Poor classroom
acoustics
create a negative learning environment for many students.
(audibility in the classroom)
Nouns with the same singular and plural forms
Certain nouns have an identical singular and plural form. Some of these nouns end in -s: means, series, species.
The bicycle is a
means
of transport.
The five human senses are our
means
of communication with the material world.
A
series
of burglaries has been going on around the neighbourhood.
What are your favourite TV
series
?
A new
species
of bird has been discovered in Indonesia recently.
Since the 17th century, more than 500 marine
species
have become extinct in the US.
Other examples are:
aircraft
deer, sheep
fish, carp, pike, salmon, trout
Irregular plural forms
The plural of a noun is usually formed by adding -s to the singular form:
mistake
»
mistake
s
For certain nouns, if the singular noun ends in -f or -fe, the plural ending is -ves:
elf
»
el
ves
knife
»
kni
ves
thief
»
thie
ves
hoof
»
hoo
ves
But there are nouns which do not follow this rule:
cliff
»
cliff
s
chief
»
chief
s
cuff
»
cuff
s
roof
»
roof
s
A number of nouns have irregular plural forms:
child
»
child
ren
ox
»
ox
en
foot
»
f
ee
t
goose
»
g
ee
se
tooth
»
t
ee
th
mouse
»
m
ic
e
louse
»
l
ic
e
man
»
m
e
n
woman
»
wom
e
n
Nouns of Latin or Greek origin may keep their original plural forms:
crisis
»
cris
es
bacterium
»
bacteri
a
appendix
»
appendi
ces
formula
»
formul
ae
Quotes:
Men for the sake of getting a living forget to live. - Margaret Fuller
Children make you want to start life over. - Muhammad Ali
Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something. - Plato
Exercises: articles and nouns
Articles and nouns - Exercise 1
Fill in the gaps with a, an, the or nothing.
Could you buy ... bottle of ... wine? ... Maxim and Sylvia are coming over for ... dinner.
... [h]uman blood is made up of ... red blood cells, ... white blood cells and ... plasma.
... Chinese is definitely much more difficult to learn than ... Russian.
Do you ever watch ... hockey? Did you see ... match ... last night?
... [l]ife on ... other planets is possible, but ... scientists haven't confirmed it yet.
... [w]indows were open, and ... air in ... room was fresh.
... Greg kicked ... football into ... net, and ... spectators cheered.
... [k]nowledge is ... power, but only if you know how to use it.
"I'll have ... cappuccino and ... sandwich." "With ... ham or ... cheese?"
Have you heard ... news? ... Cynthia gave ... birth to ... baby boy ... this morning.
Will you come to ... mall with me? I'd like to buy ... silk scarf.
Can I give you ... piece of ... advice?
... [a]nger is ... destructive emotion that does more harm than good.
... [l]ot of passengers were also injured in ... crash.
... [c]omputer virus is ... program that spreads by making ... copies of itself.
"How is ... your meal?" " ... [f]ish is superb, and ... chips are nice too."
... Moon travels around ... Earth at ... speed of 2,288 miles ... hour.
... Joanna works in ... old people's home as ... nurse.
Which do you prefer, ... tea or ... coffee?
... [e]lectric light bulb was invented by ... Joseph Swan at ... end of ... 19th century.
What's ... next item on ... list?
... [w]ounded were taken to ... nearest hospital immediately.
I've been to ... USA, but I've never been to ... France.
... Atlantic Ocean lies between ... North America and ... Europe in ... north and ... Africa and ... South America in ... south.
You'll need half ... kilo of ... potatoes for this recipe.
... Orion and ... Pleiades are ... sky's two brightest objects and can be seen even without ... binoculars.