Grammar 1 noun

• Nouns can be abstract (love, freedom, etc.), proper (John, Asia, etc.), or common (chair, table, dress, girl, etc.).

• Most nouns that refer to jobs, social status, etc. have the same form for men (masculine) and women (feminine) e.g. doctor, teacher, etc. When we refer to ships, vehicles (when regarded with affection and respect) and countries, we consider them feminine.

Other have different forms:

actor – actress	king - queen
bachelor - spinster	lion - lioness
barman – barmaid	monk - nun
conductor – conductress	nephew – niece
(bride)groom – bride	prince - princess
dog – bitch	policeman – policewoman
duke – duchess	ram – ewe [ju:]
emperor –empress	stallion - mare
heir – heiress	tiger - tigress
gentleman – lady	uncle – aunt
hero – heroine	waiter - waitress
host – hostess	widower - widow

• Nouns can be countable (those that can be counted) e.g. 1 book – 2 books or uncountable (those that can’t be counted) e.g. bread, furniture.

• Countable nouns have singular and plural forms. Nouns are made plural by adding:

• -s to the nouns (cat - cats);

• -es to the nouns ending in –ch, -s, -sh, -ss, -x (torch – torches, bus –buses, bush – bushes, glass – glasses, box - boxes);

• -ies to the nouns ending in consonant + y (baby – babies, lady – ladies, etc), but –s to the nouns ending in vowel + y (day – days, boy – boys, etc.);

• -es to the nouns ending in –o (tomato - tomatoes), BUT: -s to the nouns ending in: vowel + o (video – videos); double o (zoo - zoos); abbreviations (photograph/photo -photos); musical instruments (piano -pianos) and proper nouns. Note that some nouns can end both in –s and –es: buffalos / buffaloes; mosquitos / mosquitoes; volcanos / volcanoes; zeros / zeroes; tornado / tornadoes, etc.

• -ves to some nouns ending in –f/fe (self – selves, wife - wives); BUT: chiefs, cliffs, roofs, safes.

• Composed nouns are nouns that are made of two or more parts and are formed as follows:

• noun + noun. The plural is formed by adding –s/-es to the second noun (schoolboy – schoolboys, ticket inspector – ticket inspectors);

• -ing form / adjective + noun. The plural is formed by adding –s / -es to the noun (swimming pool – swimming pools, greenhouse - greenhouses);

• noun + in-law. The plural is formed by adding –s / -es to the noun (sister-in-law – sisters-in-law);

• noun + adverb. The plural is formed by adding –s / -es to the noun (runner-up – runners-up);

• verb + adverb particle. The plural form is formed by adding –s / es to the word (breakthrough - breakthroughs).

• Irregular Plurals: man – men, woman – women, foot – feet, tooth –teeth, louse – lice, mouse – mice, child – children, goose – geese, person – people (But: peoples = ethnic groups), ox – oxen, sheep – sheep, deer – deer, fish – fish (also: fishes), trout – trout, salmon – salmon, spacecraft – spacecraft, aircraft – aircraft, species – species, hovercraft – hovercraft.

• Some nouns of Greek and Latin origin form their plural by adding Greek or Latin suffixes (basis – bases, crisis – crises, criterion – criteria, medium – media, terminus – termini, etc.).

• Plural Nouns are the nouns that can be used only in the plural form:

• objects consisting of two parts: garments (pyjamas, trousers), instruments (binoculars), tools (pliers, scissors);

• arms, ashes, barracks, clothes, congratulations, earrings, (good) looks, outskirts, people, police, premises, riches, stairs, surroundings, wages (Where are my clothes?)

Group nouns (army, audience, class, club, committee, company, council, crew, headquarter, family, jury, government, press, public, staff, team, etc.) can take either a singular or a plural verb depending on whether we see the group as a whole or as individuals. (The team was chosen as the most promising. The team were given bonuses for their performance.)

 Uncountable nouns take a singular verb and are not used with a / an. Some, any, much, no can be used with them (e.g. Milk comes from cows. I need some food.)

 Uncountable nouns are:

• mass nouns (fluids, solids, food, gases, particles) beer, blood, bread, air, oxygen, corn, flour, etc;

• subjects of study: accountancy, chemistry, economics, history, literature, mathematics, physics, etc;

• languages: Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, etc;

• sports: baseball, billiards, cricket, cycling, darts, football, etc.;

• diseases: chickenpox, flu, measles, mumps, pneumonia, tuberculoses, etc;

• natural phenomena: darkness, fog, gravity, hail, snow, sunlight, etc;

• some other nouns: accommodation, advice, anger, applause, assistance, behaviour, business, chaos, countryside, courage, dirt, education, equipment, evidence, fun, hair, homework, housework, information, intelligence, knowledge, luck, music, news, peace, progress, research, seaside, shopping, traffic, truth, wealth, weather, work, etc.

• collective nouns: baggage, crockery, cutlery, furniture, jewellery, litter, luggage, machinery, money, rubbish, stationary.

Note 1.with expressions of duration, distance or money meaning ‘a whole amount’ we use a singular verb (Five thousand pounds was too much to lose in a casino.)

Note 2. We use a / an, one, two etc. with uncountable nouns such as coffee, tea, beer, etc. when we order something in a restaurant, cafe, etc. (We’ll have three beers, please.)

• Many uncountable nouns can be made countable: a piece of advice / cake / furniture / information / paper; a glass / bottle of beer / water / wine; a jar of jam; a rasher of bacon; a pint of beer; a sheet of paper; a packet of tea; a slice / loaf of bread; a pot / cup of tea; a tube of toothpaste; a bar of chocolate; a bit / piece of chalk; an ice cube; a lump of sugar; a bag of flour; a pair of trousers; a game of chess; an item / piece of news; a drop / can of oil; a can of Coke; a carton of milk, etc.

Some nouns can be used as countable or uncountable with a difference in meaning.

- Would you like a glass of lemonade?

- Tina can’t see without her glasses. (spectacles)

- The vase is made of glass. (material)

- He went to the newsagent’s to buy a paper. (newspaper)

- He wrote my phone number on a piece of paper. (material)

- Don’t forget to bring all necessary papers. (documents)

- Susan has got short, dark hair. (all the hair on her head)

- There’s a hair in my soup!

- I’ve bought an iron as a wedding gift for Tom and Jane. (for ironing clothes)

- The fence is made of iron. (material)

- You shouldn’t eat too much chocolate.

- We gave her a box of chocolates. (chocolate sweets)

- The room is a mess!

- We haven’t got enough room to put you up. (space)

- The table is made of wood. (material)

- A lot of wolves live in the woods. (forest)

- Mr. Davis has a lot of experience in accounting. (length of time doing it)

- He had a few of unpleasant experiences while living abroad. (events)

- I haven’t got any time to lose.

- How many times did Tom phone? (occasions)

1. Write the plural of the following words.

1. toy –	8. church –	15. party –	22. brush –
2. fox –	9. thief –	16. window –	23. cello –
3. potato –	10. fly –	17. foot –	24. louse –
4. knife –	11. tooth –	18. life –	25. cliff –
5. kilo –	12. medium –	19. passer-by –	26. sheep –
6. donkey –	13. shelf –	20. country –	27. ox –
7. man –	14. memo –	21. crisis –	28. kiss –

2. Complete each pair below by adding the male or female equivalent.

1. husband –	15. uncle –
2. – lady	16. – niece
3. emperor –	17. policeman –
4. hero –	18. – landlady
5. count –	19. bridegroom –
6. – spinster	20. – hostess
7. father –	21. monk –
8. – duchess	22. – actress
9. heir –	23. conductor –
10. – manageress	24. barman –
11. salesman –	25. – stewardess
12. – queen	26. lion –
13. prince –	27. – waitress
14. – widow	28. dog –

3. Fill in a, an or some where necessary.

A. 1. We booked ____ room in the Grand Hotel. 2. The police found ____ glass from the broken window on the grass. 3. There is ____ room for five people in my car. 4. She usually drinks ____ glass of orange juice in the morning. 5. There was ____ hair in my plate. 6. I need ____ paper to write my notes on. 7. She has ____ long blonde hair. 8. The Eiffel Tower is made of ____ iron. 9. He decided to buy ____ paper to read on the train. 10. I have got ____ iron, but it is very old.

B. 1. a) We had ____ delicious food last night. b) We had ____ delicious meal last night. 2. a) There is ____ beautiful furniture in that shop. b) There’s ____ beautiful table in that shop. 3. a) I’m thirsty. I need ____ drink. b) I’m thirsty. I need ____ water. 4. a) She’s just bought ____ expensive clothes. b) She’s just bought ____ expensive dress. 5. a) They booked ____ room in advance. b) They booked ____ accommodation in advance. 6. a) The band played ____ lovely music. b) The band played ____ lovely song. 7. a) We had ____ heatwave last week. b) We had ____ hot weather last week. 8. a) I can’t do this job alone. I need ____ assistant. b) I can’t do this job alone. I need ____ help. 9. a) He has got ____ heavy luggage to carry. b) He has got ____ heavy suitcase to carry. 10. a) I need ____ cutlery to eat this food with. b) I need ____ knife and fork to eat this food with. 11. a) She has got ____ important job to do. b) She has got ____ important work to do. 12. a) He found ____ ____ coin on the ground. b) He found ____ money on the ground.

4. Complete the sentences using the noun in brackets in the singular or plural form and a/an where necessary.

1. He gave me a box of my favourite ________ (chocolate). 2. My favourite food is ________ (chocolate). 3. She bought ________ (paper) on her way to work. 4. He placed all the important ________ (paper) in his briefcase. 5. I need ________ (paper) to write this message on. 6. Hurry up! We don’t have much ________ (time). 7. He has visited us several ________ (time) this morning. 8. He has no ________ (experience), but he is keen to learn. 9. He had a lot of ________ (experience) during his travels. 10. We went for a walk in the ________ (wood) after lunch. 11. His desk is made of ________ (wood). 12. Jane is in her ________ (room) reading a book. 13. We’ve got plenty of ________ (room) for a party in here. 14. I’m going to have my ________ (hair) cut tomorrow. 15. There was ________ (hair) in my tea. 16. I’m thirsty. I need ________ (glass) of water. 17. Susan only wears her ________ (glass) when she reads. 18. This ornament is made of coloured ________ (glass). 19. Helen bought ________ (iron) in the sale at the electrical store. 20. The old gate was made of ________ (iron).

5. Underline the correct verb form.

1. Mathematics is/are my favourite subject. 2. Your bathroom scales is/are not very accurate. 3. Table-tennis is/are sometimes referred to as ping-pong. 4. $2.000 is/are far too expensive for that stereo. 5. The police is/are coming to the rescue. 6. Paper is/are made from wood. 7. Children like/likes playing games. 8. The scissors don’t/doesn’t work well. 9. These trousers is/are terribly dirty. 10. Education is/are considered to be very important for almost everyone. 11. Most people worry/worries about the effect of pollution on the environment. 12. The rubbish has/have been taken away. 13. Water is/are necessary for plants to grow. 14. When I’m ill, my hair become/becomes greasy. 15. The information is/are inaccurate. 16. Binoculars is/are needed to see that far. 17. His luggage was/were left on the platform. 18. The stairs is/are very dangerous. 19. Mumps is/are contagious. 20. His experience is/are limited.

6. Fill in is or are.

1. Be careful! Those scissors ____ very sharp. 2. Physics ____ John’s favourite subject at school. 3. The police ____investigating the crime. 4. Those trousers ____ too big for me. 5. The stairs in my house ____ made of wood. 6. His new furniture ____ very modern. 7. The weather ____ going to be bad this weekend. 8. My advice ____ that you get a new job. 9. His new clothes ____ very fashionable. 10. The team ____ all training hard for Saturday’s match. 11. The money in the box ____ for this week’s shopping. 12. My pajamas ____ not on my bed. 13. Measles ____ a childhood disease. 14. My luggage ____ in the car. 15. Your hair ____ very long again. 16. Tom’s gloves ____ made of soft leather. 17. The class ____ all working on the project together. 18. Athletics ____ my favourite sport. 19. My shoes ____ too small for me. 20. The news ____ very exiting.

7. Fill in the gaps with appropriate noun + of to indicate quantity.

1. a............................. orange juice	6. a ........................... chocolate
2. a ............................... bread	7. a ............................ cheese
3. a...............................coffee	8. a ............................ honey
4. a............................... water	9. a ........................... meat
5. a............................. ....wine	19. a ........................... flour

8. A. Write the plural of the following nouns.

1. wolf -	7. dictionary -
2. basis-	8. phenomenon -
3. father-in-law -	9. mouse -
4. safe -	10. analysis -
5. workbook -	11. criterion -
6. breakdown -	12. deer -

B. Underline the correct word.

1. A: I have a Math exam tomorrow. B: Oh dear. Mathematics is/are a very difficult subject. 2. A: My office is three miles from my house. B: Three miles is/are a long way to walk. 3. A: My little brother has got measles. B: Oh dear. Measles is/are a very serious illness. 4. A: Jane looks nice today, doesn’t she? B: Yes. Her clothes is/are very smart. 5. A: I’ve got two pounds. I’m going to buy a CD. B: Two pounds is/are not enough to buy a CD. 6. A: The classroom was empty when I walked past. B: Yes. The class was/were all on a street outing. 7. A: Have you just cleaned the stairs? B: So be careful. The stairs is/are slippery. 8. A: Did you ask John to fix your car? B: Yes. His advice was/were that I take it to a garage. 9. A: Did you enjoy your holiday? B: Yes, thank you. The weather was/were wonderful. 10. A: These trousers is/are very old. B: You should buy a new pair. 11. A: How is/are the company doing lately? B: Great! We opened up two new branches. 12. A: I am going to travel for two years when I finish school. B: Two years is/are a long time to be away from home.

9. Translate into English.

1. Ножиці дуже гострі. Обережно. 2. Де гроші? – Вони на столі. 3. Мої нові меблі дуже сучасні. 4. Сходи в моєму домі зроблені з дерева. 6. Він дуже розумна людина. Звертайся до нього за порадами. 7. Кір – дитяча хвороба. 8. а) Її волосся знову довге. б) У тебе волосинка на комірці. 9. Три роки – дуже довгий період для того, щоб бути безробітним. 10. Моєї піжами немає на ліжку. Ти не бачила де вона? 11. а) Уся команда дуже наполегливо тренується до недільного матчу. б) Наша команда – переможниця цьогорічного чемпіонату. 12. Ви дзвонили в поліцію? – Поліція вже тут. 13. Дизайнерський одяг дуже дорогий. 14. Новини не дуже приємні. 15. У кімнаті дуже багато людей. 16. а) У мене є праска. б) Столові прибори зроблені із заліза. 17. а) Мої окуляри старі. б) Дайте мені склянку соку. в) Вікна робляться із скла. 18. а) Мені потрібен папір для нотаток. б) Дай мені газету. с) Де я поклав свої документи? 19. П’ять кілограмів – невелика вага, щоб нести. 20. Свинка – інфекційна хвороба.