If the noun ends in – o, then: -s -s /-es -es radiosstudiosdodo(e)stomatoes pianosstereosdingo(e)spotatoes photoscockatoosbuffalo(e)sMosquitoes kiloskangarooszero(e)sNegroes videoszoosvolcano(e)sheroes echoes ["ekauz] discos
Es The letter f at the end is replaced by v and the ending is added – es f A wolf - wolves A knife – knives A shelf – shelves A wife – wives fves A leaf – leaves Life – lives If the noun ends in then: If the noun ends in –f (-fe), then:
The definite article The article is not used with nouns denoting the names of the languages English, French, Indian, Chinese. However, if a noun is included in the name, then the name of the language contains the definite article: the English language, the German language. indefinite article definite article With nouns denoting nationality (one person), the indefinite article is used: a Russian, an American, an Englishman. However, the definite article is often used to denote the collective name of a nation: the English are the British, the French are the French, the Chinese are the Chinese.
Usus apparatus/apparatuses Apparatus – apparatus apparatus/apparatuses usi core/nuclei Nucleus – nuclei core/nuclei ises basis Basis – bases basis ises crisis/crises Crisis – crises crisis/crises uma given value/data Datum – data given value/ data uma means/means Medium – media means/means ona phenomenon/phenomena Phenomenon – phenomenal phenomenon/phenomena yce Penny – pence
Advice weather information knowledge progress money news hair workAlways singular The money is on the table. Take it. Money on the table. Take them Take it. Money on the table. Take them He gave me some useful advice. Ill follow it. He gave me (somewhat) useful advice. I follow them. Her hair is dark. She has dark hair
Two parts Words denoting objects consisting of two parts: trousers - trousers braces - suspenders scissors - scissors glasses - glasses Always in the plural These scissors are very sharp These scissors are very sharp. (These scissors are very sharp)
Collective nouns Collective nouns: troops - troops goods - goods сlothes - clothes police - police plural verb people - people Such nouns agree only with the plural verb His clothes were wet. (His clothes were wet)Always in the plural
Mice a mouse keys a key geese a goose wives a wife roofs a roof valleys a valley fathers-in-law a father-in-law cities a city ladies a lady halves a half the Germans a German the Swiss a Swiss ships a ship potatoes a potato phenomena a phenomenon oxen an ox pairs a pair leaders a leader data a datum sheep a sheep feet a foot watches a watch families a family dresses a dress loaves a loaf Make a plural form Click on any word
19. a potato20. a photo A potatoes В potatos С potates A photoes В photos С photes 21. a roof22. a toothbrush A roofs B rooves C roofes A teethbrush B toothbrushes C teethbrushes 23. a boy-friend 24. a passer-by A boys-friends B boy-friends C boys -friend A passers-by B passer-bys C passer-bies
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The presentation on the topic “Plural nouns” can be downloaded absolutely free on our website. Subject of the project: English language. Colorful slides and illustrations will help you engage your classmates or audience. To view the content, use the player, or if you want to download the report, click on the corresponding text under the player. The presentation contains 14 slide(s).
Presentation slides
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Compiled by: English teacher Lavorova T.I. MBOU Secondary School No. 6, Kuibyshev, Novosibirsk Region
Pluralizing nouns
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Most nouns form their plural by adding an "S" at the end, for example: camera - cameras, chair - chairs, snake - snakes, parrot - parrots, doctor - doctors, apple - apples
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Nouns ending in S, SS, SH, CH, X, O form the plural by adding “es” at the end, for example bus - buses, glass - glasses, brush - brushes, bench - benches, fox - foxes, potato - potatoes Exceptions : radio - radios, piano - pianos, photo - photos, video - videos
A fox + es foxes
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If a noun ends with a consonant + y, then y is replaced with ies, for example lady - ladies, city - cities, baby - babies. If a noun ends with a vowel + y, then we add -S to the noun, for example boy – boys, toy - toys
Is butterfly butterflies
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Some nouns ending in f or fe form the plural by replacing -f or -fe with -ves, for example thief - thieves, knife - knives, wolf - wolves
Exceptions: roof -> roofs a chief -> chiefs a proof -> proofs a gulf -> gulfs a grief -> griefs a belief -> beliefs a handkerchief -> handkerchiefs
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EXCEPTIONS tooth – teeth, foot - feet, mouse - mice, goose - geese, ox - oxen, man - men, child - children, woman – women, louse – lice, species – species, fish – fish, deer – deer, sheep -sheep,
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Some nouns borrowed from Latin and Greek form the plural in the same way as in the original language.
a crisis -> crises a basis -> bases an analysis -> analyzes a thesis -> theses a hypothesis -> hypotheses a criterion -> criteria a phenomenon -> phenomena a datum -> data a stratum -> strata an erratum -> errata a bacterium -> bacteria
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Uncountable nouns do not change their form and do not form a plural. bread, lemonade, butter, money, cheese, tea, coffee, water, jam, juice, meat, wood, milk, sugar, paper But still, uncountable nouns can be made countable as follows: water - three glasses of water, milk - two bottles of milk, three slices of bread
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Uncountable nouns have only a singular form and agree only with singular verbs:
Her hair is blonde. - Her hair is blond. The money is on the table. - The money is on the table. His knowledge is great. - His knowledge is extensive. The information is interesting. - The information is interesting. Their progress is great. - Their successes are significant. The news is important. - This news is important.
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Nouns that are used only in the plural form. Such nouns agree only with a plural verb.
The police are looking for the murderer. The police are looking for the killer. There were few people out in the street. There were few people on the street. These trousers are too small for me. These pants are too small for me
trousers-pants braces-braces scissors-scissors glasses-glasses shorts – panties jeans – jeans tights - tights troops - troops goods - goods сlothes - clothing police - police people - people
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In compound nouns, the main element usually receives the ending –s: Sister-in-law – sisters-in-law - (daughter-in-law - daughters-in-law) Boy-friend - boy-friends (boyfriend - guys). If neither element is a noun, the ending is added to the last word: Merry-go-round – merry-go-rounds (carousel - carousels)
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Exercise 1 Form the plural of nouns
a baby a plant a lemon a peach a chief a brush a star an editor-in-chief a tree a passer-by a shilling a king a man a phenomenon a woman a shelf a box a video a city a boy a goose a father -in-law a watch a datum a mouse a dress a toy a sheep a tooth a child an ox a deer a life a crisis a tomato a secretary a crowd a piano
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Exercise 2 Sort the nouns
Cat, sugar, puppy, love, friend, advice, horse, news, progress, hair, money, mathematics, apples, scissors, trousers, cities, goods, news, clothes, butter, puppies, police, knowledge, people Some nouns are not will not fall into any category
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Simple nouns Simple nouns include nouns that do not have separate parts - a root and a suffix - and which are inseparable whole words: man, house, face, book, joy Many of the simple nouns coincide in form with verbs: help - help help - help jump – jump jump – jump work - work work - work
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Derived nouns Derivatives include nouns in which individual parts of the word are distinguished - the root and the suffix: teach-er, write-ness, child-hood, friend-ship, dict-ation The most common living suffixes of nouns in the English language are: suffix - ness: good-ness, dark-ness, ugli-ness suffix –ment: improve-ment, employ-ment, pay-ment suffix –ation: found-ation, examin-ation, deleg-ation suffix –er (or, ar ): work-er, teach-er, direct-or, begg-ar suffix –ity: activ-ity, sincer-ity suffix –hood: child-hood suffix –dom: free-dom suffix –ship: friend-ship
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Compound nouns A compound noun is usually formed from two words - or from two nouns, or from an adjective and a noun - and has one stress falling on the first word: an ink-pot - an inkwell a letter-box - a box for letters a milkman - a milk delivery man a blackboard - chalkboard a hothouse - greenhouse Some compound nouns are formed from two nouns connected by prepositions: a son-in-law - son-in-law an editor-in-chief - executive editor a man-of-war - warship
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Syntactic functions of a noun. Syntactical Functions of Nouns. In a sentence, a noun can be a subject, an object, a nominal part of a compound predicate (predicative member), a definition or part of a definition, and part of an adverbial clause. a) Noun – subject: The delegates went to their places. Tom is my pupil. The actor played his part well. d) Noun – definition or part of a definition: Our wall newspaper is interesting. e) Noun – part of an adverbial clause: I saw my friend in the morning. Note: one of the external signs of a noun in English is the presence of a preposition before the noun: On Sunday all was gay and happy in the park. The driver wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. b) Noun – object (direct and prepositional): We have finished the exercise. The boy looked at the picture. c) A noun is part of a compound predicate (predicative member): He is a writer. She has become a singer. Peter looked quite a happy boy. My sister remained a secretary.
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Morphological characteristics of a noun. Morphological Characteristics of Nouns. Nouns in English vary in number and case, but do not have a grammatical gender form. Genus. Gender In modern English, gender is a semantic concept and refers only to nouns denoting living things that can be said to be masculine or feminine; all inanimate objects are considered to be neuter. To express the concept of gender in English, lexical means are used: a girl-friend - friend a boy-friend - friend a woman-worker - worker a he-goat - goat she-wolf - she-wolf The suffix -ess is also used as an indicator of the feminine gender: actor – actress; host - hostess; lion – lioness; tiger - tigress. When personified, objects are also given a gender, depending on the situation and size, while the sun is masculine; the moon - the moon is feminine.
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Number. Number. Nouns in English have a singular and plural form: cat – cats, wall – walls, box – boxes, wife – wives, country – countries, foot – feet, ox – oxen. The singular form is conveyed by the so-called “zero” ending, i.e. lack of a formal plural.
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Plural of a noun. The usual plural form of a noun is the ending -s, which is pronounced differently depending on the spelling and pronunciation of the final sound of the noun stem. a) after the final voiceless consonant of the stem, the ending -s is pronounced [s]: week – weeks lip – lips roof – roofs b) after the final voiced consonant or vowel of the stem, the ending –s is pronounced [z]: head – heads garden – gardens wall – walls c) after final hissing or whistling sounds, stems, expressed in spelling by the letters s (s), x, z or combinations of letters ch, tch, sh, the plural ending is written - es and pronounced: class - classes box - boxes match - matches d) if the stem ends in the sounds [z] or , which are expressed by the letters se, ze or (d)ge, the plural ending is pronounced: nose - noses prize – prizes bridge - bridges e) some nouns that have the letters f or at the end of the stem fe, in the plural change the final voiceless consonant sound of the base [f] to a voiced consonant sound [v]; the ending of the plural is written in this case - ves and pronounced: wolf – wolves leaf – leaves wife - wives f) nouns with a stem ending in a consonant letter +y, when forming the plural, change the letter y to i; the plural ending is written - ies and pronounced: army - armies country - countries duty - duties This rule does not apply to nouns with a stem ending in the vowel +y, which form the plural, like other nouns with a stem ending in a vowel, by adding –s, pronounced [z] : day – days toy – toys g) most nouns with a stem ending in o have a plural ending –es, pronounced [z] : hero – heroes potato – potatoes h) a small group of nouns forms the plural by changing the vowels of the base and does not take any endings: man – men woman – women tooth – teeth foot – feet goose – geese mouse – mice louse – lice and) the noun ox retained the Old English plural ending – en: ox – oxen. The noun child forms the plural using the ending –en, but at the same time the vowel of the base changes: child – children j) the nouns sheep and deer have the same form in the singular and in the plural: The deer was quick and strong. The deer were ready to start. He had only one sheep on his farm. He had only two sheep on his farm.
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A number of words borrowed from Latin and Greek in the 15th century retain their plural forms: Latin words: antenna - antennae formula - formula - formulae datum - given - data erratum - typo - errata genius - spirit, demon - genii radius – radius – radii stimulus – stimulus – stimuli Greek words: crisis – crisis – crises ellipsis – ellipse – ellipses thesis – thesis – theses criterion – criterion – criteria phenomenon – phenomenon – phenomena
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Possessive. Possessive Case. Possessive Case is used almost exclusively with nouns denoting living beings - people or animals: Tom's friends; my sister’s copy-book; the dog’s tail, as well as with several nouns denoting the concepts of time, distance and cost: A month’s vacation; two weeks’ journey; a year's leave. Nouns for stars and planets are also used in Possessive Case: The sun's rays; the moon's light; the earth's surface. Possessive Case may contain nouns denoting parts of the day, seasons, rivers, seas, oceans, cities, countries, ships (and some other nouns): The morning’s noise; the night's shadows; the summer's attraction; Moscow's squares Fixed phraseological combinations with nouns denoting various kinds of objects and concepts and standing in the Possessive Case have also been preserved: The needle’s eye; the pin’s head; at an arm’s length; at a stone’s throw; for conscience’s sake.
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Possessive Case of singular nouns has the ending – s, which is pronounced as [s] after voiceless consonants, [z] after voiced consonants and vowels and after hissing and whistling sounds, represented in spelling by the letters s (s), ce, se, x , ze, (d) ge or combinations of the letters ch, tch, sh: The peasant's house the cat's tail A month's leave James's wife Nouns ending in –(e)s in the plural form Possessive Case in the plural by adding only to the ending apostrophe: The horses' hoofs The dogs' collars The boys' skates. Nouns that do not have the ending – (e)s in the plural form the Possessive Case of the plural in the same way as singular nouns by adding the ending ’s: These men’s room. Children's literature. The geese's cry. The sheep's wool. Possessive Case of compound nouns is formed by adding the ending –’s to the last element of the compound noun: My brother-in-law’s writing-table. The editor-in-chief's study. This workman's tools.
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Classification of Nouns. Classification of nouns. Proper Nouns are the names of certain individual persons, concepts, places, objects and belong only to these persons, concepts, places and objects and therefore do not need an article, which is not usually used with them: Mary Petrova, Moscow, England. Common Nouns are the names of an entire category or class of persons, objects or concepts and therefore require an article, which in English is used with common nouns to classify them into this category or to separate them from it: This is a room. She entered the room where we were sitting. Countable nouns, i.e. names of objects that have exact sizes and a specific shape, which can therefore be listed in units: A stick – five sticks A desk – twenty desks A pupil – seven pupils Countable nouns can have the singular and plural, and in the singular they may be preceded by an indefinite article. Uncountable Nouns are the names of objects and concepts that do not have exact sizes and shapes, which therefore cannot be counted in units: Silver, snow, air, iron, hair, as well as abstract concepts: Beauty, love, life, light, darkness. Uncountable nouns do not have a plural form and cannot be preceded by an indefinite article. When distinguishing them from the category of substances or concepts, they are preceded by a definite article: This spoon is made of silver. The silver of which the spoon is made is expensive. The boys were full of life. The life they lead is very interesting.
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Some of the uncountable nouns are almost never used as countable nouns. The most important of them are the following: Work - work Weather - information - information Money - money News - news, Advice - advice Progress - success Permission - permission What fine weather we are having today! It was such interesting work. The news that the telegraph brought us was very good.
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Plural and collective nouns. A noun can be the name of not one object, but a group of objects or persons considered as a whole. Such nouns are called collective nouns: Class, army, party, group, crew, family, flock, herd These nouns can be considered not as the name of a single thing, but as the name of a group of persons or objects, of which there are two, three or more: The company were entering the theater through different doors. At midnight the crew were asleep. In such cases, collective nouns are considered as nouns of plurality: People, militia, police, cattle, poultry The verb after these nouns is always in the plural form, they may be preceded by a definite article: Many people are waiting for you there. The police were after him. The cattle are grazing, their heads never raising.
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Article. The Article. The article is a formal word that serves in speech as a sign of a noun, defining it. In English there is an indefinite article – an, a, a definite article the and a zero article. Indefinite article. The indefinite article comes from the numeral one - one and has two forms: an, standing before nouns starting with a vowel sound or having a definition in front of it, starting with a vowel sound: An apple, an old tree 2) a, standing before nouns starting with consonant sound or having a definition in front of it starting with a consonant sound: A tree, a big apple. The indefinite article has limited possibilities of use: it can only stand before countable nouns in the singular: A flower, an orange a) the indefinite article is used before a noun in cases where we name some object (person or concept) and thereby refer to it to any category of objects, persons or concepts, contrasting it with an object belonging to another category. Bring me one pencil. Bring me any pencil. Bring me a pencil. b) the indefinite article is also used if the noun has a descriptive attribute: This is a red flower. (category of red flowers) If, when naming an object and assigning it to some category, we have a countable noun in the plural or an uncountable noun, which cannot be preceded by an indefinite article, then before such nouns there is formally no article or the zero article is used (zero article): These are flowers. They want to become teachers. I don't want to drink milk.
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Definite article. The definite article comes from the demonstrative pronoun that - that and has one form the: 1) before nouns starting with a consonant sound, or before a definition starting with a consonant sound: the boy, the big apple 2) before nouns starting with a vowel sound, or before a definition beginning with a vowel sound: the evening, the old house The definite article can appear before all types of nouns. a) the definite article is used when it is necessary to highlight a noun within a given category, a given class of objects or concepts, contrasting it with objects of the same category: Give me the pencil b) the definite article is used when we believe that there is only one object or concept that bears given name: The sun, the moon, the earth c) the definite article is used when a given singular noun is representative of an entire class or category: The lion is the king of beasts. The camel is called the ship of the desert.
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Nouns - proper names - are usually used without an article: Moscow, Petrov, Paris, London In some cases, many proper nouns are used with articles, especially with the definite article. All these cases can be combined into three groups: 1) when the article is used in connection with some historically established tradition. This primarily applies to the names of localities, cities and states: The Crimea the Caucasus 2) when the article essentially refers not to a proper name, but to a common noun included in it or associated with it - a) names of countries that include plural nouns : The USSR, the United States b) names of mountain ranges: The Alps, the Rockies c) names of archipelagos, islands: The West Indies, the Hawaii But: the name of an individual mountain or one island is used without an article: Elbrus, Madagascar d) the name of the entire families, or rather all family members: The Browns, the Petrovs e) names of rivers, seas, oceans, countries of the world: The Neva, the Baltic Sea, the Pacific, the North, the East f) names of ships, hotels, newspapers and magazines: The Golden Lion, the Times 3) when a proper noun is used in the meaning of a common noun: He is a real Newton. In many cases, nouns preceded by prepositions perform the function of adverbs in a sentence, being various adverbial words. In these cases, nouns lose their specificity, and the article is not used before them: By land, by sea, by air, by hand, at night, in dept
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Exercises I. Find in the word list a Collective Noun for a number of: 1)sheep, 2) cows and bulls, 3) dogs or wolves, 4) flies or other insects, 5) flowers or keys, 6) footballers, 7 ) men who work a boat or ship, 8) people chosen to direct some work, 9) people at a concert or at a lecture, 10) teachers at a school or officials. II. State whether the italicized noun is used as a collective noun or a noun of multitude and choose the right verb: Our family (is, are) very large. It consists of nine members. When Peter came down to the cabin the crew (was, were) all asleep. Our football team (is, are) the strongest in the district. The 6th army (was, were) moving in the direction of the town of N. The company (was, were) leaving the hall through several exits.
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III. Insert the definite or the indefinite article wherever necessary: 1. “ – sun had set. – sky was green and yellow. And against this sky suddenly appeared – very strange little figure. It was – short little man. He wore – cricket cap, - overcoat and – long stockings.” 2. These lines are taken from one of H.G. Wells' best novels. – title of this novel is “ – First Men in – Moon.” Read – novel and you will find it to be one of – most interesting stories you ever read. 3. Was there – forest near – village you lived in last year? Yes, there was – very good forest there. There were – oaks, - pines and – firs in – forest. 4. – Neva is – very beautiful river. It is in – North of our country. – Mont Blanc, - highest mountain of – Alps, is – highest mountain in – Europe. And which is – highest mountain in – North America? – Mediterranean Sea lies to – South of - Europe and to – North of – Africa. – “Sedov” sailed on and on in – Atlantic. – “Times” is – bourgeois English newspaper. 5. I don’t like to drink – coffee in – evening. I always drink – strong tea. Please, pass me – tea, or it will get cold. No, - milk is not needed, - piece of – lemon will be much better. – lemons you brought from – Batumi are very good. 6. At – sunset Mary sat at – window looking at – sky and at – sea in – distance. – picture she saw was really beautiful: - light white clouds were getting darker, - sun was growing smaller, - white sail was coming nearer and nearer, shining in – darkening air… Mary thought of her brother who had gone to – sea and was now on – board – “Maria” sailing in – Pacific.
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Translate into English and explain the use of articles. 1. It was difficult to walk - the snow was very deep. 2. I was given good advice. 3. Suddenly we saw a light ahead. 4. Everything we saw from the carriage was covered with snow. 5. Tea, cotton and rice grow in Georgia. 6. Fish is their favorite food. 7. The information you give me is not accurate. 8. What an interesting job! 9. My sister really likes fruits. 10. Lisa has very beautiful long hair, but I noticed she has gray hair. 11. This cabinet is made from real oak. 12. Robin Hood met them at the old oak tree. 13. Brave travelers died in the snows of the Arctic. 14. We received permission to go there.
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Write the following nouns in the plural: Pencil, map, wall, window, door, shop, week, friend, girl, clock, pen, street, river, plate, fork, spoon, lamp, hat, coat, town; Dress, watch, glass, bus, match, mass, bench, fox, bush, branch, speech, dish, language, place, bridge, rose, case; Party, army, country, colony, play, key, toy, day, way, family, dictionary, story, copy, laboratory, journey, library, university, faculty, ministry; Leaf, life, thief, shelf, wife, half, loaf; Man, woman, child, tooth, foot, goose, mouse. Write the following nouns in the singular: Wolves, libraries, copies, shelves, ladies, ways, lives, watches, days, babies, universities, matches, flies, ministries, halves, colonies, keys, knives, brushes, men, bodies, lorries , women, children.
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Translate into English: 1) There are many children in the garden. 2) Whose child is this? 3) Two men and three women were sitting in the garden. 4) These two glass factories were built three years ago. 5) This glass factory is not far from our factory. 6) The peoples of our country are fighting for peace. 7) There are a lot of people in the library now. 8) This book costs eight pence. 9) Pence is made of bronze. 10) He put one penny on the table. Translate into English: 1) Where is your money? - They are on the table. 2) Who owns this money? - They belong to comrade. D. 3) Fruits are very cheap this year. 4) In autumn we eat a lot of fruit. 5) In summer and autumn there are a lot of fruits in the south. 6) Her hair is completely blond. They are very beautiful. 7) Is his hair dark? 8) When do your summer holidays start? - They start on July 1st. 9) How long do your summer holidays last? - They last 2 months. 10) Our winter holidays end on February 6. They are very short. 11) Your advice was very good. Thank you for them. 12) I followed your advice; they helped me a lot. 13) This news is very interesting. 14) He made progress in English. 15) Your progress is quite satisfactory.
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Translate into English: 1) His clothes are completely new. 2) His clothes were wet? - No, it was completely dry. 3) This item is in stock. They will take him to the factory tomorrow. 4) This item was received yesterday. 5) This item was very well packaged. 6) When was this product sent there? - It was sent last week. 7) Her salary is very high. Translate into English: 1) Your watch is very good. When did you buy them? 2) Is your watch fast? - Yes, they are always in a hurry. 3) This watch is very old. They are about a hundred years old. 4) Where is my watch? - They are on the table. 5) My watch was on the table. Who took them? 6) This watch is very expensive. They cost about sixty rubles. 7) Why is the gate open? Close them please. 8) The gate was closed when I arrived. 9) He could not enter the park because all the gates were closed. 10) This organization is engaged in the export (import) of tobacco. 11) Exports (imports) of these goods have increased significantly. 12) They received a license to export (import) this product. 13) In this article you will find figures for Italian exports and imports for the last three months. 14) This country's exports have increased and imports have decreased. 15) This company is engaged in the export of various machines.
Plural of Nouns
Compiled by an English teacher
Voronina M.V.
The plural of nouns is formed using endings –s or –es to the singular form, except for exception words.
Ending -s reads like [z] after vowels and voiced consonants or how [s] after voiceless consonants
Singular
bag s [z]
apple s [z]
cat s [s]
book s [s]
If a singular noun ends in –s, -ss, -sh, -ch, –x, then the ending - es is added
Singular
bus - bus es
glass – glass es dish – dish es bench – bench es box – box es
singular in -y
with a preceding consonant,
in plural
a suffix is added -es , and
-y changes to -i-
cit y -cit i es
Consonant + y - i es
Singular
If before the letter -y -s , and the letter y
remains unchanged
b o y -b o y s
To nouns ending in
singular in -o
with a preceding consonant,
in plural
a suffix is added –es
toma t o -toma t o es
If before the letter -o there is a vowel, then the plural is formed according to the general rule using the ending -s , and the letter is o
remains unchanged
rad i o – radio s
vid e o - video s
1) abbreviated words
photo – photo s
disco – disco s
memo - memo s
kilo – kilo s
auto-auto s
2) words of Italian origin
piano - piano s
solo – solo s
To nouns ending in
singular in –f(e) ,
in plural
a suffix is added -es ,
and -f changes to -v-
wol f - wol v es
Exceptions to this rule are:
roof – roofs
a chief – chiefs
a proof – proofs
a gulf – gulfs
a grief – grief
a belief – beliefs
a handkerchief – handkerchiefs
In compound nouns
usually the main element gets the ending –s :
sister-in-law – sister s-in-law
boy-friend – boy-friend s
If neither element is a noun, the ending is added to the last word:
merry-go-round – merry-go-round s
Exceptions (nouns whose plural form must be remember )
a wom a n - wom e n
a m ous e – m ic e
a l ous e - l ic e
a child - child ren
Exceptions (nouns,
plural of which
need to remember )
a g oo se - g ee se
a sh ee p - sh ee p
a d ee r - d ee r
a t oo th - t ee th
a f oo t - f ee t
Some nouns
borrowed from Latin and Greek languages ,
form the plural as in the original language.
a cris is – cris es a dat um – dat a
a bas is – bas es a bacterium – bacteri a
a thes is – thes es a criteri on – criteri a
an ind ex – indic es a phenomen on – phenomen a
radius – radii
alumn us – alumn i
append ix – appendic es
formul a - formul ae
Uncountable nouns do not change
their form and do not form a plural.
bread, lemonade, butter, money, cheese, tea,
coffee, water, jam, juice, meat, wood, milk, sugar, paper
But still, uncountable nouns can be made countable as follows:
lemonade – six bottles of lemonade,
juice - five glasses of juice,
bread - three slices of bread
Nouns that are used only in the plural form. Such nouns agree only with a plural verb.
trousers
braces-suspenders scissors
glasses
shorts - underpants
jeans - jeans
tights - tights troops - troops
goods - goods
сlothes - clothes police - police
people - people
Exercise 1 Form the plural of nouns
an editor-in-chief
a passer-by
a shilling
a phenomenon
a father-in-law
a crisis
a tomato
a secretary
Exercise 2 Classify the nouns
Used only in singular
Used only in plural
Cat, sugar, puppy, love, friend, advice, horse, news, progress, hair, money, mathematics, apples, scissors, trousers, cities, goods, clothes, butter, puppies, police, knowledge, people
Some nouns will not fit into any category
Exercise 3 Fill the gaps
1. They ate some (tomato) ______________.
2. You can put (sugar) ______________ in your tea.
3. We have to buy new (furniture) ______________.
4. I need to wash my (hair) ______________.
5. We had lots of (fun) ______________.
6. The Milfords have a lot of (money) ______________.
7. How many (people) ______________ were at the cinema with you?
8. Could you give some (information) ______________ on your project?
9. In this hotel, (family) ______________ are very welcome.
10. Those (man) ______________ seem to be very tired.
