Difference between Men and Man | Man vs Men

What is the Difference between Men and Man

The difference between men and man is very apparent – ‘man’ generally refers to an adult male human being, while ‘men’ is the plural form of the word ‘man’. Generally, the word ‘man’ is used as a noun, but it can also be used as a verb in a sentence. You might think that the rules of English grammar are quite tricky, and many commonly used words have more than one meaning. However if you understand the different contexts in which the specific forms of a word are used, you will be able to actually enjoy learning the English language.

Table of Contents

• Table Summarising the Difference between Men and Man
• The Meanings of Man and Men
• Examples for Men and Man
• Man vs. Men – Conclusion

In this article, we shall explore the points of difference between men and man, and explore examples as well as their usage.

Table Summarising the Difference between Men and Man

The Meanings of Men and Man

As summarised in the table above, ‘men’ and ‘man’ essentially have the same meaning. The only difference between them is that ‘men’ is the plural form of the word ‘man’ – used when referring to more than one human male. However, it also has other meanings:

• Noun:
  • Refers to an adult male human
  • A person of either gender in human beings used to refer to human beings collectively, in general.
• Verb:
  • refers to work at a place or being in charge of a machine that does the work.

Examples for Man and Men

We shall explore some examples highlighting the different meanings of the word ‘man’:

• Examples of ‘man’ used as a:
  • Noun:
    • Refers to an adult male human – The man was wearing a brown trench coat and a black fedora.
    • A person of either gender used to represent human beings in general – Greed will be the downfall of man.
  • Verb:
    • Operate/work at or run some project/a machine – There was no one manning the stations.

(Important note: Even if more than one person is present, we do not use “menning.”)

• Men – (plural form of man)
  • Example 1: The footage showed two men walking along the trail.
  • Example 2: These brave men and women sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

Men vs Man – Conclusion

In many languages, of course, there are many rules when it comes to their usage, and most people have to learn the basics to start with, but English grammar can be a complex beast all on its own. Learning the basics, one step at a time, is an effective way of learning English grammar. In this article, we have explored the difference between the words ‘men’ and ‘man’, learnt their meanings and discovered various contexts in which these can be used with the help of examples. Explore other important English ‘Difference Between’ articles only at BYJU’S.