Plural-Only Nouns Definition
Words that are used to name something are known as nouns. As most things around us have both singular and plural forms, nouns do have both singular and plural forms. But, some nouns exist only in the plural form and not in the singular form. Such nouns are commonly called ‘plural only nouns.’ The singular form of plural only nouns does not exist.
Why Should We Learn About Nouns?
Grammar is always an indispensable and essential part of the language. We have to learn grammar properly so that we do not make mistakes while using the language, and our communicative skills will also improve. Moreover, it can help us to avoid mistakes while writing also. In that sense, nouns are always an essential part of the English language and name certain things or people.
Difference Between Singular Only Nouns and Plural Only Nouns
Generally, most nouns have both singular and plural forms. But, there are some cases of nouns used only in singular forms. Those types of nouns that are used only in singular forms are called only singular nouns. Such nouns are used only in singular form even if they end with –s at their end. The word ‘news’ is an example of the only singular nouns. Even though the word ends with –s, it is a singular only noun. Similar is the case of the word ‘Maths,’ which also ends with –s but is a singular noun.
Plural only nouns, on the other hand, are those nouns that only have their plural form and not singular. Nouns used only in the plural form include various examples like scissors, pants, etc. They cannot be converted into a single form and only have plural nouns, whatever their number.
Usage of Pronoun and Verbs
Whenever we use a plural noun in a sentence, we must always use a pronoun in its plural form only. When nouns are used only in plural form, the pronoun along with the sentence and verb also should be in plural. Consider an example: My clothes are dirty. I need to wash them.
Here, the word ‘clothes’ is the plural only noun. As the noun used here, ‘clothes’ is plural only noun, the pronouns used in the sentence are also in its plural form.
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Plural Only Nouns having Two Parts
We can understand plural nouns having two parts with an example to understand it effectively. Consider the plural- only noun, scissors, and pants. Considering the example of scissors, we know that it always has two parts or two legs of the scissors. So that we would always call these scissors and not scissors. Similar is the case of ‘pants’ too. As it has two parts or two legs, it is also considered to be plural. As they are found in two parts, we can use ‘a pair of’ to quantify them to understand how much quantity is there.
Examples
I lost my goggles. Have you seen them?
She bought a new pair of trousers.
My pants are not appropriately stitched.
Where are my shorts?
Can I get a pair of socks?
Types of Plural Only Nouns
Plural only nouns can be broadly classified into three types:
Certain articles or clothing.
Certain tools or instruments.
Other types.
Certain Articles of Clothing
Some examples are:
Trousers
Pajamas
Tights
Shorts
Knickers
Pants
All the clothing items given as examples have two parts.
I like your trousers is the correct usage whereas I want your trousers is a wrong statement.
‘Where are my shorts?’ is the correct usage, whereas ‘Where are my shorts?’ and ‘Where is my short’ are wrong.
Certain Tools or Instruments
Some examples are given below:
Binoculars
Glasses
Sunglasses
Scissors
Headphones
‘Can I borrow your sunglasses?’ is the correct usage, whereas ‘Can I borrow your earphone?’ is incorrect. Similarly, ‘Where did you buy your binoculars?’ is the correct usage, whereas ‘Where did you buy your binoculars?’ is the wrong question to be asked.
Other Types
Other types of plural-only nouns include personal belongings like glasses, scarves, etc., savings like money in your bank account, clothes, etc. There is no singular form for such nouns, and they are always considered to be plural.
Grammar is an essential part of the English language, and the English language being a worldwide language, we need to learn grammar to make our communication efficient and writing skills. Plural only nouns, being a topic coming under nouns, is very important for us. We should be aware of the plural only nouns and their usage so that we don’t mistake them.
FAQs on Plural Only Nouns
1. What all things should have been cared for while using plural-only nouns?
Plural only nouns are the naming words in which their singular form does not exist. Trying to make the plural only noun by removing it at its end is a mistake. Plural only nouns exist as such and cannot be converted to a singular form. Also, while using a plural only noun in a sentence, care should be taken that only the plural pronoun should be used with it. To quantify plural nouns, we can use words like a pair of, two pairs of... etc. with the plural noun.
2. What are the main differences between singular and plural only nouns?
Most of the nouns or naming words are both singular and plural forms. But, there exist some exceptional cases like singular only noun and plural only noun. Nouns that are used in singular form only are called singular only nouns. Names of subjects like Economics, Classics, Maths, and Physics, etc., are examples of singular only nouns even though they have –s in their end. Incase of plural only nouns, only the plural form of the noun exists, whereas the singular form does not exist. Such types of nouns are generally used to describe objects that have two parts but exist as one, as in the case of pants or scissors.
