Question

Select the correct plural noun from the given singular form of the noun-
There are twenty ____ in this row. (house)
a) House
b) Houses
c) Both a and b
d) None of the above

Answer 1

Hint: Plural nouns refer to those nouns that are more than one in quantity or number. Example- Boys, mangoes, churches etc.

Complete answer : As given in the hint, plural nouns are formed by adding ‘s’ or ‘es’ to the singular form of a particular noun.

There are certain rules to be followed while converting a noun from singular to plural form-
>We add ‘s’ to the singular form of a noun to construct its plural form. Example- book + s= books, dogs, tables etc.
>We add ‘es’ to the singular nouns ending in ‘s, ss, ch, sh, z, or x’ to form their plural forms. Example- buses, bosses, boxes etc.
>We add ‘s’ to singular nouns ending in ‘e’ to form their plural forms. Example- trees, gates etc.

In the given question- The plural form of house is ‘houses’, because house ends in ‘e’. So, we have added ‘s’ to the singular form.
Let’s examine the given options-
a) House- It is the singular form of the noun ‘house’. Example- I live in the corner house of the street. Hence, it is an incorrect option.
b) Houses- It is the plural form of the noun ‘house’. Example- My friend and I live in adjacent houses on this street. Hence, it is the correct option.
c) Both a and b is not possible as we know option a is incorrect option.
d) None of the above is also an incorrect option.

Thus the correct answer is Option ‘b’.

Note: Many singular nouns do not change when pluralized or they tend to have irregular plural forms. In that case, you need to read the sentence and understand their use in the sentence.