Number, along with Gender, is one of the basic features of grammar. In English as well as in many other languages, the number of a word is either singular or plural. This is pretty straightforward. In order to pluralise a noun in English all you need to do is to add an -s at its end. So a noun with no -s will most likely refer to a single entity, while a noun with an -as at the end will most likely refer to more than one entity.
It sounds pretty obvious because we are used to it, but there are a few ways existing languages make use of number that may not be obvious at first and you may like for your own language. In ancient Greek and modern Arabic, for example, along the singular and plural numbers there is something called 'dual' which refers to two things exactly. E.g.
ὁ θεός (ho theos) "the god" (singular)
τὼ θεώ (to theo) "the two gods" (dual)
οἱ θεοί (hoi theoi) "the gods" (plural)
The choice of including dual in your language may sound a needless complication, but there are some instances where the dual may help you give your language some flavour. For example you may consider limiting the use of the dual to a set of nouns that refer to things that usually come in pairs, for example feet, hands or eyes, but also scissors (as having two blades) or even wheels (as in a bicycle or a motorbike).
Another option is to use a collective number, that is to say a special way to designate a group of things that are usually found together. Collective nouns are known to English, e.g. flock (as in a flock of birds), but they are not marked in any way. So you in your language you may choose to include a suffix or prefix to indicate this.
One can get pretty anal with number, if one really wants to. You may decide for instance that you want a specific suffix to signify the fact that there are three of one thing, or a few but not too many, or a plural number of things although viewed as independent individuals. All of these are features of existing languages by the way!
As always, there are a many possibilities to choose from, but don't feel you absolutely have to have some weird number system in your language. Do what you're comfortable with. Singular and plural can work just fine.
Another option is to use a collective number, that is to say a special way to designate a group of things that are usually found together. Collective nouns are known to English, e.g. flock (as in a flock of birds), but they are not marked in any way. So you in your language you may choose to include a suffix or prefix to indicate this.
One can get pretty anal with number, if one really wants to. You may decide for instance that you want a specific suffix to signify the fact that there are three of one thing, or a few but not too many, or a plural number of things although viewed as independent individuals. All of these are features of existing languages by the way!
As always, there are a many possibilities to choose from, but don't feel you absolutely have to have some weird number system in your language. Do what you're comfortable with. Singular and plural can work just fine.
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