1
Most people didn’t want this kind of jobs in the past.
Most people didn’t want this kind of job in the past.
Most people didn’t want these kinds of jobs in the past.
Use this/that kind of + singular noun: ‘this kind of job’, ‘that kind of problem’.
Use these/those kinds of + plural noun: ‘these kinds of jobs’, ‘those kinds of problems’.
We use sort and type in the same way.
2
We saw all kind of animals.
We saw all kinds of animals.
I don’t like going to these kind of places.
I don’t like going to this kind of place.
I don’t like going to these kinds of places.
After plural words such as all, these, those, many and several, use the plural forms kinds, sorts and types: ‘all kinds of animals’, ‘many types of cars’.
3
It’s a kind of a funny story.
It’s kind of a funny story.
We had a kind of an idea of what he wanted.
We had kind of an idea of what he wanted.
In informal English, kind of and sort of can be used before an adjective, verb or noun phrase, or at the end of a sentence. They mean ‘in a way’, ‘more or less’ or ‘not completely’. In this use, do not put a before kind of and sort of: ‘It’s kind of strange.’ ‘I kind of understand.’
A kind of + noun and a sort of + noun are correct when they mean ‘a type of’: ‘A whale is a kind of mammal.’
See SORT OF