How to Make Abstract Terms Plural

Some abstract nouns have plural forms, while others do not.

Abstract nouns are nouns that cannot be seen or touched, such as love, hope, happiness or experience. While some of these nouns have plural forms, others do not, and it can be difficult to determine whether the specific noun you are using can be made plural. However, even if the nouns do not have specific plural forms, you can make it clear that you are referring to multiple examples of the abstract noun.

Instructions

1. Determine whether the abstract noun in question refers to a specific or general instance of the noun. You may be able to make specific nouns plural in some instances, but you cannot make general nouns plural. For instance, if you are talking about two favorite hobbies, you can say, "My two greatest loves are painting and golf" because you are referring to two specific loves. However, if you wish to say that love in general is powerful, you would not say, "Loves are powerful forces in a person's life" because you are not referring to specific things that the person loves. Instead, you would say, "Love is a powerful force in a person's life."

2. Give the noun a modifier such as "types of," "kinds of" or "examples of" to indicate that it is plural. For instance, the word "courages" does not exist even if you are referring to specific examples of courage, but you can use phrases such as "kinds of courage."

3. Use an adjective of degree, such as "much," "significant" or "excessive," to emphasize the of the abstract noun. For instance, while you cannot say, "The position requires many experiences" unless you name a specific type of experience, you can say, "The position requires significant experience."

4. List multiple examples or sources of the abstract noun in action to show how the noun is plural. You cannot say, "Achilles had many angers," but you can say, "Achilles felt angry when Agamemnon stole his slave, because he felt that the Greek army didn't properly appreciate him."

Tips & Warnings

• If you have any doubt as to whether you can make a noun plural when talking about specific examples of the noun, consult a dictionary. While you can make some abstract nouns plural in that case, such as "loves," "hopes" and "evils," you cannot use words such as "chaoses," "happinesses" or "informations" even if talking about specific examples of those nouns.

References

• Capital Community College Guide to Grammar and Writing: Count and Non-Count Nouns