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Singular Noun: Definition, Rules, Examples, Usage, Worksheet

Singular Noun: A singular noun is a word that represents one person, place, thing, or idea. It refers to a single item rather than multiple items. Here are some examples of Singular Nouns.

  • Person: man, woman, teacher
  • Place: city, park, school
  • Thing: car, book, apple
  • Idea: love, happiness, freedom

Singular Noun Definition

A singular noun has the same definition as a noun in general. A noun is a word that is used to refer to a person or object, as defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as “a term that refers to a person, place, thing, event, substance, or quality.” According to the Collins Dictionary, “a noun is a word such as “car,” “love,” or “Anne.”

What is a Singular Noun?

In English Grammar, a singular noun is a word that refers to a single person, place, thing, or idea. It represents one item or individual. Singular nouns are used when we are talking about one specific thing or when we are referring to something in a general sense. They are the opposite of plural nouns, which represent more than one item.

Singular Noun Rules

All the important rules for Singular Noun are discussed here.

1.If the subject of the sentence is singular then the verb must be singular.

Example: Cow chews, Boy goes.

2. The plural form of large numbers, such as hundred, thousand, million, and billion, is used when they are specific.

Example: eight hundred, hundreds of students

3. Mass nouns are always singular.

Example: Snow falls

4. When referring to one group, collective nouns are single; however, when discussing many groups, they are plural.

Example: Our team wins the match

5. Amounts or quantities taken collectively function as singular.

Example: The first two kilometers is the hardest part.

Singular Nouns Examples

Have a look at the following table consisting of examples of singular nouns.

People Places Animals Things Ideas
Boy Cairo Cheetah Table Invention
Girl School Deer Chair Description
Child Hospital Fish Blackboard Conviction
Man College Pelican Bike Honesty
Woman Paris Ostrich Aeroplane Grace
Lad Coimbatore Dinosaur Pencil Pride
Individual Bangalore Monkey Elastic Destruction
Chap St. John’s Medical College Grasshopper Chalk Competition
Lass HillCrest Hospital Rhinoceros Dress Idea
Male Twin Towers Zebra Pin Ideology
Female Bus stand Owl Needle Biology
Citizen Railway station Bear Tomato Evolution

Singular Countable Noun

Here are a few examples of singular countable nouns:

  • Book
  • Pencil
  • Table
  • Phone
  • Boy
  • Child
  • Bird
  • Snake
  • Door
  • Cycle

Singular Possessive Noun

Check out the singular possessive nouns given below.

  • Tom’s bike
  • Bird’s toy
  • Dog’s tail
  • Sandra’s mom
  • Peter’s cat
  • Bike’s handle
  • Mr. Shaw’s house
  • Deborah’s flower shop
  • Pigeon’s Wings
  • My sister’s paintbrush

List of Singular Nouns

Many other noun categories also permit singular nouns. Let’s explore some examples of various noun categories being used as singular nouns.

  • Common nouns: boy, girl, lion, baseball
  • Proper nouns: John, Texas, Abraham Lincoln, America
  • Concrete nouns: desk, house, dirt, cake
  • Abstract nouns: war, poverty, happiness, unemployment
  • Countable nouns: book, toy, table, chair
  • Uncountable nouns: rice, water, sugar, flour

Singular Noun Usage

Here are some examples of singular nouns used in sentences.

  • Sita bought a pencil yesterday.
  • Dan and Sid gave me chocolate.
  • Did he get the dress for his sister?
  • I saw a baby monkey on the way to school today.
  • When will you reach home?
  • Jared killed a spider.
  • I won the game.
  • The Sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
  • His honesty was appreciated by everyone in the area.
  • The judge accepted his plea.

Difference between Singular Noun and Plural Noun

A singular noun refers to only one person, place, animal, thing etc., and a plural noun refers to more than one person, place, animal, thing etc. Singular nouns are nouns in the original form, without any inflection. Plural nouns are formed with the addition of ‘s’, ‘es’, ‘ies’, ‘oes’, ‘ves’ or by adding a suffix. The verbs change according to the singular or plural form of the noun used.

Singular Plural
  • I found a dog on the street.
  • I found dogs on the street.
  • The child was playing.
  • The children were playing.
  • Their son is coming home this month.
  • Their sons are coming home this month.
  • The boy has an orange for breakfast every day.
  • The boys have oranges for breakfast every day.
  • Noah used his sister’s paintbrush to finish his painting.
  • Noah used his sister’s paintbrushes to finish his painting.
  • I am going to buy a dress.
  • I am going to buy some dresses.
  • They rescued the wounded elephant.
  • They rescued the wounded elephants.
  • The game went on as planned.
  • The games went on as planned.
  • Denny gave his mom a bangle.
  • Denny gave his mom some bangles.
  • Did you choose the outfit for your cousin’s wedding?
  • Did you choose the outfits for your cousin’s wedding?

Singular Noun Worksheet

Write the correct singular and plural forms of the given words –

  1. roses →
  2. Mango →
  3. boys →
  4. Glass →
  5. families →
  6. potatoes →
  7. Knife →
  8. wives →
  9. feet →
  10. photos →
  11. children →
  12. Goose  →
  13. sandwiches →
  14. fish →

Answers – 

  1. rose
  2. Mangoes
  3. boy
  4. Glasses
  5. family
  6. potato
  7. Knives
  8. wife
  9. foot
  10. photo
  11. child
  12. Geese
  13. sandwich
  14. fish

Find the Singular Forms of the given plural words –

Plural Noun Your Answers 
syllabi/syllabuses
 ?
spies  ?
babies ?
cities  ?
women ?
halves  ?
houses ?
people
cats ?
men
nuclei ?
wishes
pitches ?
loaves
theses  ?
ANSWERS –

Singular Noun

  1. syllabus
  2. spy
  3. baby
  4. City
  5. woman
  6. half
  7. house
  8. person
  9. cat
  10. man
  11. nucleus
  12. wish
  13. pitch
  14. loaf
  15. thesis

Rewrite the sentences with the correct form of singular or plural Nouns-

  1. There are a few coackroach in the kitchen.
  2. There are many buffalo in the field.
  3. There are many foot prints on the path.
  4. We have two antenna on our roof.
  5. She has three child at home.
  6. I need to buy a new camera.

Answers –

  1. There are a few cockroaches in the kitchen.
  2. There are many buffalo in the field.
  3. There are numerous Footprints along the path.
  4. We have a pair of Antennas on our roof.
  5. She has three children at home.
  6. I want to buy a new camera.

Write Correct Singular Forms –

Singular Noun

 

Related Articles
Common Nouns Proper Nouns
Collective Nouns Abstract Nouns
Possessive Nouns Compound Nouns

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FAQs

What is a singular noun?

A singular noun refers to a part of speech that is used to name a person, place, animal, thing or idea. For example, fish, school, Leena, Ravi, courage, etc.

What are examples of singular nouns?

Some examples of singular nouns are pen, slate, chalk, bottle, tub, soap, window, phone, cycle, pigeon, chair, game, meal and so on.

Is all singular or plural?

Since “all” refers to more than one thing, it's a plural, so the correct noun clause is “all that remains.” Things like mass nouns (i.e. uncountable) are singular. You might say “all of the wheat is ground up,” for example. So be careful with all that you write.

What are the rules for singular and plural nouns?

Singular nouns represent only one thing, but plural nouns represent more than one. If someone stands alone we call them a “person” (singular), but if there's more than one person, we call them “people” (plural).