What Does Singular Mean? (Definition and Examples)
What Does Singular Mean? (Definition and Examples)
The word singular denotes a quantity of one. Singular contrasts with plural, which denotes more than one. For example:- One shark / three sharks (The word shark is singular, but sharks is plural.)
- She dances. / We dance. (She is a singular pronoun, and dances is a singular verb.)
(Note: The word shark is a singular noun, but sharks is a plural noun.)
(We is a plural pronoun, and dance is a plural verb.)
Most Nouns Have Singular and Plural Forms
Most nouns have singular and plural forms. Nouns with singular and plural forms (e.g., shark/sharks, woman/women) are known as a countable noun.Countable nouns contrast with a non-countable nouns. Non-countable nouns (e.g., honesty, oxygen) are always singular. They do not have a plural forms.
Below are some countable nouns which are plural in number:
Read more about plural nouns.
Agreement in Number (Singular or Plural)
When studying grammar, you often encounter the term agree in number. In English, lots of constructions must agree in number. For example:A singular subject must have a singular verb, and a plural subject must have a plural verb.
- She is leaving.
(She is a singular subject, and is leaving is a singular verb.)
- The mouse has eaten our muffins.
(The mouse is a singular subject, and has eaten is a singular verb.)
- The rats have chewed the cable.
(The rats is a plural subject, and have chewed is a plural verb.)
A demonstrative adjective (this, that, these, and those) must agree in number with the noun it modifies.
- This feedback is welcome.
(This is a singular adjective, and feedback is a singular noun.)
- These notes are unhelpful.
(These is a plural adjective, and notes is a plural noun.)
A possessive adjective (my, your, his, her, its, our, and their) must agree in number and gender with the noun it represents.
- Sarah shook her fist.
(The possessive adjective her probably refers to Sarah, but it could feasible refer to another female individual.)
- We took their weapons.
(The possessive adjective their refers to an unnamed group of people.)
Pronouns Can be Singular, Plural...or Both
In English, some pronouns are always singular (e.g., she, it, this), and some are always plural (e.g., they, we, those). Some pronouns can be singular or plural. Here is a list of the most common pronouns showing whether each is singular, plural or both.| Singular Pronouns | Plural Pronouns | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Pronoun Type: Personal Pronouns | ||
| I/Me | - | I am happy. |
| You | You | You are happy. You are happy. |
| He/Him | - | He is happy. |
| She/Her | - | She is happy. |
| It | - | It is happy. |
| - | We/Us | We are happy. |
| - | They/Them | They are happy. |
| Pronoun Type: Intensive Pronouns and Reflexive Pronouns | ||
| Myself | - | I am looking at myself. |
| Yourself | - | You are looking at yourself. |
| Himself | - | He is looking at himself. |
| Herself | - | She is looking at herself. |
| Itself | - | It is looking at itself. |
| - | Ourselves | We are looking at ourselves. |
| - | Yourselves | You are looking at yourselves. |
| - | Themselves | They are looking at themselves. |
| Pronoun Type: Interrogative Pronouns | ||
| Who/Whom | Who/Whom | Who is he? Who are they? |
| Whose | Whose | Whose is it? Whose are they? |
| What | What | What is it? What are they? |
| Which | Which | Which is it? Which are they? |
| Pronoun Type: Demonstrative Pronouns | ||
| That | - | That is heavy. |
| This | - | This is heavy. |
| - | Those | Those are heavy. |
| - | These | These are heavy. |
| Pronoun Type: Relative Pronouns | ||
| Who/Whom | Who/Whom | The man who is looking at the car... The men who are looking at the car... |
| That | That | The dog that is barking... The dogs that are barking... |
| Which | Which | The car which is broken... The cars which are broken... |
| Pronoun Type: Indefinite Pronouns | ||
| All | All | All is available. All are available. |
| Any | Any | Any is available. Any are available. |
| Anyone | - | Anyone is available. |
| Anything | - | Anything is available. |
| Each | - | Each is available. |
| Everybody | - | Everybody is available. |
| Everyone | - | Everyone is available. |
| Everything | - | Everything is available. |
| - | Few | Few are available. |
| - | Many | Many are available. |
| Nobody | - | Nobody is available. |
| None | None | None is available None are available. |
| - | Several | Several are available. |
| Some | Some | Some is available. Some are available. |
| Somebody | - | Somebody is available. |
| Someone | - | Someone is available. |
See Also
What are countable nouns? What are non-countable nouns? More about forming the plurals of nouns More about subject-verb agreement Glossary of grammatical terms
Quick Test
Note
Collective Nouns Can Be Singular or Plural
Nouns that represent groups (called collective nouns) can be treated as singular or plural, depending on the sense of the sentence. For example:- The shoal was moving north.
(The collective noun shoal is treated as singular because it is considered as one entity.)
- The shoal were darting in all directions.
(Here, shoal is treated as plural because the focus is on the individuals.)
Read more about treating collective nouns as singular or plural.