Is Common Noun Plural (7 Important Facts)

In English grammar, common nouns fall into the category of concrete nouns. Now, we will discuss whether a common noun is singular or plural.

A common noun can be plural. A common noun is the generic name of an item in a class or group. It can be used as both the numbers- singular number and plural number.

Let us explain some more interesting facts related to ‘’is common noun plural’’ along with when, why, how, and which in an interesting manner.

1. Can common nouns be plural?

We can use the common nouns while constructing any sentence we need. Here we shall explore why common nouns are plural.

Common nouns can be plural. They can be both singular and plural. We can use them in plural numbers if necessary. They indicate more than one class of people, places, and things while used in the plural numbers.

Example	Explanation
1. Marry loves to read story books every day before going to bed.	In this sentence, the word ‘’books’ is a plural common noun because it refers to more than one book. It belongs to a class of things.
2. The tigers are roaring in the jungle.	In this sentence, the word ‘’tigers’’ refers to the class of animal. It is the plural form because it refers to more than one tiger.

Examples of a common plural noun

2. When common nouns are plural?

Common nouns are used in the plural number. Here we will explore when common nouns are plural.

Common nouns are plural when they refer to more than one class of people, place, or things. The singular form refers to one unit or group and the plural form refers to more than one unit or group. Whenever we need to refer to more than one we use the plural common noun.

Ex- There are some ferocious tigers in the Sundarban.

Explanation- Here the common noun ‘’tigers’’ is in the plural form. It refers to more than one animal. As we wish to refer to more than one tiger the plural form ‘’tigers’’ is used here.

3. Which common nouns are plural?

Common nouns are used as plural numbers when we need them. Here we shall explore which common nouns are plural.

The common nouns that refer to more than one class of people, places, or things are regarded as plural common nouns. We insert these nouns in sentences for the reference of the above classes of generic nouns.

Let us see the table in which the plural common nouns are used in sentences in an interesting way.

Example	Usage of the common noun	Explanation
1. There are eleven players on each team.	Common noun as a plural number.	In this sentence, the common noun ‘’players’’ is in the plural form. It refers to more than one player.
2. I planted six saplings in my garden.	Common noun as a plural number.	Here the common noun ‘’saplings’’ is in the plural number because it refers to more than one sapling.

Examples of the plural common nouns

4. Why common nouns are plural?

The nouns in general can be used in the plural number. Now we shall explore why common nouns are plural.

Common nouns are plural because these nouns refer to the non-specific term for more than one concrete noun i.e. places, person, or things. We use them while framing a sentence.

Ex- The teachers are in the classroom.

Explanation- Here the word ‘’teachers’’ is in the plural number. We come to know that more than one teacher is in the classroom.

5. How to form plural common nouns?

The common nouns can be plural in number. Here we shall discuss how common nouns are formed plural.

The common nouns are formed plural by adding ‘’s’’, ‘’es’’, ’’ies’’, ‘’ves’’ with the singular form of the common noun.
Again there are some common nouns that remain the same both in singular and plural number.
There are also some common irregular nouns that can be made plural by changing the spelling of the word or by the addition of suffixes to the root word.

Let us follow the table where the rules of framing from singular common nouns to plural common nouns are given in an interesting manner.

Rules of framing plural	Example	Explanation
1. By adding ‘’s’’ to the root word.	Sister- sisters, teacher- teachers, lion-lions, book- books,	These are the common nouns that are framed plural numbers by adding an ‘’s’’ with rood words.
2. By adding ‘’es’’.	Bus- buses, mango- mangoes, potato- potatoes, volcano- volcanoes,	These are the common nouns that are formed plural by adding ‘’es’’ with the singular form.
3. By adding ‘’ies’’.	Sky-skies, fly- flies, city- cities, puppy- puppies,	The common nouns are made plural by adding ‘’ies’’ with the singular form removing the ‘’y’’ in the end.
4. By adding ‘’ves’’.	Leaf- leaves, wife- wives, life- lives,	Here the common nouns are formed plural by adding ‘’ves’’ to the singular form, and ‘’f’’ ‘’fe’’ are removed.
5. By changing ‘’is’’ to ‘’es’’.	Crisis- crises, thesis- theses, analysis- analyses	In the words the ‘is’’ are removed, and ‘’es’’ is added to make plural numbers.
6. By changing ‘’on’’ to ‘’a’’.	Phenomenon- phenomena, criterion- criteria	Here the singular common nouns are framed plural by adding ‘’a’’ removing ‘’on’’ of the words.
7. By using suffixes to the root word.	Child- children,	Here the suffix ‘’ren’’ is added to the singular form to make a plural form.

Examples of how to form plural common nouns

6. Which common nouns are always plural?

We have already known that common nouns are found both as singular and plural number. Here let us discuss the nouns that are always plural.

Some common nouns i. e. belongings, audience, clothes, earnings, goods, premises, savings, stairs, surroundings, scissors, and sunglasses are always used as plural numbers. They do not have any singular form.

We cannot use the above common nouns as singular numbers. Let us follow the sentences for better understanding.

Example	Explanation
1. The students are asked to arrive at the school premises at around 7 a. m.	In this sentence, the word ‘’premises’’ is used as a plural number. It does not have any singular form.
2. We should maintain handsome savings for the future.	In this example, the word ‘’savings’’ is used to refer to a plural number. We cannot use this common noun as a singular number.

Examples of common nouns that are always plural

7. Plural common noun examples:

The common nouns that refer to more than one are plural in number. Let us see the examples.

The following sentences describe the plural common nouns that will be very interesting to realize.

Example	Explanation
1. The beautiful girls are dancing on the stage.	In this example, the word ‘’girls’’ is a plural common noun. It refers to more than one girl.
2. The spectators are clapping their hands in delight.	In this sentence, the word ‘’spectators’’ is in the plural number. We find that the word ‘’spectators’’ indicates more than one person.
3. These two cats are black in color.	This is the sentence where the word ‘’cats’’ is in the plural number because it refers to more than one cat.
4. There are several monuments in Kolkata.	Here the word ‘’monuments’’ is a plural common noun. It indicates more than one monument.
5. Some singers are performing a beautiful program on the stage.	In this sentence, the word ‘’singers’’ is a plural common noun. It is not capitalized and refers to more than one singer.