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Plural nouns indicate more than one of a singular noun. In English, regular nouns add -s, -es, or -ses, while irregular nouns have unique pluralization methods. Collective nouns use singular nouns to denote groups.
A plural noun is a modified form of a singular noun. Singular nouns are words that denote one and only one thing, place, person, or idea. By changing the noun into its plural form, which in most languages occurs according to certain rules and conventions, a word is formed that denotes more than one of the particular things indicated by the singular form of the noun.
In English, nouns are grouped into two categories, regular and irregular, when discussing the rules and conventions for converting them into their plural forms. Most nouns are regular and pluralization is very simple, consisting of adding the ending -s to the word. A word already ending in -s, -x or -ch is usually made into a plural noun by adding -es. In some cases, the letters -ses can be used to pluralize a word ending in -s.
There are a number of special cases in English that do not conform to these ground rules. There are many rules for words with specific letter endings, such as words ending in -o, -f, and -y. Words ending with the letter -y are pluralized by removing the last letter and adding the letters -ies, except in the case of proper nouns. Words ending in -f are usually pluralized by changing the final letter from -fa to -ve and adding -es. A noun ending in -o is usually made into a plural noun by adding -es, but there are numerous exceptions.
For irregular nouns, sometimes called mutable or mutant nouns, the plural form is constructed in some other way, not following the standard rules for pluralization. These shapes are to be learned simply by memorizing. Some words with Latin roots follow the conventions of that language. Some abbreviations used as nouns are transformed into their plural noun forms by adding -‘s, but this is not always the case. Some words have unique pluralization methods.
In some cases, a word appears to be a plural noun because it ends in -s but is not a plural noun at all. Special plural nouns called collective nouns use a singular noun to denote a group of individuals. This type of plural noun can, in some cases, be pluralised according to traditional rules or conventions, if the individual elements of the group act as a unit. An example is the word flock. More than one flock, each of which consists of a number of individuals, may be referred to as a herd.
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