Learn number in English grammar: how to form the plural of nouns, irregular and foreign plurals, and nouns used only in singular or plural, with exercises and answers for SSC, HSC, admission, and job exams.
At first glance, number looks like the easiest topic in grammar: one book, two books, just add an ‘s’, right? Then English hands you “one mouse, two mice“, “one datum, two data“, and a pair of scissors that is somehow always plural. Number is full of these small traps, and that is exactly why exams keep testing it. This lesson clears them all up, from the simple rules to the tricky foreign plurals that come in admission and job exams.
প্রথম দেখায় number কে গ্রামারের সবচেয়ে সহজ topic মনে হয়: one book, two books, শুধু একটা ‘s’ যোগ করলেই হলো, তাই না? তারপর ইংরেজি তোমাকে ধরিয়ে দেয় “one mouse, two mice”, “one datum, two data”, আর এমন একজোড়া scissors যা কিনা সবসময় plural। Number এমন ছোট ছোট ফাঁদে ভরা, আর ঠিক এই কারণেই পরীক্ষায় এটি বারবার আসে। এই পাঠ সেই সব ফাঁদ পরিষ্কার করে দেবে। তাহলে চলো, শুরু করা যাক।
What is Number?
Number is the form of a noun or pronoun that shows whether we mean one or more than one (একটি নাকি একাধিক তা বোঝায়)। There are two numbers: singular (one) and plural (more than one).
Number হলো একটি noun বা pronoun এর এমন রূপ যা দেখায় আমরা একটি বোঝাচ্ছি নাকি একাধিক। Number দুই প্রকার: singular (একবচন) এবং plural (বহুবচন)।
- Singular (একবচন): boy, book, child, mango
- Plural (বহুবচন): boys, books, children, mangoes
This lesson connects with our lessons on the noun and gender.
Rules for Forming the Plural
This is the heart of the topic. Learn each rule with its examples.
এটাই topic এর মূল অংশ। প্রতিটি নিয়ম উদাহরণসহ শেখো।
Rule 1: Add ‘-s’ to most nouns.
বেশিরভাগ noun এর সাথে ‘-s’ যোগ হয়।
Examples:
- book → books
- pen → pens
- table → tables
Rule 2: Add ‘-es’ to nouns ending in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, or -x.
-s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x দিয়ে শেষ হওয়া noun এর সাথে ‘-es’ যোগ হয়।
Examples:
- bus → buses
- class → classes
- dish → dishes
- watch → watches
- box → boxes
Rule 3: For a noun ending in a consonant + y, change ‘y’ to ‘-ies’. For a vowel + y, just add ‘-s’.
ব্যঞ্জনবর্ণ + y দিয়ে শেষ হলে ‘y’ কে ‘-ies’ এ পরিবর্তন করো। আর স্বরবর্ণ + y হলে শুধু ‘-s’ যোগ করো।
Examples:
- baby → babies, city → cities, lady → ladies
- boy → boys, key → keys, day → days
Rule 4: For a noun ending in -o, add ‘-es’ for some, and ‘-s’ for others.
-o দিয়ে শেষ হওয়া কিছু noun এ ‘-es’, আর কিছুতে ‘-s’ যোগ হয়।
Examples:
- Add -es: hero → heroes, potato → potatoes, mango → mangoes, tomato → tomatoes
- Add -s: photo → photos, piano → pianos, radio → radios, zoo → zoos
Rule 5: For most nouns ending in -f or -fe, change to ‘-ves’. Some, however, simply add ‘-s’.
-f বা -fe দিয়ে শেষ হওয়া বেশিরভাগ noun কে ‘-ves’ এ পরিবর্তন করা হয়। তবে কিছু noun এ শুধু ‘-s’ যোগ হয়।
Examples:
- Change to -ves: leaf → leaves, wife → wives, knife → knives, thief → thieves, wolf → wolves
- Just add -s: roof → roofs, chief → chiefs, proof → proofs, safe → safes
Rule 6: Some nouns form the plural by an internal change (these are irregular).
কিছু noun ভেতরের অক্ষর পরিবর্তন করে plural হয় (এগুলো irregular)।
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| man (পুরুষ) | men (পুরুষেরা) |
| woman (নারী) | women (নারীরা) |
| foot (পা) | feet (পা দুটি) |
| tooth (দাঁত) | teeth (দাঁতগুলো) |
| goose (রাজহাঁস) | geese (রাজহাঁসগুলো) |
| mouse (ইঁদুর) | mice (ইঁদুরগুলো) |
| ox (বলদ) | oxen (বলদগুলো) |
| child (শিশু) | children (শিশুরা) |
Rule 7: Some nouns have the same form in singular and plural.
কিছু noun এর singular ও plural রূপ একই থাকে।
Examples:
- sheep → sheep
- deer → deer
- fish → fish
- aircraft → aircraft
- series → series
Rule 8: Many words borrowed from Latin and Greek keep their foreign plural. These come in admission and job exams.
ল্যাটিন ও গ্রিক থেকে নেওয়া অনেক শব্দ তাদের বিদেশি plural রূপ রাখে। এগুলো admission ও job পরীক্ষায় আসে।
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| radius (ব্যাসার্ধ) | radii (ব্যাসার্ধসমূহ) |
| syllabus (পাঠ্যসূচি) | syllabi (পাঠ্যসূচিসমূহ) |
| datum (উপাত্ত) | data (উপাত্তসমূহ) |
| medium (মাধ্যম) | media (মাধ্যমসমূহ) |
| analysis (বিশ্লেষণ) | analyses (বিশ্লেষণসমূহ) |
| crisis (সংকট) | crises (সংকটসমূহ) |
| thesis (অভিসন্দর্ভ) | theses (অভিসন্দর্ভসমূহ) |
| phenomenon (ঘটনা) | phenomena (ঘটনাসমূহ) |
| criterion (মানদণ্ড) | criteria (মানদণ্ডসমূহ) |
| index (সূচক) | indices (সূচকসমূহ) |
Rule 9: In a compound noun, make the main word plural.
Compound noun এ মূল শব্দটিকে plural করা হয়।
Examples:
- father-in-law → fathers-in-law
- passer-by → passers-by
- commander-in-chief → commanders-in-chief
- looker-on → lookers-on
Nouns Used Only in the Singular
Some nouns are uncountable and are never made plural. They also take a singular verb.
কিছু noun uncountable, এদের কখনো plural করা হয় না। এরা singular verb ও নেয়।
Examples:
- furniture, information, advice, news, scenery, poetry, luggage, machinery, knowledge
Examples:
- The news is true. (not “news are”)
- Your advice was very helpful.
Nouns Used Only in the Plural
Some nouns are always plural in form. Many are things made of two equal parts, and we count them with “a pair of”.
কিছু noun রূপে সবসময় plural। এদের অনেকগুলো দুটি সমান অংশ দিয়ে তৈরি, আর এদের আমরা “a pair of” দিয়ে গুনি।
Examples:
- trousers, scissors, spectacles, pliers, jeans, shorts
- cattle, poultry, people, police (these take a plural verb)
Examples:
- The scissors are on the table. (not “scissors is”)
- My spectacles are broken.
- The police have caught the thief.
Nouns Plural in Form but Singular in Meaning
A few nouns look plural because they end in -s, but they take a singular verb.
কিছু noun -s দিয়ে শেষ হওয়ায় দেখতে plural লাগে, কিন্তু এরা singular verb নেয়।
Examples:
- mathematics, physics, economics, politics, ethics, measles
Examples:
- Mathematics is my favourite subject.
- Politics is a difficult field.
Practice Exercise with Answers
Part A: Write the plural of each word. Part B: Choose the correct verb.
নিজে চেষ্টা করার পরে নিচের উত্তরগুলো মিলিয়ে নাও।
Part A: 1. baby 2. box 3. leaf 4. hero 5. radius 6. foot 7. sheep 8. father-in-law 9. analysis 10. photo
Part B: 11. The news ______ (is / are) shocking. 12. Mathematics ______ (is / are) not easy. 13. The scissors ______ (is / are) very sharp. 14. The police ______ (has / have) arrived. 15. These phenomena ______ (is / are) hard to explain.
Answers
Part A:
- babies
- boxes
- leaves
- heroes
- radii
- feet
- sheep
- fathers-in-law
- analyses
- photos
Part B: 11. is (news is singular) 12. is (mathematics is singular in meaning) 13. are (scissors is always plural) 14. have (police takes a plural verb) 15. are (phenomena is the plural of phenomenon)
A Tip for the Exam
Most plural questions test the rule-based endings (-s, -es, -ies, -ves), so learn those first, then memorise two short lists: the irregular plurals (mouse to mice, foot to feet) and the foreign plurals (datum to data, analysis to analyses). The other favourite trap is the verb: words like news, mathematics, and politics look plural but take a singular verb, while scissors, police, and cattle take a plural one. Get the ending and the verb right, and you will not lose a single mark here.
বেশিরভাগ plural এর প্রশ্ন নিয়মভিত্তিক শেষাংশ (-s, -es, -ies, -ves) পরীক্ষা করে, তাই আগে সেগুলো শেখো, তারপর দুটি ছোট তালিকা মুখস্থ করো: irregular plural (mouse থেকে mice, foot থেকে feet) আর foreign plural (datum থেকে data, analysis থেকে analyses)। আরেকটি প্রিয় ফাঁদ হলো verb: news, mathematics, politics দেখতে plural কিন্তু singular verb নেয়, আর scissors, police, cattle plural verb নেয়। শেষাংশ আর verb দুটোই ঠিক করলে এখানে একটি নম্বরও হারাবে না।
Related Lessons
Keep building your grammar foundation with these lessons:
- Noun: Definition, Types, and Examples in English Grammar
- Gender in English Grammar: Rules and Examples
- Determiners in English Grammar with Examples
- Right Forms of Verbs: 10 Rules, Examples & Exercises
- The 8 Parts of Speech: Rules, Examples & Chart
- Classifications of Persons in English Grammar
- Structure & Analysis of Sentences in English Grammar
- Kinds of Sentences in English Grammar: 5 Types with Examples
- 12 Tenses in English Grammar: Full Classification with Examples
Frequently Asked Questions
What is number in English grammar?
Number is the form of a noun or pronoun that shows whether we mean one (singular) or more than one (plural), such as book and books.
How do you form the plural of a noun?
Usually by adding ‘-s’ or ‘-es’. Nouns ending in consonant + y take ‘-ies’ (baby to babies), and many ending in -f or -fe take ‘-ves’ (leaf to leaves).
What are irregular plurals?
Nouns that change form instead of adding -s, such as man to men, foot to feet, mouse to mice, and child to children.
Why is ‘scissors’ always plural but ‘news’ always singular?
‘Scissors’ names a thing of two joined parts, so it is treated as plural. ‘News’ is an uncountable noun, so it takes a singular verb, as in “The news is true”.
What are foreign plurals?
Plurals borrowed from Latin and Greek, such as datum to data, analysis to analyses, criterion to criteria, and radius to radii. These are common in admission and job exams.