Skill 19 : Singular and Plural Nouns

A problem that is common in the written expression section of the TOEFL test is a singular noun used where a plural noun is needed, or a plural noun used where a singular noun is needed.

He just finished several book.
She studied each chapters.

In the first example, several indicates that the plural books is needed. In the second example, each indicates that the singular chapter is needed.
In the written expression of the TOEFL test you should watch very carefully for the key words such as each, every, a, and single, that indicate that a noun should be singular.You should  also watch carefully for keywords such as many, several,and three that indicate that a noun should be plural.

The following chart list the key words that indicate to you whether a noun should be singular or plural.

KEY WORDS FOR SINGULAR AND PLURAL NOUNS
For Singular Noun	Each, every, single, one, a
For Plural Nouns	Both, two, many, several, various