Singular Nouns: Definition and Examples (2024)

A noun is a part of speech that is used to name a person, place, animal, thing or idea. There are many different types of nouns, including singular and plural nouns, common and proper nouns, collective nouns, abstract nouns and so on. Learn more about singular nouns by going through the topics given below.

Table of Contents

  • Singular Noun Definition
  • Singular Noun Examples
  • Singular Noun Examples in Sentences
  • Singular Countable Noun
  • Singular Possessive Noun
  • Difference between Singular and Plural Noun
  • Frequently Asked Questions on Singular Nouns

Singular Noun Definition

The definition of a singular noun is similar to that of a noun in general. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a singular noun is ‘a word that refers to a person, place, thing, event, substance, or quality.’ ‘A noun is a word such as ‘ car’, ‘ love’, or ‘ Anne’ which is used to refer to a person or thing,’ according to the Collins Dictionary.

Singular Noun Examples

Have a look at the examples of singular nouns given below.

Singular Nouns Referring to Human Beings

  • Boy
  • Girl
  • Child
  • Man
  • Woman
  • Lad
  • Individual
  • Chap
  • Lass
  • Male
  • Female
  • Citizen
  • Tom
  • Anna
  • Harry

Singular Nouns Referring to Animals

  • Cheetah
  • Deer
  • Fish
  • Pelican
  • Ostrich
  • Dinosaur
  • Monkey
  • Grasshopper
  • Rhinoceros
  • Zebra
  • Owl

Singular Nouns Referring to Places

  • Cairo
  • School
  • Hospital
  • College
  • Paris
  • Coimbatore
  • Bangalore
  • St. John’s Medical College
  • Hill Crest Hospital
  • Twin Towers
  • Bus stand
  • Railway station

Singular Nouns Referring to Things/Objects

  • Table
  • Chair
  • Blackboard
  • Bike
  • Aeroplane
  • Pencil
  • Elastic
  • Chalk
  • Dress
  • Pin
  • Needle
  • Tomato
  • Apple

Singular Nouns Referring to Ideas

  • Invention
  • Description
  • Conviction
  • Honesty
  • Grace
  • Pride
  • Destruction
  • Competition
  • Idea
  • Ideology
  • Biology
  • Evolution

Singular Noun Examples in Sentences

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.

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

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 inflexion. 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?

Frequently Asked Questions on Singular Nouns

Q1

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.

Q2

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.

Singular Nouns: Definition and Examples (2024)

FAQs

Singular Nouns: Definition and Examples? ›

A singular noun is a noun that refers to only one person, place, thing, or idea. It's contrasted with plural noun

plural noun
A plurale tantum (Latin for 'plural only'; pl. pluralia tantum) is a noun that appears only in the plural form and does not have a singular variant for referring to a single object.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Plurale_tantum
s, which refer to more than one person, place, thing, or idea. An example of a singular noun is cat, which represents one cat; an example of a plural noun is cats, which represents two or more cats.

What are 10 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.

What are 20 examples of plural nouns and singular? ›

List of Singular and Plural Words
SingularPlural
DogDogs
BirdBirds
AntAnts
ElephantElephants
41 more rows

How do you know if a noun is singular? ›

The easiest way to tell if a noun is a singular noun or a plural noun is to look at how much of something it is referring to. If it is only referring to one person or thing, it is a singular noun. If it is referring to more than one person or thing, it is a plural noun.

What are singular and plural nouns? ›

A singular noun names one person, place, thing, or idea, while a plural noun names more than one person, place, thing, or idea.

What are 15 examples of plural nouns? ›

Plural Noun Examples
  • Plural noun of child – children.
  • Plural noun of fox – foxes.
  • Plural noun of loaf – loaves.
  • Plural noun of ship – ships.
  • Plural noun of school – schools.
  • Plural noun of door – doors.
  • Plural noun of sister-in-law – sisters-in-law.
  • Plural form of baby – babies.

What are 30 examples of plural nouns in sentences? ›

Plural Noun Examples
  • The boys were throwing baseballs back and forth between bases.
  • Our horses are much happier wearing lightweight English saddles.
  • Those cats never seem to tire of chasing one another in and out of those boxes.
  • You stole my ideas and didn't give me any credit.

What are 10 examples of special nouns plural in form but singular in meaning? ›

Some nouns—especially those ending in -s —although plural in form, are singular in number and in meaning: news, measles, mumps, calculus, rickets, billiards, molasses, dizziness, and other –ness ending nouns. These nouns require singular verb forms.

What are the singular nouns always? ›

Singular Nouns are the those which refers a single or one person, place or thing . For example : boy, lady, man, calf, city, joy, happiness , etc.

What words are both singular and plural nouns? ›

List of 72 Words That Are the Same in the Singular and Plural Forms
aircrafteyeglassesmews
almsgallowsmonkfish
barracksgoldfishmoose
binocularsgrapefruitmullet
bisongreenflyoffspring
13 more rows

Is bread and butter plural or singular? ›

The correct sentence would be: “Bread and butter was his only food.” One might think that 'bread and butter' are two different entities so a plural verb should be used, but the interesting part is that it is considered as a single entity. So, a singular verb would be used with it.

Is woman singular or plural? ›

When to use woman or women. The word woman is a singular noun that refers to one female adult person, as in I gave my papers to the woman behind the counter. The plural of woman is women, as in Three women were waiting at the bus stop.

Is girl a singular noun? ›

For example, the word girl is a singular noun but the word girls is not a singular noun because it refers to more than one person.

What is the rule for singular nouns? ›

In English grammar, if you are describing a single person, place, thing, or idea, you use the singular form of the noun. If you are describing more than one of these, you use the plural form of the noun. Singular nouns are simple enough because, unlike with plural nouns, you don't have to add anything to them.

What are 20 examples of singular nouns? ›

Examples
SingularPlural
potatopotatoes
tomatotomatoes
cactuscacti
focusfoci
26 more rows

What are the rules of teaching singular and plural nouns? ›

Singular and Plural Nouns

A singular noun names only one person, place, thing, or idea. A noun that names two or more people, places, things, or ideas is a plural noun. How do you make a singular noun plural? Most of the time making a singular noun plural is as simple as adding an s to the end of the word.

What are the 12 singular pronouns? ›

These are nominative (I, you, he, she, it, we, they), objective (me, you, him, her, it, them), and possessive (my, mine, our(s), his, her(s), their(s), its, your(s)). What are the 12 personal pronouns? There are 12 singular personal pronouns that can be used to represent a singular person.

What are 10 nouns and examples? ›

So our 10 types of nouns are:
  • common: city.
  • proper: New York.
  • singular: banana.
  • plural: bananas.
  • collective: family.
  • compound: ice cream.
  • concrete: table.
  • abstract: anger.

What are 10 examples of plural in form but singular in meaning? ›

Some nouns—especially those ending in -s —although plural in form, are singular in number and in meaning: news, measles, mumps, calculus, rickets, billiards, molasses, dizziness, and other –ness ending nouns. These nouns require singular verb forms.

What are 10 examples of singular verb? ›

Examples of singular verbs are: agrees, drops, enjoys, waves, pulls, wishes, washes, fixes, defies, dries. And, the examples of plural verbs are: agree, drop, enjoy, wave, pull, wish, wash, fix, dry, hurry.

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