Pair Nouns and Group Nouns

 

A pair noun: consisting of two parts which are the same: Binoculars, glasses, jeans, pants, pyjamas, scissors, shorts, tights, trousers. A pair noun is plural and takes a plural verb My jeans need washing. These tights were quite expensive. We cannot use a/an before these nouns, but we can use pair of: I need some jeans ( I need a pair of jeans. Laura bought 4 pairs of tights.)

A group noun: can usually take a singular or a plural verb. The team was playing well. The team were playing well. The government is in crisis. The government are in crisis. Army, audience, band, board, choir, class, club, committee, community, company, council, crew, crowd, family, government, group, management, orchestra, population, press, public, staff, team, union. Also: Harrods, the BBC, the United Nations, etc. England (the England team), Manchester United, etc. (In AE these nouns make a singular verb) Police, people, cattle – plural verb.

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:

[s] after voiceless consonants a camp – camps a book – books a hat - hats

[z] after voiced consonants and vowels a bed – beds a name – names a toy - toys

[iz] after sibilants (шипящие и свистящие ) a bus – buses a box – boxes a match - matches

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:     

-es is added	-s is added	-s & -es
cargo – cargoes груз hero – heroes tomato – tomatoes potato – potatoes echo –echoes эхо Negro - Negroes	kilo- kilos (abbrev.)              commando -commandos piano-pianos ( music. Instr.)  concerto - concertos solo – solos                            Eskimo - Eskimos photo- photos                         soprano - sopranos radio – radios                          portfolio- portfolios cuckoo- cuckoos                     video – videos shampoo - shampoos euro – euros or euro	Mosquito - Mosquitos – Mosquitoes  Buffalo - Buffalos - Buffaloes (буйвол, бизон)  Tornado- Tornados – Tornadoes  Volcano - Volcanos - Volcanoes

3. nouns ending in –f(fe):

changed into - ves	-s is added	-s & - ves
wife – wives                  elf - elves life – lives                     knife - knives sheaf- sheaves (сноп)   loaf - loaves leaf – leaves                  thief - thieves calf – calves                  shelf – shelves half- halves                   wolf -wolves	roof – roofs       belief – beliefs proof - proofs    chief – chiefs safe – safes handkerchief – handkerchiefs serf – serfs (крепостной) cliff – cliffs (обрыв, откос)	Wharf – wharfs/wharves (причал) Scarf – scarfs/scarves Hoof – hoofs/hooves Dwarf –dwarfs/dwarves (карлик)

 4. nouns ending in –th:

s is added, pronounced [ðz]	s is added, pronounced [θs]
bath – baths path- paths oath – oaths клятва mouth- mouths	smith- smiths month- months myth- myths birth-births health- healths lath – laths рейка

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:

-(e)s added to the head word	in words with no-noun stem, ending added to the last word	words ending in -man, pronounced [man]	words beginning with Man, Woman - 2 plurals
editor-in-chief editors –in-chief mother-in-law mothers-in-law passer-by – passers-by looker-on – lookers-on man-of-war – men-of-war (военный корабль) runner-up – runners-up участник состязания, занявший 2 место; продавец, поднимающий цены на аукционе	forget-me-not forget-me-nots merry-go-round merry-go-rounds touch-me-not touch-me-nots	a postman –postmen a gentleman- gentlemen	a woman-doctor women-doctors a man-eater men - eaters

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

consisting of 2 halves   are	not used with numerals are	plural in form, but singular in meaning is	used as both singular and plural is/are	singular in form but plural in meaning are
- tools, instruments, pieces of equipment: scissors, scales, pliers, binoculars, pincers, handcuffs, shears, glasses, spectacles; (glasses (AmE -eyeglasses) (also old- fashioned or formal -spectacles, informal - specs (esp. in BE) - clothes: -  shorts, pyjamas, pants(кальсоны),  jeans, knickers(underpants), - tights, leggings, (гамаши; краги; гетры) trunks (спорт. трусы), trousers	lodgings (сдаваемая комната), premises (помещение, дом с пристройками и участком),  goods, clothes looks (person’s appearance), manners (habits & customs; social behavior) surroundings - окрестности particulars - подробный отчет outskirts – окраина, предместья (города) foundations – основы, устои headquarters – штаб(-квартира) proceeds – доход, выручка *acoustics (!) contents – содер-жимое; (-жание) traffic lights - светофор stairs - лестница whereabouts - местонахождение valuables – ценные вещи; ценности, драгоценности	-names of some games: billiards dominoes draughts [dra:fts] (шашки) darts (дарт) bowls (игра в шары) names of sciences, or activities: physics mathematics athletics *acoustics (!) linguistics statistics	a series- series a species- species a means – means an aurochs – aurochs (зубр) a works – works	cattle police people public (общественность) audience (публика; зрители) Note: people – peoples Most people ( persons) are good at heart Most peoples (races) have a country of their own.

 

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?

Plural	Singular
Some nouns have only a plural form: The clothes were in the dryer. The goods have been sent to you direct from our factory. My belongings are all packed up in suitcases. Arms ( weapons), belongings, clothes, congratulations, contents, customs, earnings, goods, outskirts, remains (остаток; остатки; останки), surroundings, thanks, troops (войска).	Some nouns have both a singular and a plural form with a difference in meaning. Our special price is $10 cheaper than normal. So don’t miss this saving of $10. – My savings are in the bank. The storm did a lot of damage. – The newspaper had to pay $ 2 million in damages after printing untrue stories about a politician. I’ve got a pain (боль) in my back. It really hurts. – I checked the figures carefully three times. I took great pains (старания, усилия) to get them exactly right.
	Some nouns have a plural form but take a singular verb. New, economics, mathematics/maths, physics, politics, statistics, athletics, gymnastics, billiards, darts, measles. The news was worse than I had expected.
Some nouns ending in S have the same singular and plural form. This means of transport saves energy. This species of insect is quite rare. More nouns: crossroads, means, series, species, works. Headquarters and works can take either a singular or a plural verb: The steel works has/have closed down.	Both means of transport save energy. All these species of insect are quite rare.

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.   Model: The television news is/are at ten o’clock.

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.

 

Progress, advice, accommodation, hair, work, experience, information, paper, permission

    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.

 

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