three. Here is an example:
one pencil
two pencils
three pencils
etc.

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Uncountable nouns:

These nouns can't be combined with numbers. Here is an example:
water
If you want to express a quantity, you have to use a special phrase e.g. a glass of water.
NOTE:
Some nouns can be either countable or uncountable. We recommend to use a good dictionary. Here is an example, too. hair - hairs
You've got some hairs on your T-shirt. (There might be 5 or 6 of them.)
Your hair looks lovely. (Here you think of the hairstyle.)

Foreign plurals

Singular and plural

These nouns have irregular plural forms. They often make their plurals according to the rules of the language they were taken from (e.g. Latin or Greek). Sometimes there is more than one plural form possible or these forms have different meanings. Always use a good dictionary when using foreign plurals. Here are some examples.

singular	plural
analysis	analyses
appendix	appendixes/appendices
axis	axes
basis	bases
cactus	cactuses/cacti
criterion	criteria
datum	data
diagnosis	diagnoses
index	indexes/indices
medium	mediums/media
oasis	oases
octopus	octopuses/octopi
phenomenon	phenomena
syllabus	syllabuses/syllabi
thesis	theses

Nouns - Gender

In English he or she is used for people and it for things. But there are some exeptions.

male (masculine)	female (feminine)
brother	sister
nephew	niece
boyfriend	girlfriend
actor	actress
waiter	waitress

There are nouns which have the same form for masculine and feminine, e.g. cousin, doctor, singer, student, teacher.
An extra word identifies the gender - boyfriend/girlfriend.
The ending -ess indicates a female person - waiter/waitress.
If you know the gender of an animal, you can use he/she for it.
Where is the cat? She is in the garden.
For ships, cars and countries (when referred to by name) the feminine form is sometimes used, but this is rather obsolete. There is a tendency to use it instead of she.

The Titanic was a great ship, but she hit an iceberg and sank.

Plural in English

Singular and plural

singular	plural
a car	two cars
a cassette	two cassettes
a lamp	two lamps
a hat	two hats
a cup	two cups

singular	plural
a box	two boxes
a sandwich	two sandwiches
a suitcase	two suitcases
a rose	two roses
a garage	two garages

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singular	plural
a city	two cities
a lady	two ladies

singular	plural
a boy	two boys
a day	two days

There are two forms of the plural of the word penny:
pennies -> You refer to the coins.
pence -> You refer to the price (how much sth. is).

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add -s		substitute with -ves
singular	plural	singular	plural
a roof	two roofs	a thief	two thieves
a cliff	two cliffs	a wife	two wives
a sheriff	two sheriffs	a shelf	two shelves

There are two forms possible:
scarf - scarfs/scarves
hoof - hoofs/hooves
Add -s for words ending in -ff.
Always use a dictionary if you are not sure.

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add -s		substitute with -ves
singular	plural	singular	plural
a disco	two discos	a tomato	two tomatoes
a piano	two pianos	a potato	two potatoes
a photo	two photos	a hero	two heroes

Some nouns can have two plural forms:
buffalo - buffalos/buffaloes
mosquito - mosquitos/mosquitoes
tornado - tornados/tornadoes
There is no rule when to use -s or -es. We often add -s with technical words.

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singular	plural
a man	two men
a woman	two women
a child	two children
a mouse	two mice
a tooth	two teeth
a goose	two geese
a foot	two feet
an ox	two oxen

Proper names (or nouns) in English

Proper names (or nouns) are capitalized in English. Here are some examples:
days of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
months: January, February, March
names of companies: Amazon, Coca Cola, Google
countries, towns: England, Canada, San Francisco
sights: The Grand Canyon, The Empire State Buildung, The Underground
books, films, prizes: the Bible, the Oscar, the Nobel Prize
names of people: Tim Smith, Jennie Baker, Theodore Roosevelt
famous people: Aristotle, Napoleon, Shakespeare.

Singular nouns in English

Singular and plural

In English there are nouns which are used only in the singular.

1) Collections

noun	sentence
furniture	She bought new furniture last week.
fruit	Would you like some fruit?
hair*	Your hair looks lovely.

* see countable and uncountable nouns
more nouns: luggage, jewellry

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2) some nouns ending in -s

noun	sentence
news	Good evening. Here is the news.
physics	Physics is our first lesson on Monday morning.
progress	Progress was made in developing new technologies.
The United States	The United States is a country with 50 federal states.

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3) special nouns

noun	sentence
homework	My Maths homework was not easy.
information	For further information on the hotel, phone us at ....
knowledge	His knowledge of English is excellent.

Singular or plural for groups of people

Singular and plural

Which phrase is correct - the class was or the class were? Is the word class a singular noun or a plural noun? This question cannot be answered with Yes or No. Use the singular if you see the class as a group of students. Use the plural if you see the class as single students.
In British English the plural is used more often than in American English.

sentence	explanation
The family is on holiday.	I see the family as a group.
The family are packing their suitcases.	I see the single members of the family packing their suitcases.

sentence	explanation
Class 9 was terribly loud today.	I see class 9 as a group.
Class 9 were terribly loud today.	I see the single members of class 9. Everybody was loud. I could also say: The kids in class 9 were terribly loud.

There are more words which can be singular or plural nouns:
army, band, choir, club, crew, company, firm, gang, government, orchestra, party, staff, team.

's - Apostrophe, genitive -s

English:	German:
Ronny's brother	Ronnys Bruder and Ronny's Bruder (since spelling reform)

Singular:

Add 's:
Examples:
Mandy's brother John plays football.
My teacher's name is ...

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Plural:

Add the apostrophe ' to regular plural forms:
Examples:
The girls' room is very nice.
The Smiths' car is black.
Add 's to irregular plural forms:
Examples:
The children's books are over there.
Men's clothes are on the third floor.
If there are multiple nouns, add an 's only to the last noun:
Peter and John's mother is a teacher.

Genitive -s or of-phrase

genitive-s	of-phrase
mostly for people	mostly for things
Ronny's brother	the name of the school

If things have a connection to people we use the s-genitive (possessive) as well.
Germany's economy or the ecomony of Germany
In time expressions we also use 's.
a three week's holiday.