Plural of nouns

Exercise 12. Look at the examples and answer the questions.

Babies books boys buses buzzes cars chairs cities dishes echoes Eskimos foxes gases heroes holidays kilos ladies lorries matches monkeys photos pianos potatoes quizzes radios shops tables taxes times tomatoes watches ways wishes zoos

1. What is the most common way of making the plurals of nouns?

2. How do we make the plurals of words ending in consonant + y?

3. How do we make the plurals of words ending in vowel + y?

4. After which letters and groups of letters do we add es to the singular?

5. Four common words ending in o have plurals in es. Can you close your eyes and remember which they are?

Note:

После –s, -x, -sh, -ch, -tch + es:

a box boxes

П осле –o + es:

a hero heroes

И сключения: a piano pianos

П осле согласно + y i + es: a fly flies

П осле гласной + y + s: a monkey - monkeys

После –f v + es: a leaf - leaves

Исключения: a roof – roofs, a chief – chiefs

П осле –fe ve + s: a knife – knives

Исключения:a safe - safes

Exercise 13. Write the plurals of these nouns.

Address science drug computer medication pharmacist patient drugstore boundary case plant peach play poppy reply toy tree video witch worry

Exercise 14. Here are seven groups of nouns. Look in the box and find two more nouns to add to each group.

Aircraft crisis dozen mathematics means mouse news police scissors sheep shelf thousand tooth wolf

1. COUNTABLE NOUNS WITH SINGULAR (AND PLURAL) IN s

Series crossroads analysis – analyses

2. OTHER NOUNS WITH SINGULAR AND PLURAL THE SAME

Trout deer fish salmon

3. NOUNS THAT HAVE A PLURAL WITHOUT S AFTER A NUMBER

Hundred (e.g. two hundred) million

4. NOUNS WITH SINGULAR IN f(e), PLURAL IN ves.

Calf – calves half knife leaf life loaf self thief wife

5. OTHER NOUNS WITH IRREGULAR PLURALS

Child – children foot – feet fungus – fungi goose – geese man – men medium – media ox – oxen penny – pence phenomenon – phenomena woman – women

6. UNCOUNTABLE SINGULAR NOUNS ENDING IN s (NORMALLY NO PLURAL)

Athletics billiards economics gymnastics measles physics politics

7. PLURAL NOUNS WITH NO SINGULAR

Arms belongings cattle clothes congratulations contents earnings goods outskirts people remains surroundings thanks troops trousers

Remember:

Существительные греческого и латинского происхождения сохранили первоначальную форму множественного числа, а некоторые имеют две формы – прежнюю и современную:

datum – data

basis – bases

formala – formulae, formulas

Некоторые существительные, оканчивающиеся на о, могут образовывать множественное число двумя способами:

Buffalos / buffaloes mosquitos / mosquitoes volcanos / volcanoes zeros/ zeroes tornados / tornadoes

Remember:

B eдинственном числе употребляются:
Предметы изучения и названия наук	Maths, physics, chemistry, history, literature
Языки	English, Chinese, Russian, Belarusian
Игры	Billiards, tennis, baseball, chess, soccer
Названия болезней	Cancer, measles, mumps, flu
Природные явления	Darkness, fog, gravity, heat, humidity
Собирательные существительные	Baggage, luggage, furniture, jewellery, rubbish

Exercise 15. Make the following expressions plural.

A good-looking pharmacist, a medical student, her teacher, a tall doctor, a sick patient, our friend, a shop assistant, a nice accountant, my aunt, an intelligent student, a Tatarian village, their secretary, a fair nurse, his child, a small job, a large city, a dark room