Virtuous English Academy
Singular and Plural Nouns + There is / There are (A1)
- #A1
- #Grammar
- #Rules
- #Quiz
- #Examples
This lesson covers how to turn singular nouns into plurals and when to say there is (one thing) or there are (many things). You will learn the main spelling rules and practise describing what exists around you.
A singular noun names one thing; a plural noun names more than one. In English the regular pattern is refreshingly simple — add -s — but the spelling changes that follow certain endings, plus a short list of irregular forms, account for a large share of beginner mistakes. Getting plurals right matters more than it looks, because the noun controls the verb: one book is on the table, but two books are on the table.
English also divides nouns into countable and uncountable, and this distinction has no exact equivalent in many languages. Countable nouns can be counted one by one and have a plural: one chair, three chairs. Uncountable nouns — water, rice, money, information, advice, furniture — are treated as a single mass and have no plural form at all. Saying informations or advices is one of the most recognisable A1 errors.
Work through the spelling rules in the table below rather than memorising individual words. Once you know that a noun ending in a consonant plus -y changes to -ies, you can form the plural of city, baby, country, party and hundreds more without ever looking them up.
How to form Singular and Plural Nouns + There is / There are
| Noun ending | Rule | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| most nouns | add -s | book → books, car → cars |
| -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -z | add -es | bus → buses, watch → watches, box → boxes |
| consonant + -y | change y to -ies | city → cities, baby → babies |
| vowel + -y | just add -s | boy → boys, day → days |
| -f or -fe | usually change to -ves | knife → knives, leaf → leaves |
| -o | add -es (some add -s) | potato → potatoes, photo → photos |
| irregular | no rule — learn them | child → children, man → men, foot → feet |
| unchanging | same in both forms | sheep, fish, aircraft, series |
Singular and Plural Nouns + There is / There are: the key rules
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Most nouns add -s to form the plural; nouns ending in -s, -sh, -ch, -x or -o add -es.
one book → two books; one watch → two watches
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Nouns ending in consonant + y change y to -ies; nouns ending in -f or -fe often change to -ves.
city → cities; knife → knives
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Some everyday nouns are irregular and must be memorised.
man → men, woman → women, child → children, foot → feet, person → people
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Use there is with singular nouns and there are with plural nouns to say what exists.
There is a park near my house. There are two cafés on my street.
When to use Singular and Plural Nouns + There is / There are
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Counting and quantity
Any time you put a number above one in front of a countable noun, the noun must be plural.
I bought three tickets and two sandwiches.
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Talking about things in general
English uses the plural with no article to make general statements — a very common pattern that beginners often over-articled.
Dogs need exercise. Books are expensive here.
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Matching the verb to the noun
The noun decides the verb form. A singular subject takes is/was and a third-person -s; a plural subject takes are/were and no -s.
The window is open. The windows are open.
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Using uncountable nouns correctly
Uncountable nouns stay singular and take a measure word when you need to count them.
I need some information and two pieces of advice.
Countable vs. uncountable nouns
This is the distinction that decides whether a plural is even possible, and which quantity words you can use.
Countable
Has a singular and a plural. Works with a/an, numbers, many and few.
an apple, six apples, many apples, few apples
Uncountable
One form only, always singular. Works with some, much and little, but never with a/an or a number.
some bread, much bread, little bread — never a bread or two breads
Singular and Plural Nouns + There is / There are in example sentences
- There are five buses an hour to the airport.-es after -s; plural subject takes are.
- Both of my sisters are teachers.Two plurals — the people and their jobs both need -s.
- We visited three cities in one week.consonant + y becomes -ies.
- The children are playing in the garden.children is already plural; never say childrens.
- He cut the bread with two sharp knives.-fe becomes -ves; bread is uncountable and stays singular.
- I took a lot of photos on holiday.photo takes -s, not -es — one of the exceptions to the -o rule.
- She gave me some useful advice about the exam.advice is uncountable — never advices.
- Three sheep escaped from the field.sheep has the same form in singular and plural.
Singular and Plural Nouns + There is / There are in a real conversation
Watch how each plural noun pulls the verb with it, and how the uncountable nouns stay singular.
Clerk:How many boxes do you need?
Ines:Two large ones, please. And do you sell knives?
Clerk:We do, but the good ones are in aisle four.
Ines:Thanks. I also need some rice and three potatoes.
Clerk:The vegetables are at the back. Those tomatoes are on offer today.
Ines:Perfect. That's all my shopping done.
Common mistakes (and how to fix them)
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There is three chairs in the room.
There are three chairs in the room.
Three chairs is plural, so the verb must be are.
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I saw two childs at the bus stop.
I saw two children at the bus stop.
Child has an irregular plural: children.
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She has three baby.
She has three babies.
Consonant + y becomes -ies in the plural.
Practice questions
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___ a red apple on the kitchen table.There isThere areIs there
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Look! There are three ___ playing in the garden.childchildrenchildrens
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___ five new student desks in our classroom.There isThere areThere aren't
Practise Singular and Plural Nouns + There is / There are today
Plurals stick fastest when you group words by their spelling rule.
- Make four columns — add -s, add -es, -ies, irregular — and sort twenty everyday nouns into them.
- Write the plural of: box, party, knife, child, tomato, key, woman, fish.
- List ten things in your kitchen and mark each one countable or uncountable.
- Write five sentences with plural subjects, checking the verb is are or were each time.
Singular and Plural Nouns + There is / There are: frequently asked questions
Why is it children and not childs?
Children survives from an older stage of English that used different plural endings, including -en, which you can still see in oxen and in the archaic brethren. Modern English standardised on -s, but a handful of very frequent words kept their old forms — man/men, woman/women, foot/feet, tooth/teeth, mouse/mice, child/children. Because they are so common, learning these eight or nine words covers nearly every irregular plural you will meet.
Is data singular or plural?
Historically data is the plural of the Latin datum, and formal scientific writing still treats it that way: The data are inconclusive. In everyday and business English it is now normally treated as an uncountable noun taking a singular verb: The data is ready. Both are defensible; choose one and stay consistent within a document. The same shift is happening with media and agenda.
Why can I not say an information?
Information is uncountable in English, so it has no singular unit and cannot take a/an or a plural -s. When you need to count it, add a measure phrase: a piece of information, two pieces of information. The same applies to advice, news, furniture, luggage, equipment, homework and progress — all uncountable in English even though many languages make them countable.
Do words ending in -o always take -es?
No, and this is one of the genuinely inconsistent corners of English spelling. Older, everyday words tend to take -es: potatoes, tomatoes, heroes, echoes. Words borrowed more recently, especially shortened ones and musical terms, take -s: photos, pianos, kilos, videos, studios. A few accept either. When you are unsure, -s is the safer guess for a modern or shortened word.