Number [num]

STEP 1: DEFINITION

Number refers to singular and plural usage of nouns in English. Nouns must agree in number with their determiners. They are divided into three main categories:

      • singular count nouns
      • plural count nouns
      • noncount nouns

They may be preceded by determiners that agree in number such as:

  • the
  • this
  • these
  • much
  • some
  • all
  • several
  • one, two, three, etc.
  • a, an
  • that
  • those
  • many
  • any
  • both
  • a few
  • various

SINGULAR COUNT NOUNS

    • use singular determiners: a telephone, an answering machine, the stereo, this calculator, that calendar
    • can usually be made plural by adding /s/, /es/ or /ies/: pen/pens, class/classes, variety/varieties
Some irregular count nouns can be made plural by changing their singular endings to /a/, /i/, or /es/:curriculum/curricula, stimulus/ stimuli, crisis/crises

There are many irregular count nouns. Check the Longman Advanced Dictionary at: http://www.longman-elt.com/dictionaries.

PLURAL COUNT NOUNS

use determiners such as:
  • the
  • these
  • those
  • some
  • severl
  • many
  • few
  • a few

NONCOUNT NOUNS

1) often represent large categories and abstract concepts. Gerunds and nouns that represent particles too small to count are also noncount nouns. Here are some common noncount nouns:

  • jewelry
  • makeup
  • clothing
  • laundry
  • washing
  • cotton
  • information
  • weather
  • snow
  • sleet
  • hail
  • fog
  • dirt
  • smoke
  • dust
  • grammar
  • vocabulary
  • homework
  • housework
  • work
  • traffic
  • integrity
  • equipment
  • furniture
  • merchandise
  • software
  • hardware
  • trash
  • cash
  • money
  • discrimination
  • violence
  • poverty
  • pollution
  • sand
  • economics
  • linguistics
  • physics
  • mathematics
  • engineering
  • research
  • intelligence

2) use determiners such as

  • the
  • this
  • that
  • some
  • much
  • little
  • a little
  • enough

3) are always singular and always require singular verbs:

    • The mail is late.
    • Smoking ruins our health.
    • Your financial support helps us succeed.

Errors in number occur when students form singular or plural nouns incorrectly, or when they use incorrect or unnecessary determiners.

Incorrect: His feets hurt.

Correct: His feet hurt.

Incorrect: Who gave you advices?

Correct: Who gave you advice?

Incorrect: These information is good.

Correct: This information is good.

Incorrect: I have a homework.

Correct: I have homework.

STEP 2: PRACTICE EXERCISES

Practice 1 - Recognizing number errors in sentences
Practice 2 - Recognizing number errors in paragraphs

STEP 3: LEARNING MORE

For more information on number, follow these links:

http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/collectivenoun.htm
http://rwc.hunter.cuny.edu/writing/on-line/countable.html
http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/nouns.html#abstract noun