Common English Grammar Errors with Plurals

TRANSCRIPT

Hi. I'm Rebecca from engVid. We're going to start and end this lesson with a short quiz to see where you are before, and where you are after. All right? Let's get started.

So, which of these verbs is correct to use in these sentence? In these sentences? Do we say: "Economics is very important." or do we say: "Economics are very important."? Okay? Well, we say: "Economics is very important." You'll understand why in a few minutes.

The next one: "The children is asleep." or: "The children are asleep?" Which one is correct? It should be: "The children are asleep." Okay? Again, you'll understand why.

Last one: "The fish is very beautiful." or: "The fish are very beautiful."? Which is correct? Well, that's a good question, because actually, both are correct. It depends if you're talking about one fish or whether you're talking about many fish. And you'll understand that also, as soon as we go on. So, we could say: "The fish is very beautiful." We could say: "The fish are very beautiful." I'll explain.

So, in this lesson today, we're going to be talking about irregular plural nouns, which is an area which is... Which causes a lot of confusion for many students. Many grammar errors are because of this issue, so it's really good that you're watching so you won't make this kind of mistake.

So let's look at what the problem areas are. The problem is that normally, when we have a singular word... Right? So if we say: "the chair", then we use a singular verb. Right? "The chair is", so that... When that happens, when we use the right noun with the right verb, then that's called subject-verb agreement. "That chair is in the room." But we say, if it's plural: "The chairs are in the room." Correct? So this was singular, singular; plural, plural. That's the normal way. And most of the time, that's absolutely fine. However, the reason why students get confused is because, unfortunately in English, we also have irregular nouns, which don't follow those rules and they follow separate rules. But you can understand it because we can group them in certain categories to help you understand them.

So, first of all, we have irregular singular nouns. So these are confusing a little bit because they end with "s", but they are singular. They should be singular. So, for example, we say: "Politics is", "The news is good.", "Mathematics is difficult for some students.", "Ethics is very important in life." Okay? So don't get fooled by the fact that there is an "s" there as part of the noun. Okay? It's still singular. So there's one category of irregular singular nouns.

Next one: irregular plural nouns. Here, there is no "s", but it's plural. "Children are", "The mice are", "My feet are hurting.", "The men are", "The women are", "My teeth are", "The geese are". Okay? So here, what was confusing is that there's no "s", and yet, the answer is that the correct verb to use is that it's... Is "are". Right? Is the plural verb. So that's the irregular plural nouns.

And then last, we have a category which can be even more confusing, but luckily there's not too many examples in this category, and these are the irregular unchanging nouns. What does that mean? That means that whether you have one fish or two fish, you still say: "Fish". Okay? Generally speaking, that's what you can keep in mind. The same with "deer", and "sheep", and "moose". "One moose, two moose". You're probably not very likely to talk so much about moose, but that's how it is.

So if you're, say... If you're talking about one fish, or one deer, or one sheep, or one moose, you can say: "The deer is very beautiful." But if you're talking about many deer, you can still say: "The deer are very beautiful." Okay? Depends if you're talking about one or more than one. So in this case, the noun is unchanging, so that's what causes a little bit of confusion in this category, because you could use either one, but you still have to use the right one. Because if you're talking about more than one, you have to make sure you use the plural verb; if you're talking about one, you use one... You use the singular one. In a second, we'll do a really short quiz to see how well you've learned this.

[adolfofilho]

Thank you! I'm learning so much with your classes! You're an awesome teacher.

[azar]

The best English lessons ever, I enjoyed. She teaches in an easy way. Thanks.🌺

[mellowjam]

I've been searching for english lessons for free online and I'm really thankful I found this channel. I came from philippines and currently settling down in australia. Though I could speak english words correctly, I'm most of the time concious talking to somebody i don't know becuase of my grammar. I'm only good at pronouncing words as I am a fan of english songs. My favorite teachers are Rebecca and Ronnie, and I honestly believe my english will level up in no time . Thanks a lot!!!

[NamNguyenVan-bzwx]

Thank you very much Rebecca!
For the first time, I learned the irregular nouns, such as news, economics, politics, physics, ethics. I have to realize that your lessons can help me improve my English and avoid mistakes.

[andregabriel]

You're so helping with many of your lessons. Thanks so much to provide it.

[ayushvarshney]

I love you Rebecca, your teaching is awesome 👍🏻👍🏻

[gayaneseropyan]

Dear Rebecca, you are great teacher! Thank you for your style and useful videos!

[Salma-kwzl]

Great!. One more time, thank you so much. In can feel english easie when I listen to you. Have a nice day!

Teacher, I watched this lesson six months ago. I am doing the same again because my intention is to keep in mind the English rules about the plural.

[supercat]

Thank you very much Rebecca, this lesson has been really helpful for me. Can you make a video about when using apostrophe + S is right or wrong? It's very confusing! Thank you!

[masoudshokouhi]

The part of Unchanging was new for me.tnx Rebbeca

[mariandamwena]

good lesson indeed, I wasn't knw this, thankyou mis.

[anjaneyapolice]

Thanks so much for your help with this matter is greatly appreciated

[onotaryono]

I love the way you explain. Thanks a lot Rebecca...

[nonabanetashvili]

your lessons are the most interesting and the most informative I've ever listened to Rebecca, especially the lessons about English idioms.Thank you I'm very gratful.

[haridanjhon]

It is very useful and helpful lesson. Thank you my teacher. I am your fan from Thailand.

[sanjayguptacg]

The basic doubt is clear by this lesson. Thank you, Rebecca!!!

[SkaterBlades]

Thank God, someone who speaks English correctly. One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone says "much" with a plural instead of many, like when someone says "there are so much things" instead of "there are so many things"

[nsimbihuzail]

Thank u teacher, I because really appreciate your lessons.

[Aemilindore]

Thank you so much for people who make these possible. let me mention one more thing. "Reason why" is redundant. It should be reason so and so. These videos are very helpful.