Download PDF – Additional information about Nouns as Parts of Speech

Some Additional information about Nouns as Parts of Speech

1. There are some nouns which seem to be plural but are singular, such as Mathematics, physics, gymnastics, series, news.
   Example – A four-match series is being played between England and India in the Lord’s stadium.
2. There are some nouns which seem to be singular but exist in plural, therefore plural verbs are used with them. For instance, children, cattle, people, police, infantry.
   Example –
   Incorrect The police has arrived at the crime scene.
   Correct The police have arrived at the crime scene.
3. There are some nouns which are plural and exist in form but cannot be converted into the singular form. Note- Always use the singular verb with them until numbers are specified.

   Consider the following examples:

   • A pair of scissors have been misplaced by Rahul.
     Correct A pair of scissors has been misplaced by Rahul.
   • The contents of the agreement is unclear.
     Correct The content of the agreement is unclear.
   • All the evidences found against him were baseless.
     Correct All the evidence found against him was baseless.
4. When in a sentence there is a numerical adjective with a noun, we cannot use the plural of that noun if there is another noun after it.
   Example – She is a three years old toddler. Here, the plural of ‘year’ cannot be used as there is another noun (toddler) after it.
   Correct She is a three year old toddler.
   Alternatively, the following is also correct The toddler is three years old.
5. After the phrase, some of/each of/either of/neither/any of/none of, a plural form of the noun is used.
   Example –
   • i) Neither of the boys is rich.
   • ii) Mumbai is one of the biggest cities in India.
6. There are some nouns which exist both in singular and plural form. The nature of verb depends upon the sense of sentence and noun.
   i) The audience are humbly requested to be seated in their seats. Here, individual members of the audience are being talked about.
   ii) The audience is quiet. Here, the audience has been treated as a single unit.
7. The ‘apostrophe’ and ‘s’ (‘s) cannot be used with non- living things to show possession.
   Example –
   Incorrect The chair’s arms were broken.
   Correct The arms of the chair were broken.