Grammar | *Still* Confused by Nouns? 3 *MORE* Things You Need to Know!

Hello! This is Ms Daphne from Lil But Mighty again! Nouns are confusing, but you have done an amazing job understanding what are countable and uncountable nouns, as well as how to quantify uncountable nouns. In today’s blog post, we will be discussing three more types of nouns that you come across in the English language. Are you ready? Here we go!

1. Exceptional Nouns I
(Same Singular and Plural Form)

Other than mass nouns, there is another type of noun that can be confusing – a noun that remains the same in both singular and plural forms.

To identify if these exceptional nouns are singular or plural, simply look at the verbs (highlighted in bold) in the sentence. If the noun is singular, a singular verb will accompany it in the same sentence. Likewise, if the noun is plural, the accompanying verb would be plural too.

If you are being tested on the right verb to use and you are not sure if the noun is singular or plural, be sure to look for other clues. For instance, “many” in “Many fish ______ swimming up the river” tells us that a plural verb should be used. Hence, look for these clues!

2. Exceptional Nouns II
(Uncountable Nouns with a Plural Form)

Great job on understanding how atypical nouns function! Now, I will touch on uncountable nouns that have a plural form in special circumstances.

With the help of pictures and definitions, I hope it has been made easier for you to understand how these uncountable nouns become plural nouns under these instances.

3. Always Plural Nouns  

Last but not least, I will like to share with you that some nouns that are always plural! Can you believe that?

When these nouns are used directly, they are plural. However, you may ask me why “policeman” is singular, when “police” is a plural noun. To understand this, simply remember that “police” refers to many people, whereas “man” in “policeman” indicates that there is only one person.

However, what about “scissors”, “pants” and glasses”?  These nouns come in twos and hence, are always viewed as plural. The rule changes when they are used with “pair of”.

As you can see, when always plural nouns are used with “pair of”, they become a set and is therefore singular. The verb will now agree with “pair” or “pairs” instead of “scissors”.

Exam Alert! These exceptional and always plural nouns are often used to set tricky questions in Grammar MCQ, Grammar Cloze and Editing, where you will have to provide the correct singular or plural verb in present or past tense.

Before we say goodbye, I would like to share with you an easy way to remember the different types of nouns. Use C.A.U.S.E. to ask yourself if the noun is countable, always plural, uncountable, a set or an exceptional noun.

Wow! You’ve done an amazing job in understanding the different types of confusing nouns that often appear in the English exam. That’s all for this blog post! See you next time!^-^/

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