UNIT 1. THE PLURALS OF NOUNS
Entry Test
Put the words in brackets in the plural.
1. The store was overrun with rats and (mouse)__________.
2. I helped him put some (shelf)__________ in his bedroom.
3. He is one of the country’s national (hero)__________.
4. He collects (pocket-knife)__________.
5. His both (son-in-law)__________ were (fisherman)__________.
6. The police asked (passer-by)__________ if they had seen the accident.
7. Most parents have problems with their teenage (offspring)__________.
8. Yesterday’s crash has grim (echo)__________ of previous disaster.
9. (Salmon)__________ live in the sea but swim up rivers to lay their eggs.
10. Books provide (child)__________ with ideas and (stimulus)__________ to play.
11. I respect your religious (belief)__________.
12. Corn circles are one of the strangest (phenomenon)__________ of recent times.
13. Parliament consists of 653 (MP)__________, about two-thirds of whom belong to the Government.
14. Do you have any (spray) or anything else that will keep away (fly)__________ or (mosquito)__________?
15. Television and newspapers are the mass (medium)__________ of advertising.
1. The Plurals of Nouns: Spelling and Pronunciation
Exercise 1.1. Study the rule.
e.g. a book – books, a fox – foxes
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Practice Activities.
Exercise 1.2. Look at the examples and answer the questions.
babies books boys buses buzzes cars chairs
cities dishes foxes gases holidays ladies
lorries matches monkeys quizzes shops tables
taxes times watches ways witches wishes
What is the most common way of making the plurals of nouns?
How do we make the plurals of words ending in a consonant + -y?
How do we make the plurals of words ending in a vowel + -y?
After which letters and groups of letters do we add -es to the singular?
Exercise 1.3. Write the plurals of the nouns below in the columns to show their pronunciation. Consult the rule.
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Address, beach, berry, bottle, box, brush, bush, case, cinema, cliff, clock, bridge, colony, computer, cow, desk, dog, eye, face, fox, garage, glass, guy, guitar, house, hotel, island, lake, language, library, light, line, list, lorry, loss, match, mess, month, morning, mouth, office, party, parent, park, path, peach, piece, road, shop, space, switch, stitch, play, poppy, reply, sandwich, smile, space, story, tape, toe, toy, tree, village, witch, worry.
Exercise 1.4. Put these words in the plural. There is one word in each set in which the plural ending is pronounced differently from the others. Find the odd words.
a) house horse match line age
b) сliff clip market month scream
c) store chair heart wire ear
d) bell verb lesson pet name
e) tap chief orange cake rat
f) list hotel shop tape lake
g) eye island party witch smile
Exercise 1.5. Use the following nouns with the numbers in the brackets.
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Genius (2) |
Rose (5) |
Inch (10) |
Bridge (3) |
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Quiz (3) |
Brush (7) |
Nose (2) |
Witch (6) |
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Bus (12) |
Month (12) |
Horse (8) |
Song (4) |
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Voice (2) |
Apple (12) |
Bag (3) |
Village (8) |
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Factory (5) |
Toy (3) |
Plate (4) |
Hen (7) |
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Dish (8) |
Race (2) |
Butterfly (5) |
Party (2) |
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Box (5) |
City (9) |
Oath (2) |
Piece (3) |
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Hobby (3) |
Vase (5) |
Boss (3) |
Wreath (5) |
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Journey (2) |
Bath (6) |
Law (2) |
Watch (8) |
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Street (3) |
Class (11) |
Lion (4) |
Moth (9) |
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Storey (7) |
Text (7) |
Garage (2) |
Monarch (2) |
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Dress (5) |
Coach (4) |
Nurse (6) |
Visa (3) |
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Song (2) |
Century (10) |
Path (2) |
Truth (2) |
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Match (10) |
Pen (5) |
Place (5) |
Fox (2) |
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Chair (3) |
Witness (8) |
Axe (7) |
Taxi (4) |
Exercise 1.6. Change the number of the nouns in italics making all the necessary changes. Underline the nouns with the plural ending [iz].
| 1. The train flew past the village. | 16. The dish is in the cupboard. |
| 2. He rode his own horse at the race. | 17. Do you know the boy who delivers the newspaper? |
| 3. The doctor saw a bruise on his hand. | 18. This is an English dictionary. |
| 4. I don’t like your caprice. | 19. The speech was very interesting. |
| 5. The bird was singing in the bush. | 20. This factory has a very good laboratory. |
| 6. There had been no witness at the trial. | 21. Where is the brush to clean the bench? |
| 7. The girl received an apple, an orange, a chocolate, and a sweet. | 22. This story is very long. |
| 8. I cut the paragraph out of the magazine. | 23. I like his new play. |
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9. The sailor from the ship and the soldier from the regiment met on the square. |
24. Put the pencil into the box. |
| 10. This cherry is very sweet. | 25. The voice of the teacher came from the classroom. |
| 11. I’ve lost my key. | 26. Take your place in the coach. |
| 12. We have a Henry in our family. (three) | 27. This family needs a new flat. |
| 13. A train is much faster than a bus. | 28. There is a peach in the basket. |
| 14. A lion is a dangerous animal. | 29. The page in the book is torn. |
| 15. A lawyer earns more than a waitress. | 30. An alley runs along the side of the house. |
2. Nouns Ending in -o
Exercise 2.1. Study the rule and supply each item of the rule with examples from the list of words given below. Look the words up in the dictionary and translate them from English into Russian.
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Nouns ending in -o are made plural by adding -es e.g. hero – heroes; potato – potatoes
Nouns ending in -o are made plural by adding -s
e.g. embryo – embryos; radio – radios
e.g. bamboo – bamboos; zoo – zoos
e.g. photo – photos; disco – discos
e.g. piano – pianos; cello – cellos
e.g. Eskimo – Eskimos;
e.g. hair-do – hair-dos; set-to – set-tos
e.g. solo – solos; tobacco – tobaccos
Some nouns ending in -o can take either -es or -s. e.g. buffalo – buffalo(e)s; zero – zero(e)s |
Mangoes, dos (do’s), tomatoes, cargoes, stereos, bamboos, cuckoos, portfolios, volcano(e)s, pianos, lean-tos, logos, videos, echoes, archipelago(e)s, discos, manifesto(e)s, embargoes, kangaroos, grotto(e)s, mottoes, tornado(e)s, torpedoes, commandos, folios, concertos, memos, vetoes, kimonos, ghetto(e)s, tobaccos, banjos, mosquito(e)s, cellos, rhinos, hippos, dominoes, dynamos, cockatoos, tangos, halo(e)s, portico(e)s, cameos, lasso(e)s, igloos.
Exercise 2.2. Study the rule.
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In order to build the plural form of
we should add -s or ’s to the word. e.g. Maria – Marias, Henry – Henrys, an and – and(‘)s, no – no’s (noes), one c – two c’s, in 1990 – in the 1990s, an MP – MPs. Proper names ends in consonant +y usually have plurals in –ys. e.g. The Connerys are planning to buy a bigger house. |
Practice Activities.
Exercise 2.3. Complete the following table using the correct form of the noun (singular or plural).
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SINGULAR |
PLURAL |
SINGULAR |
PLURAL |
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memo |
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SOS |
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toes |
сello |
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armies |
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grottoes |
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zero |
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skis |
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alibis |
mosquito |
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MP |
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volcano |
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taboo |
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body |
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tomato |
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century |
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skies |
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shoes |
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hero |
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monkey |
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set-to |
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domino |
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floes |
Bobby |
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no |
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canoes |
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grotto |
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parties |
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storey |
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buffaloes |
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pieces |
donkey |
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echoes |
embryo |
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cuckoo |
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difficulty |
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Hindoo |
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lilies |
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quiz |
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fez |
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Exercise 2.4. Change the number of the nouns in italics making all the necessary changes.
1. I was shown a portfolio of photos.
2. He was established a hero.
3. A cuckoo began calling from a thorn tree.
4. This bay was probably the crater of the volcano that formed the island.
5. He plays Bach every day on the cello and on the piano.
6. His house looked more like a ramblingstudio than a dwelling.
7. The Air Madagascar DC-3 took off at dawn.
8. It was a real set-to, wasn’t it?
9. She took down her hair and tried a new hair-do.
10. We expect to see a monkey, a rhino and a deer in the zoo.
Exercise 2.5. Give the plural of the words in brackets.
1. The (Hindoo)__________ and the (Muslim) liked and trusted him.
2. They listened to the cruel singing of the (mosquito)___________ outside the curtain.
3. She thought of all the (sack)__________ of (potato)___________ she used to carry.
4. A lot of Japanese students of English have difficulty with the pronunciation of (b)_____ and (v)_____.
5. People came into the dining-saloon by (one)_____ and (two)_____ in a very shy manner.
6. The men struggled with grey dust covering their (face)__________ and (body)__________.
7. There’s going to be no more movies, no more champagne, no more (hair-do)__________ for little Jean.
8. Now I don’t want to hear any more (why)__________.
9. I believed all the adventures of my favourite (hero)__________.
10. The room seemed to be full of the (echo)__________ of his voice.
11. Large bronze (dragonfly)__________ flew by with a dry sound of swift (wing)__________.
12. Michael watched her standing by the door making her (good-bye)__________.
13. The station carried large (telescope)__________ that made it possible to get many (photo)__________ of the Sun.
14. Athenly was very proud of the country family to which he belonged: «The (Athenly)__________ have lived there for seven (century)__________».
15. I’ll now call Mrs. Ralph Ppynrryn, we spell her name with two (p)_____ two (y)_____, two (r)_____ and two (n)_____.
3. Nouns Ending in -f(e). Irregular Plurals
Practice Activities.
Exercise 3.1. Here are six groups of nouns.
1. N o u n s w i t h s i n g u l a r a n d p l u r a l t h e s a m e.
Trout, deer, fish, means, offspring,
2. N o u n s w i t h a s i n g u l a r i n -f(e), p l u r a l i n -ves.
Calf – calves, half – halves, knife – knives, leaf – leaves, life – lives, loaf – loaves, self – selves,
3. N o u n s w i t h a s i n g u l a r i n -f(e), p l u r a l i n -f(e)s.
Roof – roofs, cuff – cuffs,
4. N o u n s w i t h a s i n g u l a r i n -f(e), p l u r a l e i t h e r i n -f(e)s
o r i n -ves.
Hoof – hooves(-fs), wharf – wharves(-fs), scarf – scarves(-fs)
5. N o u n s w i t h i r r e g u l a r p l u r a l s.
Child – children, foot – feet, goose – geese, man – men, ox – oxen, penny – pence, woman – women
6. W o r d s, i n d i c a t i n g n u m b e r
Dozen, hundred, thousand
Look at the list of words and find more nouns to add to each group.
Aircraft, cod, muffs, mice, moose, sheep, salmon, carp, pike, plaice, mackerel, dwarfs(-ves), shelves, species, gulfs, teeth, wolves, grouse, whereabouts, lice, thieves, million, elves, sheaves, cliffs, swine, safes, score, chiefs, series, proofs, wives, kennels, briefs, customs, brethren, stone, series, crossroads, hovercraft, beliefs, billion, works, spacecraft, headquarters, barracks, gallows, bison, alms, chassis, corps, handkerchief(-ves), griefs, turf(-ves), dice
Exercise 3.2. Give the plural of the following nouns if possible:
Accommodation, baby, wife, piano, glass, brief, cliff, rubbish, knife, brush, scarf, sheaf, donkey, fly, permission, information, calf, ghetto, volcano, ox, foot, photo, brother, kilo, kangaroo, hobby, luck, chassis, sheep, kiss, wharf, proof, lily, echo, leisure, mouse, breath, elk, dynamo, goose, oath, progress, despair, hoof, mud, valley, chief, handkerchief, folio, tomato, salmon, youth, carp, woman, boy, child, veto, lady, wolf, loaf, country, china, day, zoo, man, Eskimo, tooth, mouth, thief, desk, life, equipment, self, cargo, behaviour, leaf, radio, potato, deer, courage, path, casino, louse, studio, moose.
Exercise 3.3. Write the plurals of the words given in brackets to complete the sentences.
1. We cut the cake into __________ (half).
2. We bought some __________ to eat with our __________ (tomato, sandwich).
3. They caught several __________ that afternoon (fish).
4. It was a shop selling __________ and ________ (stereo, video).
5. Would you like some of these __________ (potato)?
6. All the __________ had different __________ (house, roof).
7. It was autumn, and the __________ were falling (leaf).
8. Did you make these __________ (handkerchief)?
9. They visited several __________ that night (disco).
10. We have some __________ and a few __________ (chicken, sheep).
11. I bought some __________ for the __________ (shelf, glass).
12. The __________ went in one door and the __________ went in the other (man, woman).
13. They have a lot of __________ and __________ at the moment (worry, grief).
14. Would you bring me the __________(knife)?
15. The __________ chased the __________ for several miles (wolf, deer).
16. In the silence there came a clatter of ________ (hoof).
17. The __________ sprang up in front of his __________, the air was full of __________ (lark, foot, butterfly).
18. Four ships were carrying __________ for his __________ in Brooklyn (cargo, warehouse).
19. He told me there were __________ in the stream below the town (trout).
20. I really cannot help your __________ or your __________ (belief disbelief).
Exercise 3.4. Change the number of the nouns in italics making all the necessary changes.
1. Afterwards he took a photo of me to finish out the film.
2. He talked to another Divisional chief.
3. His shirt cuff showed up spotless, just half an inch beneath the sleeve.
4. He was as lively as a trout in a mountain stream.
5. It was like lying in darkness with a mosquito hovering above his face.
6. The cab moved along the side of the wood, and he heard a late cuckoo calling.
7. Everybody had a handkerchief concealed in his cuff.
8. The archeologists discovered bones of a mammoth and a polar bear.
9. She stamped her foot, then looked up at him.
10. It can’t be a mouse because there aren’t any crumbs.
Miscellaneous Practice.
Exercise 1. Give the plural of the following nouns.
Motto, species, hero, play, photo, thief, ghetto, manifesto, valley, wolf, match, UFO, tomato, safe, box, leaf, elf, axe, goose, inch, series, cuff, volcano, studio, ox, VIP, louse, means, casino, alibi, kimono, sheaf, SOS.
Exercise 2. Complete the following table with the correct noun (singular or plural).
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SINGULAR |
PLURAL |
SINGULAR |
PLURAL |
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secretary |
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thief |
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shoes |
half |
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ladies |
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means |
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tooth |
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hero |
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policeman |
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radio |
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knives |
waitress |
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Child |
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moose |
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scarf |
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brushes |
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oxen |
hoof |
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journey |
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mouth |
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Safe |
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fireman |
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tornado |
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horses |
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lice |
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witches |
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dwarves |
offspring |
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Trout |
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belief |
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kimono |
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benches |
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corps |
army |
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snowman |
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scarf |
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skis |
chassis |
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loaves |
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teeth |
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sleeves |
wharf |
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key |
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geese |
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bushes |
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ties |
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baths |
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waves |
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fish |
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play |
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doves |
proof |
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wharves |
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housewives |
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calf |
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lives |
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boot |
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caves |
Exercise 3. Translate the words in brackets into English.
1. The Siberian (волки)__________ crept closer.
2. People like you take us for (воры)__________.
3. Had I a hundred (жизни)__________, would I not gladly lay them down for my country?
4. A great many books were scattered on the (полки)__________, two tables and the floor.
5. He took some small (буханки)__________ of bread, some cheese and a tin of lobster.
6. Soon the servant reappeared with armfuls of silk robes, shawls, (шарфы)__________.
7. The sound of horses’ (копыта)__________ woke him up.
8. He was dressed in a long green overcoat with fur (манжеты)__________.
9. There is a proverb «To set the fox to keep the (гуси)__________».
10. It will happen when two (воскресенья)________ come together.
11. The sheep in (двое)__________ and (трое)________ were loping away from the shed.
12. We’ve got a social crisis in the North, it involves (эскимосов)__________ and (белых)_________.
13. He was beheaded by one of the (Генри)________.
14. I think I’ve found (средство)_____ to help him.
15. I heard their (до свидания)__________ in my ears as I walked down the platform.
16. (Буйволы)_____ migrate across the plains.
17. This (перекресток)_______ is rather dangerous.
18. The corn was cut, tied in (снопы)__________ and left to dry.
19. The (эхо)__________ of his scream sounded in the cave for several seconds.
20. The number one million is written with a one and six (нулей)__________.
21. (Кимоно)__________ are traditionally worn by the Japanese.
22. Both ships were sunk by (торпедами)________.
23. One wall had (полки)_____ from floor to ceiling.
24. He wrote (серию)__________ of articles devoted to modern farming methods.
25. (Вулканы)__________ discharge massive quantities of dust into the stratosphere.
26. We were happy to hear the first (кукушек)__________ оf spring.
27. He lived among (эскимосов)______ for ten years.
28. Soon the only black (носороги)__________ left may be those in (зоопарках)__________.
29. (Казино)__________ are places where card games are played for money.
30. Pandas eat (бамбук)__________.
31. We found a rare (вид)__________ of orchid.
32. The apples are ninety (пенсов)_________ a kilo.
33. A post office was broken into last night and the (воры)__________ got away with $120, 000.
34. My daughter’s favourite fairy tale is «Snow White and the Seven (гномов)__________».
35. (Треска)__________ are found in the North Atlantic and the North Sea.
4. Plurals of Compounds
Exercise 4.1. Study the rule.
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In English, nouns can be combined into compound structures in a variety of ways. There are three forms of compound words: the closed form, in which the words are melted together e.g. firefly, softball, redhead, keyboard, makeup, notebook; the hyphenated form e.g. daughter-in-law, master-at-arms, six-pack, six-year-old; the open form e.g. post office, real estate, middle class, full moon, half sister, attorney(-)general.
e.g. daughters-in-law, half-moons, mayors-elect, hangers-on, lookers-on, runners-up.
e.g. takeoff – takeoffs, forget-me-not – forget-me-nots, pick-me-up – pick-me-ups. The pluralof court martial is either court martials or courts martial; the pluralof attorney general is either attorneys general or attorney generals.
e.g. woman doctor - women doctors, man-servant – men-servants ( but: manholes, woman-haters, boy friends, girl friends, lady drivers, man(-)eaters)
e.g. handful – handsful/ handfuls.
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Practice Activities.
Exercise 4.2. Give the plural of the following nouns and translate them from English into Russian.
Daughter-in-law, half-moon, mayor-elect, hanger-on, looker-on, runner-up, takeoff, forget-me-not, pick-me-up, woman doctor, woman-hater, Roman, Norman, German, Brahman, talisman, specimen, mongoose, maid-servant, major-general, customs-house, man-of-war, hotel-keeper, mother-in-law, son-in-law, schoolgirl, pocket-knife, housemaid, theatre-goer, dining-room, looker-on, passer-by, text-book, statesman, man-servant, woman-doctor, editor-in-chief, sister-in-law, bus-driver, woman-driver, ballet-girl, kiss-me-quick, pickpocket, hold-all, chessman, woman-soldier, eye-lash, stay-at-home, court martial, drop-out, spoonful, go-between, attorney general, standby, close-up, good-for-nothing, merry-go-round, high-up, also-ran, grown-up.
Exercise 4.3. Give the plural of the words in brackets.
1. Philip gazed with delight upon the (passer-by)_______________.
2. Perhaps, there aren’t any (grown-up)_______________ there.
3. Do you know any (tongue-twister)_______________ in English?
4. Eric watched the (wood-louse)_______________ that were unable to avoid the flames.
5. Love can never make us forget that we are (brother-in-arms)_______________, can it?
6. The frost seemed to bite into his bones, under his (finger-nail)_______________.
7. His both (son-in-law)_______________ were (fisherman)_______________.
8. He is a man who works with his hands, not one of your dressed-up (good-for-nothing)_______________.
9. He saw a famous artist surrounded by crowds of (hanger-on)________________.
10. Three (mouthful)_______________ of soup convinced him that he couldn’t eat.
11. They lay in (camp-bed)_______________ so comfortable after (dug-out)_______________.
12. I had some old plates, with (man-of-war)_______________ in full sail upon them.
13. The (foot-man)_______________ kept the doors of the cars open.
14. If only he could get at these anonymous (letter-writer)__________ he would teach them not to meddle.
15. I was talking to (woman-friend)__________ at a studio party.
16. The (passer-by)_______________ looked at the clowns in amazement.
17. Wherever there is royalty, there are always (hanger-on)_______________.
18. The Princess was attended by her (lady-in-waiting)_______________.
19. She grabbed (handful)_______________ of dirty snow.
20. The (runner-up)_______________ will all receive a fifty-dollar prize.
21. A number of local church leaders acted as (go-between)_______________ оn the conflict.
22. Family (break-up)_______________ are a common thing in modern society.
23. The (woman servant)__________ came into the room where the (child)__________ were sleeping.
24. The first winter (fly-in)__________ to Antarctica completed successfully, the (fly-out)__________ were equally smooth.
25. Tonight’s show features a host of (celebrity)_______________, (wannabe)_______________ and (has-been)_______________.
5. Borrowed Plural Forms
Exercise 5.1. Study the rule
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In scientific texts and high literary prose some borrowings preserve the plural forms of the languages they have been taken from. In everyday speech many (but not all) of these nouns have acquired the regular plural forms -(e)s, which fact is marked in the examples below by asterisk (*).
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Practice Activities.
Exercise 5.2. Read the following words in the singular and plural. Translate them from English into Russian.
a) Erratum – errata, datum – data, memorandum – memoranda, addendum – addenda, maximum – maxima, minimum – minima, vacuum – vacua, stratum – strata, medium – media, dictum – dicta, sanatorium – sanatoria, referendum – referenda, bacterium – bacteria.
b) Axis – axes, matrix – matrices, index – indices.
c) Basis – bases, crisis – crises, analysis – analyses, synthesis – syntheses, emphasis – emphases, oasis – oases, hypothesis – hypotheses, diagnosis – diagnoses, thesis – theses.
d) Locus – loci, modulus – moduli, terminus – termini, stimulus – stimuli, calculus – calculi, radius – radii, nucleus – nuclei, focus – foci, cactus –cacti, alumnus – alumni, hippopotamus – hippopotami, fungus – fungi, papyrus – papyri.
e) Nebula – nebulae, formula – formulae, lacuna – lacunae, antenna – antennae, vertebra - vertebrae.
f) Phenomenon – phenomena, criterion –criteria.
g) Corpus – corpora (corpuses)
Exercise 5.3. Give the plural of the words in brackets.
1. I haven’t enough (datum)__________ yet.
2. «Our Sundays are our best days», was one of his (formula)__________ with parents.
3. You did not witness any of these (phenomenon)__________ yourself, did you?
4. It gave the impression of slum conditions, in spite of (antenna)________ on all (roof)______.
5. Detectives were on duty at the (terminus)__________ of all airways.
6. At the piano they were untalented (dilettante)________.
7. You are like surgeons who want every symptom before they can give their (diagnosis)_________.
8. We set out for the office of (Mr.)__________ Brown and Smith.
9. The crosses stuck up like ugly (cactus)________.
10. She could find no clue to the new (enigma)__________ of the universe.
11. The professor who directs the centre on the study of (virus)__________ supervised the making of the first anti-flu vaccine.
12. Paul replied with angry letters, telegram (ultimatum)__________, and telephone calls.
13. Chemical (analysis)__________ revealed a high content of copper.
14. The Health Service should not be judged by financial (criterion)__________ alone.
15. The (locus)__________ of decision-making are sometimes far from the government's offices.
Miscellaneous Practice.
Exercise 1. Complete the table with the correct noun (singular or plural).
|
SINGULAR |
PLURAL |
SINGULAR |
PLURAL |
|
hedge |
|
thief |
|
|
eye-lash |
|
|
Fish |
|
|
species |
|
Means |
|
garage |
|
hero |
|
|
policeman |
|
radio |
|
|
|
knives |
waitress |
|
|
|
sleeves |
|
ties |
|
scarf |
|
|
brushes |
|
milkman |
|
hoof |
|
|
hold-all |
|
|
wharves |
|
|
series |
stepchild |
|
|
safe |
|
fireman |
|
|
tornado |
|
|
casinos |
|
commander-in-chief |
|
talisman |
|
|
|
doves |
maid-of-all-work |
|
|
mammoth |
|
specimen |
|
|
|
field-mice |
|
oxen |
|
table-cloth |
|
chess-man |
|
|
merry-go-round |
|
woman-doctor |
|
|
saleswoman |
|
|
lice |
|
|
flies |
mongoose |
|
|
studio |
|
|
witches |
|
|
dwarves |
offspring |
|
|
stay-at-home |
|
hold-all |
|
Exercise 2. Make the following words plural, read and translate them from English into Russian.
Motto, species, hero, photo, thief, manifesto, valley, wolf, match, UFO, tomato, safe, box, leaf, elf, goose, inch, mongoose, series, cuff, volcano, studio, ox, VIP, louse, means, basis, set-to, criterion, formula, forget-me-not, oasis, medium, watch-maker, phenomenon, fountain-pen, radius, man-eater, editor-in-chief, datum, specimen, woman-teacher, Henry, stimulus, lady driver, kimono, SOS, cactus, thesis, veto, floe, torpedo, calf, wharf, man-of-war, syllabus, chessman, analysis, man-driver, appendix, casino, man-hole, kiss-me-quick, go-between, court martial, high-up, woman-priest.
Exercise 3. Rewrite the sentences, making the words in brackets plural.
1. The book recounts the (crisis)__________ of the post-war period.
2. The ships were unloading their (cargo)__________ on the (wharf)__________.
3. Many people think that (parent-in-law)__________ are potentially a nuisance.
4. Poisonous (gas)__________ were being discharged from the exhaust pipes of the (bus)_______________.
5. He arranged that his books should contain detailed (index)__________.
6. The eyes are sometimes (index)__________ of character.
7. Shakespearean (hero)__________ are generally the victims of circumstances.
8. (A mouse)__________ can sometimes take the cheese without being caught in the (mousetrap)__________.
9. Highly-coloured (fungus)__________ were growing near the base of the tree.
10. He wished to place certain (memorandum)__________ before the committee.
11. He agreed that these were strange (phenomenon)__________.
12. We cannot proceed on such unlikely (hypothesis)___________.
13. (A serviceman)__________ found guilty of desertion of duty are tried by (court martial)__________.
14. The new (syllabus)__________ will be drawn up according to different (criterion)__________.
15. Television and newspapers are the mass (medium)__________ of advertising.
16. The (thief)__________ broke into the shop without attracting the attention of (passer-by)__________.
17. Piano (solo)__________ will be played by John Smith.
18. The police called for (eyewitness)__________ to come forward and give evidence.
19. The accused (man)__________ had carefully prepared what appeared to be good (alibi)__________.
20. University (faculty)__________ expect to receive complete (thesis)__________ by the beginning of June.
Exercise 4. Translate the words in brackets into English.
1. She was dressed in blue, with blue flowers in her hair – (незабудками)__________.
2. The women sat at the windows, reading and sewing, taking no notice of (прохожих)__________.
3. Are there any (женщины-солдаты)__________ in the army?
4. We need (критерии)__________ to distinguish one species from the other.
5. Have you heard the (диагнозы)__________ of the qualified psychiatrists?
6. (Вирусы)__________ change under the influence of medicines.
7. One of the crazy (гипотез)__________ formed in his mind.
8. Very strange (явления)___________ were observed by astronomers yesterday.
9. We have some beautiful silk (шарфы)__________ but we only sell cotton (носовые платки)__________.
10. I don't think our food department has any (лососей)__________ at all today.
11. The astronauts brought back (образцы)_____ of moon rock.
12. The (взрослые)__________ always spoilt our fun by telling us to be quiet.
13. The (сведения)__________ were collected by various researchers.
14. I'm afraid there is no demand for (истории)__________ about (космических кораблях)__________.
15. Gangs of (карманных воришек)_______ had rushed through the carnival crowds stealing wallets and purses.
Revision.
Exercise 1. Explain how to form the plural of nouns, give examples.
a) nouns ending in
a consonant + y;
b) nouns ending in
a vowel + y;
c) nouns ending in
-sch, -ch, -s, -x, -z.
Exercise 2. Put the following words into the plural form and split them into three groups depending on the pronunciation of the plural ending.
Evening, lash, mug, language, cloth, date, monkey, hook, map, end, lady, path, roof, house, edge, mouth, bay, berry, garage, pen, knife, team, bill, story, garage, list, song, watch, rich, cafe, century.
|
[s] |
[z] |
[iz] |
|
|
evening – evenings |
|
Exercise 3. Put the words in brackets in the plural.
1. He collects (pocket-knife)__________.
2. I hate (February)__________.
3. I respect your religious (belief)__________.
4. Do you know the (Kennedy)__________?
5. There’ll be three pounds and six (penny)__________.
6. She spelt ‘necessary’ with two (c)__________.
7. Over a hundred (species)__________ of insects are found in this area.
8. Chemical (analysis)__________ revealed a high content of copper.
9. Their proposals have no proven scientific (basis)__________.
10. He is a true child of the (1990)__________.
11. They were able to share all their (joy)__________ and (grief)__________.
12. Neither chilling nor freezing kills all the (bacterium)__________.
13. Let’s put the whole sentence in (parenthesis)__________.
14. The issue was raised in a series of company (memorandum)__________.
15. (Fez)__________ are worn by men in some Muslim countries.
16. Guys, don’t be rude. You sound like (woman-hater)__________.
17. Modern (aircraft)__________ are powerful machines.
18. You have ten (and)__________ in the last paragraph.
19. The store was overrun with rats and (mouse)_________.
20. Bugs Bunny was one of my childhood (hero)__________.
21. She could hear the (echo)__________ of more than one hundred years of prayers.
22. The police asked (passer-by)__________ if they had seen the accident.
23. I helped him put some (shelf)__________ in his bedroom.
24. (Salmon)__________ live in the sea but swim up rivers to lay their eggs.
25. Books provide (child)__________ with ideas and (stimulus)__________ to play.
26. Do you believe in the paranormal and other psychic (phenomenon)__________?
27. Corn circles are one of the strangest (phenomenon)__________ of recent times.
28. His both (son-in-law)__________ were (policeman)__________.
29. Television and newspapers are the mass (medium)__________ of advertising.
30. There are some green (oasis)__________ in the center of the city.
31. I don’t think these issues would be the main (criterion)__________ for the project.
32. If you want to lose weight, here are some (do)__________ and (don’t)__________.
33. Parliament consists of 653 (MP)__________, about (two-third)__________ of whom belong to the Government.
34. The firm grew to be one of Europe's foremost graphics (studio)__________.
35. He was sweeping up (leaf)__________ in his garden.
36. Museums will pay large amounts of money for good dinosaur fossil (specimen)__________.
37. Are they planning to build some new (kibbutz)__________ in this region?
38. In the case of the guinea pig, the number of (offspring)__________ varies between two and five.
39. His two (sister-in-law)__________ are (editor-in-chief)__________ of leading magazines.
40. Have you read the book “(Do)__________, (Don’t)_________ and (Maybe)__________ of English Usage” by T. Bernstein?
Exercise 4. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.
1. В коллекции Майка есть несколько необычных видов бабочек.
2. Запри телят в сарае и выпусти быков во двор.
3. Волки сильнее, чем лисы.
4. Эти ножи острые, будь осторожен.
5. Несколько крыш были повреждены торнадо.
6. Я натер ноги и не могу идти.
7. Видел ли ты три карпа и две щуки, которые я поймал?
8. Вулканы в Индонезии очень активны.
9. Этот свитер мне не подходит – у него слишком длинные рукава.
10. Мы разрезали торт пополам.
11. Не забудь захватить пару коробков спичек.
12. Эти старые зубные щетки давно пора выбросить.
13. Вам не следует основывать свои аргументы только на одной гипотезе.
14. В моем маленьком саду растут и незабудки, и ландыши, и анютины глазки.
15. Следует уважать верования других людей.
16. Ученые уже изучают эти таинственные явления природы.
17. Овцы пасутся на лугу.
18. Несколько прохожих видели аварию и вызвали полицию.
19. Жаль, но ни одна из фотографий не получилась.
20. Молодые девушки в ярких кимоно шли по направлению к роще молодого бамбука.
21. В центре Лас-Вегаса расположены многочисленные казино, дискотеки, кафе, ночные клубы.
22. Флорида известнa своими разрушительными торнадо.
23. Самый известный из концертов Вивальди – «Времена года».
24. Ее многочисленные отпрыски очень невоспитанны.
25. Это гиблое место – там нет ничего, кроме кактусов и змей.