Which nouns do not have a plural? Singular and plural nouns

All about switches
14.09.2020

Everyone knows that nouns are inflected, that is, they change according to cases and numbers. But does the phrase from the song performed by Marina Khlebnikova sound correct:

Shall I pour you an invigorating cup of coffee?

There are exceptions to every rule. Thus, the word “coffee” refers to indeclinable nouns. It is not used in the plural and does not change according to cases. The correct usage is “a cup of coffee.” The topic of our article will be such exceptions - nouns that have only a singular form. Let's take a closer look.

Nouns: number

It exists not only in mathematics. Nouns also have the number category. Knowing this means using them correctly both in oral speech and in writing. Most nouns denote objects that can be counted. For this purpose, the Russian language has categories of both singular and plural. The most difficult thing is to understand that there are nouns that have only a singular form, or, conversely, only a plural form. At the same time, other nuances arise in speech.

Thus, there are cases when plurality is expressed by the singular form of a noun. An example is the phrase: “The enemy will not pass!” This clearly refers to the enemy army, and not one specific person.

There is a predominant use of individual nouns in the plural:

  • gossip;
  • rein;
  • skis.

Although this is a numerically variable part of speech, and the use of words is quite acceptable:

  • gossip;
  • rein;
  • ski.

Most often, the following nouns do not have a plural form:

  • real;
  • collective;
  • distracted;

Let's look at this in more detail using examples.

Designation of substance, material

What are these words? Singular nouns denoting objects with real meaning. There are quite a lot of them, as evidenced by examples:

  • sugar;
  • milk;
  • petrol;
  • water;
  • asphalt;
  • cotton;
  • ceramics;
  • porcelain.

These nouns cannot be formed into another form, including the plural. You can't put them in touch endings -я, -а, -и, -ы.

Only singular nouns: examples of collective nouns

The names of sets of identical objects or persons are what we call collective nouns. They bring together those who have some common characteristic:

  • students (everyone who studies at universities);
  • youth (part of the population under the age of 30);
  • youth (young people from 14 to 21 years old);
  • childhood (from 0 to 18 years).

Collective nouns that have only a singular form can also refer to inanimate objects:

  • foliage;
  • spruce forest;
  • Flora.

This is just something to remember.

Abstract nouns

These are words that cannot be represented objectively, nor can they be counted. These include names:

  • quality or characteristic (youth, darkness, dexterity, blueness);
  • states or actions (mowing, chopping, fighting, anger, delight).

How to learn to identify only singular nouns? Examples of tasks will help you cope with the task.

Thus, you can choose antonyms for words that, by analogy, also cannot be used in the plural:

  • running;
  • force;
  • aggression;
  • stuffiness;
  • honesty.

(Answers: walking, weakness, calm, freshness, lie).

From a literary text, you can write out all the nouns in three columns according to the principle:

  • used in two numbers;
  • only in one thing;
  • only in the plural.

Thanks to this, it will become clearer that there are much more of the former.

Features: inanimate noun, proper

The singular for proper names is more common. They are rarely used in plural form. This often applies to surnames, if you have to distinguish an entire group of people based on the principle of kinship. Example:

  1. Only the Galkins, Lazarevs and Ivanovskys lived in the small village.
  2. The Kuznetsov family was distinguished by enviable health.

If a proper name acts as a single object and is inanimate, then it must be used in the singular:

  • Moscow.
  • Volga.
  • Mercury.
  • Ural.
  • Uruguay.

This also applies to compound names:

  • "First channel";
  • "Around the World" program;
  • painting "Mona Lisa".

But this is not a complete list. Of course, these are not all nouns that only have a singular form.

Something to remember

In the Russian language, words ending in -mya do not have plural forms. These nouns are simply worth remembering:

  • crown;
  • burden;
  • udder;
  • flame.

But a tribe is tribes, a seed is seeds.

So, we list only singular nouns, examples of which we present in the table.

Another condition by which one can determine that a noun does not have plurality is the absence of a combination with

As you know, English nouns can be singular or plural. Plural of nouns in English language, as well as in Russian, is used to designate two or more objects.

Although unions may be good for a worker, singular, they are not always good for workers, plural. Especially when it comes to finding a job.

While unions may be good for workers in the singular, they are not always good for workers in the plural. This is especially true when looking for a job.

Rules for forming plurals in English Compared to Russian, they do not require memorizing a huge number of endings, alternating vowels or dropping consonants. But, like any other language, there are exceptions and peculiarities of use.

How to correctly add a plural ending, which English nouns form their plurals irregularly? This article will tell you about this and much more.

Plural Formation in English

Reference table: Plural formation in English language

As you know, there are many more than uncountables in the English language. Countable English nouns Countable Nouns) can be singular or plural.

Singular(eng. singular) is used to denote one thing:

a pencil(Russian pencil)

a boy(Russian boy

a house(Russian house)

Plural(eng. plural) means that there is more than one object: two, three, four, many, few, etc.:

two pencils(Russian: two pencils)

three boys(Russian: three boys)

many houses(Russian: many houses)

To correctly use a plural noun, you need to know the rules of formation, of which there are not many.

Rules for forming the plural ending -s

Nouns in English form the plural by adding the singular to the form. -s endings.

Remember:

The plural of most English nouns is formed by ending -(e)s, which is added to a singular noun.

Ending -s can be pronounced like [z] after voiced consonants and vowels or how [s] after voiceless consonants.

Examples of plural formation ending in –s

However, despite the main -s ending rule for plurals, there are slight variations in its addition, which are most often associated with easier pronunciation or a historical tradition.

Plural ending -es

Nouns ending in singular -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -tch, -x, -z (whistling or hissing sounds) form the plural using -es endings to the singular form.

In this case ending -es pronounced like [ɪz] .

Examples of plural formation ending in –es

Sometimes ending -es confused with ending -s, which is added after the silent -e with a preceding consonant -s, -c, -z, -g. Compare:

Ending -es after -y in plural, examples

If a singular noun ends in consonant + y, then in the plural the letter -y changes to –i and the ending is added -es.

If before -y is a vowel, then the plural is formed according to the general rule: the ending is added -s, A the letter -y does not change to –i.

Ending -es after -f in plural, examples

Nouns that singular ending in -f changes -f to –v and adding -es endings.

Nouns that singular ending in –fe, form the plural by changes -f to –v and adding -s endings.

However, there are several nouns that do not fall under this rule: they do not change the letter -f to –v and only add ending –s

Noun wharf(Russian pier) can have two plural forms: wharfs And wharves. Both options are correct.

Ending s or es after -o in the plural

Basic chart for forming the plural of nouns ending in –o

Most nouns ending in the singular in - o, form the plural using -es endings.

Some nouns that end in -o, add only ending –s, that is, they follow the general rule:

But there is another group of nouns, ending in -o, which can form the plural in two ways: by adding endings -s or –es. Here are some of them:

By remembering these words, you will not panic when Google Translator or the Microsoft Office word spelling editor shows errors in a word in red.

Pronunciation of the -es ending in nouns in English

So you see that most nouns form plural by adding ending -(e)s.

As you remember, this ending has several pronunciation options, depending on what letter or sound it comes after.

It is important to remember how to correctly pronounce this ending in different words so that your speech resembles the speech of native speakers.

Plurals in English table

The table below will make it easier to remember the plural of nouns:

Nouns Plural Formation Rules Singular Plural
most nouns ending –s one bird
one street
one rose		 two birds
two streets
two roses
nouns ending in sibilant -sh, -ch, -x, -s ending –es one dish
one match
one class
one box		 two dishes
two matches
two classes
two boxes
nouns end in consonant + y change -y to -i and add the ending -es one baby
one city		 two babies
two cities
nouns end in vowel + y do not change -y, add ending –s one toy
one key		 two toys
two keys
most nouns that end in -f, -fe change -f to -v and add the ending –es one knife
one shelf		 two knives
two shelves
some nouns that end in –f do not change -f and add the ending –s one belief
one cliff
one chief
one roof
one cuff		 two beliefs
two cliffs
two chiefs
two roofs
two cuffs
most nouns that end in -o ending –s one zoo
one radio
one studio
one piano
one solo
one soprano
one photo
one auto
one video		 two zoos
two radios
two studios
two pianos
two solos
two sopranos
two photos
two autos
two videos
some nouns that end in a consonant and the letter –o ending –es one tomato
one potato
one hero
one echo		 two tomatoes
two potatoes
two heroes
two echoes
several nouns ending in –o ending -es/-s one zero
one volcano
one tornado
one mosquito		 two zeroes/zeros
two volcanoes/volcanos
two tornadoes/tornados
two mosquitoes/mosquitos
some nouns don't change one fish
one day
one offspring
one species		 two fish
two years
two offspring
two species
irregular nouns change vowels or completely change the form one child
one foot
one goose
one tooth
one man
one woman
one mouse
one person		 two children
two feet
two geese
two teeth
two men
two women
two mice
two people
borrowing other endings borrowed from other languages one bacterium
one cactus
one crisis
one phenomenon
one datum		 two bacteria
two cacti
two crises
two phenomena
two data

Plurals in English are exceptions

Famous English proverb “There’s a black sheep in every flock” (Russian: “one black sheep spoils the whole flock”)

Some nouns form the plural not according to the general rule - using -s endings, but by changing root vowels or adding atypical endings.

Such words are sometimes called irregular nouns. Let's take a closer look at the exceptions when forming the plural of nouns.

Exception words for plural nouns

Among the exception words you can find some small patterns.

1. Nouns change the root vowel, the pronunciation of the plural noun changes accordingly.

Usually the word "people"(Russian people) is used as the plural of the word "person" - one person- one man, three people- three persons.

Sometimes the word "people"(Russian people) are used when talking about any people, and the word "peoples"- to designate different peoples. And sometimes in official communication or on signs the word appears "persons" .

2. The plural is added ending –en instead of -s, sometimes with a change in the root vowel

3. Some nouns do not change the singular form in the plural, pronunciation too

Word fish(Russian fish) is a special word. This noun has the same singular and plural forms: one fish, five fish.

There is also a form fishes, but it has a different meaning, more than one type or gender: fish– for one type, fishes- for different types.

Plural borrowings in English

Plurals of nouns in English: all exceptions.

As you saw from the table “Formation of the plural of nouns”, many English words of foreign origin do not form the plural according to the rules.

For example, borrowings of Greek pronunciation retained the plural form of their native language:

Special cases of using plural nouns

  • Noun penny(Russian pence) has a plural form pence when it comes to a monetary amount. When individual coins are meant, the form is used pennies.
  • Nouns dozen(Russian dozen, ten) and score(Russian twenty) have the same form for the singular and plural if they come after the numerals: two dozen eggs(Russian: two dozen eggs) and two score (of) years(Russian: forty years). When these nouns are used without a numeral, they form the plural with the addition -s endings.
  • Nouns works(Russian plant) and means(Russian means) have the same form for the singular and plural.
  • Unlike the Russian language, nouns gate(Russian gate), sledge(Russian sleigh), watch(Russian wristwatch), clock(Russian wall clock) in English can be used in singular and plural.
  • Nouns export(Russian export) and import(Russian import) are used in the plural form when talking about the quantity and value of exported or imported goods. In the plural they add ending –s. When talking about the process of exporting or importing, the singular form is used.

It should be noted that ending –s does not always mean multiplication of objects; Often the noun formed by it takes on a new meaning: singular. Closest example: word- word, words– words (plural), but also: conversation, speech, spat, quarrel (singular).

Plurals in compound nouns

Compound or compound nouns are made up of two or more words, usually nouns. These words have special rules for forming the plural.

Rule 1

In compound nouns that written together accepts only the second word.

Rule 2

In compound nouns that written with a hyphen, the plural form is usually accepts the key meaning word.

Rule 3

If the first element man/woman, then in the plural both parts will change :

Rule 4

If in a compound noun no nouns missing, that is, it consists of verbs, particles or adjectives), then ending -s, usually, is added to the last element

Instead of a conclusion:

As you have seen, the rules for forming plurals in English are not that complicated. They can tell you more about them, and to remember them better, we recommend doing a few exercises on plurals right now.

In English, a noun has singular and plural forms: dog – dogs (dog – dogs), box – boxes (box – boxes).

The singular form is conveyed by the so-called. “zero ending” - wall_ (wall – ending “absent”).

The most common way to form a plural is to add an ending –s by the way: cat – cats, wall – walls.

Another common way is to add an ending –es.

1. The ending –es is added to the stem of the word if it ends with –s, -ss, x, z, ch, tch, sh:

  • class – classes (class – classes);
  • bush – bushes (bush – bushes);
  • box – boxes (box – boxes);
  • inch – inches (inch – inches);
  • fox – foxes (fox – foxes);
  • match - matches (match - matches, match - matches).

As a rule, in such words the ending -s is pronounced like .

2. To the stem of a word that ends with consonant +y, while the ending -y changes to –i:

  • army - armies (army - armies);
  • country – countries (country – countries);
  • duty - duties (debt - debts, tax - taxes).

The ending –es in this case is pronounced as [z].

3. If the word ends with the vowel +у, then add to the base of the word -s:

  • Boy – boys (boy – boys);
  • Toy – toys (toy – toys);
  • Day – days (day – days).

The ending –s in this case is pronounced as [z].

4. To the base that ends at -O In most cases:

  • hero – heroes (hero – heroes),
  • potato – potatoes (potatoes – potatoes).
  • Zoo – zoos (zoo – zoos);
  • Photo – photos (photography – photographs);
  • Solo – solos (solo);
  • Piano – pianos (piano);
  • Video – videos (video);
  • Radio – radios (radio).

There are 12 nouns that end in –f or –fe, the plural is formed with -es. Wherein –f changes to –v, and the ending –es is read as [z].

  • Calf – calves (calf – calves);
  • Half – halves (half – halves);
  • Knife – knives (knife – knives);
  • Leaf – leaves (leaf – leaves);
  • Life – lives (life – lives);
  • Loaf – loaves (loaf – loaves);
  • Self – selves (personality – personalities);
  • Sheaf - sheaves (bundle - bunches);
  • Shelf – shelves (shelf – shelves);
  • Thief - thieves (thief - thieves);
  • Wife - wives (wife - wives);
  • Wolf - wolves (wolf - wolves).

Other nouns ending in f are pluralized using the ending –s, which is pronounced [s]:

  • Chief – chiefs (chief – chiefs);
  • Cliff – cliffs (cliff – cliffs);
  • Roof – roofs (roof – roofs);
  • Kerchief – kerchiefs (kerchief – kerchiefs, scarf – shawls).

Exception words

A number of nouns form their plural in a special way that does not follow the rules, namely by changing the vowel at the base of the word. This is an old way of forming the plural of nouns, so the forms of these plural words need to be remembered:

  • Child – children (child – children);
  • Foot – feet (side – feet);
  • Goose - geese (goose - geese);
  • Man – men (man – men, man – people);
  • Woman [‘wumən] [‘women] – women [‘wɪmɪn] ([‘wimen] woman – women);
  • Mouse – mice (mouse – mice);
  • Ox – oxen (bull – bulls);
  • Tooth – teeth (tooth – teeth);
  • Louse - lice (louse - louse).

Noun man often forms words with other nouns, usually denoting nationalities or professions. In these cases, man becomes plural as follows:

  • Englishman - Englishmen (English - English);
  • Fireman - firemen (fireman - firefighters);
  • Businessman - businessmen (businessman - businessmen).

Matching singular and plural forms

There are nouns that have the same singular and plural form (a word in the plural is the same as in the singular):

  • sheep (sheep - sheep),
  • swine (pig - pigs),
  • fish (fish - fish),
  • salmon (salmon – salmon);
  • trout (trout - trout);
  • deer (deer - deer)
  • works (factory - factories);)
  • carft (ship - ship);
  • aircraft (aircraft – airplanes);
  • means (means - means);
  • series (series - series).

Such nouns also include names of nationalities that end in –ese And - ss, For example:

  • Chinese – Chinese, Chinese woman, Chinese;
  • Japanese – Japanese, Japanese;
  • Swiss - Swiss, Swiss.

Plural of nouns borrowed from Latin and Greek

Some words borrowed from Latin and Greek in the 15th century retain their plural forms:

Latin words:

  • Antenna (antenna) – antennae;
  • Datum (given value) – data;
  • Erratum (printing error) – errata;
  • Formula (formula) – formulae;
  • Genius (spirit, demon) – genii;
  • Radius (radius) – radii;
  • Stimulus (stimulus) – stimuli.

Greek words:

  • Bacterium (bacterium) - bacteria;
  • Crisis (crisis) – crises;
  • Ellipsis (ellipse) – ellipses;
  • Thesis (thesis) – theses;
  • Criterion (criterion) – criteria;
  • Phenomenon (phenomenon) – phenomenal;
  • Stadium (stadium) – stadia.

Pluralizing compound nouns

Complex nouns are formed into the plural in a special way.

If a compound noun is written together, then the ending –s (–es) is added to the last part of the word:

  • Schoolboy - schoolboys (schoolboy - schoolchildren);
  • Blackboard - blackboards (board - boards).

If a compound noun is written hyphenated, then the ending is given to that part of the complex noun that carries the main meaning:

  • Daughter-in-law – daughters-in-law (daughter-in-law – daughters-in-law);
  • Passer-by – passers – by (passer-by – passers-by).

Nouns that are used only in the singular

(Singularia Tantum)

There are nouns in English that only have a singular form. These include:

  1. Nouns denoting products: bread - bread, tea - tea, milk - milk.
  2. Abstract nouns: love - love, advice - advice.
  3. Words with the suffix -ics: athletics - athletics, mathematics - mathematics.
  4. Names of games, diseases that end in - s: billiards - billiards, mumps - mumps.
  5. Such nouns as: weather - weather, luggage - luggage, furniture - furniture, money - money, news - news.

Nouns that are used only in the plural

(Pluralia Tantum)

There are nouns in English that only have a plural form. These include:

  1. Nouns denoting paired objects: trousers - trousers, pyjamas (pajamas) - pajamas, scissors - scissors, glasses - glasses, binoculars - binoculars.
  2. Some collective items: clothes - clothes, goods - goods, people - people, police - police, cattle - livestock.

Nouns that have only a singular or only a plural form are uncountable nouns, i.e. those that cannot be counted. Singularia Tantum agrees with words only in the singular, Pluralia Tantum - only in the plural. With words of this group in the singular, the indefinite article a/an is never used; Instead of the indefinite article, the indefinite pronoun some is used:

  • Some milk - milk (a little, some amount of milk);
  • Some bread - bread (a little, some amount of bread).

However, some nouns have special forms of singular formation or denotation of some quantity;

  • A piece of advice - one piece of advice;
  • A piece of furniture - a piece of furniture;
  • A piece of news - one piece of news;
  • A piece of water - a glass of water;
  • A piece of bread - a loaf of bread;
  • A piece of meat - a kilogram of meat;
  • A piece of sugar - a kilogram of sugar;
  • A piece of flour - a kilogram of flour, etc.

Remember that ONLY nouns take the plural form! Adjectives before a noun do not agree with number:

  • Young girls - young girls;
  • Little boys - little boys.

Designation of a group of people

The subject (who? what?), expressed by a noun that denotes a group of people, agrees with the predicate in the singular or plural:

  • in the singular, if the group is perceived as a single whole: Our team was the best in the country. - Our team was the best in the country.
  • in the plural when referring to all team members: Our team were all given medals. — All members of our team got medals.

Dependence of the meaning of some nouns on their number

Some nouns, depending on the number in which they are used, can change their meaning:

    • people (people) - peoples (peoples);
    • glass (glass) - glasses (glasses);
    • wood (wood) - woods (forest);
    • hair (hair) - hairs (hairs).

Despite the fact that the rule seems quite complicated, remember the variety of endings for plural nouns in the Russian language (pines, people, trees, bills, reptiles, troubles, negotiations, etc.). For comparison - girls, ladies, classes. We wish you success!

Difficult plural forms of nouns

Among the forms of nouns, the formation of which may be associated with certain difficulties, include the plural forms of the nominative case ( directors or directors, valves or valve?) and the plural forms of the genitive case of some nouns ( five grams And five grams, five oranges or five orange?)

1. Plural forms of the nominative case of nouns: directors or directors?

The nominative plural form of nouns is checked in dictionary order (according to the dictionary). See section "Word Check" on our portal. Please note: searching for a word in dictionaries is carried out using the initial form (nominative case, singular)!

The dictionary entry is read as follows: if the entry does not specifically indicate the plural form (mark pl.), then to form the nominative plural, the ending is used -And or -s. If a different ending is required (or options are acceptable), then a note is placed: pl. -A. For example:

In the modern Russian literary language, variants fluctuate in the form named after. p.m. hours, number over 300 words. The center of the spread of inflexion -and I) are the areas of vernacular and professional language. In this regard, the forms on -and I) often have a colloquial or professional connotation: contract, mechanic, turner. The forms are on -s(s) more neutral and for most words meet the traditional norms of the literary language. However, in some cases the forms on -and I) have already replaced forms with -s(s).

In addition, you can remember a number of patterns that make it easier to choose the inflection (ending) of the nominative plural:

    Declined neuter nouns, the initial form of which ends in -KO, have an unstressed plural inflection. h. them. P. -And (faces, feathers, apples). The exception is nouns with stressed plural endings. h.: troops And clouds.

    The remaining neuter nouns are in the plural form. h. accept the ending -and I): swamps, fields, seas, windows.

    Form on -and I for some words it may be the only or predominant: side - sides (sides only in phraseological combination hands on hips); century - centuries (eyelids only in phraseological combinations for once, forever and ever, forever and ever), eye - eyes, meadow - meadows, fur - furs, snow - snow, haystack - haystacks, silk - silk.

    Shapes can have different meanings: tones(about color) and tones(about sound) of bread(about cereals) and breads(about baked bread) workshops And workshops(at the enterprise) and workshops(medieval organizations of artisans).

    Forms of nouns can differ in stylistic coloring: sides and outdated sides; Houses and outdated houses; stern and outdated stern; horns and outdated and poet. horns; varieties and outdated varieties; volumes and outdated then we, and thunder and poet. thunder; coffins and poet. coffin

    Finally, the forms of nouns can be equivalent and interchangeable: of the year And years(But: years of youth, severe hardships; nineties, zero years), workshops And workshops(at the enterprise), storms And storms.

    To resolve the issue of the status of a “controversial” form of a word (non-normative, variant, stylistically colored, etc.), in any case, you need to consult a dictionary.

Non-standard plurals are formed for words child - children, person - people, bottom - donya and some others.

2. Plural forms of the genitive case of nouns: five grams or five grams?

For most masculine nouns ending in a hard consonant ( orange, tomato, fly agaric, computer, sock), the ending is typical -s in the genitive plural form: oranges, tomatoes, fly agarics, computers, socks etc. A wide range of exceptions can be identified from this rule - similar nouns, but having a zero ending in the genitive plural: one stocking - no stockings, one Ossetian - five Ossetians, one gram - five grams And five grams etc. Such words include:

    Names of people by nationality and by belonging to military units, mainly used in the plural forms in the collective meaning: Magyars - Magyars, Turkmens - Turkmens, midshipmen - midshipmen and midshipmen, partisans - partisans, soldiers - soldiers; this also includes the form p. p.m. h. Human.

    Names of paired items: boots - boots, eyes - eyes, cuffs - cuffs, shoulder straps - shoulder straps, stockings - stockings, epaulettes - epaulettes, boots - boots.

    Names of measures and units of measurement: 220 volts, 1000 watts, 5 amps, 500 gigabytes. If such names are used outside the “measuring” context (in other words, the genitive case form is not countable), then the ending is used -s: live without excess kilograms, not enough gigabytes.

It should be noted that the names of fruits, fruits and vegetables, which are masculine nouns, ending in a hard consonant ( orange, eggplant, tomato, tangerine), in the genitive plural form. hours have an ending -s: five oranges, a kilogram of eggplants, New Year without tangerines, tomato salad.

For some nouns, plural forms are formed. Part gen. n. difficult; these are words dream, prayer, head. On the contrary, the words shchetz And firewood have no other forms except the plural form. Part gen. case.

See: "Russian Grammar", M., 1980.

Nouns denoting objects that are not counted or combined with cardinal numerals do not have plural forms. This group includes:

1) nouns denoting substance, material (material nouns): butter, milk, sugar, water, oil, steel, copper.

The plural form of some of these nouns is possible, but only to designate certain varieties and brands: alloy steels, technical oils, carbonated waters. Sometimes the shape of a number is associated with the distinction of semantic meanings. Mud (“soaked mud”) does not have a plural, and dirt (“medicinal mud”) does not have a singular; brain (“an organ of the central nervous system” and “the substance that forms this organ”) does not have a plural, and brains (“a dish of animal brains”) does not have a singular;

2) collective nouns: spruce forest, youth, students;

3) abstract (abstract) nouns: whiteness, purity, laziness, kindness, thinness, enthusiasm, running around, mowing, walking, warmth, dampness, thaw, etc.

The plural form possible for some of them gives them a specific meaning: depths of the sea, inaccessible heights, local authorities;

4) proper names. These words receive a plural form only if they are used as a common noun or designate a group of people bearing the same surname: Were there Manilovs, Sobakeviches, Lazarevs before Gogol? Certainly. But they existed in a formless state, invisible to others (Ehrenburg); The Aksakov brothers, the Kireevsky shaves, the Tolstoy family.

Nouns that have only plural forms

Nouns that do not have a singular number mainly include the following groups:

1) names of paired or complex (composite) objects: sleigh, droshky, scissors, pliers, gates, glasses, trousers, etc.;

2) the names of some abstract actions and games (abstract-collective): burners, hide and seek, blind man's buff, chess, checkers, etc.;

3) designations of individual time periods (usually long): day, weekdays, twilight, vacations, etc.;

4) names of any mass of substance (substance-collective): pasta, cream, yeast, ink, perfume, etc.;

5) proper names associated with the original collective meaning: Alps, Carpathians, Kholmogory, Gorki.

Some of these nouns denote countable objects, but their singularity and plurality are not expressed by the number form. Wed: I lost my scissors. - The store sells scissors of different sizes; The entrance is opposite the gate. - There are two gates leading into the courtyard.

Noun case

The noun, depending on the functions it performs in the sentence, changes according to cases. Case is a grammatical category that shows the syntactic role of a noun and its relationship with other words in a sentence.

Changing the same word according to cases and numbers is called declension.

There are six cases in modern Russian: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental and prepositional.

All cases, with the exception of the nominative, are called indirect. Indirect cases can be used both with and without a preposition (except for the prepositional case, which in modern Russian is not used without a preposition). Prepositions serve to clarify the meaning of cases.

Basic meanings of cases

The nominative case form is the original case form of the word. In this form, the noun is used to name a person, an object, or a phenomenon. This case always contains the subject (as well as its appendix): The girl entered the room; The night passed unnoticed; The siskin was slammed shut by the villainous trap (Kr.). In the same case there can be a nominal part of a compound predicate: Grushnitsky - cadet; Khor was a positive person (T.). The nominative case also contains the main member of a one-part nominative sentence: Here is the disgraced house (P.). Outside the syntactic connection with the sentence in the nominative case there is an appeal: Father, father, leave it by the thunderstorm... (L.); Make noise, make noise, obedient sail (P.).

The genitive case is used both after verbs and after names. The meanings and syntactic use of the genitive case are very diverse.

The verb genitive case indicates an object in a number of cases: a) if the transitive verb has a negation: not to cut the grass, not to tell the truth; 6) if the action passes not to the entire object, but to part of it (genitive part, or genitive disjunctive): drink water, eat bread, chop wood. This case also has the meaning of absence, deprivation, removal, fear of something: He lost his parents in early childhood (Ch.); No matter how hard we tried to avoid the fords, we could not get rid of them (Ars.); These chapters did not escape the common fate. Gogol burned them at different times (Cor.); the meaning of desire, achievement: ...I wish for glory (P.); ...I want freedom, independence (Gonch.).

The adjective genitive case indicates a number of attributive relations: belongings - father's house, sister's room; relationship of the whole to the part: hotel corridor, treetop; qualitative relationships (qualitative assessment): khaki cap, tears of joy, man of honor and some others.

Nouns in the genitive case, used in the comparative form of adjectives, denote the object with which something is compared: more beautiful than a flower, faster than sound, sweeter than honey, whiter than snow, etc.

The dative case (most often after verbs, but also possible after a name) is used mainly to designate the person or object to which the action is directed (dative addressee): say hello to a friend, threaten an enemy, order to the troops.

In impersonal sentences, the dative case can name a person or object that experiences the state expressed by the predicate of the impersonal sentence: Sasha can’t sleep (N.); But Tatyana (P.) suddenly became scared; My patient is getting worse (T.).

The accusative case is used mainly with verbs. Its main meaning is to express with transitive verbs the object to which the action passes completely: catch crucian carp, clean a gun, sew a dress, make a casting. In addition, the accusative case can be used to express quantity, space, distance, time. In this meaning, it is used with both transitive and intransitive verbs: I sang the whole summer without a soul (Kr.); Arriving in Tiflis, I began to hear him [name] on all roads, in all places, every day, every hour (G. Usp.); walk a mile, weigh a ton, cost a penny, etc.

The instrumental case is used in combination with verbs and with names.

The verb instrumental case has the basic meaning of an instrument or means of action: With a long twig the man drove the geese into the city to sell (Kr.); The old woman propped herself up with her palm (L.T.), etc.

The instrumental verb case can also have meanings of place, time, space, image and method of action: Black smoke rushes in clouds to the clouds (Kr.); The horses, snorting, flew like a whirlwind... (N.); A slightly beaten path led through the forest (A.N.T.); -...Well, dead! - the little one shouted in a deep voice... (N.), etc.

The instrumental case of the verb can have the meaning of the producer of the action: The novel “Smoke” was written by Turgenev in 1867.

Finally, the instrumental predicative is highlighted, which is used to express the nominal part of the compound predicate: The first Russian scientist [M.V. Lomonosov], who revealed to us what science is, had to become a chemist, a physicist, a historian, a political economist, an orator, and, in addition, a scientist (Dobrolyubov).

The prenominal instrumental case is used: a) with nouns with the meaning of an instrument of action: kicking, vacuuming; producer action: guarding the garden by a watchman; action content: classes foreign language; definitive: mustache with a ring, cap with a pancake; in relatively rare cases - with the meaning of the mode of action: tenor singing; b) with adjectives to indicate the area of ​​manifestation of a characteristic with the meaning of limitation: known for discoveries, strong in feelings.

The prepositional case is used with both verbs and names, but always only with a preposition (hence its name).

The prepositional prepositional case with the preposition about (about, about) is used to designate the subject of thought or speech: And for a long, long time the grandfather spoke with sadness about the bitter lot of the plowman (N.); It is clear that only military failures forced the Austrian government to think about internal improvements (Chern.), etc.

With the preposition in (in) it is used to indicate a place, space, an object within (or inside) of which an action is performed: Baimakova is anxiously rummaging through a large, forged chest, kneeling in front of it (M. G.); [Ayanov] ...had a twelve-year-old daughter who was raised at public expense at the institute (Gonch.); and also to indicate condition, appearance. On her windowsill there was a balsam in bloom (M. G.); The river in all its beauty and grandeur, like solid glass, spread out before them (G.).

With the preposition na, it is used to indicate the surface where something is located, happening: On the arms, on the back, on the shoulders, every muscle played; to indicate the limit, the boundary of the spread of any action, state: Nikolai Petrovich was born in the south of Russia, like his older brother Pavel (T.); In the village, here and there the gates creaked (N. Usp.).

With the preposition when, it is used to indicate being nearby, in the presence of someone: We sat down on a log left by the driver of the timber along the road in winter (Prishv.), The General quickly dictated several lines of a short order under Saburov (Sim.).

The prepositional adjectival case is used with nouns (mainly verbal) that control the prepositional case:

· with the preposition about (thought, speech, report, message, etc. about something): The rumor about this incident reached Kiril Petrovich (P.) on the same day; The thought of Nicholas marrying a rich bride occupied the old countess more and more (L.T.);

· with the preposition at - to indicate a place: a garden at the institute, a sister at the sanatorium;

· with the preposition in - to indicate a place, space, object: life in the trenches, storage in the snow, etc.


Related information.