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Saturday, June 20, 2015

The Plural of Nouns


THE PLURAL OF NOUNS
Most nouns form the plural by adding -s or -es.
Examples

Singular
    Plural         
boat
    boats
hat
    hats
house
    houses
river
    rivers

A noun ending in -y preceded by a consonant makes the plural with -ies.

Examples
Singular
          Plural
a fly
         flies
a nappy
        nappies
a poppy
        poppies
a lady
        ladies
a baby
        babies

There are some irregular formations for noun plurals. Some of the most common ones are listed below.

Examples of irregular plurals

Singular
Plural
woman
women
man
men
child
children
tooth
teeth
foot
feet

Nouns ending in -f or - fe add - ves in their plural forms
leaf / leaves
wife  / wives 
knife / knives 
half  / halves
loaf  / loaves    

but,
some nouns ending in -f, add only an -s to make their plural forms:
chief  -  chiefs
chef   -  chefs
roof  -  roofs
proof  -  proofs
belief - beliefs
        handkerchief - handkerchiefs
cliff - cliffs

Uncountable Nouns = Non-Count Nouns : English nouns that require a singular verb:

information
luggage [ baggage-AE],
news,
money,
knowledge,
furniture,
advice,
evidence[dovezi],
billiards,
soap,
gold,
mail, e-mail,
silver,
coal,
rice,
bread,
homework,
soup,
measles,
mumps,
beer,
pork,
ink,
butter,
wax,
poetry,
smoking ,
music,
anger,
love,
hatred,
pity,
mercy,
relief,
suspicion,
experience,
work,
help,
courage,
desire,
coffee,
tea,
paper,
wood,
sand,
juice,
jam,
sugar,
stone,
cream,
dust,
gin,
glass,
ice,
oil,

The following nouns require a singular verb form:

Phonetics, Acoustics, Statistics, Mathematics, Electronics, Philosophy, History, the new[ noul], the beautiful [ frumosul], the sublime, the good, the evil, the infinite, the fantastic, the grotesque, progress, traffic, behaviour, weather, work, etc

news - The news is on at 6.30 p.m.

athletics - Athletics is good for young people.

linguistics - Linguistics is the study of language.

darts - Darts is a popular game in England.

billiards - Billiards is played all over the world.

Some nouns are both countable and uncountable in English, depending on their use in the sentence:

Hair – hairs [ fire de par]
Work – works [lucrari]
Paper- papers [ = newspapers]
Time – times[ori]
Light – lights[becuri, surse de lumina]
Noise – a noise
Room [ spatiu] – room [ camera]
E.g.

I don`t have much hair. 
There are two hairs in my coffee.

Close the curtains:
There`s too much light. 
There are two lights in my bedroom.

I thought I heard a noise. There`s too much noise and I can`t work.

Have you got some paper? I`d like to draw something. Have you bought the today`s newspaper?

Is there room for me to sit here? Our house has four rooms.

Have you got time for a coffee? We had a great time at the party.

I have no money.
I need work.
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare`s greatest works.

Note:
Drinks [ coffee, water, orange juice] are usually uncountable. But if we are thinking of a cup or a glass, we can say [in a restaurant, for example]:
Two teas and one coffee, please.

That news doesn`t make me happy.
Bad news doesn`t make me happy.
Less money does not mean lack of happiness.
There was little evidence against him.

The upper nouns can be counted if a quantifier is used:
a piece of, an item of, a fit of [ fever], a bit of, a word / a piece of [ advice], a bowl of, a plate of, a glass of, a bottle of,,,


Examples:

A piece of : news / furniture / bread / chocolate / bacon
An An item of : furniture / news / infinformation
An article / item of furniture
A word of abuse / advice
A bit / piece of luck
A piece of advice / evidence / research
A loaf of / a piece of bread
A cup of coffee
A slice / a piece of cake
A piece / sheet of paper
A bar of chocolate / soap
A piece / stick of chalk
A piece / strip of land
A bit / blade of grass
An item / A bit of business
A fit of passion
An attack of fever

e.g. I`ve got two pieces of good information.

Some nouns have a plural form and take a plural verb.
Examples:

trousers - My trousers are too tight.
jeans - Her jeans are black.
glasses - Those glasses are his.

others include:


savings [ economii ], thanks, steps, stairs, customs [ vama; obiceiuri ], congratulations, tropics, wages, spectacles, outskirts [ periferie ], goods, wits

EXERCISE
Choose the correct answer:

  1. Here is the latest news.  … about the elections.
a) They are
b) It is
c) There are

  1. There is too … furniture in my room.
a) much
b) many
c) few

  1. I can see three … working on the site.
a) mans
b) men
c) man

  1. The police … caught the burglars.
a) has
b) was
c) have

  1. My family … made up of 5 persons.
a) are
b) were
c) is

  1. The programme includes visiting several …
a) cities
b) citys
c)cityes

  1. All … strive to be happy.
a) people
b) peoples
c)peopleses

  1. What do they need two ... for?
a) pianoes
b) pianoses
c) pianos

  1. We did hope there wouldn’t be any ………. in the forest.
a) wolfs
b) wolves
c) wolfes

  1. ... aren’t always considered the most pleasant persons.
a) Mother-in-laws
b) Mothers-in-laws
c) Mothers-in-law

  1. She’s got the most beautiful … I’ve ever seen.
a) tooths
b) teeths
c) teeth

  1. They have lots of animal species on their farm, including …….
a) oxen
b) oxes
c) oxs

  1. He promised to finish both ………. by the end of the year.
a) thesis
b) theses
c) thesises

  1. The … live mainly in China.
a) Chineses
b) Chinesis
c) Chinese

  1. Cattle ... domestic animals.
a) are
b) is
c) was

  1. Please give me another …of paper.
a) slice
b) item
c)sheet

  1. Dominoes … very entertaining to play.
a) are
b) are being
c) is

  1. Waiter, two ... , please!
a) coffees
b) cups of coffee
c) cups of coffees

  1. Where ……… my jeans?
a) are
b) it is
c) is

  1. Can you lend me that …?
a) scissors
b) scissor
c) pair of scissors

  1. I can’t find my glasses. Have you seen …?
a) it
b) him
c) them

  1. He was blamed for his bad …
a) manners
b) manneres
c) manner

  1. The young ……. very energetic.
a) are
b) is
c) has been

  1. … is an interesting school subject.
a) Mathematic
b) Mathematices
c) Mathematics

  1. In this river you can find several …
a) fish
b) fishes
c) fishs

  1. We need to settle a few definite … to select the best candidate for the job.
a) criterion
b) criterions
c) criteria

  1. He gave her a bunch of … on Valentine’s Day.
a) forgets-me-not
b) forget-me-nots
c) forgets-me-nots

  1. These clothes were in fashion in the ...
a) 1940s
b) 1940
c) 1940s’

  1. How many …have you got lately?
a) informations
b) information
c) pieces of information

  1. Could you give me a / an…of      chocolate, please?
a) item
b) bar
c) lump

  1. Look! There’s a …of fish swimming among the stones!
a) shoal
b) flock
c) crowd

  1. Although she looks nice, I don’t like her …
a) way
b) ways
c) waies

  1. Here is your change: 3 pounds and 5 ...
a) pennies
b) pence
c) pences

  1. They have dug through several ……….. of soil.
a) strata
b) stratum
c) stratus

  1. Being his elder brother, he thought of giving him ………… advice.
a) a
b) an
c) some