Do you know what a plural noun is? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on plural nouns, including the definition, usage, example sentences, and more!
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Kevin
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January 2, 2022
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Common Questions
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What is a plural noun?
According to 7ESL, a plural noun is a noun that represents more than one person, place, thing, or idea. There are many categories of nouns including a collective noun, common nouns, proper nouns, uncountable nouns, a possessive noun, noncount nouns, a countable noun, mass noun, and more. To make different plural forms from a singular noun, often an s, ies or an es is added to the end of the singular forms. However, there are many irregular nouns that may have a different change to the end of the word to form the plural word. Be careful not to use an apostrophe to form a plural. Those are for possessives, and a pet peeve for grammarians. Regular plural nouns and irregular plurals both need to have agreement with verbs and adjectives so you do not create confusion. A singular noun needs a singular verb, and a plural noun needs a plural verb. The same goes for singular pronouns and a pronoun that has has pluralising. When in doubt, consult grammar guidelines from somewhere like the Chicago Manual of Style or AP. this may come naturally to English speakers but be difficult for ESL students.
Many different languages also contain words that mean plural. You may notice that some of these translations of plural look and sound similar to one another. These are called cognates, which are words and phrases in different languages that likely have the same root or language of origin, causing them to sound the same. The below list of translations of plural is provided by Word Sense.
- German: Plural-, pluralisch, plural, mehrfach, Mehrzahl-
- Armenian: հոգնակի
- Japanese: 複数 (ふくすう, fukusū)
- Ukrainian: чисельний (chyselny)
- Volapük: plunumik
- Cyrillic: множински (masc.), плурални (masc.)
- Italian: plurale
- Walloon: pluriyal (masc.)
- Swedish: plural, flertal
- Greek: πληθυντικός
- Swahili: akthari
- Mandarin: 複數, 复数 (fùshù), 眾數, 众数 (zhòngshù)
- Polish: mnogi
- Spanish: plural
- Thai: พหูพจน์
- Romanian: plural (masc.) (f)
- Turkish: çok
- Finnish: monikollinen, monikko-
- Hebrew: לשון רבים (lišon rabim)
- Portuguese: plural
- French: pluriel
- Dutch: meervoudig, meervoudige
- Korean: 복수
- Occitan: plural
- Roman: množinski (masc.), pluralni (masc.)
- Icelandic: fleir-, marg-, fleirtölu-, í fleirtölu
- Lojban: su’oremei
- Albanian: shumës
- Esperanto: plurnombra
- Russian: мно́жественный
- Catalan: plural
- Indonesian: jamak
- Ido: plurala
- Scottish Gaelic: iolra
What are examples of plural nouns?
A plural noun can be used in many different contexts in the English language. Trying to use a word or literary technique in a sentence is one of the best ways to memorize what it is, but you can also try making flashcards or quizzes that test your knowledge. Try using this term of the day in a sentence today! Below are many examples of plural nouns from 7 ESL and EF that can help get you started incorporating this tool into your everyday use. Try to use the term plural noun today or notice when someone else is using a plural noun. It is hard to create an exhaustive list, but we have tried!
- countries
- fish
- cuffs
- fungi
- photos
- halos
- knockoffs
- scarves
- loaves
- pitches
- volcanoes
- bags
- aircraft
- sheep
- books
- women
- mice
- Boys
- geese
- pennies
- foci
- knives
- cats
- leaves
- thieves
- wives
- roofs
- dominoes
- calves
- holidays
- lives
- keys
- rays
- wishes
- men
- people
- vetoes
- analyses
- pianos
- wolves
- chiefs
- radios
- theses
- data
- mosquitoes
- crises
- rats
- potatoes
- cities
- babies
- cacti
- houses
- dreams
- tables
- feet
- nuclei
- teeth
- tomatoes
- oases
- stereos
- heroes
- deer
- parties
- chefs
- videos
- candies
- spies
- rivers
- puppies
- criteria
- halves
- syllabi/syllabuses
- boats
- toys
- phenomena
- shelves
- ladies
- cars
- days
- daisies
- cherries
- donkeys
- elves
- buses
- children
- diagnoses
- echoes
- hooves
- beliefs
- boxes
- girls
- species
- dogs
- towns
- sopranos
What are synonyms and antonyms of plural?
There are many different words that one can use in place of the word plural. These are called synonyms, which are words and phrases that have the same meaning as another word or phrase. Synonyms are a useful tool to know in the English language because they can help people to avoid repeating themselves while simultaneously growing their vocabulary. This list of synonyms for the word plural is provided by Power Thesaurus.
- balanced
- various
- distinct
- certain
- multiplex
- multiform
- infrequent
- number
- multiethnic
- proportionate
- plurals
- polygamous
- plural form
- scarce
- many
- complementary
- cosmopolite
- divers
- more than one
- only a few
- special
- provided
- countless
- nonuniqueness
- multidomestic
- some
- handful
- amount
- flocculate
- quite a few
- numerousness
- any
- cohesive
- numerous
- several
- multi-domestic
- complex number
- diverse
- multifarious
- miscellaneous
- pluralism
- multi-level
- squirreled
- considerable
- multilateral
- pixels
- cosmopolitan
- singular
- combined
- arranged
- scarcely any
- rare
- non national
- muthanna
- manifold
- abundance
- army
- plurality
- personal
- specific
- pluralist
- trial
- not singular
- definite
- pluralistic
- plurative
- hardly any
- non-national
- pluralness
- particular
- multi-ethnic
- complex
- multinational
- multiple
- more
- variety
- not many
- multiplicity
- sundry
- pluralities
- multitude
- different
- some of
- compound
- few
- disparate
- abundant
- upwards of
- indefinite
- not alone
- frequent
- assorted
- composite
- dual
- respective
- single
- separate
- device
- polyethnic
- actual
The word plural also has a number of antonyms, or opposite words. These words have the opposite definition as the word spectrum. Learning antonyms is another quick and easy way to expand your English language vocabulary. This list of antonyms of plural is also provided by Power Thesaurus.
- exceptional
- separate
- only
- queer
- noteworthy
- incomparable
- sold
- unwonted
- infrequent
- odd
- unrivaled
- out of the ordinary
- rum
- extraordinary
- exclusive
- unfamiliar
- oddball
- freak
- personal
- mysterious
- weird
- solitary
- unique
- characteristic
- without equal
- offbeat
- unparalleled
- novel
- phenomenal
- unnatural
- untypical
- one and only
- discrete
- rummy
- singular form
- rare
- peerless
- atypical
- unmatched
- deviant
- different
- notable
- specific
- alone
- unconventional
- perplexing
- single
- individual
- remarkable
- signal
- outstanding
- striking
- outlandish
- abnormal
- unprecedented
- conspicuous
- sole
- astonishing
- amazing
- unorthodox
- eminent
- isolated
- unequaled
- original
- irregular
- one
- astounding
- quaint
- exotic
- aberrant
- curious
- surprising
- especial
- unheard-of
- distinguished
- distinct
- matchless
- particular
- freakish
- eccentric
- unusual
- freaky
- distinctive
- individualistic
- unexpected
- bizarre
- quirky
- kinky
- uncommon
- idiosyncratic
- unexampled
- inimitable
- lone
- puzzling
- anomalous
- special
- strange
- private
- peculiar
- fantastic
Overall, a plural noun is a noun that represents more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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