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Архитектура Аудит Военная наука Иностранные языки Медицина Металлургия Метрология Образование Политология Производство Психология Стандартизация Технологии |
Countable and Uncountable Nouns (1)Стр 1 из 9Следующая ⇒
Noun Kinds of Nouns
Common Nouns (нарицательные) Proper Nouns (собственные) (cat, man, love, wind...) (Mary, London, Mr. Brown…) Common Nouns
Countable & Uncountable Nouns. Countable nouns (that can be counted) have two numbers: the singular & the plural: a girl – girls; a book – books etc. Before countable nouns we can say a/an/the/some/any/many/a lot of/few/a few/that/this/those/these/my/his/enough etc. Uncountable nouns (that we cannot count) are always singular and are not used with a/an (blood, music, money). Before uncountable nouns we can say some/any/no/much/a lot of/little/a little/that/this/his/ enough etc. e.g. a bit of news, a piece of advice, a slice of bread etc. We can also say: This is a fine cheese. (=a fine variety or type). These cheeses are produced only in Italy. (=these types of cheese) We can say one fish, two fish, one deer, two deer. We can also say all the fishes in the sea (=the different varieties of fish) Below is a summary of the basic differences between countable and uncountable nouns.
Common uncountable nouns Below is a list of nouns which are uncountable. In some cases, there is a singular or plural use when we refer to a particular variety or example:
I. Milk, soup are uncountable nouns. We can’t say a milk or two soups. But we can say: a carton of milk, two tins of soup. If we refer to a specific amount with certain uncountable nouns, we can use a piece of, a bit of, a slice of, etc
II.
Exercises I. Complete he conversations. Choose the correct form. 1 I think sport/a sport is boring. – Me too. I hate it. 2 We ought to buy some potato/some potatoes. – OK, I’ll get them. 3 Did you hear noise/a noise in the middle of the night? – No, I don’t think so. 4 Is there cheese/a cheese in this soup? – Yes, a little. 5 I had conversation/ a conversation with Vicky last night. – Oh? What about? 6 Shall I put a chicken/some chicken in your sandwiches? – Yes, please. 7 Are you a pacifist? – Well, I don’t believe in war/ a war, so I suppose I am. 8 It isn’t fair. – No, life/a life just isn’t fair, I’m afraid. 9 What’s the matter? – You’ve got some egg/some eggs on your shirt.
II. 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. Model: - Did you manage to park in town? - It took me ages to find a space. And all I wanted was to buy some paper to wrap this present in. 1 - Are you busy tomorrow? - I’m meeting someone in the office. We’ve got _________________________ to discuss. 2 - Do you think I need to take _______________________________ with me for my shirts? - Oh, surely the hotel will have one. 3 - I’m going to have some juice, but I can’t find __________________________________. - If you turned ______________________________ on, you might be able to see properly. 4 - I’ve never met your brother. - Oh, he’s usually very busy because he runs _________________________. But he’s been ill recently. The doctor has ordered him to spend __________________________________resting. 5 - How did your interview go? - 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 a waste of time. And the train coming back was two hours late. That’s ____________________________ I don’t want to repeat.
III. 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 brought 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.
Exercises I. Which of the underlined parts of the sentences is correct? 1. Did you hear noise/ a noise just now? – No, I didn’t hear anything. (‘a noise is correct’) 2. a If you want to know the news, you can read paper/ a paper. b I want to write some letters but I haven’t go a paper/ any paper to write on. 3. a I thought there was somebody in the house because there was a light/ light on inside. b Light/ a light comes from the sun. 4. a I was in a hurry this morning. I didn’t have time/a time for breakfast. b Did you enjoy your holiday? – Yes, we had wonderful time/ a wonderful time. 5. Sue was very helpful. She gave us some very useful advice/ advices. 6. We had very good weather/ a very good weather while we were on holiday. 7. We were very unfortunate. We had bad luck/ a bad luck. 8. It’s very difficult to find a work/ job at the moment. 9. Our travel /journey from London to Istanbul by train was very tiring. 10. When the fire alarm rang, there was total chaos/ a total chaos. 11. I had to buy a/ some bread because I wanted to make some sandwiches. 12. Bad news don’t/ doesn’t make people happy. 13. Your hair is /Your hairs are too long. You should have it/them cut. 14. Nobody was hurt in the accident but the damage/ the damages to car was/were quite bad.
II. Complete the sentences using these words. Sometimes you need the plural. chair experience experience furniture hair information job luggage permission progress work 1. I didn’t have much__ luggage __ - just two bags. 2. They’ll tell you all you want to know. They’ll give you plenty of _________________________. 3. There is room for everybody to sit down. There are plenty of ____________________________. 4. We have no ________________________________________, not even a bed or a table. 5. What does Alan look like? – He’s got a long beard and very short __________________________. 6. Carla’s English is better than it was. She’s made ________________________________________. 7. George is unemployed. He’s looking for a ___________________________________. 8. George is unemployed. He’s looking for ______________________________________. 9. If you want to leave work early, you have to ask for ___________________________________. 10. I don’t think Ann will get the job. She hasn’t enough ___________________________________. 11. Rita has done many interesting things. She should write a book about her ____________________________.
Unit 52. Exercises 52.1 Complete the sentences with either is/are or has/have. If both singular and plural forms are possible, write them both. (A) 1 A number of shoppers......................................... complained about the price increases. 2 I can assure you that everything........................................... perfectly safe. 3 Either of the dentists......................................... available. Which one do you want to see? 4 The majority of primary school teachers............................................. women. 5 Each of Susan's colleagues......................................... sent her a personal letter of support. 6 Although some people find cricket boring, each match.................................................. different. 7 We've got two cars, but neither of them............................................... particularly new. 8 All the office staff...................................... agreed to work late tonight to get the job finished. 9 A lot of the pollution......................................... caused by the paper factory on the edge of town. 10 None of the TV programmes......................................... worth watching tonight. 11 Researchers have reported that neither of the so-called 'environmentally friendly' fuels less damaging than petrol or diesel. 12 I hope everyone................................... a good holiday. See you next term. 13 The number of pupils in school with reading difficulties................................................. fallen this year. 14 Some people................................... the strangest hobbies. My brother collects bottles! 15 None of the information....................................... particularly useful to me. 52..2 Write sentences from these notes. Choose is or are as the verb in each case. If you can use either is or are, put both. C). 1Prime Minister / her deputy / opening the debate. Either the Prime Minister or her deputy is opening the debate. 2 Tom / his friends / going to clean the car. 3 the children / their mother / delivering the letters. 4 the management / the workers / going to have to give way in. the disagreement. 52. .3 The US computer company Macroworth announced today that it is to move some of its operation to Camford in Britain. Here is an extract from the announcement. Make any necessary corrections to the parts of the verb to be. (Units 51 and 52)
The new premises we plan to occupy in Camford are now being built. The outskirts of this city is an ideal site for a company like ours. R and D are an important part of our work, and next year fifty per cent of our budget are to be spent on our Camford centre. Some of our staff in the US are being asked to relocate, and eventually around ten per cent of our US workforce are to move to Britain. However, the majority of our new employees is to be recruited locally, and we think that the local community are going to benefit enormously from this development. A number of business leaders and the local Member of Parliament is being invited to a meeting next week. Unfortunately, neither the Company President nor the Managing Director of Macroworth is available to address that meeting, but I and other senior managers am to attend.
Uncountable nouns ending in – S; Collective nouns Uncountable nouns ending in –S. Some nouns end in –s but are uncountable and take a singular verb Physics is difficult. Maths is a compulsory subject. Other examples include:
Mathematics is my favourite subject. Some uncountable nouns ending in –s also have a plural meaning: Politics is a dirty business. (=in general) His politics are right wing. (полит. убеждения; specific) Clothes and tools Many clothes, tools and equipment are designed with two parts joined together. We use them as plurals with –s and a plural verb: His glasses are new. Bring me the pliers which are on the table. The scissors are in the drawer. She was wearing shorts which were too big for her. My trousers are dirty. Other examples include:
To refer to a single item we say: Collective Nouns Collective nouns refer to a group of people or things, e.g. army, committee, team. We can think of them as either a single unit or as members of a group:
!!! Majority believes that we are in no danger The majority of the students have passed the exams well. If the word majority is used alone it is usually singular, if it is followed by a plural noun, it is plural
Here is a list of common collective nouns:
These words take only a plural verb: Cattle are kept for their meat. The people are very pleased. The police have been called in. Exercises I. Fill in each space with an appropriate word from the box
1 You’re very lucky – travelling around the world, staying in nice hotels, all .................................................paid. 2 The mass .....................................................nowadays, TV and the press, have enormous power. 3 In the summer, you can’t go around wearing long trousers all the time. You’ll need a nice ........................................... . 4 Can you pass me those ................................................................................so I ca cut this article out of the paper? 5 The ....................................................................have weighed all the evidence and have found the accused guilty. 6 She lives alone and just needs .......................................................................... now and again, someone to talk to. 7 What are your ............................................................? I mean, do you have any hobbies? Do your play any sports? 8 Our ............................................................. are ready to attack the enemy; they have a bigger ....................................... than we have but it isn’t as well equipped with weapons and tanks. 9 We’re running out of food and water – we’ll have to telephone and ask for more ................................................ to be sent. 10. They laid the ......................................... of the building months ago but they still haven’t started to build it.
II. Complete the sentences with the appropriate verb, article or pronoun. 1 Physics ..............................................an interesting subject at school but I wasn’t very good at .................................... . 2 Athletics ....................................less popular before the Olympics made .................................................. fashionable. 3 Politics ..........................................by no means the only area where women are doing better but ................ ……………. is one of the most important. 4 Classics .............................................. what I wanted to study by my parents persuaded me that economics ................ …………………………more useful so I did ....................................................instead. 5 I think you hurt ........................................................feelings when you forgot to invite her to your party. 6 The goods ....................... being packed now and ............................will be delivered first thing tomorrow morning. 7 Could you tell me a bit about ................................. likes and dislikes? .............................mathematics your best subject? 8 ...............................police ........................cooperating with ...........................authorities in other countries which have a drugs problem. 9 The Government ..............................planning new taxes but ..............................don’t know yet whether their own supporters will accept such a policy. 10.The audience .................................. requested not to bring ......................................... refreshments into the auditorium.
Exercises I. Complete the sentences. Put in a/an or some. Model: I really ought to do some housework. 1 The people who camped in the filed have left _________ rubbish. 2 I’ve been working on the business plan. I’ve made _____ progress. 3 The visitors are here for two nights. They’re looking for____ accommodation. 4 That shop has ______ nice sofa. 5 You’ll have to pay extra for the taxi because you’ve got _____ luggage. 6 The flat is quite empty. I need ________ furniture. 7 I can’t possibly fit this guitar into _____ suitcase. 8 You need _____ luck to win at this game.
Pair Nouns and Group Nouns
Exercises I. Trevor and Laura are shopping for clothes. Choose the correct form. Trevor: These trousers is/are a bit tight. They doesn’t/don’t feel very comfortable. And I think the blue ones goes/go better with the jacket. Laura: That jacket is/are too long. Trevor: Well, the jeans fits/fit all right. Perhaps I’ll buy the jeans instead. Laura: Yes, the jeans looks/look good on you. I like the style. I think they suits/suit you. Now you get changed while I look for a/some shorts. And I might get a/some skirt.
II. Complete what Rachel says to Vicky. Put one word in each space. This old suitcase was in the corridor. I don’t know who left it here. It’s been here for about three days, so I’m having a look inside. There’s a pair ___ pyjamas, _______jeans, two _____ of tights and a ____ of sunglasses. There are ______ red shorts, too.
III. Complete this TV news report. Choose the correct form of the verb. Zedco have/has just announced that it made a loss of $ 55 million last year. The management is/are well aware that they have made mistakes. The press have/has all been printing stories and articles critical of the company. The Zedco board knows/know that they now have some difficult decisions to take. Naturally, the staff is/are worried about their jobs and wants/want a meeting with management as soon as possible. But Chief Executive Barry Douglas says things aren’t really so bad. He has said that the company still has/have a great future ahead of it.
IV. Put in a group noun and is or are. Use these nouns: cattle, choir, crowd, orchestra, police, population, team. The crowd are all enjoying the game. 1 This United _________________________ the best one Tom has ever seen. 2 The ______________________________ hoping they can take part in a national singing contest. 3 The ship’s _______________________________ all very tired after a long sea voyage. 4 The ______________________________ one of the biggest that has played at one of our concerts. 5 The ____________________________ installing cameras to photograph speeding motorists. 6 At the moment beef ____________________________ cheap because sales of beef are low. 7 The country’s _____________________________growing rapidly because of immigration. III. The Plural of Nouns 1. by adding –(e)s to the singular: a desk –desks, a play – plays, a switch- switches; -(E)S is pronounced:
Spelling Rule: a. y is changed into ies :a family – families, a lady – ladies, etc. But Mary –Marys. We’ve got 2 Marys in our class. (Bloody Marys) b. no change, s is added to the singular: a boy – boys, a key – keys, etc. 2. nouns ending in – o:
3. nouns ending in –f(fe):
4. nouns ending in –th:
5. nouns changing the root vowel: a man – men, a woman – women [‘wimin], a foot – feet, a goose – geese, a tooth –teeth, a mouse – mice, a louse – lice, 6. plural nouns ending in – en: a child – children, an ox – oxen, a brother – brethren (собратья; братия – книжн.) – brothers, 7. the same singular and plural: a sheep – sheep, a deer – deer, a swine – swine, a fish – fish (fishes=kinds of fish), a fruit – fruit (fruits=kinds of fruit), a means of transport – various means of transport, a television series – many television series, a species of birds – species of birds, the steel works has/have closed down , Walkman – Walkmans ( a Walkman is a small cassette player with light headphones which people carry around so they can listen to music e.g – while travelling), a trout (форель) – trout, an aircraft – aircraft, a salmon (лосось)–salmon, a cod (треска)- cod, rendezvous – rendezvous, Chinese – Chinese, Japanese – Japanese, innings – innings (подача мяча в крикете,бейсболе), Swiss – Swiss, yen – yen, etc. 8. words borrowed from Latin and Greek: a phenomenon – phenomena, a datum – data*, a curriculum (курс обучения)– curricula, crisis- crises [i:z], analysis – analyses [i:z], stimulus – stimuli, formula – formulae [i:] ( formulas), criterion – criteria, appendix – appendices, gateau - gateaux (a large cake filled with cream and usually decorated with fruit, nuts, etc) etc. * In AE “data” is usually a plural noun. In technical or formal BE “data” is sometimes a plural noun but at other times, it is an uncountable noun.) 9. Compound Nouns:
Note. Person – people (in official language “persons” can be used) Penny – pence ( “pennies” means separate penny coins, “pence” is used to denote prices & sums of money) Court martial (военный суд) - сourts martial, court martials, Lady bird (божья коровка, зоол.) – lady birds Zebra – pl. zebra or zebras, coccyx - (pl. coccyxes or coccyges ), mother-to-be – mothers-to-be * When no details are mentioned, nouns in plural are more natural e.g. My grandmother often has headaches ** When the details are given, nouns are often singular e.g. Children often get a headache when they work on the computer. Nouns Used in the Plural
The acoustics of the new hall are excellent. (the physical properties of the sound, that make it good, poor for hearing music, speeches) Acoustics is … (we mean “the scientific study of sound) Exercises I. Write the plural of the following nouns. (Average) Animal - ........................, bridge - ....................., drink - ...................., office - ......................., coat - .................., kite - ..................., road - ..................., arm - ................., cake - ....................., end - ......................., parent - ......................, boot - ......................, college - .................., lake - .............., room - ........................, attack - ..................., case - ......................, garden- ....................., piece - ................, boy - ......................, concert- ......................, language - ..........................., school - ..................., bed - ...................., camp - ................, face - ..............., performance - ..................................., dance - ................., course - ...................., leg -...................., sea - ..............., bell - .............., chair - ................., head - ..........., plate - .................., bench - ....................., chance - .................., joke - ..............., practice - ....................., blouse - ...................., change - .................., king - ................., river - ........................ Baby - ....................., dress - ................., inch - ................., Negro - ........................., voice - ...................., day - ..................., echo - ....................., key - ................, piano - ..................., shoe - .............., shelf - ...................., factory- ..........................., knife - .................., potato - ...................., way- .........................., box - .........................., family - ......................., leaf - ...................., radio - ................., wife - ......................., bus - .................., foot - ...................., library - ................., switch - ........................., wind - .............., child - ..................., glass - ..................., loaf- ...................., tie - .................., wish - ........................, circus - ........................, half - ........................, lorry - ................., tragedy- ........................, wolf- ....................., class - ........................, hero - ...................., lunch - ......................, umbrella - ......................., woman - .........................., party- ........................., holiday - ............................., man - ........................., university - ........................., year - ......................, month- ........................, face - ......................, match - ......................, village - ........................, speech, - .......................... sledge, - .............................. tomato - ........................., company - .................., ski- .................................. Birthday - ............................., blackboard - ........................, bookshelf- ..........................., postman ..............................., railway - ............................., shoemaker - .........................., bus-driver -...................................., swimming pool- ................................., bus stop - ........................., classmate - .............................., daybook- .............................., Englishman - ......................................, Englishwoman - ................................., fireman- ................................., flowerbed.........................., locomotive-driver - ................................................., skating-rink - ..................................., walking- stick .............................., watering-can - ....................................., fisherman - ........................, dressing-room - .........................................., pen-friend - ........................................., armchair- ....................................... III. Give the singular of the following. Shelves-............................., switches- .........................., holidays- ........................., heroes- ........................., halves- ....................., men- .............................., matches- ........................, keys- ................., loaves- ....................., lorries- ..........................., lunches- ....................., villages- ..............., radios- ........................., tragedies- ..........................., umbrellas- ........................., wives- ...................., pianos- ............................., wolves- .........................., ways- ..........................., Negroes- ...................., geese- ......................, feet- .........................., skis- ........................, children- ........................, knives- ........................, families- ..............................., ties- ................., toys- ......................, inches- .................., women- ..........................., voices- ............................, potatoes- ............................, libraries- .................., tomatoes- ............................., glasses- .............................., secretaries- ............................., people- .........................., shoes- ........................., ladies- .........................., teeth- .........................., photographs - .......................................,cargoes- .........................., gentlemen- ...................................., zeros- .............., scales- ..............................., chiefs- ........................., phenomena- .............................., theses- ................................,brethren-................................, chairs- ............................., brushes- ....................., lines- ........................., news- ........................., arms- ............................, coats- ........................., chiefs- ..........................., factories- ..........................., knees- ........................, eyes- ..............................
Singular or Plural?
Exercises I. Put in the nouns and add s if necessary. Claire had to take her luggage through customs (custom). 1 Please accept this gift as an expression of our __________________(thank). 2 The woman is demanding _______________(damage) for her injuries. 3 The ________________ (pain) was so bad that I called the doctor. 4 The old man carried his few __________________ (belonging) in a plastic bag. 5 If we pay in cash, we make a _______________ (saving) of ten per cent. 6 More _________________ (good) should be transported by rail instead of by road. 7 The gas explosion caused some _______________ (damage) to the flats. 8 We’re going to spend all our _____________________(saving) on a new car. 9 The company always takes ___________________(pain) to protect its image.
II. Choose the correct verb form. 1 These clothes is/are the latest fashion. 2 Maths is/are Emma’s favourite subject. 3 The troops was/were involved in a training exercise. 4 The contents of the briefcase seems/seem to have disappeared. 5 Darts is/are often played in pubs in England. 6 The athletics we watched was/were quite exciting. 7 The remains of the metal was/were thrown in the bin.
III. Complete this letter Rachel has received from her sister. Choose the correct forms. Thank/thanks for your letter. Your news was/were interesting. We must talk soon. What about us? Well, we’re living on the outskirt/outskirts of town, not far from the company headquarter/headquarters, where Jeremy works. We’ve spent nearly all our saving/savings on the house. That wouldn’t so much if I hadn’t crashed the car last week and done some damage/damages to the front of it. More bills! But at least I wasn’t hurt. The house is nice actually, but the surroundings isn’t/aren’t very pleasant. We’re on a very busy crossroad/crossroads. I’m doing the course I told you about. Statistics is/are an easy subject, I find, but economics gives/give me problems!
Revision
I. Choose the correct word. 1. Marge has got very long black (hair, hairs). 2. We had (a very good weather, very good weather) when we were on holiday. 3. Sorry, I’m late. I had (trouble, troubles). 4. It’s very difficult to find a (work, job) at the moment. 5. The flat is empty. We haven’t got any (furniture, furnitures) yet. 6. After spending most of his life travelling round the world, he is now writing a book about his (experience, experiences). 7. I want something to read. I’m going to buy ( a paper, some paper). 8. I want to write some letters. I need (a writing paper, some writing paper). 9. Tom gave me (some good advices, some good advice). 10. I must get my (hairs, hair) cut. 11. She doesn’t like the vase. The (glass, glasses) is not transparent. 12. Where have I put my (glass, glasses)? I can’t read a thing. 13. We had a lot of interesting (experience, experiences) during our holiday. 14. This (money, moneys) belongs to my mother. 15. When water freezes it changes into (ice, ices). 16. Will you bring us two chocolate (ice, ices)? 17. Three (coffee, coffees), please. 18. I like strong (coffee, coffees). 19. Can you tell me how many thousands of (brick, bricks) are produced at the plant daily? 20. Our college was built of (brick, bricks). II. Complete the following using the nouns in the box.
1. We haven’t got anywhere to live. We are looking for some __________________. 1. I don’t think Ann will get the job. She hasn’t got _________________________. 2. They’ll tell you want to know. They’ll give you plenty of __________________. 3. You’ll easily recognize Allan . He’s got green _____________________________. 4. Carla’s English has improved. She has made______________________________. 5. I want to write down your address. Have you got __________________________? 6. I didn’t know what to do. I asked Jane for _______________________________. 7. George is unemployed at the moment. He is looking for _____________________. 8. If you want to leave early, you have to ask for ____________________________.
III. Fill in the blanks with is or are where necessary.
1. The news I have received ____ good. 2. Where ___ the money? – I’ve put it on the table. 3. His trousers ___ worn out. 4. Our furniture ___ getting old. 5. This pair of scissors ___ not on the table 6. The cattle ___ grazing in the field. 7. His advice ___ very wise. 8. Your hair ___ too long. 9. His knowledge ___ not enough. 10. There ___ lots of people in the street. 11. The people ___ pleased at the news. 12. His clothes ___ new. 13. The police ___ there. 14. Some people ___ coming today. 15. His information ___ not correct. 16. The news ___ heard on the radio at 7 o’clock. 17. The furniture in the room ___ of good quality. 18. His trousers __ too long for him. 18. The man’s clothes ___ on the chair. 19. Here ___ an interesting piece of news. 20. My advice to you ___ to travel and see more of the world. 21. The advice that you gave me ___ good. 22. Mathematics ___ my favourite subject.
IV. Choose the correct form of the verb in brackets.
1. Fortunately the news (wasn’t, weren’t) as bad as we had expected. 2. The works (was, were) his country, his home, his reason for being. 3. Three days (isn’t, aren’t) long enough for a good holiday. 3. The baggage (contains, contain) apparatus and appliances. 5. The sugar tongs (was, were) too wide for one of her hands, and she had to use both her hands. 6. The police (wants, want) to interview Fred about a robbery. 7. Money (was, were) so scarce that it could fairly be said not to exist at all. 8. England (has lost, have lost) all their football matches this season. 9. I’m going to take a taxi. Six miles ( is, are) too far for me to walk. 10. Means (was, were) easily found. 11. The china (was, were) good, of a delicate pattern. 12. Where (do, does) your family live? Gender.
B. He or She English people use he in cases when they don't know the sex of a person. • Do you know the person who did that? If I find him I'll take him to the police station. But many people try to avoid he. The expression he or she is becoming common in English. • If a worker is ill he or she must have a medical certificate. C. They In an informal style the English often use they to mean he or she after the words "somebody", "anybody", "person". • I have a spare ticket to the concert. If anybody wants it they can buy it. • The telephone is ringing. Tell them I am out. Nobody phoned, did they? D. If a person wants to indicate a gender the words she, he, woman can be added. • a doctor — a woman doctor; a goat — a she-goat; a cousin — a she-cousin Some nouns form the feminine from the masculine adding the suffix -ess. E. Words ending in "MAN" Such words as "chairman", "fireman", "spokesman" have both feminine and masculine meaning. But in modern English the word person sometimes is used instead of "man". • Alice has just been elected chairperson (or chair) of our committee. • A spokesperson (spokeswoman) said that he does not intend to go to America. Note! There is a general tendency in English to use other words instead of words ending in "man": foreman (мастер)— supervisor; ambulance men — ambulance staff; fireman — firefighter H. Mr, Mrs, Ms Ms [miz] or [məz] is often used instead of Mrs or Miss, because Ms like Mr does not show whether the person is married or not. Exercises 1.What do they do? Use the suffixes – ER/OR to name their activities. Model: - a teacher A teacher is someone/ a person who teaches. A driver, a doer, a maker, a reader, an examiner, a writer, an act, a collector, an employer, a theatre-goer, a music lover, a shopper, a buyer, a traveller, an editor, a visitor.
2. State the difference between the following. Model: an employer – an employee An employer is someone who employs people, that is gives them jobs. An employee is a person who is employed ( be the employer) An examiner and an examinee, a sender and an addressee, a payer and a payee.
Abstract Nouns Abstract nouns name an idea, feeling, experience or a state rather than an object, person or particular instance. Abstract nouns are always uncountable. – They were satisfied with the new equipment. However, some abstract nouns also have concrete meanings. In these cases they can be countable. – Appearances can be deceptive. -ance/ence We add –ance/-ence to many verbs to form abstract nouns. For example, to accept – acceptance; to exist – existence. Many adjectives which end in – ant/-ent become abstract nouns by changing “t” to “ce”: Fragrant – fragrance; dependent – dependence - ment We can also add – ment to many verbs to form abstract nouns: agree – agreement. Note that many nouns ending in – ment have a concrete meaning: document, monument, ointment (мазь). - ness We can add – ness to many adjectives to form abstract nouns: good + ness= goodness, kind – kindness, etc. -th We use –th with numbers (except one, two and three) to form ordinal numbers: fourth, fifth, sixth, etc. We also use – th to form abstract nouns which are usually connected with size or quality: growth, warmth, length, width, breadth, etc. Here are examples of abstract nouns using the suffixes –ane, -ence, - ment, - ness, and – th.
Noun + Noun
Exercises I. Can you say it a better way? Use two nouns together. (I read an interesting article in a newspaper yesterday) I read an interesting newspaper article yesterday 1 Have you got any shirt made of cotton? ……………………………………………………………………………………. 2 Have you got a bag to carry shopping in? …………………………………………………………………………………… 3 What shall I do with this bottle that had lemonade in it? …………………………………………………………………………………… 4 Is there a shop that sells shoes near here? ……………………………………………………………………………………. 5 I’d like a table in the corner, please. …………………………………………………………………………………… 6 I’ll need some boots to climb in. ……………………………………………………………………………………… 7 Do you operate computers? ……………………………………………………………………………………….
II. Look at the definitions and write the words. A station from which trains leave a train station A bottle once containing medicine and made of glass a glass medicine bottle A wall made of stone __________________________________________________________________ A centre where information is given to tourists _______________________________________________ A towel you use after having a bath _______________________________________________________ Clothes for working in_______________________________________________________________________ A block of offices in the centre of a city ____________________________________________________ A graph showing sales ___________________________________________________________________ A card that gives you credit ______________________________________________________________ A race for horses ______________________________________________________________________ The Director of Marketing _______________________________________________________________ A tour by bicycle at the end of the week _____________________________________________________ III. Put the information before the noun: number + noun + noun. Model: a sixteen-year-old girl, a ten-hour-flight 1) a note that is worth 10 pounds______________________________________________________________ 2) a language course that lasts four weeks_______________________________________________________ 3) a drive that takes three hours_______________________________________________________________ 4) a meal that consists of three courses__________________________________________________________ 5) a holiday that lasts two weeks________________________________________________________ 6) a house that was built two hundred years ago____________________________________________ 7) a delay in the airport that went on for two hours____________________________________________ 8) a letter that goes on for ten pages_________________________________________________________ 9) a university course that takes three years___________________________________________________ 10) a prison sentence of ten years___________________________________________________________ 11) a hotel with five stars___________________________________________________________________ 12) a speed limit of 40 miles an hour_________________________________________________________ IV. Write a new sentence according to the model. Model: a) Our holiday lasted three weeks. It was a three-week holiday. b) The girls were 15 years old. They were 15 year-old girls. 1) The woman was 27. She was a .... 2) The flight lasted three hours. It was a ............................................................................ 3) The strike lasted four days. It was a ................................................................................ 4) The book has 200 pages. It is a ... ……………………………………………………………………………… 5) The boys were 10 years old. They were ........................................................................ 6) The television series has 10 parts. It is ........................................................................ 7) The bottle holds 2 liters. It is ....................................................................................... 8) Each of the tickets cost 10 pounds. They were ............................................................... 9) The building has 10 floors. It is ....................................................................................... 10) This bag of potatoes weights 5 kilos. It is ....................................................................... 11) We walked for 5 miles. It was .......................................................................................... Exercises
Exercises I. If necessary, correct these sentences. If they are already correct put a *. 1 Tony computers have been stolen._______________________________________________________________ 2 When the teacher had called out the girl’s names, they all stepped forward._______________________________ 3 We had to study Charles Dicken’s early novels at school.______________________________________________ 4 I went to the newsagent’s to buy a paper.__________________________________________________________ 5 There were hundreds of bird’s nests in the trees._____________________________________________________ 6 They’re my mother-in-law’s favourite sweets._______________________________________________________ 7 I took the books to Lewis’ house yesterday._________________________________________________________ 8 If they had been anyone else’s paintings I wouldn’t have gone to the exhibition.____________________________ 9 She was a friend of my mothers.__________________________________________________________________ 10 The world’s airline’s are moving towards a total ban on smoking________________________________________ 11 The readers letters page in the newspaper is full of complaints about the article._____________________________ 12 I met a cousin of the Duke of Edinburgh last week.____________________________________________________
II. Underline the answer which is correct or more likely. 1 I was surprised by the announcement of yesterday/ yesterday’s announcement. 2 They left their homes because of the extension of the airport/the airport’s extension. 3 The guitar play of David/David’s guitar playing has improved enormously. 4 The completion of the road/The road’s completion was ahead of schedule. 5 At the supermarket, I found the shopping list of last week/last week’s shopping list. 6 It’s the responsibility of the firm who built the houses/the firm who built the houses’ responsibility. 7 That isn’t much use, it’s the calendar of last year/last year’s calendar. 8 I was shocked by the opinion of Alice/ Alice’s opinion. 9 He gently patted the shoulder of his brother/ his brother’s shoulder. 10 He’s the friend of a man I know at work/ a man I know at work’s friend. 11 The evacuation of the building/The building’s evacuation took only 10 minutes.
III. Write a new sentence, using either ‘s or an of-phrase. 1 Andrew died. They were saddened to hear of this. They were saddened to hear of Andrew’s death. 2 The new rules were introduced. They protested about this. ________________________________________________________________________________________ 3 Bill was rude. They were shocked by this. _________________________________________________________________________________________ 4 The railway line was extended. They were happy about this. __________________________________________________________________________________________ 5 There was a fire this morning. They were lucky to escape it. ___________________________________________________________________________________________
Noun Kinds of Nouns
Common Nouns (нарицательные) Proper Nouns (собственные) (cat, man, love, wind...) (Mary, London, Mr. Brown…) Common Nouns
Countable & Uncountable Nouns. Countable nouns (that can be counted) have two numbers: the singular & the plural: a girl – girls; a book – books etc. Before countable nouns we can say a/an/the/some/any/many/a lot of/few/a few/that/this/those/these/my/his/enough etc. Uncountable nouns (that we cannot count) are always singular and are not used with a/an (blood, music, money). Before uncountable nouns we can say some/any/no/much/a lot of/little/a little/that/this/his/ enough etc. e.g. a bit of news, a piece of advice, a slice of bread etc. We can also say: This is a fine cheese. (=a fine variety or type). These cheeses are produced only in Italy. (=these types of cheese) We can say one fish, two fish, one deer, two deer. We can also say all the fishes in the sea (=the different varieties of fish) Below is a summary of the basic differences between countable and uncountable nouns.
Common uncountable nouns Below is a list of nouns which are uncountable. In some cases, there is a singular or plural use when we refer to a particular variety or example:
I. Milk, soup are uncountable nouns. We can’t say a milk or two soups. But we can say: a carton of milk, two tins of soup. If we refer to a specific amount with certain uncountable nouns, we can use a piece of, a bit of, a slice of, etc
II.
Countable and Uncountable Nouns (1)
I. Normally uncountable:
II. Uncountable becomes countable: - containers for things (we mean them): Compare: I prefer tea to coffee. and Three teas, please. (= cups of tea) There's cheese in the fridge and There were dozens of cheeses (=kinds of cheese). - a particular example of a physical of concrete thing: She has blond hair. and There's a hair in my soup! - a particular instance of a substance or an idea: The statue was made of stone. and I had a stone in my shoe. She was always good at sport. and Football is mainly a winter sport in Britain. Remember! · Beer, coffee, tea, water · Fruit, shampoo, toothpaste, washing powder (стиральный порошок) · Cake, chicken, land, noise, rain, snow, space, stone · Abuse (оскорбление; брань), (dis)agreement, business, conversation, difficulty, dislike, fear, improvement, language, life, pain, pleasure, protest, success, speech, time, work III. Some nouns have different meanings when they are used countably and uncountably: Bolivia is one of the world's largest producers of tin (metal). The cupboard was full of tins. (metal food containers) Other nouns like this: Accommodation, competition, glass, grammar, iron, jam, lace (кружево), paper, property, room (место, пространство, площадь), space (пространство; место, сидение (в поезде)), sight, speech, time, work. IV. Some nouns that are usually used uncountably can be used countably, but only in the singular: She has an extensive knowledge of property prices in this area. ( used with a descriptive adjective!) More words: education, importance, resistance, traffic The noun damage (вред; повреждение, поломка) can be used countably , but only in the plural: Sue is claiming damages (убытки; возмещение убытков) for the injuries caused. |
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Model: The television news is/are at ten o’clock.