Grammar self-study
III year, II term
KEY to ‘THE NOUN + SUBJECT-PREDICATE AGREEMENT’
TASK 1. Revision: The Noun. Sort out the nouns in the box in to the categories given in the table.
Always countable |
Always uncountable |
Both |
sheep, mice, sun, tooth, funeral, watch, people
|
research, accommodation, furniture, dust, advice, information, news, police, scissors, music, secrecy, health, traffic, weather, money |
travel, hair, work, beauty, talk, ice-cream, sky, experience, difficulty, technology, politics, talent, time, success
|
TASK 2. Revision: The Noun. Revise the use of quantifiers with countable and uncountable nouns given in the table and choose the right word in brackets.
1 – fewer; 2 – less; 3 – a lot of; 4 – a lot; 5 –a great deal of; 6 – many; 7 - most of the; 8 – most; 9 – most; 10 – a little; 11 – a few; 12 – several; 13 – any; 14 – any; 15 – enough; 16 - hardly any; 17 – neither; 18 – both; 19 – no; 20 – no / a great deal of.
TASK 3. Revision: The Noun. Fill in the gaps with the quantifiers given in the box. The first one is done for you. You can use some words more than once.
1 – many; 2 – few; 3 – few; 4 – some; 5 – plenty of/enough; 6 – none/ few/ hardly any; 7 – enough; 8 – some; 9 – very little; 10 – some; 11 – any; 12 – no; 13 – any; 14 – some.
TASK 4. Revision: The Noun. Decide if the sentences below are correct or have mistakes. Make the necessary corrections.
Researches into cancer have not yet come up with a cure.
research has not;
Draughts is played
correct
correct
Mumps is
aircraft
money - it
__ heavy traffic
was
correct
__ glorious weather; such a hot April
fruit
The advice you gave me was really useful.
correct
are
swine
Parentheses are sentences/ Parenthesis is a sentence
nucleus
correct
are
TASK 5. Revision: The Noun. Give the plural forms of the nouns given below.
a bamboo – bamboos
a focus – foci
a forget-me-not - forget-me-nots
a trout - trout
a kilo – kilos
a leaf - leaves
a hairdo – hairdos
a story-teller= tellers
a mosquito – mosquitoes
a path - paths
a Negro – Negroes
a grouse - grouse
a thief - thieves
a dragonfly – dragonflies
a louse - lice
a goodbye – goodbyes
a bath – baths
a photo – photos
a sheaf – sheaves
a woman-hater – woman-haters
a taboo – taboos
a nucleus - nuclei
a hoof – hoofs/hooves
a cuckoo – cuckoos
a half – halves
a phenomenon - phenomena
a volcano – volcanoes
a gulf – gulfs
a woman-journalist – women-journalists
a cello – cellos
a Swiss - Swiss
a leaf - leaves
a doe – does
a stay-at-home – stay-at-homes
a chief - chiefs
a zero – zeros
a go-between – go-betweens
a calf - calves
a canoe – canoes
a brother-in-law – brothers-in-law
a still life – still lifes
a buffalo – buffaloes
Jenny – Jennys
a chessman - chessmen
a booth – booths
a looker-on – lookers-on
a Hindoo – Hindoos
a scarf – scarfs/scarves
a youth – youths
a an analysis – analyses
TASK 6. Cherry Reid is a famous explorer. Below you can read part of a diary she kept when she was travelling. Open the brackets and fill in the gaps in her diary.
Dec 11. I have walked a long way, and my feet are tired. As I sit here, resting, I realize there just aren't enough pages in my diary to describe this lovely place!
On the hills, some men from the nearby village are driving their sheep home. In the valley, they are ploughing with oxen and there are also some people on the river bank, catching fish with spears. Oh! One of them has just caught two fish with one spear!
The women of the village are colourfully dressed, with red and blue kerchiefs covering their hair. They farm small plots of land where they grow potatoes and tomatoes. They carry their babies on their backs all the time they are working. Geese stand outside the wooden houses and warn the women of approaching strangers. Outside the houses the children are picking fruit from different fruit-trees. They look healthy, with perfect teeth. Some of the boys are carving toys with sharp knives.
Life is very simple here. I have seen no radios and the people do not even use matches to light their fires. Several people were very surprised when I showed them their photos that I made with my Polaroid.
TASK 7. Use the nouns given in brackets in their plural form.
As we sailed up the River Hudson towards the cities of New York and Brooklin, we experienced a sensation which is, I think, common to all travellers who come to an end of their voyage. Many people have tried to analyze this emotion, and I have read many such analyses, but none ever have really satisfied me. The buildings stood out against the skyline like enormous boxes of matches stuck on end. The houses and churches were completely dwarfed by them. As we went up the river we examined them all with our glasses. It seemed as if each building brushed the skies. There were a lot of ships in the river mouth. They were bringing cargoes from all over the world: cargoes of meat and potato/ potatoes and mangoes, of machines and toys and many other things. They carried silks from China and teas from India as well. They flew the colours of almost every seafaring nation on the globe.
Armies of customs-officials, port-authorities and others came on board. The passengers were paraded before the port doctor. He was a huge fat man. The first class passengers filed before him as solemn as oxen. Most of the third class passengers stood waiting their turn as quiet as mice, though some were as noisy as a flock of geese. They carried their savings in knotted handkerchiefs, and the rest of their belongings in bundles. Many seemed to have completely lost their bearings and seemed as bewildered as sheep, while their wives and children stared around like startled deer.
There seemed to be varying criteria for the treatment of passengers by the immigration authorities, according to the class in which they travelled. Those in the third were examined for lice, regardless of their feelings.
We landed with every manifestation of high spirits. The hangers-on stared at us as though we were curious phenomena.
TASK 8. Fill in the gaps with is, are, has or have. Give two forms where possible. Explain your choice.
The government is bringing in a new bill.
All governments are trying to control crime.
The military have occupied the house.
The company is going to employ six staff.
The police are interested in this case.
The public is / are concerned about it.
The jury is /are trying to decide now.
How many people are coming tonight?
A lot of people have signed the petition.
The youth of today has /have many advantages.
The committee is meeting now.
There are vermin in this restaurant.
The acoustics in this room are very good.
Acoustics is a subject I know little about.
The statistics in this report are inaccurate.
Statistics is a compulsory course in this college.
Are there any statistics for road accidents?
This crossroads is dangerous.
There are crossroads every mile.
There are four crossroads in our village.
Many species of moths have disappeared.
This species has green and white spots.
Our company headquarters is/ are in London.
Our works has a good canteen.
There are many series of books on birds.
My maths is getting worse and worse!
Are there any kennels in this area?
The goods you ordered have arrived.
Where are the scissors? - They are in the first drawer on the left.
How much does a good pair of trousers cost these days?
If your clothes are dirty, please put them in the laundry basket.
All their belongings have been destroyed in a fire.
My earnings are not high, but at least I have enough money to pay my rent.
TASK 9. Open the brackets and write the verbs in the correct form: singular or plural.