Rule 1 Most nouns song — songs 2

Rule 1. Most nouns: song - songs 2. Ends with -sh, -ch, -s, -z, -x: box - boxes 3. Consonant + -y: baby - babies 4. Irregular forms: man - men, mouse - mice 5. Ends with -o (1): echo – echoes 6. Ends with -o (2): ghetto – ghettos 7. Ends with -o (3): zero – zeroes/zeros 8. Ends with –f/-fe: half – halves, wolf – wolves 9. Deer, means, offspring, series, species Borrowed nouns : 10. Ends with –on: criterion – criteria 11. –us: cactus – cacti/cactuses 12. –a: formula – formulae/formulas 13. –x: index – indices/indexes 14. –is: basis – bases, crisis – crises 15. –um: datum – data, medium – media Plural ending -s -ex -ies -s -es/-s -ves Same forms -a -i/-es -ae/-as -ces/-xes -a

Singular possessive nouns: girl’s, wife’s, lady’s, Thomas’s/Thomas’ Plural: girls’, wives’, ladies’, men’s, children’s

When a noun is used as a modifier, it is in its singular form: vegetable soup (soup has vegetables in it), office building (the building has offices in it). When a noun used as a modifier is combined with a number expression, the noun is singular and a hyphen (-) is used: five-year-old son, two-hour test.

A 1. 2. count noun (chair, field, ring): May be preceded by a/an in the singular. Takes a final –s/-es in the plural. A noncount noun (furniture, terror): Is not immediately preceded by a/an. Has no plural form, so does not take a final –s/-es.

Thematic groups: Words, representing a whole group of things (baggage, clothing, food, mail, scenery, etc). Words, representing whole masses made up of individual particles or elements (sugar, coffee, tea, oil, blood, dust, grass, sand, salt, etc). Abstractions (luck, beauty, education, enjoyment, help, intelligence, peace, etc). Phenomenon of nature (sunshine, weather, fog, thunder, darkness, light, fire, etc). Languages ( Arabic, Chinese, English, etc). Many nouns can be used as either noncount or count nouns, but the meaning is different: Ann has brown hair. – Tom has a hair on his jacket.

A or Ø: Generic nouns A or SOME: Indefinite nouns THE: Definite nouns Singular count noun A banana is yellow. I ate a banana. Thank you for the banana. Plural count noun Ø Bananas are yellow. I ate some bananas. Thank you for the bananas. Noncount noun Ø Fruit is good for you. I ate some fruit. Thank you for the fruit. Some is often used with indefinite plural count nouns and indefinite noncount nouns. In addition to some, a speaker might use two, a few, several, a lot of with plural count nouns, or a little, a lot of with noncount nouns. A noun is definite when both the speaker and the listener are thinking about the same thing. Indefinite nouns are actual things, but they are not specifically identified.

Use the when you assume that your listener us familiar with and thinking about the same thing or person you are talking about. The sun is bright today. Use the for the second mention of an indefinite noun. Yesterday I saw some dogs. The dogs were chasing a cat. Do not use the with a plural count noun or a nouncount noun when you making a generalization. Apples are my favorite fruit. Gold is a metal.

Expressions With count nouns With noncount nouns one, each, every one apple, each apple, every apple Ø both, a few, several, many, a number of, a couple of both apples, a few apples, several apples, many apples Ø a little, much, a great deal of Ø a little rice, much rice, a great deal of rice no, plenty of, some/any, most, all no apples, plenty of apples, some/any apples, most apples, all apples no rice, plenty of rice, some/any rice most rice, all rice

Put the nouns in brackets in the plural form. 1. 2. 3. He used to look with wonder at the black _____, and long to sit in the dim shadow of one of them and listen to _____ and _____ whispering through the worn grating the true story of their _____. (confessional, man, woman, life) Why, even her _____ are not allowed to live with her. Then there are other _____ – _____that you have been seen creeping at dawn out of dreadful _____ and slinking in disguise into the foulest _____ in London. (child, story, house, den) He knew that the _____, no less than the soul, have their spiritual _____ to reveal. (sense, mystery)

1. 2. 3. He used to look with wonder at the black confessionals, and long to sit in the dim shadow of one of them and listen to men and women whispering through the worn grating the true story of their lives. Why, even her children are not allowed to live with her. Then there are other stories – stories that you have been seen creeping at dawn out of dreadful houses and slinking in disguise into the foulest dens in London. He knew that the senses, no less than the soul, have their spiritual mysteries to reveal.

II. Complete the sentences with the possessive form of the nouns. 1. The harsh intervals and shrill discords of barbaric music stirred him at times when _____ grace, and _____ beautiful sorrows, and the mighty harmonies of Beethoven himself, fell unheeded on his ear. (Schubert, Chopin) 2. He sought to accumulate the most exquisite specimens that he could find of textile and embroidered work, getting the dainty Delhi muslins, finely wrought with gold-thread palmates, and stitched over with iridescent _____ wings. (beetles) 3. Such, at any rate, was _____ opinion. (Dorian Gray)

1. 2. 3. The harsh intervals and shrill discords of barbaric music stirred him at times when Schubert’s grace, and Chopin’s beautiful sorrows, and the mighty harmonies of Beethoven himself, fell unheeded on his ear. He sought to accumulate the most exquisite specimens that he could find of textile and embroidered work, getting the dainty Delhi muslins, finely wrought with gold-thread palmates, and stitched over with iridescent beetles’ wings. Such, at any rate, was Dorian Gray’s opinion.

III. Put “a”, “the” or nothing: 1. After he had drunk his cup of __ black coffee, he wiped his lips slowly with __ napkin, motioned to his servant to wait, and going over to __ table sat down and wrote two letters. 2. Poor Basil! what __ horrible way for __ man to die! 3. And, indeed, the whole book seemed to him to contain the story of his own life, written before he had lived it. In one point he was more fortunate than __ novel’s fantastic hero.

1. 2. 3. After he had drunk his cup of __ black coffee, he wiped his lips slowly with a napkin, motioned to his servant to wait, and going over to the table sat down and wrote two letters. Poor Basil! what a horrible way for a man to die! And, indeed, the whole book seemed to him to contain the story of his own life, written before he had lived it. In one point he was more fortunate than the novel’s fantastic hero.

IV. Insert “much” or “many”: 1. The worship of the senses has often, and with _____ justice, been decried, men feeling a natural instinct of terror about passions and sensations that seem stronger than themselves. 2. Summer followed summer, and the yellow jonquils bloomed and died _____ times, and nights of horror repeated the story of their shame, but he was unchanged. 3. The orphreys were woven in a diaper of red and gold silk, and were starred with medallions of _____ saints and martyrs, among whom was St. Sebastian.

1. 2. 3. The worship of the senses has often, and with much justice, been decried, men feeling a natural instinct of terror about passions and sensations that seem stronger than themselves. Summer followed summer, and the yellow jonquils bloomed and died many times, and nights of horror repeated the story of their shame, but he was unchanged. The orphreys were woven in a diaper of red and gold silk, and were starred with medallions of many saints and martyrs, among whom was St. Sebastian.