Count nouns

Count nouns have two forms: singular and plural.

Singular count nouns refer to one person or thing:

a teacher a book a wish an idea

Plural count nouns refer to more than one person or thing:

teachers books wishes ideas

Singular count nouns

Singular count nouns cannot be used alone. They must have a determiner:

the English teacher that book a wish my latest idea
Singular count nouns 1

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Singular count nouns 2

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Plural count nouns

We usually add –s to make a plural noun:

book > books
school > schools
friend > friends

We add –es to nouns ending in –s, –ch, –sh, –ss, –x and –o:  

class > classes
watch > watches
gas > gases
wish > wishes
box > boxes
potato > potatoes

When a noun ends in a consonant and –y, we make the plural with –ies:

lady > ladies
country > countries
party > parties

If a noun ends in a vowel and –y, we simply add –s:

boy > boys
day > days
play > plays

Some common nouns have irregular plurals:

man > men
woman > women
child > children
person > people
foot > feet
Plural count nouns 1

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Plural count nouns 2

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Plural count nouns do not have a general determiner when they refer to people or things in general:

Computers are very expensive.
Do you sell old books?

But they may have a specific determiner:

Those computers are very expensive.
The books in that shop are very expensive. 
Her sisters live there.

or a quantifier:

some new books a few teachers lots of good ideas

or a numeral:

two new books three wishes
Plural count nouns 3

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Plural count nouns 4

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Plural count nouns 5

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Submitted by Sajatadib on Mon, 09/01/2023 - 18:28

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What I meant is, is there any difference between:
kind of objects, kinds of objects and kinds of object in the same sentence?
Sorry for the confusion.
Thanks in advance.

Hi Sajatadib,

Oh, I see. Let's take the sentences one by one.

1. This box has different kind of objects.

A correction is needed: "kind" is a singular noun so it needs an article before it --> "a different kind of objects". In this sentence, "different" does not mean "various objects" (i.e. difference within the box). It means that the objects are different from something else outside the box. For example, "Box A has some sports equipment in it. Box B has a different kind of objects." It means that Box B contains objects that are not sport equipment.

 

2. This box has different kinds of objects. / This box has different kinds of object.

These sentences mean the same thing. They mean that inside the box, there are a variety of objects. (Another sentence with a similar meaning is "This box has different objects.").

 

I hope that helps to understand it.

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Sajatadib on Sun, 08/01/2023 - 16:17

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Hello Sir,
There is a box with different kind of objects in it.
Can we say "This box has different kinds of objects."?
How is that any different?
Best wishes!

Hi Sajatadib,

Those two sentences have generally the same meaning. They both show that the box exists, and that it contains various objects. However, in the second one ("This box ..."), the speaker may be also showing where the box is (e.g. pointing to it with his/her hand), or talking about a box that was mentioned before in the conversation.

Best wishes,

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Amit01 on Mon, 17/01/2022 - 05:35

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What is the distinction between "Election" and "Elections"? When to use election and when elections ? I am confused between these two's useage.

Hello Amit01,

I know what you mean. I'm not sure how it is everywhere, but often people vote for more than one position at a time; for example, you might vote for the president of the nation, the governor of your region and different members of parliament -- all on the same ballot or at the same time. In a context like this, there's more than one election, since you are choosing people for more than one position.

Does that make sense?

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Maahir on Sun, 26/09/2021 - 08:36

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Hi there, I was wondering if we can say persons instead of people. I see some people use persons as the plural form of person. so is it grammatically correct?
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Submitted by Peter M. on Sun, 26/09/2021 - 09:01

In reply to by Maahir

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Hi Maahir,

People is always used when we are talking about nations or ethnic groups: the French people, the Japanese people etc. When we are talking about several different groups we can even use a plural form of this word: the peoples of Africa.

 

People is also much more common when we talk about groups of individuals:

There are ten people in the room.

The match was watched by 100,000 people.

 

Persons is reserved for very formal contexts:

Any persons trespassing will be prosecuted.

 

You can read a good explanation here:

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/person-persons-or-people

 

For a more detailed discussion including some historical analysis you can look here:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/people-vs-persons

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by Ahmed Imam on Sat, 26/06/2021 - 12:17

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Hello team. Is it correct to say "jobs opportunities" as in the following example? I think it is 100% wrong and it must be " job opportunities", right? - Being jobless and illiterate are the main factors of committing crimes, so it is necessary to create jobs opportunities for young people. Thank you.

Hello Ahmed Imam,

Yes, you are right. 'job opportunities' is a noun-noun combination, and in noun-noun combinations of this type, the first word is always in the singular.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by Ahmed Imam on Wed, 02/06/2021 - 21:15

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Hello. Is the following sentence correct? If so, could you please explain more about that? - The projects carried out all over the country is the result of hard work. Thank you.

Hello Ahmed Imam,

No, I'm afraid that is not correct. 'projects' is plural and so the verb 'is' should also be plural ('are').

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by dipakrgandhi on Mon, 08/03/2021 - 12:05

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Sir, this is the comment my friend posted on the WhatsApp group on the occasion of Women's day : Happy Women's day to the spouses of my friends. Now I can very well understand the intended meaning of the message, and the reason he used the plural 'spouses' - each friend having one ! My question : Can the message also mean the spouses of each friend - as if each friend has more than one wife - as he has written 'spouses of friends', though he doesn't intend it. Thank you ! Regards !

Hello dipakrgandhi,

Yes, indeed, that sentence is ambiguous. It could refer to one or many.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by Ahmed Imam on Tue, 02/03/2021 - 19:27

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Hello Team. I'm in a restaurant. Which one is correct? - I'd like (a - no article) chicken, please. Not some. Thank you.

Hello Ahmed Imam,

If you say 'I'd like a chicken' then you mean a whole chicken. You'd perhaps say this in a shop, but not a restaurant.

If you say 'I'd like chicken' then you are making a general statement about the kind of food you are interested in. The waiter might respond by showing you all the possible options which include chicken.

If you want to ask for a particular version of a dish which can have different ingredients then you would usually use 'the': 'I'd like the chicken' in the sense of 'not the beef or the fish options'.

If you are talking about particular dishes then you can use either 'the' or no article: 'I'd like (the) chicken in lemon sauce', 'I'd like (the) chicken tandoori' etc.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Peter. Please be patient with me. You said, "If you say 'I'd like a chicken' then you mean a whole chicken. You'd perhaps say this in a shop, but not a restaurant." When I'm to pay for the food I have had at a restaurant, I have to pay for the amount or number of things I have eaten. So how to talk about the amount of "chicken" or numbers of "chickens" I had? I hope you get what I mean. Thank you.

Submitted by Nevı on Thu, 25/02/2021 - 13:18

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Hi I want to learn something. I have been learning prepositional phrases act as an adjective. For example,"book on the table." But I am confused when I am trying to write following sentence "I am going to school on Monday" Is it also adjectival phrase? or different thing? Could you explain Thanks a lot

Hello Nevı,

Prepositional phrases can have adjectival or adverbial functions.

 

As adjectives, prepositional phrases answer the question 'Which one?'

the book on the table

the man by the car

 

As adverbs, prepositional phrases answer the questions 'Where?', 'When?', 'Who with?' or 'How?'

dance in the club

meet on Saturday

go with my friend

 

In your example, on Monday has an adverbial function.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Got that teacher.But I don't understand one thing. I want to explain in this example sentence; "China is collaborated with Argentina on buying Vaccines." Here, Is "with Argentina" an adverb? or a prepositional object? My book says prepositional object? İn Your example sentence (go with my friend), you said 'with my friend' acts an adverb -Could you tell me please How I can seperate prepositional object and prepositional adverb? Thank you (I am working English by myself)

Hello again Nevı,

I think you're confusing two separate things here: what the prepositional phrase is comprised of and how it is used in the sentence.

 

A prepositional phrase contains a preposition (with) and the object of that preposition (my friend). These are the elements which make it up.

 

The prepositional phrase's function in the sentence is a different thing. This can be adjectival (describing a noun) or adverbial (adding information about an action).

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by dipakrgandhi on Thu, 25/02/2021 - 06:54

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Sir, 2 days back I saw in a sop opera a board on a shop like 'Shop on sell' . I have always understood 'sell' as a verb and 'sale' as its noun , and have never seen usage of 'see' as a noun. I checked in the cambridge dictionary and there I found 1 last meaning of 'sell' as a noun - though most of the explanation and examples for 'sell' in the dictionary is for its meaning as verb only. And they are very unlikely to be wrong in the sop opera , which is one of the most widely seen in India. Sir, how do I understand the difference between two nouns - 'sell' and 'sale' - and how do I decide on their usage. Thank you Regards Dipak R Gandhi
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Submitted by Kirk Moore on Thu, 25/02/2021 - 08:21

In reply to by dipakrgandhi

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Hello dipakrgandhi,

Perhaps I'm missing something, but I can't think of a context in which 'Shop on sell' would be correct, at least in standard British or American English. If I owned a shop and wanted to sell it, I'd use a sign saying 'Shop for sale'.

It sounds to me as if you already understand the difference between 'sale' and 'sell'.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you Sir, But, there is a last entry for 'sell' in the cambridge dictionary which explains 'sell' as a noun also . It also asks us to compare this noun 'sell' with 'sale'. And that is what I wish to know from you - the usage of noun 'sell' and noun 'sale' Thank you Regards

Hello dipakrgandhi,

The usage of the noun 'sell' is shown in the example sentences on the Cambridge Dictionary page. I'd suggest you also look up 'sell' in other dictionaries (here's one, here's another) to see other explanations.

I'd be happy to explain the way 'sell' was used on the sign that you spoke about if it were used correctly, but it is not used correctly. I'm afraid I can't explain why they've used it incorrectly.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Jack on Sun, 21/02/2021 - 15:58

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Hello teacher, i have a question related to number : What is the plural form of number : one, two, three. Is it ones, twos, threes ? In these sentences: There are two number three in the lottery. There are two numbers three in the lottery. There are twos three in the in the lottery. Which one is correct, and which one also acceptable in use ? Thanks !

Hello Jack,

The plural forms of numbers are regular when the word is used as a noun: ones, twos, threes etc. 

None of your examples are correct, I'm afraid! The correct form is as follows:

There are two number threes in the lottery.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Could you please give me some more examples about number in plural form teacher, i try to find it in google but couldn't find any. Thanks

Hello again Jack,

To use numbers as plurals you need to use them as nouns rather than as numbers. In other words, you need to be describing something real and not just saying how many things there are.

 

In a pack of playing cards there are four suits. Each suit has numbers from 2 to 10, plus the jack, queen, king and ace. You can say therefore that there are four twos in the pack, four threes, four fours etc.

 

You can also use the plural form of numbers to mean 'groups of':

People sat in two and threes around the lake. [groups of two or three people]

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Nagie23 on Sun, 03/01/2021 - 17:18

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Hello, Happy New Year. I would like to ask if the following is correct We will see how the news cover events or how news cover events or how media cover events Thank you in advance
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Submitted by Kirk Moore on Mon, 04/01/2021 - 16:54

In reply to by Nagie23

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Hello Nagie23,

Here I'd use 'the media': 'how the media cover events'. In this usage, 'the media' refers to organisations that report (or 'cover') current events -- the reporting or the things reported are called 'the news'.

Does that make sense?

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by knownman on Mon, 14/12/2020 - 20:28

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Hello, The Team. I have three questions: There are 3 cars in front of my house. But these cars have different colour. My first question is "These cars have different colour" or "different colours" with an 's'? My second question is, which one is correct? Saying, "There are white, black, and green cars in front of my house." or I will say with "car" as a single "There is white, black and green car in front of my house." for the reason their colour is different. And My third question is, I realised when I write "colour, realise" in British way in the comment, the red colour appears under the vocabularies. I wonder why The British Council don't except these kinds of writing. Thanks for your reply in advance.

Hi knownman,

Good questions! I'll put my answers below.

  1. It should be colours (with 's'). Also, it would be more common to say These cars are different colours (instead of 'have').
  2. This should be cars too. You can also say There's a white car, a black car and a green car ... if you want to use the singular 'car'. It's a bit repetitive, though. But if you say There is a white, black and green car, it means there's only one car, with all three colours on it.
  3. This isn't to do with this website - we don't use any spellchecking programs for user comments. I wonder if the language setting on your browser or computer/device is set to US English or another type of English? And those words absolutely are acceptable here, of course :)

Best wishes,

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks, Jonathan for the enlightening answers. And, I am sorry for the confusion. You're right. The spelling issue was caused by my browser. When I set a new program or something like that I always choose English(UK) option. Anyway, I changed my language setting to the English(UK). I thank you and am sorry again.
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Submitted by Ahmed Imam on Sat, 24/10/2020 - 18:41

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Hello. Could you please help me? Which one is correct? 1- One and a half hours are allowed for the exam. 2- One and a half hours is allowed for the exam. Thank you. Really, I appreciate your efforts.

Hello Ahmed Imam,

Since 'hours' is plural, 1 is the correct choice.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you so much for your quick reply. What about the following sentence? - Five hours is not enough to do this job. Thank you.

Hello Ahmed Imam,

That's a good point. In this case, I think both 'is' and 'are' are OK. 'hours' is plural and so it's easy to see why 'are' is correct given that. But often people say 'is' here because 'Five hours' is conceptualized as a single period of time and therefore is conceptualized as a single (countable) subject.

Hope that's not too confusing.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by Ahmed Imam on Tue, 20/10/2020 - 08:49

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Hello. Please! Which one is correct? Why - There are fewer pirates today than in the past. - There are less pirates today than in the past. Thank you

Hello Ahmed Imam,

We use less with uncountable nouns and fewer with countable nouns. 'Pirates' is a countable noun. Therefore, the first sentence is correct.

 

Note that not all native speakers use standard grammar forms all the time, so you may well hear people using less with countable nouns. It may be that the language will change in the future, but for now the rule is as stated above.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by CHÉKYTAN on Tue, 01/09/2020 - 13:21

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Dear Sir, This is about noun phrases. Following phrases are noun phrases. Do we need to use comma between noun phrases when using it with actual sentence? an eight-year, old boy with a gun, who tried to rob a sweet shop that girl over there, in a green dress, drinking a Coke
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Submitted by Kirk Moore on Tue, 01/09/2020 - 13:54

In reply to by CHÉKYTAN

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Hello Chekytan,

I'd say your question is more about punctuation than about noun phrases. Punctuation is usually something done at the level of the sentence -- in other words, I'd need to see the complete sentences these phrases are a part of to be able to recommend adequate punctuation.

But, at a glance, I can say that the second one would probably be OK in many situations. The second one would probably be punctuated something like 'an eight-year-old boy with a gun who tried to rob a sweet shop'. But as I said, it depends on the complete sentence it is a part of.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Dear sir, which group of sentences is correct, especially about the usage of punctuation? Some people saw an eight-year old boy, with a gun, who tried to rob a sweet shop. I love that girl over there, in a green dress, drinking a Coke. or Some people saw an eight-year old boy with a gun who tried to rob a sweet shop. I love that girl over there in a green dress drinking a Coke.
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Submitted by Peter M. on Wed, 02/09/2020 - 07:43

In reply to by CHÉKYTAN

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Hello CHEKYTAN,

In your second sentence you should say 'the green dress' rather than 'a green dress'.

As far as punctuation goes, I think the most likely option for the first sentence is this:

Some people saw an eight-year old boy with a gun, who tried to rob a sweet shop.

 

For the second sentence there are various possibilities. You could have no comma:

I love that girl over there in the green dress drinking a Coke.

Alternatively, you could include one or more commas:

I love that girl over there, in the green dress, drinking a Coke.

It really depends on the context and the author's intention and style.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by OlaIELTS on Thu, 16/07/2020 - 23:41

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This is really helpful.

Submitted by anie1 on Mon, 11/11/2019 - 14:12

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Hello, I would like to ask which of the following is correct 1.The house has got a lot of windows or 2. The house has got lots of windows? Thank you in advance

Submitted by anie1 on Sat, 26/10/2019 - 15:03

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Hello I would like to ask which of the following is correct 1.The house is close to shops, schools and mall Or 2.The house is close to the shops, the schools and a mall? Thank you in advance
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Submitted by Peter M. on Mon, 28/10/2019 - 07:09

In reply to by anie1

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Hello agie,

Neither is incorrect. As is often the case with articles, it depends upon the context in which the sentence is used and what knowledge is already shared between the interlocutors.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team