singular

Everyday

1. In grammar, singular means one: «cat» is singular and «cats» is plural. tree →
2. (formal) Singular means very unusual or special, one of a kind. tree →
3. The singular is the form of a word for just one thing. tree →

In the lessons

In grammar lessons, pupils change singular nouns into plurals and make verbs agree: «he runs» (singular), «they run» (plural). In maths and science writing, «unit» is singular. In stories, «a singular man» means very strange or remarkable.

Examples

• «Mouse» is singular and «mice» is plural. tree →
• Use a singular verb with «everyone». tree →
• Write the singular of «children». tree →
• She showed singular bravery. tree →
• «Is» goes with a singular subject. tree →
• «Sheep» is the same in singular and plural. tree →
• They were of the most singular shapes, and glittered like diamonds. tree →

Note

Opposite: plural. Traps: some words look plural but are singular (news, maths); some are the same in both (sheep, fish). «They» can be used for one person whose gender is unknown.

In Jewish tradition

In the Tanakh "singular" means unique, one of a kind. The prophet Ezekiel speaks of "a singular evil," a disaster like no other. In Sefer Yetzirah it is used in the grammar sense, as the one form of the word God.

Interpretation. The tradition reads Ezekiel's "singular evil" as a warning of a terrible and unmatched punishment coming on Israel.

Examples

• AL ChI H OULMIM; ''the Living God of Ages," here the word God really is in the singular. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
• Thus saith the Lord GOD: An evil, a singular evil, behold, it cometh. (Prophets EZK.7.5, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Opposite: plural. Traps: some words look plural but are singular (news, maths); some are the same in both (sheep, fish). «They» can be used for one person whose gender is unknown.