Grammar basics
Countable nouns
A countable noun is a thing you can count: one apple, two apples. It has a singular form (one) and a plural form (more than one).
One or many?
Most nouns add -s for the plural. Some nouns change in other ways.
| Singular (one) | Plural (many) | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| a book | books | add -s |
| a box | boxes | add -es after s, x, ch, sh |
| a city | cities | y → ies |
| a child | children | special form |
| a person | people | special form |
A or an?
Use a or an with one countable noun. Choose by the sound, not the letter.
| Use | Before | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| a | a consonant sound | a car, a book, a user (/juː/) |
| an | a vowel sound | an apple, an idea, an hour (/aʊ/) |
Thai nouns don't change
In Thai, we say แมว 3 ตัว. The word แมว stays the same. In English, you must add -s: three cats, not three cat. You also don't need a word like ตัว or คัน.
Apple
A round fruit with red or green skin.
I eat an apple every morning.
Car
A vehicle with four wheels and an engine.
There are too many cars on the road today.
Book
Pages with words that you read.
I read two books about Django last month.
Bug
A mistake in a computer program.
I found three bugs in my code today.
Child
A young boy or girl. The plural is children.
My sister has two children.
Person
One man, woman or child. The plural is usually people.
She is a very kind person.