THE NOUN

The noun denotes thingness in a general sense. Thus nouns name things
(book, table), living beings (man, tiger), places (valley, London, England),
materials (iron, oil), processes (life, laughter), states (sleep, consciousness),
abstract notions (socialism, joy) and qualities (kindness, courage).

Semantic characteristics
Semantically all nouns fall into proper nouns and common nouns.
Proper nouns include:
 geographical names : New York, the Thames, Asia, the Alps;
 names of individual (unique) persons: John, Byron, Brown;
 names of the months and the days of the week: January, Sunday;
 names of planets: the Moon, the Sun, the Earth;
 names of ships, hotels, clubs (Shepherd's Hotel), of buildings, streets, parks,
bridges (Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Regent Street, Charing Cross
Road, Piccadilly Circus, Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Waterloo Bridge), of
institutions, organizations, magazines and newspapers (the United Nations,
the New Times, the Guardian).
They are written with capitals.
Common nouns can be classified into nouns denoting objects that can be
counted and those that cannot. So there are count and non-count and collective
common nouns. The former are inflected for number, whereas the latter are not.
Further distinction is into concrete nouns, abstract nouns and nouns of material.
Semantic classification of English nouns is shown in the following scheme:
 Certain Kinds of Nouns Are Usually Uncountable:
(a) WHOLE GROUP MADE UP OF SIMILAR ITEMS: baggage , clothing, equipment, food, furniture,
garbage, hardware, jewelry, junk, luggage, machinery, mail, makeup, money/cash/change,
postage, scenery, traffic,etc.
(b) FLUIDS: water, coffee, tea, milk, oil, soup, gasoline, blood, etc.
(c) SOLIDS: ice, bread, butter, cheese, meat, gold, iron, silver, glass, paper, wood, cotton, wool, etc.
(d) GASES: steam, air, oxygen, nitrogen, smoke, smog, pollution, etc.
(e) PARTICLES: rice, chalk, corn, dirt, dust, flour, grass, hair, pepper, salt, sugar, wheat, etc.
(f) ABSTRACTIONS:
 beauty, confidence, courage, education, enjoyment, fun, happiness, health, help, honesty,
hospitality, importance, intelligence, justice, knowledge, laughter, luck, music, patience,
peace, pride, progress, recreation, significance, sleep, truth, violence, wealth, etc.
 advice, information, news, evidence, proof, etc.
 time, space,energy, etc.
 homework, work, etc.
 grammar, slang, vocabulary, etc.
(g) LANGUAGES: Arabic, Chinese, English, Spanish, etc.
(h) FIELDS OF STUDY: chemistry, engineering, history, literature, mathematics, psychology, etc.
(i) RECREATION: baseball, soccer, tennis, chess, bridge, poker, etc.
(j) ACTIVITIES: driving, studying, swimming, travelling, walking, etc. (and other gerunds)
(k) NATURAL PHENOMENA: weather, dew, fog, hail, heat, humidity, lightning, rain, sleet, snow,
thunder, wind, darkness, light, sunshine, electricity, fire, gravity, etc.
There are some nouns which may be classified both as count and non-count. They often have considerable
difference in meaning in the two classes.

NOUN USED AS NONCOUNT NOUN USED AS A COUNT NOUN

glass Windows are made of glass. I drank a glass of water.

Janet wears glasses when she reads.
hair Rita has brown hair. There’s a hair on my jacket.

iron Iron is a metal. I pressed my shirt with an iron.

light I opened the curtain to let in Please turn off the lights.
some light.
paper I need some paper to write a I wrote a paper for Prof. Lee.
letter. I bought a paper.
time How much time do you need How many times have you been in Mexico?
to finish your work?
work I have some work to do That painting is a work of art.
tonight.
coffee I had some coffee after dinner. Two coffees, please.

chicken I had some chicken/some She drew a picture of a chicken/a fish/a

fish fish/some lamb for dinner. lamb. (a bird/fish/lamb)
lamb (the dish)

language All children must learn a How many languages do you speak?
foreign language. (abstract, all (a specific variety)
languages)
 beauty Beauty will rescue the world. She is a beauty. (a person or thing that is
beautiful)

business I enjoy doing business (buying I run a small business. (=a company)
and selling)

chocolate I like chocolate. (substance) He brought me a box of chocolates. (pieces

of candies)

cloth Bandages are made of stripes of Lay the surface with a cloth.
cloth.
experience You need experience for this We had many interesting experiences
job. (knowledge) during our holiday. (things that happened to
us)

hope The future is not without Don’t raise your hopes too high, or you may
hope. (abstract) be disappointed. (expectations)

space There are hundreds of satellites We finally found a space in the car park.
out in space.

success It will be a great success, I She is a success.

think.

art Art lasts forever. Fine Arts (a method of doing sth)

potato Would you like some potato? I’m peeling the potatoes.

painting Paul is goof at painting. That’s a nice painting. ( a picture)

(the activity)

Concrete nouns semantically fall into three subclasses.

1. Nouns denoting living beings - persons and animals: boy, girl, dog, cat.
2. Nouns denoting inanimate objects: table, chair.
3. Collective nouns denoting a group of persons: family, crowd.

EXERCISES
1. Look at the italicized nouns in the sentences. Write “C” above the count
noun and “NC” above the noncount noun.
1. I bought some chairs, tables, and desks. In other words, I bought some
furniture.
2. Ann likes to wear jewellery. Today she is wearing four rings, six bracelets, and a
necklace.
3. We saw beautiful mountains, fields, and lakes on our trip. In other words, we
saw beautiful scenery.
4. Gold and iron are metals.
5. In the United States, baseball is called the national pastime. To play it you need
a baseball and a bat.
2. A. Complete the sentences with the given nouns, adding final –s/-es if
necessary. Use each noun only once.
advice homework music stuff
change information progress thunder
garbage junk river traffic
hardware luggage screwdriver

1. I have some coins in my pocket. In other words, I have some ______ in my

pocket.
2. The Mississippi, the Amazon and the Nile are well-known _______.
3. I like to listen to operas, symphonies, and folk songs. I enjoy_______.
4. The street is full of cars, trucks, and busses. It is full of ________.
5. I put some banana peels, empty juice cartons, and broken bottles in the
waste can. The can is full of _______.
6. They have a rusty car with an engine, broken chairs, and an old refrigerator
in their front yard. Their yard is full of _______.
7. Paul has books, pens, papers, notebooks, a clock, scissors, a tape recorder,
and some other things on his desk. He has a lot of ________ on his desk.***
8. The children got scared when they heard _______ during the storm.
9. Tools that are used for turning screws are called ________.
10. I went to the store to get some nails, hammers and screws. In other words,
I bought some _______.
11. Tonight I have to read 20 pages in my history book, do 30 algebra
problems, and write a composition. In other words, I have a lot of _______
to do tonight.
12. Ann took three suitcases, a shoulder bag, and a cosmetics case. In other
words, she took a lot of ______ on her trip.
13. Toronto is 365 ft./109 m. above sea level. The average annual precipitation
in Toronto is 32 in./81 cm. The population of the metropolitan area is over
3,000,000. I found (this/these) _______ in the encyclopedia.
14. I didn’t feel good. Ann said, “You should see a doctor.” Nick said, “You
should go home and go to bed.” Martha said, “You should drink fruit juice
and rest.”I got _______ from three people.
15. My English is slowly getting better. My vocabulary is increasing. It’s getting
easier for me to write, and I make fewer mistakes. I can often understand
people even when they talk fast. I’m satisfied with the _______ I’ve made in
learning English.
B. Look at the italicized nouns in the sentences. Write “C” above the
count noun and “NC” above the noncount noun.

*** As a noncount noun, stuff means “a group of various things.” It is an inexact term used
primarily in very informal spoken English. (Junk sometimes has the same meaning)
Examples: I keep a lot of stuff in my desk drawers.
Look at all the stuff in this room!
 3. Add final –s/-es to the nouns in italics if necessary. Do not add or
change any other words.
1. Isabel always has fresh egg available because she raises chicken in the yard.
2. I had chicken and rice for dinner last night.
3. Outside my window, I can see a lot of tree, bush, grass, dirt, and flower.
4. Abdullah gave me some good advice. Nadia also gave me some good
suggestion.
5. Yoko learned several new word today. She increased her vocabulary today.
6. I drank two glass of water.
7. Window are made of glass.
8. Mr.Chu wears glass because he has poor eyesight.
9. It took me a lot of time to finish my homework. I had a lot of assignments.
10. I have been in Mexico three time. I’ve spent a lot of time there.
11. There are typewriter, copier, telephone, and stapler in a typical business
office. A business office needs a lot of equipment.
12. The air is full of smoke, dust, carbon monoxide, and many other harmful
substance. We must seek to reduce air pollution.
13. I like to read good literature. I especially like to read novel, poetry, and essay.
My favourite poet are Longfellow and Wordsworth. I have always liked their
poem.
14. I like to experience different season. I like both hot and cold weather.
15. Being a parent has brought me a lot of happiness. Parenting requires a lot of
patience, but it provides many reward.
16. You can find a lot of time-saving machine in a modern factory. Modern
factory need modern machinery.
17. Experienced traveler learn to travel with minimal luggage. My globe-trotting
aunt can pack everything she needs into two small suitcase, whether her trip
will last for three day or three month. I’m not an experienced traveler. When I
travel, I invariably take along too much stuff. Last month I took a three-day
trip to Chicago with twice as many clothes as I need.
18. Recycling is important. Regular garbage will typically contain many things
that can be recycled: magazine, envelope, cardboard box, old phone book,
glass bottle, jar, copper, brass, tin can, etc.
19. There are more star in the universe than there are grain of sand on all the
beaches on earth.

4. Choose the correct form of nouns underlined.

› Can I pick an apple/some apple from your tree? – Yes, of course.

1. I think she is a beauty/ beauty.

2. We ought to buy some potatoe/some potatoes.
3. I think painting/a painting is a fascinating hobby. – Well, you are certainly
very good at it.
4. Is there cheese/a cheese in the soup? – Yes, a little.
5. Shall I put a chicken/some chicken in your sandwiches?
6. It isn’t fair. – No, life/a life just isn’t fair, I’m afraid.
7. They wrapped up the present in a paper/paper.
8. He has a great deal of experience/experiences.
9. The bridge is made of an iron/iron.
10. I’ll have a glass/glasses of orange juice, please.
11. I switched all the light/lights on.
12. I’ve been to France many time/times.
13. We finally found a space/space in the park.
14. Is there an apple/apple in this salad?
15. There’s a hair/hairs on your shirt.

4. Complete the conversations. Put in these nouns: business (x2),

experience (x2), glass, iron, light, paper, space, time. Put a/an or some before
each noun.

1 Harriet: Did you manage to park in town?

Mike: It took me ages to find ……… And all I wanted was to buy …………… to
wrap this present in.
2 Sarah: Are you busy tomorrow?
Mark: I’m meeting someone in the office. We’ve got ………. to discuss.
3 Trevor: Do you think I need to take ……………… with me for my shirts?
Laura: Oh, surely the hotel will have one.
4 Vicky: I was going to have some juice, but I can’t find …………. .
Rachel: If you turned …………. on, you might be able to see properly.
5 Claire: I’ve never met your brother.
Mark: Oh, he’s usually very busy because he runs ……………. . But he’s been ill
recently. The doctor has ordered him to spend ……………. resting.
6 Daniel: How did your interview go?
Emma: Well, I didn’t get the job. I think they really wanted someone with
……….. of the work, and that’s what I haven’t got. So it was a bit of
waste of time. And the train coming back was two hours late. That’s
……….. I don’t want to repeat.

5. Complete Claire’s postcard to her sister. Choose the correct form.

The island is very peaceful. Life/A life is good here. Everybody moves at a nice
slow pace. People have time/a time to stop and talk. It’s experience/an experience
I won’t forget for a long time. There aren’t many shops, so I can’t spend all my
money, although I did buy painting/a painting yesterday. Now I’m sitting on the
beach reading paper/a paper. The hotel breakfast is so enormous that I don’t
need to have lunch. I’ve just bought orange/an orange with me to eat later. I’ve
been trying all the different fruit/fruits grown in this part of the world, and
they’re all delicious.
 Morphological composition
According to their morphological composition nouns can be divided into
simple, derived, and compound.
Simple nouns consist of only one root-morpheme: dog, chair, room, roof, leaf.
Derived nouns (derivatives) are composed of one root-morpheme and one
or more derivational morphemes (prefixes or suffixes).
The main noun-forming suffixes are those forming abstract nouns and those forming concrete, personal
nouns.

Abstract nouns Concrete nouns

-age: leakage, vicarage -(i)an: physician, Parisian, republican
-al: betrayal, portrayal, refusal -ant/-ent: assistant, student, informant
-ancy/-ency: vacancy, tendency -arian: vegetarian
-dom:freedom kingdom -ее: refugee, employee, payee
-hood: brotherhood, childhood -er: teacher, worker, singer
-ing: meaning, cleaning -ician: musician, politician
-ion/~sion/-tion/-ation: operation, -ist: socialist, artist
tension, examination
-or: visitor, actor
-ism: darvinism, patriotism
-let: booklet, leaflet
-ment: agreement, unemployment
-ess: actress, tigress, waitress
-ness: darkness, weakness
-ine: heroine
-ship: friendship, membership
-ix: proprietrix
-ty: cruelty, sanity, banality
-ette: usherette
-th: growth, strength
The four suffixes -ess, -ine, -ette are
-y: difficulty, honesty feminine.
Sometimes nouns formed by abstract noun suffixes may come to denote
concrete things or persons as in translation (a process and its result), beauty (may
denote an abstract notion and a beautiful woman).
Compound nouns consist of at least two stems. The meaning of a compound
is not a mere sum of its elements. The main types of compound nouns are:
noun stem + seaman,
noun stem:
airmail
 adjective stem bluebell
+ noun stem:
blackbird

verb stem + pickpocket

noun stem:
gerund + noun looking-glass
stem:
dancing-hall

noun stem + prepositions + father-in-law

noun stem:
mother-in-law
man-of-war
substantivised forget-me-not
phrases:
pick-me-up

Morphological characteristics

Morphologically nouns are characterized by the grammatical categories of

number and case.
Gender does not find regular morphological expression. The distinction of male, female, and neuter may
correspond to the lexical meaning of the noun:
masculine (names of male beings) - boy, man, husband, bachelor, ox, cock;
feminine (names of female - girl, woman, wife, maid, cow, hen;
beings)

neuter (names of inanimate - table, house.

objects)

The distinction may be also expressed by word-formation of different types:

a) feminine suffixes
-ess (actress, hostess, poetess, tigress),
-ine (heroine),
-ette (usherette);

b) compounds of different patterns:

noun + noun stem pronoun + noun stem

 Tom-cat - Tabby-cat he-wolf - she-wolf
doctor - woman-doctor he- - she-cousin
cousin
dog-otter - bitch-otter
male- - female-frog
frog
- hen-pheasant
cock-
pheasant
There are also some traditional associations of certain nouns with gender.
These are apparent in the use of personal or possessive pronouns:
a) moon and earth are referred to as feminine, sun as masculine:
It is pleasant to watch the sun in his chariot of gold and the moon in her chariot
of pearl.
At first the earth was large, but every moment she grew smaller.
b) the names of vessels (ship, boat, steamer, ice-breaker, cruiser, etc.) are
referred to as feminine:
The new ice-breaker has started on her maiden voyage.
She is equipped with up-to-date machinery.
c) the names of vehicles (car, carriage, coach) may also be referred to as
feminine, especially by their owners, to express their affectionate attitude to
these objects:
She is a fine car.
d) the names of countries, if the country is not considered as a mere
geographical territory, are referred to as feminine:
England is proud of her poets.
But: If the name of the country is meant as a geographical one the pronoun it
is used. Iceland is an island, it is washed on three sides by the Atlantic Ocean.
 THE CATEGORY OF NUMBER
English nouns that are inflected for number (count nouns) have singular and
plural forms.
Singular denotes one, plural denotes more than one. Most count nouns are
variable and can occur with either singular or plural number. In Modern English
the singular form of a noun is unmarked (zero). The plural form is marked by the
inflexion -(e)s. The spelling and the pronunciation of the plural morpheme vary.

Regular plurals
I. Nouns ending in vowels and voiced consonants have the plural ending
pronouced as [z]:
bee - bees [bi:z], dog - dogs [dɔgz]
II. Nouns ending in voiceless consonants have a voiceless ending:
book - books [buks]
III. Nouns ending in -s, -sh, -as, -ch, -x, -z, (sibilants) have the ending [iz]:
actress - actresses ['æktrɪsɪz]
bush - bushes ['bu∫ɪz]
watch - watches ['wot∫ɪz]
box - boxes ['boksɪz]
IV. Nouns ending in -o have the ending [z]:
hero - heroes ['hɪǝrouz]
photo- photoes ['foutouz]
The regular plural inflexion of nouns in -o has two spellings; -os which occurs
in the following cases:
a) after a vowel - bamboos, embryos, folios, kangaroos, radios, studios, zoos;
b) in proper names - Romeos, Eskimos, Filipinos;
c) in abbreviations, kilos (kilogramme), photos (photograph), pros
(professional);
d) also in some borrowed words: pianos, concertos, dynamos, quartos, solos,
tangos, tobaccos.
In other cases the spelling is -oes: tomatoes, echoes, Negroes, potatoes, vetoes,
torpedoes, embargoes

Note:
Some nouns may form their plural in either way:
oes/os: cargo(e)s, banjo(e)s, halo(e)s.

V. The letter -y usually changes into -i:

sky skies [skaiz]
But the letter -y remains unchanged -ys:
a) after vowels:
 days (except in nouns ending in -quy: soliloquy - soliloquies).
b) in proper names:
the two Germanys, the Kennedys, the Gatsbys;
c) in compounds:
stand-bys, lay-bys.
The word penny has two plural forms:
pence (irregular) - in British currency to denote a coin of this value or a sum of
money:
Here is ten pence (in one coin or as a sum of money);
pennies (regular) - for individual coins.
Here are ten pennies.
VI. Thirteen nouns ending in -f(e) form their plural changing -f(e) into -v(e):
the ending in this case is pronounced [z]:
calf - calves life - lives thief - thieves
elf - elves loaf - loaves wife - wives
half - halves self - selves wolf - wolves
knife - knives sheaf - sheaves
leaf - leaves shelf – shelves
Other nouns ending in -f(e) have the plural inflexion -s in the regular way:
proof - proofs, chief - chiefs, safe - safes, cliff - cliffs, gulf - gulfs, dwarf - dwarfs,
reef- reefs, grief - griefs; the ending is pronounced [s].
In a few cases both -fs and -ves forms are possible:
scarf - scarfs/scarves, dwarf - dwarfs/dwarves,
hoof - hoofs/hooves.
VII. Nouns ending in -th after a short vowel have the ending -s [s]:
month — months [mʌnθs].
Nouns ending in -th after a long vowel or a diphthong have [9z] in the plural:
baths [ba:ðz], paths [paðz], oaths [ouðz].
But: youths [ju:θs], births [bǝ:θs].
VIII. The plural of abbreviations is sometimes formed in spelling by doubling a
letter:
Ms (manuscript) - MSS
p. (page) - pp.
Mr (Mister) - Messrs ['mesǝz]
M.P. (Member of Parliament) - M.P.s ['em'pi:z]
M.D. (Doctor of Medicine) - M.D.s ['em'di:z]
Co. (Company) - Co.s [kouz]
In a phrase like "Miss Brown" two different forms are used for the plural. We
may either say "the Miss Browns" or "the Misses Brown", the latter being
generally considered more correct.
 Irregular plurals
For historical reasons certain nouns form their plural differently.
1. Seven nouns distinguish plural from singular by vowel change:
man - men tooth - teeth goose - geese
woman - women foot – feet mouse - mice
louse - lice
2. Two nouns have -en to mark the plural:
ox - oxen, child - children.
Brother has two plural forms: brothers and brethren, the latter being used as a
religious term or in elevated style to denote people of the same creed, not
relations.

3. With some nouns the plural is identical with the singular form :
a) sheep-sheep ;
swine - swine;
deer - deer;
grouse - grouse.
This sheep looks small. All those sheep are good.
I bought a grouse (three grouse for dinner).
There’re so many fish, they splinter the paddles.

Note:
There, are some animal names that have two plurals:
fish - fish/fishes, pike - pike/pikes, trout - trout/trouts, carp –carp/carps,
salmon - salmon/salmons.
The zero plural is more common to denote hunting quarries (We caught
only a few fish. We caught five salmon. He shot quail (перепелок) to make
money), whereas the regular plural is used to denote different individuals,
species, kinds of animal, especially fish with the same name or insects or
other small animals which cause disease or damage.

The plant was covered in There are three greenflies on my

greenfly. hand.
This animal is infected with Two large hookworms were found
hookworm. in his stomach.
There were two quails for sale.
 b) identical singular and plural forms are also typical of nationality nouns in
-ese, -ss: Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Swiss.

We met a Japanese. We met many Japanese on our holiday.

Note:
The word for people of the country is the same as the plural noun; the other
way is to use substantivized adjectives in this sense:
Englishmen - the English Dutchmen - the Dutch.

c) two nouns borrowed from Latin and one from French also have identical
forms for singular and plural:
series - series;
species - species;
corps [ko:] - corps [ko:z] .
d) names, indicating number, such as:
pair, couple, dozen, score , stone and head
have the same form for both the singular and plural when they are preceded by a
numeral, that is, they function as an indication of a kind of measure: two dozen of
handkerchiefs, five dozen of eggs.
The child weighs two stone. One thousand head of cattle.
But when they have no number as predeterminer they take the usual plural
form: dozens of times, to go in pairs.
4. A number of foreign (particularly Latin and Greek) nouns have retained
their original plural endings.
Loans of Greek origin
Singular Plural

-is [is] -es [i:z]

basis bases

crisis crises

analysis analyses

thesis theses

parenthesis parentheses

axis axes

hypothesis hypotheses

diagnosis diagnoses

-on [ǝn] -а [ǝ]

criterion criteria

phenomenon phenomena
 -а [ǝ] -ata [ǝtǝ]

miasma miasmata

Loans of Latin origin

-us [ǝs] -i [ai] -ога [ǝrǝ] -era [ǝrǝ]

stimulus stimuli

nucleus nuclei

radius radii

corpus corpora

genus genera

-а [ǝ] -ае [i:]

formula formulae

(or regular - formulas)

antenna antennae

vertebra vertebrae

-um [ǝm] -a [ǝ]

datum data

stratum strata

erratum errata

-es,-ix [ɪks] -ices [ɪsi;z] [i:z]

index indices indexes

appendix appendices appendixes

matrix matrices matrixes

Other loan nouns

Fr. -ean [ou] -eaux [ouz]

tableau tableaux

bureau bureaux (or bureaus)

It.-o [ou] -i [i]

tempo tempi (or tempos)

As can be seen from the above list some loan nouns may have two plural forms: the English plural and
the original foreign one:

memorand memoranda focus foci

um
memorandums focuses
 curriculum curricula
curriculums

formula formulae
formulas

cherub cheribum
cherubs
There is a tendency to use the regular English plural forms in fiction and
colloquial English and the foreign plural in academic or learned language.
Sometimes different plural forms have different meanings:

index indexes (list of contents of books)

indices (a mathematical term )

genius geniuses (men of talent)

genii (fabulous spirits guarding a place)
 PLURAL IN COMPOUND NOUNS
1. As a rule in compounds it is the second component that takes the plural
form:
housewives, tooth-brushes, boy-scouts, maid-servants.
2. Compounds in -ful have the plural ending at the end of the word:
handfuls, spoonfuls, mouthfuls, (though spoonsful and mouthsful are also
possible).
3. Compounds in which the first component is man or woman have plurals in
both first and last components:
men-servants, women-doctors, gentlemen-farmers.
4. Compounds ending in -man change it into -men in spelling. In
pronunciation, however, there is no difference between the singular and plural
forms, both having [ǝ]:
policeman [ǝn] - policemen [ǝn].
Such nouns as German, Roman, Norman are not compounds, and therefore
they have regular plurals:
Germans, Romans, Normans.
5. In compounds originating from a prepositional noun phrase where the
preposition is a linking element only the first noun takes the plural form:
editors-in-chief, mothers-in-law, commanders-in-chief, coats-of-mail, men-of-
war.
6. In compounds with a conjunction as a linking element the plural is taken by
the second noun:
gin-and-tonics.
7. In compound nouns formed by a noun plus a preposition, or an adverb, or
an adjective only the first element takes the plural:
passers-by, lookers-on, courts-martial, attorneys-general.
8. When the compound is a substantivized phrase which does not contain a
noun, the last element takes the plural ending –s:
forget-me-nots, breakdowns, stand-bys, grown-ups, close-ups, pick-ups, drop-
outs, go-betweens.
 EXERCISES
1. Write the correct form of the noun in parentheses.
1. I met some interesting _______ at the meeting last night. (man)
2. I need some ______ to light the fire. (match)
3. The baby got two new _______. (tooth)
4. The farmer loaded his cart with ______ of fresh vegetables to take to
market. His cart was pulled by two ______. (box, ox)
5. Alex saw some ______running across the floor. (mouse)
6. The north side of the island has no _____. There are only steep _____. No
one can climb these steep walks of rock. (beach, cliff)
7. If a houseplant is given too much water, its lower _____ turn yellow.
(leaf)
8. Before Marie signed the contract, she talked to two _________. (attorney)
9. New scientific ________ are made every day in _______ throughout the
world. (discovery, laboratory)
10. I caught several ______ in the lake. (fish)
11. On our trip in the mountainous countryside, we saw some ______,
______, ______, and wild ______. (wolf, fox, deer, sheep)
12. When we spoke in the cave, we could hear ______ of our voices. (echo)
13. The music building at the university has 27 ________. Students need to
sign up for practice times. (piano)
14. Thunder and lightning are ______ of nature. (phenomenon)
15. People get most of their news about the world through the mass ______,
that is, through radio, television, the Internet, newspapers, and
magazines. (medium)

2. Make the nouns in brackets plural:

1. The (knife) get rusty when you put them into the water for a long time.
2. The (muff) of their new coats are rather lovely.
3. The (roof) of the houses look neat and nice.
4. In autumn all the (leaf) fall down.
5. They invited two (soprano) to our Opera House.
6. Young artists want to have their own (studio).
7. (Zoo) are popular all over the world.
8. Tom’s body is all covered with (tattoo).
9. We prepared new (memo) for our office.
10. Jack bought three new (piano) for his casino.
11. There are ten (radio) in the box.
12. Larry showed us a lot of (photo).
13. They said they needed two new (video) for their cinema theatre.
14. Look, there are five (cuckoo) in this cage.

3. Give the plural of the following nouns if they have it:

Weather, chalk, house, child, mouse, cucumber, knife, boot, furniture, sheep,
plum, deer, country, information, advice, salmon, news, trout, armchair,
 means, belief, loaf, zero, tornado, theses, jewellery, fly, donkey, key, day, city,
monkey, toy, lady, play, army, boy, spy, cry, sky, dragonfly, butterfly, kerchief,
wife, chief, life, leaf, proof, thief, calf, half, shelf, wolf, loaf.

4. Give the singular of the following nouns if they have it:

Armchairs, gymnastics, clothes, spectacles, photos, shorts, cows, schools,
pyjamas, enemies, kisses, wives, loaves, cliffs, oxen, men, teeth, grapes, girls,
series, riches, people, persons, athletics, news.

5. Choose the noun in brackets to complete each sentence:

1. Hail, thunder, lightning and rain are natural (phenomenon, phenomena).
2. The Hague is the city where a lot of (symposium, symposia) are held.
3. He published all the (analysis, analyses) of his scientific research.
4. At this factory they produce special (bacterium, bacteria) for producing pills.
5. Barbara has a large collection of (cactus, cacti).
6. The (data, datum) in the scientific research are very important.
7. This chemist left a lot of papers with hundreds of (formula, formulae).
8. The Earth moves round its (axis, axes).
9. It was one of the biggest (crisis, crises) in the world.
10. The rules for representing (thesis, theses) change every two years.

6. Make the nouns in brackets plural:

1. How many (person) study English as a second language?
2. Five (woman) opened a computer services company.
3. Even (child) enjoy learning on the Internet.
4. Most basketball players are 6 (foot) tall or more.
5. Which breed of (sheep) produces the finest wool?
6. My (tooth) are sensitive to the cold.
7. At daylight savings time, we have to change our (watch).
8. The boys went fishing and caught 10 (fish).
9. There are 10 (man) in the Maintenance Department.
10. The (wife) keep their (knife) on the (shelf).
 INVARIABLE NOUNS
Invariable nouns cannot change their number, some of them are always
singular in meaning (linguistics, news), some denote plurality (cattle, police).
Singular invariable nouns
1. Here belong all non-count nouns:
a) material nouns - tea, sugar, gold, silver, oil, butter, sail. (As has been
mentioned they may become count nouns with a specific meaning: cheeses -
kinds of cheese, beers - portions of beer, as two glasses or cans of beer, two
coffees, icecreams.)
b) absrract nouns - music, anger, foolishness.
2. Proper nouns:
The Thames, Henry.
3. Some nouns ending in -s:
a) news - Here is the 10 o’clock news;
means - by this means;
gallows - They fixed up a gallows.
b) some diseases - measles, mumps, rickets, shingles;
However sometimes the usage varies: Mumps is/are a medical problem.
c) some games - billiards, bowls, dominoes, draughts;
But when used attributively no plural is used: a billiard table.
d) some proper nouns - Algiers, Athens, Brussels, Flanders, Marseilles,
Naples, Wales, the United Nations, thе United States.
4. Nouns ending in –ics:
classics, linguistics, mathematics, phonetics, athletics, ceramics, ethics,
gymnastics, politics, tactics, statistics.

***Statistics is singular when it refers to a field of study: e.g. Statistics is an

interesting field of study. When it refers to particular numbers, it is used as count
noun: e.g. This statistic is correct. Those statistics are incorrect.
5. Names of languages:

English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Portuguese, French.

***The English = people living in England, nation › plural verb
e.g. The English drink tea.
 Plural invariable nouns
Plural invariable nouns comprise two types - marked and unmarked plurals.
I. In the first type the form of the noun itself shows plurality. These nouns are
rather numerous. Semantically they fall into several groups:
a) names of tools or articles of dress consisting of two equal parts which are
joined: bellows, binoculars, breeches, braces, flannels, glasses, pants, pincers,
pliers, pyjamas, scales, scissors, shorts, spectacles, suspenders, tights, tongs,
trousers, tweeters;
These nouns can be made singular and countable by means of a pair of: a pair
of trousers, a pair of scissors. Accordingly they are used with the verb-predicate in
the singular (this pair of trousers is ...)
b) miscellaneous nouns: annals, antics, archives, arms, ashes, the Commons
(the House of Commons), contents, customs, customs-duty, customs-house,
earnings, goods, goods train, greens, holidays, summer-holidays, manners, minutes
(of the meeting), outskirts, quarters, headquarters, stairs, suds, surroundings,
thanks, troops, wages, whereabouts, the Middle Ages, premises,;
c) some proper nouns: the East Indies, the West Indies, the Hebrides, the
Highlands, the Midlands, the Netherlands.
d) verbal nouns ending in –ing: savings, earnings, belongings, proceedings,
surroundings.
II. In the second type of the plural invariable nouns the meaning of plurality is
not marked in any form (hence the term “unmarked plural invariables”). They are
usually treated as collective nouns.
English collective nouns denote only living beings (family, police, clergy, cattle,
poultry, etc.) and have two categorical meanings: the first - p l u r a l i t y a s
i n d i v i s i b l e w h o l e and the second - d i s c r e t e p l u r a l i t y that is
plurality denoting separate beings. In the latter case these nouns are called
nouns of multitude. Thus, one and the same noun may be a c o l l e c t i v e
n o u n p r o p e r and a n o u n o f m u l t i t u d e .

***The difference in two categorical meanings is indicated by the number of

the verb-predicate (singular in the first case and plural in the second), as well as
by possessive and personal pronouns. The meaning of the predicate is also
important: predicates denoting physiological processes or states, emotional or
psychic reactions, states always imply separate beings involved into it. Compare the
following examples:
 Collective nouns proper Nouns of multitude

The family was large The family were fond of their house.
The cattle is in the mountains The cattle are grasing there.
The crew on the ship was The crew have taken their posts.
excellent.
The crowd were watching the scene
The crowd was enormous. spell-bound.
The committee was unanimous. The committee were divided in
their opinion.
Discrete plurality is also expressed by substantivized adjectives denoting
people:
the helpless, the needy, the poor, the sick, the weary, the rich.
*** people = “nation” › countable noun
e.g. This is an organization of English-speaking peoples.

EXERCISES
1. Circle the correct verb form.
1. Diabetes is / are an illness.
2. The United Nations has / have its headquarters in New York City.
3. The news is / are interesting.
4. Mathematics is / are easy for her. Physics is / are for her too.
5. Eight hours of sleep is / are enough.
6. Those people is / are from Canada.
7. Ten dollars is / are too much to pay.
8. The police has / have been called.
9. Five thousand miles is / are too far to travel.
10. Cattle is / are domestic animals.
11. Two and two is / are four.
12. English is / are spoken in many questions.
13. The poor has / have many problems.
14. Chinese is / are his native language.
15. The Chinese has / have an interesting history.

2. Choose the correct answer in parentheses.

1. The United States (has, have) a population of around 250 million.
2. The news about Mr. Hogan (is, are) surprising.
3. Massachusetts (is, are) a state in the northern part of the United States.
4. Physics (seeks, seek) to understand the mysteries of the physical word.
 5. Statistics (is, are) a branch of mathematics.
6. The statistics in that report on oil production (is, are) incorrect.
7. Fifty minutes (is, are) the maximum length of time allowed for the exam.
8. Twenty dollars (is, are) an unreasonable price for the necklace.
9. Six and seven (is, are) thirteen.
10. Many people in the world (does, do) not have enough to eat.
11. The police (is, are) prepared in case there is a riot.
12. Rabies (is, are) an infectious and often fatal disease.
13. The English (is, are) proud, independent people.
14. English (is, are) not my native language.
15. Many Japanese (commutes, commute) to their places of work.
16. Portuguese (is, are) somewhat similar to Spanish, (isn’t, aren’t) it?
17. The poor (is, are) helped by government programs.
18. The news about the long-range effects of air pollution on the
development of children’s lungs (is, are) disturbing.
19. Where (is, are) my shorts? Have you seen them anywhere? I can’t find
them.
20.Why (is, are) the police here?
21. Two hours (is, are) too long to wait, don’t you think?
22.How many people (is, are) there in Canada?
23.No news (is, are) good news.

3. Correct the mistakes if there are any in the use of verbs.

1. The USA are a very powerful country.
2. The Chinese has a very ancient history.
3. The scissors is too sharp.
4. The furniture were new.
5. The police is in the yard of our house.
6. The news have got much worse.
7. Mathematics were the most boring subject for me.
8. The boy’s trousers is torn.
9. His clothes are made by a good tailor.
10. That furniture are very dear to me.
11. The news are very important.
12. The advice that he gave me was good.
13. My scissors are not very sharp.

4. Insert the correct verb to be.

1. The Netherlands ……… a very rich country.
2. The French ………….. friendly people.
3. Four hours of sleep ………… enough for him. He is a workaholic.
4. Japanese …………. a very difficult language.
5. One thousand dollars ……….. too much to pay.
 6. The old ……… always obstinate.
7. The young ……….. supposed to be inexperienced.
8. Two hundred miles ………. too tiring for hiking.
9. The disabled ……….. well protected abroad.
10. Russian ………. my mother tongue.
11. The Vietnamese ……….. very hardworking people.

5. Put the verbs into correct forms.

1. He is always told to be very clever. His knowledge of computers (be) the
best.
2. They say the contents of his new physics book (be) very interesting.
3. The mass media always (write) about him a lot.
4. His wages (be) rather high.
5. Billiards (be) his hobby.
6. Her favourite food (be) macaroni.
7. His advice (be) always useful.
8. Her favourite colour (be) blue. And her jeans (be) blue. Even her pyjamas
(be) blue.
9. The information about her life (be) very interesting.

6. Supply the missing words.

1. This furniture … new and very nice.
2. The goods … been delivered in time.
3. … your clothes expensive?
4. If your jeans … dirty put … into the washing machine.
5. The fruit … rotten in hot water.
6. The new steps … very steep.
7. The twilight always … me.
8. Her tights … too bright.
9. This cloth … smooth and soft.
10. The luggage … brought at once.
11. … much information about it?
12. There … a lot of food in the fridge.
13. Do you see … new scales? Where … they?
14. The police … already here. Do you see … in the yard?
15. His jeans … from a famous designer.

7. Fill in the singular or plural forms of the verb to be.

1. Mathematics … taught at our university.
2. Why … your clothes so dirty? What have you been doing?
3. The remains of the meal … thrown to the dog.
4. Light athletics … a sport that develops the whole body.
5. Phonetics … very important when you start learning English.
 6. Oats … grown in this field.
7. The news … very unusual.
8. Where … my glasses?
9. Cards … a very interesting game.
10. Here … your binoculars. Take …
11. Look here! The fruit … ripe.
12. Usually his advice … very useful.

8. Put the verb into the correct form.

Sheila is a famous film star. Mass media always (to write) about her. Her
sixty room house (to be) very luxurious. Her clothes (to be) always very
fashionable. Even her jeans (to cost) one thousand dollars. Her salary (to be)
rather high and she doesn’t like to pay taxes. She likes low fat food which (to
be) very healthy. She says that there (to be) a lot of calories in grapes. She
doesn’t eat (it, them). She always follows her doctor’s advice which (to be) very
useful for her.

9. Translate the following sentences into English:

1. Дай мені кілька порад. Я хотіла б мати деяку додаткову інформацію.
2. Ці гроші зібрала їхня церковна громада.
3. Ця тканина така м’яка, і я думаю, що піжама буде теж м’якою.
4. Я вам раджу купити цей виноград. Він дуже солодкий.
5. Засоби масової інформації мають великий вплив на людей.
6. Зміст цього оповідання надзвичайно цікавий.
7. Ваші ножиці в ящику. Візьміть їх.
8. Купи мені три носовички. Гроші на столі.
9. Ти знаєш, що бідні завжди мають багато проблем.
10. Молодим у нашій країні цікаво жити.
11. Англійці завжди говорять про погоду.
12. Українська – моя рідна мова.
13. Деяким людям достатньо і чотири години сну.
14. Я думаю, що для нього триста кілометрів – невелика відстань.
15. Нідерланди – країна з високим рівнем життя.
 WAYS OF SHOWING PARTITION
Many uncountable nouns combine with a set of nouns showing some part of
material or abstract notion. Here are some typical partitives for material and
abstract nouns:
1. specific items or amounts:
a bar of chocolate/soap/metal a blade of grass a block of marble/ice/wood
a box of matches a book of stamps a breath of air a bar/cake of soup
a cloud of dust a crust of bread a cube of ice a dash of soda a drop of oil
a flash of light a grain of corn a jar of jam a jet of water a loaf of bread
a lump of coal/sugar a pat of butter a clap of thunder a pile of earth
a pinch of salt a portion of food a puff of smoke a role of paper a sip of tea
a speck of dust a slice of bread/cake a sheet of paper a stick of chalk
a strand of hair/wool a sliver of cheese a chunk of cheese a hunk of meat
a segment of orange a cube of sugar a square of chocolate an ear of wheat
a grain of rice/barley/wheat a crumb of cake a grain of sand a chip of china
a shred of cloth a splinter of wood a sliver of glass a slice of bread/cake
a piece of wood/furniture/paper/glass/chalk/information/wisdom
a rumble/bolt of thunder a flash of lightning a gust of wind a shower of rain
a spot of rain a cloud of smoke a puff of smoke a clap of thunder

2. containers:
a barrel of beer a basket of fruit a bottle of milk a packet of cigarettes
a glass of water a jug of water a mug of cocoa a tin of soup
a tube of paste a bag of flour a box of matches a cup of coffee a
packet of biscuits a pot of tea a basket of fruit a bottle of milk
a can of beer a carton of cigarettes a vase of flowers
*** Most of these can be re-expressed as compounds: e.g. a jam-jar, a matchbox, a
teapot, to describe the container itself. Thus a teapot describes the container
(which may be full or empty), while a pot of tea describes a pot with tea in it.
3. games:
a game of billiards/bridge/cards/chess/darts/cricket/darts/squash/tennis/etc.

4. measures:
a gallon of petrol an ounce of gold a pint of beer/milk a spoonful of medicine
a yard of cloth a kilo of sugar a liter of oil a pound of coffee

5. types/species:
a species of fish a type of drug a variety of pasta a sort of cake
 6. abstract nouns:
a bit/piece of advice a bit of knowledge a grain of truth a spell of work
a wink of sleep a spell of weather the dead of night a fit of jelousy
a pack of lies a storm of protest a stroke of luck a wealth of information
a period of calm a branch of knowledge a piece of research
a piece/an article of furniture a piece/an item of news a burst of applause

7. pairs:
a pair of boots/shoes/braces/glasses/jeans/pants/pyjamas/scissors/shorts/
socks/stokings/tongs/trousers/etc.

EXERCISES
1. Complete the of combinations by providing the missing word in
column B. The first letter of the missing word is given and the spaces that
follow indicate the number of missing letters. The association Word box
will provide clues to help you get the missing column B word. Meanings
for the words in column A are given in the Meaning column. Then use the
correct combinations in sentences of your own.

A B Meaning of Column A Association Words

for B
0 a blade of GRASS a single leaf of green, field
1 an article of C_______ one item of trousers, shirt
2 a means of T________ one kind of bus, train
3 a piece of A_____ some problem, help
4 a stroke of L___ a piece of fortune
5 a grain of S___ a single particle of beach
6 a speck of D___ a tiny piece of powder, unclean
7 a spell of W______ a period of forecast
8 a pack of L___ a lot of dishonesty
9 a flight of S_____ a set of house, steps
10 a bunch of K___ a group of (together) lock, door, open
11 a carton of J____ a paper/plastic fruit, liquid
container
2. Complete these sentences with a suitable noun.
1. They gave her a big …………… of flowers for her birthday.
2. I cut about six ………….. of ham and put them on a plate.
3. They own a large …………. of land on the coast.
4. I did a ……….. of homework last night, then went out.
5. She told us to take a blank ………… of paper, then write our names at the top.
6. I asked him for a ………….. of advice.
7. Have you seen that old ………….. of boots I use for gardening?
8. I’ve got a ………… of time, so I can help you now if you like.
9. We have a ………… of rainy weather these days with ………… of thunder and
……….. of lightning, ………… of wind and ………… of rain.
10. You blew a ……….. of cigarette smoke straight into my face.
11. I had an amazing …………. of luck last week. I had learnt a very interesting
………. of news and ………… of information.
12. What ………… of transport do you prefer?
13.Take a ……….. of sugar, the tea is bitter.
14. I’ve bought some luxurious ………….. of furniture.
15.On your way home drop in a shop and buy a …………. of bread, a ………… of
chocolate, a …………. of milk and a …………… of toothpaste.
16. I was presented with a ……….. of flowers and a …………. of cosmetics
yesterday.
17. Could I have one …………. of bread, please?
18. What this soup needs is a decent ……….. of salt.
19. I’m afraid we’ll have to open another …………. of beer.
20.Did you see that ………… of lightning just now?
21. I’m dying for a ………….. of fresh air.
22.Go and fetch a ………….. of water, quickly!
23.Let me give you a …………. of advice.

3. Fill the blanks with the correct answers.

1. Please go to the store and pick up a ___ of milk.
a) bag b) carton c) dozen d) pound
2. This recipe calls for a ___ of butter.
a) dozen b) tube c) stick d) can
3. My cat eats a ___ of tuna every day.
a) can b) loaf c) bottle d) bag
4. I like to drink a ___ of mineral water after I exercise.
a) pound b) stick c) teaspoon d) bottle
5. I need three ___ of yogurt from the dairy section.
a) tubes b) pounds c) containers d) dozens
 6. Pick up ___ of whole wheat bread at the bakery.
a) half a pound b) a box c) a bag d) a loaf
7. The ___ of toothpaste are located in the health and beauty section of the
supermarket.
a) quarts b) tubes c) pints d) sticks
8. This recipe needs a ___ of salt.
a) teaspoon b) loaf c) six-pack d) stick
9. Go get a ___ of bananas in the produce section at the front of the store.
a) head b) dozen c) bunch d) pint
10. We need a ___ of orange juice for tomorrow morning.
a) pound b) quart c) bag d) stick

4. Match both parts together.

a of blade flowers
heap furniture
carton tools
puff sugar
tube milk
bunch papers
grain ham
article toothpaste
set rice
lump thunder
hunk lightning
flash fish
school smoke
clap tangerine
gust soap
bar grass
segment wind

5. Add one of the following nouns to complete these sentences.

bread paper grass lunch flu sunlight
1. He could eat only a morsel of ………….. .
2. I think I’ve got a touch of …………… .
3. A shaft of …………. came through the window.
4. I think I’ll have a spot of ………… .
 5. How many sheets of ……….. do you need?
6. Tufts of ………. grew along the bank.

COLLECTIVE NOUNS
Collective nouns are special nouns that stand for a group of people, animals,
birds, inanimate things or insects. For example, in the phrase "a pride of lions",
pride is a collective noun. Collective nouns can take singular or plural verbs
depending on whether the group acts as a unity (singular) or as separate
individuals (plural).
e.g. The family were on friendly terms. Our little group is complete again.
Our family is quite small. The group wish to join in a
conversation.
Note: majority/minority can be used as singular or plural. If it is not followed
by a plural noun, the verb after it is usually singular. In case it is, the verb is
plural.
e.g. The majority believes that we are in no danger.
The majority of the students believe him to be innocent.
Collective nouns standing for people
army audience band blast board choir congress crew gang
chorus congregation government clan committee family orchestra
class company gaggle group patrol brigade troupe tribe company
troop cast faculty banner bench squad house colony cortege
Collective nouns standing for animals
a cloud/colony of bats a sloth of bears a caravan of camels a clutter of cats
a herd of cattle/sheep/goats a pack/kennel of dogs/wolves a bury of rabbits
a parade of elephants a band of gorillas a string of horses a yoke of oxen
a bevy of roe deer/ pheasants a pride of lions a skulk of foxes a litter of kittens
a down of hares a kindle of kittens a troop of monkeys a dray of squirrels
a shoal/school of fish/whales a zeal of zebras a drove of pigs a colony of rats
Collective nouns standing for birds
a flock of birds/chickens a brood of chickens/hens a hover of crows
an aerie of eagles a gaggle of geese a covey of grouse a flight of swallows
a game of swans a squabble of seagulls a bevy of quails a run of poultry
Collective nouns standing for insects
a hive of bees a swarm of ants/bees/flies a colony of ants/wasps/lice
a flight of butterflies a swarm of flies a flight of insects a clutter of spiders
*** Some nouns are always associated with the idea of plurality; they denote a
group of separate individuals: police, clergy, gentry, cattle, poultry, vermin,
people.
e.g. The cattle are grazing.
 The police here are efficient.
Are there any people in the hall?

Collective nouns indicating time, money and distance

Collective nouns refer to an entire group. When a collective noun indicates a
period of time, a sum of money, or a measurement, it takes a singular verb.
e.g. Twenty-five dollars is too much to pay for that shirt.
Fifty minutes isn’t enough time to finish this test.
Two miles is too much to run in one day.
Two weeks is enough time to finish the contract.
Ten dollars is all I have.
Seven pounds is an average weight for a newborn.
Collective nouns denoting a group of objects thought of as a whole
This group includes the following nouns: furniture, machinery, equipment,
hardware, silverware, china, luggage, foliage (are used in the singular, without any
article, are used with the definite article when the speaker is specifying).
e.g. The equipment of the studio was expensive.
This furniture doesn’t match the wallpapers.
Miscellaneous
a pile/heap of papers/clothes/dishes/toys a bunch of flowers/grapes/bananas
a stack of chairs/tables/boxes/logs a set of tools/pots/pans a library of books
a nest of rumours a flight of stairs a stand of trees a range of hills

EXERCISES
1. A. Put these words into the table based on the group of things they usually refer to.
company team swarm flock government gang crowd congregation
pack staff group crew cast shoal school throng huddle litter

People Animals Birds Insects

B. Complete these sentences using one of the words from the above
task. In some cases, more than one answer is possible.
1. After the election, the huge ……………. danced in the street.
2. The refugees sat in a small, tight ………….. underneath some trees.
3. The school is closed because the ………….. are on strike.
4. The theatre ………….. benefited from a government grant.
5. Following an outbreak of epidemic disease, the ……………. should take
measures.
6. A ………….. of football fans wandered around the street breaking shop
windows.
7. Half the ………….. of the film were nominated for Oscars.
8. A small ………….. of people petitioned the Prime Minister outside his house.
9. The …………. of fish that had been caught were deemed inedible owing to
pollution in the water.
10. We were all surprised when our dog gave birth to a ………….. of puppies.
11. Cabin …………. on aircraft are drilled in safety procedure.
12. As winter approaches, the ………….. of birds fly south to warmer countries.
13. Half the football …………… were sent off in disgrace.
14. The stars had difficulty making their way through the ………..of people
outside the cinema.
15. The women fell on the surprised burglar like a …………. of wild dogs.
16. The harvest was destroyed by a huge …………… of insects.

C. The following words all refer to groups of people, animals, birds,

insects or things. Match the words with their definitions below.

flock pack team congregation army swarm crew crowd

audience government family shoal gang bundle committee

a) a number of sheep …………..

b)people who are the members of one church …………..
c) people playing football as one body .………….
d)a lot of dirty laundry …………..
e) people who work on board of the ship …………..
f) a number of spectators …………..
g) a number of soldiers …………..
h)a lot of wolves ……………
i) a lot of fish ……………
j) a lot of insects …………..
k) a lot of people in the street .…………..
l) rulers of the country ……………
m)people, chosen to direct some work ……………
n)relations between people .………….
o) a group of criminals …………..
 2. Translate the expressions in the gaps into English:
1. Looking out of the window, we saw a (стадо) of cows standing peacefully
near the road. 2. Soon a big (зграя) of dogs gathered near the rubbish heap. 3.
We saw five lion cubs born in the (лев’ячій сім’ї). 4. The tourists who trained
diving saw a bright (косяк) of fish near a big rock. 5. A (групка) of guests was
moving towards the house. 6. A (група) of detectives arrived at the scene of the
disaster. 7. The (трупа) are rehearsing a new production. 8. We were all
surprised when our dog gave birth to a (виводок) of puppies. 9. Don’t touch
the (вулик) of bees on that tree! You jeopardize your life. 10. A (лисяча сім’я)
was eating ducks when we saw them.

3. Replace the underlined words with suitable collective nouns.

1. A lot of people gathered on the beach.
2. The man took his wife and children to the zoo.
3. The group of cows grazed on the hill.
4. The teacher told the story to the group of students.
5. The number of sailors stood on the deck.
6. The captain led his group of players to the ground.
7. The dog helped the shepherd guard his group of sheep.
8. The violent group of people pelted stones.
9. The children gave granny a collection of flowers.
10.The general led his victorious group of soldiers home.

4. Fill the blanks with the correct answers.

1. I was attacked by a _______ of bees.
a) deck b) swarm c) package d) flock
2. A _______ of geese was heard a mile away.
a) gaggle b) herd c) litter d) kennel
3. Last Sunday, I went with my friends to the park. We had to eat our lunch quickly
because an _______ of ants attacked our food.
a) crowd b) swarm c) flight d) army
4. On my African trip, I saw a ________ of lions.
a) pride b) bundle c) pack d) gang
5. The boy saw a _______ of sheep grazing in the fields.
a) swarm b) bevy c) flock d) flight
6. I had so much fun in Hawaii swimming with a _________ of fish.
a) army b) shoal c) bevy d) team
7. I like to play card games. So when I go camping, I usually take a _______ of
cards with me.
 a) herd b) school c) pack d) range

8. There was a _______ of bird eggs on the tree.

a) nest b) swarm c) crowd d) school
9. There was a _______ of visitors in the Vancouver Art Gallery on Sunday.
a) crowd b) school c) nest d) gang
10. I love hiking in the spring because the mountains are covered with a ________ of
wild flowers.
a) nest b) mass c) deck d) set
11. A ______ of cows was transported to a farm in Texas for slaughter.
a) pod b) pack c) herd d) stack
12. The man never cleaned his office. He left a ________ of files and papers on his
desk.
a) deck b) army c) pile d) bundle
13. On a stormy night you could hear the howling of a _______ of wolves.
a) swarm b) pack c) gang d) bevy
14. My friend's cat had a __________ of kittens on the weekend.
a) gaggle b) swarm c) litter d) colony
15. On the ferry ride from Victoria, I saw a ________ of whales in the ocean.
a) bevy b) crowd c) shoal d) gang

5. Pick out the collective nouns in the following sentences and make up
sentences of your own.
1. The general led the army to the war-front.
2. The crowd was thrilled to see their favourite player.
3. The carpenter had his set of tools with him.
4. The innocent man was acquitted by the jury.
5. We saw the fleet of ships sailing on the sea.
6. Uncle took his family to the circus.
7. The police managed to control the mob.
8. The committee voted against the resolution.
9. The whole nation celebrated Indian victory.
10.A troupe of monkeys hid among the clump of trees.
 Two or more subjects connected by and require a plural verb.
My mother and sister live in Boston.
My brother, sister, and cousin live in Boston.
Note: Every and each are always followed immediately by singular verb. In this
case, even when there are two (or more) nouns connected by and, the verb is
singular.
Every man, woman, and child needs love.
Each book and magazine is listed in the card catalogue.

 Sometimes a phrase or clause separates a subject from its verb. These interrupting
structures do not affect basic agreement.
That book on political parties is interesting.
singular singular
The ideas in that book are interesting.
plural plural

 A gerund used as the subject of the sentence requires a singular verb.

Growing flowers is her hobby.
gerund singular

 In most expressions of quantity, the verb is determined by the noun (or pronoun)
that follows of.

Some of + singular noun = singular verb

Some of + plural noun = plural verb verb

Some of the book is good.

singular singular
Some of the books are good.
plural plural
Two-thirds of the money is mine.
singular singular
Two-thirds of the pennies are mine.
plural plural
Note: One of, each of, and every one of take singular verb.

One of my friends is here.

Each of my friends is here.
Every one of my friends is here.
 1. Choose the correct answer in parentheses.
1. The results of Dr. Noll’s experiment (was, were) published in a scientific journal.
2. The weather in the southern states (get, gets) very hot during the summer.
3. A woman and her child (is, are) waiting to see Dr. Chang.
4. Every man, woman, and child (is, are) protected under the law.
5. Washing the dishes (is, are) the children’s job.
6. A lot of the students (is, are) already here.
7. Some of the furniture in our apartment (is, are) secondhand.
8. Some of the desks in the classroom (is, are) broken.
9. At least three-quarters of that book on famous Americans (is, are) about people
who lived in the nineteenth century.
10. One of the countries I would like to visit (is, are) Italy.
11. Some of the cities I would like to visit (is, are) Rome and Venice.
12. Each student in the class (has, have) to have a book.
13. Each of the students (has, have) a notebook.
14. The famous singer and composer (has, have) arrived.
15. Gold, as well as platinum, (has, have) recently risen in price.
16. Bread and butter (is, are) our daily food.
17. The boss, as well as his colleagues, (has, have) been robbed.
18. One of the books (has, have) been missing.
19. You should decide which one of the three choices A, B, or C best (answers,
answer) the question.
20. One of the most intelligent students who (score, scores) full marks (is, are) John.
21. The only one of these most intelligent students who (is, are) under 18 (is, are)
Peter.
22. One of these most intelligent students whose example (is being, are being)
followed (is, are) John.
23. Neither (likes, like) the friends of the other.
24. Either the man or his wife (knows, know) the truth of the matter.
25. The family (has, have) met their various obligations.
 Revision Exercises on Subject-Verb Agreement
Choose the correct answer in parentheses.
1. A number of students in the class (speaks, speak) English very well.
2. There (is, are) some interesting pictures in today’s paper.
3. There (is, are) an incorrect statement in that newspaper article.
4. Most people (like, likes) to go to the zoo.
5. My cousin, along with my aunt and uncle, (works, work) in my grandpa’s
hardware store.
6. Anna, as well as her two older sisters, (is, are) in college.
7. This exercise on singular-plural agreement of subjects and verbs (is, are) easy.
8. Each girl and boy in the sixth-grade class (has, have) to do a science project.
9. Making pies and cakes (is, are) Mrs. Reed’s hobby.
10. Getting to know students from all over the world (is, are) one of the best parts of
my job.
11. Alex, as well as his two older brothers, (has, have) a good full time job.
12. Some of the fruit in this bowl (is, are) rotten.
13. Half of the students in the class (is, are) from Arabic-speaking countries.
14. Half of his money (is, are) yours.
15. A lot of students in the class (is, are) from Southeast countries.
16. A lot of clothing in those stores (is, are) on sale this week.
17. One of my best friends (is, are) coming to visit me next month.
18. Each boy in the class (has, have) his own notebook.
19. Every one of the students (is, are) required to take the final test.
20. None of the animals at the zoo (is, are) free to roam. All of them (is, are) in
enclosures.
21. A number of students (is, are) absent today.
22. The number of employees in my company (is, are) approximately ten thousand.
23. What percentage of the people in the world (is, are) illiterate?
24. What percentage of the earth’s surface (is, are) covered by water?
25. Carlos is the only one of those students who (has, have) lived up to the potential
described in the yearbook.
26. The International Club, as well as the Choral Society and the Rowing Club, (need,
needs) to submit a new constitution.
27. Not only the students but also their instructor (have, has) been called to the
principal's office.
28. Most of the milk (has, have) gone bad. Six gallons of milk (is, are) still in the
refrigerator.
29. Each and every student and instructor in this building (hope, hopes) for a new
facility by next year.
30. Rice and beans, my favorite dish, (remind, reminds) me of my native Puerto Rico.
31. A large number of voters still (vote, votes) along straight-party lines.
32. John, as well as his younger brothers, (is, are) going to study at that school.
33. People from the South (is, are) very friendly.
34. Either the President or the Vice (has, have) signed the document.
35. No news (is, are) good news.
36. Neither of the statements (is, are) false.
37. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (do, does) not regulate vitamins and
herbs.
38. Most experts (believe, believes) that herbal supplements are mild and somewhat
harmless.
39. Still, anyone who (take, takes) too much of a vitamin or herb could suffer negative
side effects.
40. People who (take, takes) more than 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C daily may
experience diarrhea or kidney stones.
41. There (is, are) a lot of evidence that vitamin-rich foods are beneficial.
42. Eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily (is, are) said to provide all the
essential vitamins we require.
43. Talking to your doctor before taking supplements (is, are) advisable.
44. A red and yellow bird (is, are) sitting in that tree.
45. One of my friends (wants, want) to come with us tonight.
46. Neither the President nor the Senators (has, have) found a solution.
47. Half of the food (has, have) already been eaten.
48. Half of the candy bars (was, were) eaten by the children before dinner.
49. Most of the current news on the front pages of both daily newspapers (concerns,
concern) the progress of the peace conference.
50. There (is, are) several reasons why I can't come.
51. January and February (is, are) usually the coldest months of the year.
52. Almost two-thirds of the land on these islands (is, are) mountains.
53. Neither of your arguments (makes, make) sense.
54. There (is, are) a lot of unemployed people right now.
55. Fifty minutes (is, are) the maximum length of time allowed for the exam.
56. Both Chapter One and Chapter Two (is, are) easy.
57. Statistics (is, are) a branch of mathematics.
58. A number of books (is, are) required for that course.
59. The number of books required for that course (is, are) five.
60. Mr. and Mrs. Smith (has, have) invited us to dinner.
61. Each penny, nickel, dime, and quarter (has, have) to be counted carefully by the
bank teller.
62. The statistics on the divorce rate in the United States (is, are) alarming.
63. Either the physicians in this hospital or the chief administrator (is, are) going to
have to make a decision.
64. Some of the votes (seem, seems) to have been miscounted.
65. The tornadoes that tear through this county every spring (is, are) more than just a
nuisance.
66. Kara Walters, together with her teammates, (present, presents) a formidable
opponent on the basketball court.
67. Some of the grain (appear, appears) to be contaminated.
68. Three-quarters of the students (is, are) against the tuition hike.
69. Three-quarters of the student body (is, are) against the tuition hike.
70. A high percentage of the population (is, are) voting for the new school.
71. A high percentage of the people (was, were) voting for the new school.
72. Both candidates oppose increased defense spending. Neither of the two candidates
(oppose, opposes) the war in Iraq.
73. Not one of these cell phones belongs to me. One of the phones (belongs, belong) to
Meredith.
74. Most students take all of their classes in the morning. Nobody (takes, take) classes
after 2:00.
75. One of my hobbies is collecting shopping bags. My hobbies (is, are) unusual.
76. Gus and Meredith want a trial separation. Neither one (wants, want) to move out of
the apartment.
77. Neither of the players admits that he made an error. Both players (admits, admit)
that somebody made a mistake.
78. Both the manager and her assistant have been fired. Neither the manager nor her
assistant (has, have) been notified.
79. Where is your little brother? Several pages from my journal (is, are) missing.
80. Professor Legree often goes for long walks in the rain. The lights in his house
(goes, go) on at midnight.
81. Dr. Ferndon is one of those professors who (seem, seems) distracted most of the
time.
82. (Has, Have) either Luis or his parents written to Angela?
83. Neither Luis nor his parents (is, are) the least bit interested in keeping in touch
with her.
84. Everybody in this team (try, tries) really hard to please the new coach.
85. Because there (is, are) so many students in that class, I can sometimes sleep in the
back row.
86. Mr. Bradley, along with his two sisters, (has, have) lived in this town for thirty
years.
87. There (is, are) no reasons for this horrible development that I can see.
88. Some of the water (has, have) already gone bad.
89. One of these students (has, have) obviously cheated on the exam.
90. Carlos and his brother Raoul (is, are) traveling across the country next summer.
91. Several of the students (has, have) decided to withdraw from the course.
92. Howard and Vincent, who (runs, run) a copy center in town, have decided to
expand their business.
93. Both of the statues on the shelf (is, are) broken.
94. The fishing boat that has been tied up at the pier for three days (was, were) finally
on its way this morning.
95. The chairman, along with his two assistants, (plans, plan) to attend the annual
convention.
96. Not one of the performers (was, were) at the party after the concert.
97. When there (is, are) thunderstorms approaching, we are always reminded of the
threat of tornadoes.
98. The piano as well as the pipe organ (has, have) to be tuned for the big concert.
99. The mayor together with his two brothers (is, are) going to be indicted for
accepting bribes.
100. Neither of my two suitcases (is, are) adequate for this trip.
101. There (is, are) a list of committee members on the head-table.
102. Everybody in the class (has, have) done the homework well in advance.
103. The jury (take, takes) their seats in the courtroom.
104. Neither the teacher nor the students (seem, seems) to understand this assignment.
105. (Has, Have) either my father or my brothers made a down-payment on the house?
106. Hartford is one of those cities that (is, are) working hard to reclaim a riverfront.
107. John or his brother (is, are) going to be responsible for this.
108. A few of the students (is, are) doing so well they can skip the next course.
109. One of my instructors (has, have) written a letter of recommendation for me.
110. Either the Committee on Course Design or the Committee on College Operations
(decides, decide) these matters.
 THE CATEGORY OF CASE
Case is a grammatical category which shows relation of the noun with other
words in a sentence. It is expressed by the form of the noun.
English nouns have two cases: the common case and the genitive case.
However, not all English nouns possess the category of case; there are certain
nouns, mainly nouns denoting inanimate objects, which cannot be used in the
genitive case.
The common case is unmarked, it has no inflexion (zero inflexion) and its
meaning is very general.
The genitive case is marked by the apostrophe s (’s).
The form of the possessive/genitive case
1. ’s is used with singular nouns and plural nouns not ending in s:
a man’s job the people’s job
men’s work the crew’s quarters
a woman’s intuition the horse’s mouth
the butcher’s (shop) the bull’s horns
a child’s voice women’s clothes
the children’s room Russia’s export
*** If a singular nouns end in s, there are two possible forms:
a) Add an apostrophe and –s: Thomas’s book
b) Add only an apostrophe: Thomas’ book
Plural nouns that end in -s take an apostrophe at the end :
the girls' dresses the students’ hostels
the eagles’ nest the Smiths’ car
2. classical names ending in s usually add only the apostrophe:
Pythagoras’ Theorem Archimedes’ Law Sophocles’ plays
3. we use ’s after more than one noun:
Jack and Jill’s wedding Mr. and Mrs. Carter’s house
4. With compounds, the last word takes the ’s:
my brother-in-law’s guitar
Names consisting of several words are treated similarly:
Henry the Eight’s wives the prince of Wales’s helicopter
’s can also be used after initials:
the PM’s secretary/briefcase the VIP’s escort
*** when the possessive case is used, the article before the person or thing
“possessed”:
the daughter of the politician = the politician’s daughter
the plays of Shakespeare = Shakespeare’s plays
 The use of the possessive/genitive case and of-phrase
The genitive case is used:
1. With nouns denoting persons and animals.
John’s idea the swallow’s nest the mare’s back
With other nouns (denoting inanimate objects or abstract notions) the of +
noun phrase is used: the back of the train, the legs of a table.
2. With nouns denoting time and distance, such as minute, moment, hour,
day, week, month, year, inch, foot, mile and adverbs: today, yesterday,
tomorrow, etc.
a moment’s delay a month’s absence
an hour’s drive a mile’s distance
today’s newspaper a few minutes’ silence
a week’s time yesterday’s telephone conversation
a night’s rest
With these nouns the of-phrase is impossible:
today’s paper = сьогоднішні газети
the papers of today ≠ газети сьогоднішнього дня
3. With the names of countries and towns.
Britain’s national museums
Canada’s population
London’s ambulance services
4. With the names of newspapers and nouns denoting different kinds of
organizations.
the Guardian’s analysis, the company’s plans, the firm’s endeavours,
the government’s policy, the organization’s executive board.
5. Often with the nouns world, nation, country, city, town:
the world’s top guitarists, the nation’s wealth
6. With the nouns ship, boat, car:
the ship’s crew, the car’s wheel
7. With nouns denoting planets: sun, moon, earth
the sun’s rays, the earth’s life
8. With some inanimate nouns in the following set expressions:
to one’s heart content, at death’s door, at arm’s length, out of harm’s way,
a needle’s eye, at a stone’s throw, to move at a snail’s pace, at the water’s
edge.
*** When the genitive case is used as a premodifier of a noun, it’s called the
dependent genitive. However there are some cases when the noun in the
genitive case is not followed by the headword and then it stands for the
whole noun phrase. This is the so-called absolute genitive. It is used:
 1. To avoid repetition:
Our house is better than Mary’s (than Mary’s house)
2. After the preposition of:
An old friend of my mother’s, that cousin of my husband’s
3. To denote shops as the butcher’s, the baker’s, the grocer’s, the chemist’s,
or institutions, where genitive is usually a saint’s name:
St. Paul’s (Cathedral), St. James’s (Palace)
or places of residence:
at Timothy’s, at my uncle’s

EXERCISES
1. Replace the phrases by the Possessive case where possible:
1) the father of Bob;
2) the book of my brother;
3) the cat of the girls;
4) the child of her sister;
5) the order of the colonel;
6) the room of my mother;
7) the garden of my family;
8) the trousers of the boys;
9) the cage of the bird;
10)the hamster of Ann;
11) the pets of the children;
12) the sister of my aunt;
13) the money of my brother;
14)the cat of my great grandmother.

2. Complete the sentences with the possessive form of the noun in

parentheses.
1. (Mrs. Smith) ________ husband often gives her flowers.
2. (boy) The ______ hat is red.
3. (boys) The ______ hats are red.
4. (children) The ________ toys are all over the floor.
5. (child) I fixed the ______ bicycle.
6. (baby) The _______ toys are in the crib.
7. (babies) The _______ toys are in the crib.
8. (wives) Their ______ names are Cindy and Judy.
9. (wife) That is my ______ coat.

10. (Sally) _______ last name is White.

11. (Phyllis) _______ last name is Young.
12. (boss) That’s my ______ office.
13. (bosses) Those are my _______ offices.
14. (woman) This is a _______ purse.
15. (women) The store sells ______ clothes.
16. (sister) Do you know my _______ husband?
17. (sisters) Do you know my _______ husbands?
18. (yesterday) Did you read _______ paper?
19. (today) There are many problems in ______ world.
20. (month) It would cost me a ______ salary to buy that refrigerator.

3. Correct mistakes in the use of possessive nouns by adding

apostrophes and final –s/-es as necessary.
1. I enjoy visiting friend houses.
2. When I was in Chicago, I stayed at a friend house.
3. My uncle is my father brother.
4. I have four aunts. All of my aunt homes are within walking distance of my
mother apartment.
5. Mike’s aunt oldest son is a violinist.
6. Five astronauts were aboard the space shuttle. The astronaut safe return to
earth was a welcome sight to millions of television viewers.
7. The children favorite part of the circus was the trapeze act.
8. When the child toy broke, I fixed it.
9. I borrowed the secretary pen to fill out the application form.
10. It is the people right to know what the city is going to do about the housing
problem.
11. Bill wife is a factory worker.
12. Bess husband is a housepainter.
13. Quite a few diplomats are assigned to our city. Almost all of the diplomat
children attend a special school.
14. A diplomat work invariably involves numerous meetings.

4. In this exercise you have to join two nouns. Sometimes you have to
use an apostrophe (’), with or without s. Sometimes you have to use …
of …
Examples: the door/ the room the door of the room
the mother/Ann Ann’s mother
1. the camera / Tom _______________________
2. the eyes / the cat _______________________

3. the top / the page _________________________

4. the daughter / Charles _________________________
5. the newspaper / today _________________________
6. the toys / the children _________________________
7. the name / your wife _________________________
8. the name / the street _________________________
9. the name / the man I saw you with yesterday _________________________
10. the new manager / the company __________________________________
11. the result / the football match ______________________________________
12. the car / Mike’s parent ____________________________________________
13. the birthday / my father ___________________________________________
14. the new headmaster / the school ___________________________________
15. the garden / our neighbour ________________________________________
16. the ground floor / the building _____________________________________
17. the children / Don and Mary _______________________________________
18. the economic policy / the government _______________________________
19. the husband / the woman talking to Tom ____________________________
20.the house / my aunt and uncle _____________________________________

5. Read each sentence and write a new sentence using ‘s with the
underlined words.

Example: The meeting tomorrow has been cancelled.

Tommorow’s meeting has been cancelled.

1. The storm last week caused a lot of damage.

Last ______________________________________
2. The only cinema in the town has been closed down.
The t______________________________________
3. Exports from Britain to the US have fallen recently.
B_________________________________________
4. There will be a big crowd at the football match this evening.
There will be a big crowd at this _______________
5. Tourism is the main industry in the region.
The r_______________________________________
6. Laura is showing Melanie her photos. Put in the possessive form of the
nouns.
Laura: This was taken in (1) …………. (my friend) garden.
It was (2) ……………….. (the twins) birthday party.
This is Kerry, (3) ……………… (Luke) girlfriend.
And that’s (4) …………….. (Jason) sister Emily.
Melanie: And who are these two?
Laura: That’s (5) …………….. (Debbie) mother.
She’s talking to Monica Davis, (6) ……………. (her children) teacher.
And that’s (7) ………….. (the Lanskys) dog sitting on (8) ………………..
(Olivia) foot.

7. Rewrite the underlined phrases using the possessive form.

1. The prices this year are even lower.
2. From here it’s a drive of two hours.
3. I read about it in the paper yesterday.
4. I just want a rest for five minutes.
5. It’s the special offer for this month.
6. I’ll see you in a week.
 Expressions of Quantity with Countable and Uncountable Nouns
An expression of quantity may precede a noun. Some expressions of quantity are
used only with countable nouns, some only with uncountable, and some are used with
both countable and uncountable nouns.

EXPRESSIONS OF USED WITH COUNT NOUNS USED WITH UNCOUNT

QUANTITY NOUNS
(a) one one apple Ø
each each apple Ø
every every apple Ø
(b) two,etc. two apples Ø
both both apples Ø
a couple of a couple of apples Ø
a few a few apples Ø
several several apples Ø
many many apples Ø
a number of a number of apples Ø
(c) a little Ø a little rice
much Ø much rice
a great deal of Ø a great deal of rice
(d)no no apples no rice
some/any some/any apples some/any rice
a lot of/lots of a lot of/lots of apples a lot of/lots of rice
plenty of plenty of apples plenty of rice
most most apples most rice
all all apples all rice

A few/a little give a positive idea; they indicate that something exists, is present.
e.g. She has been here only two weeks, but she has already made a few friends.
(Positive idea: She has made some friends.)
I’m very pleased. I’ve been able to save a little money this month.
(Positive idea: I have saved some money instead of spending all of it.)
Few/little give a negative idea; they indicate that something is largely absent.
Very(+few/little) makes the negative stronger, the number/amount smaller.
e.g. I feel sorry for her. She has (very) few friends. (Negative idea: She does not have
many friends; she has almost no friends.)
I have (very) little money. I don’t even have enough money to buy food for
dinner. (Negative idea: I do not have much money; I have almost no money.)
Many is used with count nouns: e.g. many apples.
Much is used with noncount nouns: e.g. much fruit.