Nouns which are always plural. Singular and plural nouns

In general, the plural of nouns in English is formed according to strict and simple rules. However, there are some nuances and exceptions here that will be useful for you to know.

Basic rules for forming plurals

The plural of most nouns is formed by adding the ending - s. For example:

• cup - cup s
• pen - pen s
• page - page s
• daughter - daughter s

However, if the word ends with -ch, -x, -s, -sh, the ending is added to it -es.

• ben ch—bench es
• fo x—fox es
• cla ss— class es
• bru sh—brush es

Most nouns ending in a consonant +o, also form the plural using the ending -es.

• he ro- hero es
• pota to- potato es
• toma to-tomato es

However, in words of Spanish or Italian origin that end in -o, is simply added -s.

• phot o— photo s
• pian o- piano s
• tang o— tango s
• studio o— studio s

To nouns that end in -z, is added -zes.

In nouns that end in a consonant + y, discarded y and is added -ies. For example:

• co py— cop ies
• hob by—hobb ies
• s ky—sk ies

Most nouns of Latin origin that end in -is, discarded -is and is added -es. For example:

• bas is- bas es
• cris is- Chris es
• oas is- oas es

Most nouns that end in -f or -fe, discarded f and is added -ves. For example:

• wi fe—wi ves
• shel f— shel ves
• lea f—lea ves

But this is not a strict rule:

• belief - beliefs (believes is a verb)
• chief - chiefs
• reef - reefs
• proof - proofs
• cliff - cliffs
• safe - safes (saves is a verb)

Exceptions to the rules

There are many common nouns that have an irregular plural form: the plural of such nouns is formed in an unusual way.

These include most nouns denoting people. For example:

• woman - women
• child - children
• brother - brethren (meaning “brothers”)

Other exception nouns:

• foot - feet
• tooth - teeth
• goose - geese
• mouse - mice

Some nouns have the same singular and plural form. For example:

• sheep - sheep
• fruit - fruit
• aircraft - aircraft
• series - series

In the plural they require the appropriate form of the verb (are/were):

• There is a fruit in the vase. — There are some fruit in the vase.
• There was a sheep in the field. — There were a lot of sheep in the field.

In turn, uncountable nouns (money, news, advice, information) do not have a plural form and agree with a singular verb ( is/was):

• There is a lot of news in your letter.
• There there was some money on the table.

Some nouns (scissors, glasses, trousers, tweezers, pyjamas, etc.) have only a plural form and require the corresponding verb form ( are / were). For example:

• Where are my new trousers? They were on the chair.

Nouns that come from obsolete forms of English words or are of foreign origin often have an unusual plural form:

• ox - oxen
• index - indices or indexes

In compound nouns, the plural ending is usually added to the main component. For example:

• mother-in-law s-in-law
• hotel-keeper - hotel-keeper s

Words ending in -us

Linguists can argue for hours about the plural of nouns that end in -us. Many of these words are borrowed from Latin and retain the Latin plural form, where the ending -us is replaced by -i (pronounced [-ʌɪ] or [-iː]). However, not all such words are of Latin origin, and not all Latin words end with -i in the plural, hence the controversy. For example:

• The plural of virus is virus es, not viri.

Some accept the regular English ending -es: campus - campus es; bonus - bonus es.

Some Latin borrowings take the ending -i: radius - radi i, stimulus - stimulus i.

If you want to puzzle a linguist, ask him what the plural of crocus is - crocuses or croci. Or is the plural of octopus - octopuses, octopi or octopodes?

Words in the singular

Uncountable nouns are used only in the singular.

5th grade

Nouns that have
plural form only

Open lesson scenario

Lesson objectives:

1) educational: to give the concept of nouns that have only a plural form, to be able to use them in speech, to practice spelling skills, to expand vocabulary;

2) educational: to develop the need to analyze one’s own actions and the ability to ask for forgiveness and forgive; introduce the traditions associated with the beginning of March;

3) developing: develop creative abilities and search skills.

Equipment: drawings for a conversation on homework, a board, a projector, a program on CD, twigs of pine, birch, willow, worksheets, cards with riddles, the Bible, explanatory dictionaries, poems by B. Pasternak.

LESSON STEPS

1. Start of the lesson.

Co l tse gre e t to s units a lot of sweat
And I rage e t, stupefied, ovra G,
Like dozens e th cowboy tsy Job,
The matter is e dreams are boiling in my hands.

Chahn e t dream G and bol e n anemic b eat
In the vet O chkah be ss very blue And l.
But smoke tsya and And knowledge in hl e woo k oro V b eat,
And health oro let's eat lusciously at t tooth b I pitched.

So today I came to class with a March pine twig. According to popular belief, a pine twig brought home in early March cleanses the air that has stagnated during the winter and makes our breathing easier. And this is a birch branch. In the old days in Rus' the month of March was called birch, because from the action of the spring sun, the birch tree in March begins to fill with sap and buds.

2. Recording a sentence from dictation.

In the old days in Rus' the month of March was called “Berezol”.

Each group has a consultant. He writes and comments (using Lysenkova’s “Leading Myself” method) for the rest of the group:

« IN - preposition, I write separately, old times- I am writing from A, because the test word is old, suffix -in- I'm writing from And, with one letter n, on- preposition, I write separately, Rus'– proper noun, I write with a capital letter, month- writing yats, this is a dictionary word March– I write with a small letter, this is a common noun, called- I’m writing a prefix on the-, “beresol” I write in quotation marks, since this word is given in the nominative case.”

Conversation with the class

– Pay attention to the words: March And beresol– synonyms.

– Are there any words in this sentence that do not have a plural form? (Rus, March, birch.)

– Form the plural form of the word month. Write down five more words ending in ts, in plural. (Moons, knitting needles, birds, tits, foxes, martens, pages, starlings, palaces, sorceresses, singers.)

– In the poem by B.L. Pasternak also has a word ending in -tsy. Is this a good example for us? (No, because cowgirls– this is not plural. h., and r.p. units h. noun cowgirl).

- That's right, this is an example of a homonymous ending -s.

3. Home analysis (captions under the pictures).

– Before we move on to a new topic, let’s see how student Petya did his homework. In the first picture you see a tree and a book.

Did Petya sign the drawings correctly? There are leaves on the tree. There are leaves in the book.

Write down the sentences in corrected form.

(There are leaves on the tree. There are leaves in the book.)

– Is the second drawing signed correctly? There are stakes in the diary. There's cola in the hedge. Write down the sentences in corrected form.

(In the cola diary. There are stakes in the fence.)

– Is the third drawing signed correctly? The wolf has teeth. The saw has teeth.

(No, you need to: The wolf has teeth. The saw has teeth.)

– Did the poet B. Pasternak use the word correctly? teeth in your poem?

(Yes, because it's fork teeth)

– How can such mistakes in Petya’s work be explained?

(Such errors appeared because the words leaf, tooth, stake- polysemantic. Depending on the meaning of the word, different plural forms are formed. h.)

– What words do we call ambiguous? Give examples.

(We call words polysemous that have two or more meanings. Most often, the first meaning is direct, and the second is figurative. For example, hand - a bunch of grapes.)

Conclusion: The plural form often depends on the lexical meaning of the word.

4. Introduction to the topic of the lesson.

You will learn the topic of today's lesson if you complete the following task.

Exercise. Each group received an envelope containing the cut-out texts of the riddles. They need to be collected, written down in a notebook, and guessed.

1st group:

Two ends, two rings, carnations in the middle. (Scissors.)

2nd group:

They walk all the time, not a beast, not a man. (Watch.)

3rd group:

What kind of water is only good for writing? (Ink.)

- Look at the answers. What do these words have in common?

(Scissors, ink, watch– nouns that have only a plural form.)

Let's write these words down. Yes, the topic of today's lesson is: “Nouns that have only a plural form.” We will try to collect as many of them as possible during the lesson.

This word also appears in B. Pasternak’s poem. Has anyone seen him? This word - pitchfork. Let's write it down.

5. Which nouns are used only in the plural?

Exercise. In the worksheet, read into which groups nouns that are used only in the plural are divided, give 2-3 examples. Cut out this certificate and paste it into your theory notebook.

(sleigh, shorts, swing);

Some real (cream, bran, yeast);

Some are distracted (day, twilight, name day);

Own (Carpathians, Alps).

In the Old Russian language there were not two, but three numbers: singular, plural and dual. Then the dual number disappeared, and the words from this number moved into the category of those words that have only a plural form and which are indicated in your certificate in paragraph 1.

6. Lexical work.

– In the certificate you came across the word bran. What does it mean? Let's look in Dahl's dictionary. " Bran- the remainder of the sifted flour, a shirt of grain crushed under a millstone, sifting.” We encounter this word in the parable of the prodigal son. Maybe someone can remind us of her?

– A certain young man, having matured, decided that he could do without a family, and demanded from his father his share of the inheritance. And when he squandered it, he was forced to herd pigs and eat bran with them. Tired of humiliation and hunger, the young man decided to return home, agreeing to the fate of even a slave. But his father forgave him and arranged a feast in his honor.

– We remembered this parable for a reason, right? You need to be able to both ask for forgiveness and forgive.

7. Work in groups using cards with the texts “From the world of simple things.”

Exercise. Read the suggested text. Guess what subject we are talking about. Invite other groups to name the word described in the text. Copy the text, insert missing letters and punctuation marks.(Consultants help those who have doubts in writing.)

Card 1

This fabric was made in the 16th century in the city of Genoa, which the Italians called Genova. Trousers for sailors were made from this durable fabric. Then they began to be exported to California for the poor and gold miners. Now people of all ages wear them. This… ___________ (jeans).

Card 2

Who invented them and when is unknown. In Ancient Greece, polished rock crystals were used for them. Venets, the queen of mirrors and glassware, is still considered their homeland. In Rus' they began to be worn out from the 15th century. This... _______ (glasses).

Card 3

In the night sky in the constellation Canis Major there is a star that can only be seen in summer. At this time it was hard to work because of the heat and people were out of breath. This summer period was named after this star. Later, schoolchildren began to use this word to refer to leisure, winter, and fun. This _______ (holidays).

- Word glasses got its name from an ancient Russian word. Which one? (Eyes, those. eyes, singular - eye.)

Did you know that the word eyes is included in the popular names of some plants, and in these names the word eyes used only in the plural: for example, ox eyes(blue daisy), Tsarev's eyes(sundew), peacock eyes(caustic grass).

8. Search work.

Last year, fifth-graders did search work in the Russian Dictionary. From it they wrote down nouns that have only a plural form. You see a list of these words in the worksheet.

Exercise. Write down words from one thematic group from the list. The 1st group will write down words that we can find in the kitchen, the 2nd group - in the closet, the 3rd group - in the workshop. Mark words whose meanings you do not understand with a question mark..

Words for reference

In the kitchen: splashes, tops, scales, marc, yeast, capers, canned food, pasta, bran, leftovers, slop, dumplings, horns, sweets, dried fruits, cream, spaghetti, meatballs, pistachios, flakes.

In the closet: curlers, breeches, trousers, beads, jeans, perfume, underpants, tights, leggings, scissors, glasses, pantaloons, rompers, swimming trunks, hangers, hose, trousers, bloomers.

In a workshop: whitewash, gates, pitchforks, rakes, firewood, pliers, scissors, stretchers, sawdust, pliers, sleds, ink.

9. Creative task.

Present the words selected in the groups in the form of a dialogue: “We are preparing a surprise for mom,” “We are going to the resort,” “We are building a birdhouse.” Prank them.

10. Homework:

1. Using the Explanatory Dictionary, find out the meanings of the words that you marked with a question mark.

2. Group the words by type of spelling in an excerpt from the poem by B.L. Parsnip “March”, which was played at the beginning of the lesson and which is on your worksheet.

3. Find and write down from all the exercises in the paragraph nouns that can only be used in the plural.

WORDS FOR REFERENCE ON LEXICAL WORK

loins, loins (old). Lower back, hips. Belt h. sword (also translated: prepare for battle).

Beads,-current. A cord with beads or knots (in church use for counting bows during prayer and the prayers themselves).

Ink,-il. Coloring liquid for writing. Black parts. Red parts. | adj. inky,-oh, -oh. Ch. device. Ch. pencil(same as chemical pencil). ink nuts(growths on the leaves of oak and some other trees, rich in tannins; special). Ink War(translated: about printed polemics; obsolete irony). Ink Soul(translated: about a clerical official; outdated. disapproved).

Enchantment, charm

1. Magic, witchcraft (obsolete). Witchcraft hours.

2. transfer. Charm, captivating (book). Ch. love.

Cymbals,-al. A musical instrument in the form of a box with strings that are struck with wooden hammers.

Choirs,-s. Open gallery, balcony at the top of the large hall [ original. for a choir or orchestra room]. In the choir.

Walkers,-s. A small wall clock of a simplified design with weights.

Figs, fizhm. In the XVIII - beginning. 19th century: a frame in the form of a hoop, inserted under the skirt at the hips, as well as a skirt with such a frame.

Bonds, knot

1. Fetters, shackles (obsolete). U. slavery(translated).

2. transfer. That which connects, connects (high). U. marriage. U. friendship, love. Bratskie u.

Tropics,-ov, plural The area north and south of the equator, between these parallels, is the hottest zone of the globe. In the tropics.

Bargaining,-s.

1. Same as an auction. International fur goods. Sale by auction.

2. Delivery of a contract to someone who, competing with others, agrees to conditions more favorable to the customer (obsolete) Announce a proposal for the construction of a factory.

Those "fteli"-ey and (colloquial) meatballs,-to her. Food in the form of balls of minced meat or fish.

Twilight,-rek, -rkam. The twilight between sunset and nightfall, as well as the (obsolete) morning pre-dawn twilight. Early c.

Stanzas,-ov, units stans, -a, m.

1. pl. A poem, each stanza of which represents a complete semantic and syntactic whole.

WORKSHEET FOR 5TH GRADE LESSON

Subject:"Nouns that have only a plural form."

1. Excerpts from poems by B.L. Pasternak:

February. Get some ink and cry!
Write about February sobbingly,
While the rumbling slush
In spring it burns black.

(February. Get some ink and cry...)

The sun warms up to the point of sweat,
And the ravine rages, stupefied,
Like a hefty cowgirl's work,
Spring is in full swing.

|| The snow withers and is sick with anemia
|| There were impotent blue veins in the branches.
|| But life is smoking in the cow shed,
|| And the teeth of the forks glow with health.

(From the poems of Doctor Zhivago, “March”)

2. Help in a notebook on theory.

The following groups of nouns are used in only the plural form:

Denoting paired objects (sleigh, shorts, swing);

Designating substances (cream, bran, yeast);

Denoting abstract concepts (day, twilight, name day);

Denoting proper names (Carpathians, Alps).

For such nouns, gender and type of declension are not determined.

CM. VOVK,
School № 1,
Pushkinsky district,
village Sofrino,
Moscow region

It is mainly countable nouns that are modified by numbers. Uncountable nouns are usually used only in the singular form:

sugar - sugar, love - love, friendship - friendship.

They are used in the plural only when we mean the variety of species, concepts expressed by them, or when they are used in another meaning in which they are already countable. For example:

air - air, movement - movement (as a general concept), music - music, milk - milk, knowledge - knowledge, hair - hair (on a person’s head).

BUT: air - aria, melody - "airs - arias, melodies, movement - movement (for example, political or in dance) -> movements - movements (the same), hair - hair -" hairs - hairs, etc.

The plural of nouns is usually formed by adding the ending -s to the singular form:

book - book -» books - books, day - day -> days - days, house - house -> houses - houses.

Reading the ending "-s":

after voiceless consonants - [s]: books
after voiced consonants and vowels -[z]: friends, days
after hissing and whistling (-es) - : boxes [‘boksiz]

Exception l. Singular nouns ending in letters o, s, ss, sh, ch, x(hissing and whistling, as they are called), have the plural ending -es:

hero - hero -> heroes - heroes, kiss - kiss -> kisses - kisses, brush - brush -> brushes - brushes, bench - bench -> benches - benches, box - box -> boxes - boxes.

BUT: In words of foreign origin ending in o, in the plural, only the ending is added to the noun -s:

piano - grand piano -> pianos - grand pianos, photo - photography -» photos - photographs.

Exception 2. For nouns ending in y with a preceding consonant, y is dropped and the ending is added instead -ies, which reads [-iz]:

country [‘kAntri] - country -> countries - countries, city - city cities - cities, family - family families - families.

BUT: If u is preceded by a vowel letter, then the plural is formed according to the general rule, i.e. by adding the ending -s:

day - day -» days - days, boy - boy -» boys - boys.

3. Twelve nouns ending in -f or -fe, in the plural these letters are lost. Instead of -f or -fe, the ending is added -ves. These are the nouns:

wife - wife, life - life, knife - knife, wolf - wolf, self - essence, human appearance, calf - calf, shelf - shelf, leaf - leaf (plant), loaf - loaf (of bread), thief - thief, half - half, sheaf - pack (of paper), etc.

For example: wife - wives - wives, knife - knife -> knives - knives, shelf - shelf -> shelves - shelves.

4. Some nouns form their plural by changing the root vowel:

man - man -> men - men, woman - woman -» women - women, foot - leg feet - legs, tooth - tooth -» teeth - teeth.
HO: child - child -> children - children.

5. For compound nouns, the plural is formed by adding the ending -s to the second word:

armchairs - armchairs, bookcases - bookcases.

BUT: If these words are combined by a preposition, then the first word is put in the plural: sisters-in-law- daughters-in-law.

Words borrowed from Greek or Latin form the plural according to the rules of these languages:

appendix - appendices - appendices (to the book), crisis - crisis -> crises - crises, basis - basis, bases - basics, radius - radius -> radii - radii.

Names Nouns used only in the singular

1. Uncountable nouns (both real and abstract) are usually used only in the singular:

   iron - iron, salt - salt, milk - milk, sugar - sugar, love - love.

2. The nouns advice (advice, advice), information (message, information), progress (success, success), knowledge (knowledge) are used only in the singular.

   He gave me some good advice. He gave me some good advice.
   My coach was satisfied with my progress. My coach was pleased with my progress

3. The nouns news (news, news), money (money), fruit (fruit, fruits) are used in the singular. But, for example, to denote different types of fruits, the plural is used - fruits.

   What is the news? What's the news?
   It's his money. This is his money.
   Fruit is cheap in autumn. In autumn fruits are cheap.

4. Among countable nouns, there are those that are used only (or mainly) in the singular form. These are the names of some animals, objects, etc.:

   two sheep - two sheep, six fish - six fish, ten swine - ten pigs, five deer - five deer.

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 are the main component of our speech. From the many possible words, we always choose those that are more suitable for us in style and color. The way a person constructs his speech can say a lot about his personality and mentality to his interlocutor. Therefore, it is very important to be able to express your thoughts competently and clearly. To do this, you need to know the basics of Russian grammar and be able to apply them in real life when communicating with people. In this article we will analyze such a category as the number of nouns.

A noun in Russian can be used in one of two possible forms - singular or plural. Number is one of the main characteristics of a part of speech called a noun. But there are Russian nouns that can be used in speech only in the singular or only in the plural. Let's figure it out in order.

Singular nouns

With singular nouns, in general, everything is clear and understandable even without grammatical rules: they denote one thing or person, that is, any (for example, a pen, a book, a house, a cat). Such singular nouns have their own gender (feminine, masculine or neuter; sometimes common), and also, regardless of number, are declined according to cases.

Plural nouns

The same nouns can also be used in the plural (pens, books, houses, cats). These are nouns that denote several things. Very often in the Russian language there are nouns that have only a plural form. You can read about them below.

Plural nouns that are often misspelled

More than one full-fledged article could be written about the most common mistakes in everyday speech in the Russian language, but here we will focus our attention only on the incorrect use of nouns. For nouns, the plural and correct formation of forms are very often questioned.

You should definitely pay attention to the spelling of the following words in the genitive case: boots - boot, felt boots - felt boots, boots - boot, soldiers - soldier, places - places, apples - apples.

And errors in the use of these words in the genitive case can be heard very often in grocery stores: tangerines - tangerines, nectarines - nectarines, tomatoes - tomatoes, oranges - oranges. Nouns that have only a plural form differ somewhat from the data in terms of case declension.

Formation of plural forms: features

Sometimes some difficulties arise in forming the plural form for a certain category of nouns. In the Russian language there are no rules as such that determine what ending is required for the plural of nouns that we need to apply at a particular moment. Therefore, it can be quite difficult to use the word correctly. Let's pay attention to special cases concerning the plural of nouns. It’s better to just memorize them so as not to make mistakes and not doubt the correct use of words.

First of all, these are masculine nouns (s in the singular), with endings -ы, -и, most often denoting professions. For example, a trainer - trainers (not trainers!), a contract - contracts, an accountant - accountants, a lecturer - lecturers, cream - creams, and so on.

The next group is the same nouns as in the previous one, but with the endings -a, -ya: professor - professors, doctor - doctors, director - directors, anchor - anchors and so on.

Nouns, always used in the singular

In the Russian language there are many nouns that do not change in number and are always used exclusively in the singular form. Let's consider the groups into which the following nouns can be divided:

Denoting different feelings, characteristics of the state and human qualities (tenderness, anger, malice, hatred, lust, dependence, security, weakness, kindness);

Denoting characteristics of an object (grayness, blueness, redness, thinness, fullness, density);

Material (oil, gold, steel, tin, silver, nickel, sugar, sour cream, butter, pearls);

Denoting several identical objects in the aggregate (dishes, foliage, children, animals);

Denoting objects that exist in all of nature in a single copy (Sun, Earth, sky, Moon); This group also includes geographical names (Argentina, Stockholm, Moscow, Irtysh, Novosibirsk, Crimea, Ob).

Nouns that have only plural forms

The following nouns exist only in the plural in the Russian language:

Denoting various kinds of substances (blush, perfume, ink, yeast);

Indicating objects in a pair (jeans, rakes, rollers, trousers, leggings, trousers, leggings, glasses, sleds, sleds);

Denoting games or some processes (checkers, tag, hide and seek, blind man's buff, catch-up, elections);

Denoting natural phenomena or time periods (days, holidays, twilight, weekdays);

Which are geographical or astronomical names (Sochi, Alps, Kuril Islands, Libra).

So, let’s summarize: in the Russian language there are two forms of nouns - singular and plural. Most words have both forms, but there are also nouns that have only a plural form, and, of course, those that are used only in the singular.