Plural

A plural word is one which by addition of an ending (in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese usually s) to a noun, represents more than one of that particular subject. In most languages it's directly opposed to the grammatical category of 'singular' but some languages have a third category, namely 'dual'.

A singular refers to one referent of a subject, while dual refers to two referents (especially for living creatures). A plural refers to more than those units of referents.

Some singular words do refer to collections, groups, organisations and institutions, but are considered as one entity: collective words and some plural words do refer to one single referent. For example the word "sheep" refers to both one individual sheep, as well as a flock of sheep; the amount referenced depends on the context of the word used.

In most languages the plural of words is clearly marked; but in others, such as Japanese, it is unmarked.