Nouns(Rules)

1)The following Nouns always exist in plural forms(ending with ‘S’)and they don’t have singular forms. Hence, they take plural verb form.

Pants, Pantaloons, Pyjamas, Trousers, Shorts,Leggings,Breeches, Belongings, Shoes, Scissors, Outskirts, Premises, Surroundings, Earnings, Savings, Goods, Customs, Alms, Riches, Binoculars, Spectacles, Tidings, Means etc..,

       Your Earning is good.--------Wrong

       Your Earnings are good.---Right

       My Pant is loose. -----------Wrong

       My Pants are loose.---Right

      The Scissor is blunt.----------Wrong

      The Scissors are blunt.—Right

      A pair of Scissors are costly.----Wrong

     A Pair of Scissors is costly.----Right

2)Some Nouns always appear as Plural (ending with ‘S’) bu actually they are singular(not plural). Singular verb should be added to them.

Maths, Physics, Statistics, Civics, Economics, Linguistics,Phonetics, News, Politics, Ethics, Summons, Athletics, Innings, Gymnastics, Chess, Billiards, Measles, Mumps, Rickets,Tuberculosis etc…,

               Maths are easy. ----Wrong

               Maths is Easy.---Right

               News were fake.----Wrong

              News was fake.-----Right

3) The following Nouns always exist in singular form and they don’t have plural forms.

            Milk, water, oil, fuel, petrol, diesel, meat, sugar, salt, food, rice, bread,            advice, education, information, vocabulary, poetry, staionery, machinery, scenery,   violence, music, luggage, baggage, infrastructure, equipment, furniture,     accommodation, health, wealth, gold, money etc..,

                   ‘The waters’ ---Wrong  where as ‘The water’---Right

                        My father brought the furnitures---wrong

                       My father brought the furniture--- Right

                   Sceneries—wrong             Luggages--- wrong

                     Scenery --- Right                 Luggage--- Right

4) Some Nouns appear as Singular(witthout ending with ‘S’) but actually they are Plural(not singular).

      Cattle, vermin, swine, poultry, police people, clergy, men, women, children,       Geese, Lice, Mice, Oxen, Phenomena, Criteria, Oases, crises, analyses, diagnoses, cacti, fungi, nuclei, syllabi etc..,

                    The Cattle is grazing the grass---Wrong

                   The Cattle are grazing the grass—Right 

5) For compound Nouns, the plural form differs from the Possesive form.

    Plural Form                                               Possessive Form

      Brother-in- laws (wrong)           My Brother’s-in-law book (Wrong)

      Brothers -in-law(Right)              My Brother-in-law’s book (Right) 

6) ‘ The Number of’ is considered as a singular unit where as ‘A Number of ‘ is considered as a plural form.

                   The Number of students  is   more in the class.

                   A Number of students   are   more in the class.

7) The following phrases take plural noun/pronoun and a singular verb.

       One of, None of, Eachone of,  Everyone of, Someone of, Anyone of, Each of,   Either of, Neither of.      
         

                    One  of the deadbodies were headless.(Wrong)

                    One of the deadbodies was headless. (Right)

8) The verb for the following phrases is dependent on the subject (Noun/pronoun). If the Subject is singular then singular verb should be used and if the subject is plural , plural verb should be used.

 Most of, a majority of, a lot of, a part of, one- third of, two- thirds of, one-fourth of etc.,

                  A Majority of the class      is  absent.(Right)

              A Majority of the students   are absent.(Right)

9) The Possessive case for people and things is different.

        Ramu’s car(Right)  or Sita’s Bangles(Right)  
       Tables’s legs(Wrong)      Legs of the Table(Right)  
        Mobile’s battery(Wrong)  Battery of the mobile(Right)

 10)The  following Nouns always exist in pairs and singular verb should be used after them.

Bread and butter, Rice and Curry, Hammer and Sickle, Slow and Steady, Truth and Honesty, Horse and Carriage, Crown and Glory, Rise and Fall, Coming and Going, Screaming and Shouting, Age and Experience, Eggs and Bacon, Ham and Eggs, Long and Short, Sum and Substances, Bag and Baggage etc.

 Time and tide wait for none. (wrong)  Rice and curry are my favourite.(wrong)

Time and tide waits for none.(right)    Rice and curry is my favourite.(right)