Exercises

Ex. 1. Write the plurals.

Armadillo, cello, château, chamois, daddy-long-legs, dodo, echidna, fleur-de-lis, hippocampus, ichthyosaurus, igloo, marlin, paramecium, polyhedron, rhino, triceratops.

Ex. 2. Write the plural forms of the following nouns. Find their meaning and pronunciation in a dictionary.

1. soliloquy, virago, hobo, hoodoo, tsetse fly, hindoo, saguaro, come-and-go, voodoo, goody-goody, Negrito, slo-mo, zero, gado-gado, koodoo, whisky, whiskey, shampoo, grand piano, shako, dingo, jumbo, Mumbo-Jumbo, rodeo, Bobby, bobby, guanaco, jackaroo, wallaby, tango, trio, taboo, piccolo, mango, innuendo, folio, tyro, tuxedo, carabao, cariboo, goody, butterfly, creepy-crawly, Louis-Alberto, quid pro quo, so-and-so, flyby, mho, de facto

2. beef, giraffe, stuff, goof, grief, staff, sheaf, fife, chef, mastiff, fishwife, werewolf.

3. goose, mongoose, VIP, VUP, grouse, titmouse, DC-10, scythe, by-path, moth, Mr, crowfoot, snipe, Burmese, reindeer, beluga, per cent, bream, mammoth, gnu, turbot, roach, starfish, aircraft, Tyrolese, Singhalese, boa constrictor

4. hobby-horse, grab-all, harum-scarum, hokey-pokey, hocus-pocus, man-at-arms, corn-stalk, will-o'-the-wisp, knight-errant, Knight Templar, secretary bird, go-between, husband-to-be, stick-in-the-mud, cat-o'-mountain, prince consort, ghost writer, what-for, tam-o'-shanter, whipper-snapper, hold-up, cat-o'-nine-tails, grant-in-aid, good-for-nothing, killjoy, runner-up, what-not, hanger-on, jack-o'-lantern, lady bug, whip-poor-will, passenger pigeon, lay-by, poet laureate, goody-two-shoes, dry-fly, wood-louse, duck-bill, spoonbill, teaspoonful, dragon-fly, kilowatt-hour, jack-in-the-box, cul-de-sac, might-have-been, middle-of-the-roader, cha-cha-cha

5. hodman, Whatman, doberman, Irishman, desman, Mussulman, talesman, talisman, shaman, foreman, rag-and-bone-man, brahman, caiman, goodman, human, ottoman, Ottoman, woodman, walkman, sandwichman, G-man, ombudsman, dragoman, madwoman

6. oxymoron, nautilus, waribashi, auto-da-fé, delirium, bacillus, amoeba, kohlrabi, tarantula, flambeau, patois, samurai, lira, fellah, automaton, anthropofagus, dilettante, bon-mot, hypnosis, eucaliptus, alga, oasis, apex, medium, maestro, kibbutz, rendez-vous, elytron, terminus, intermezzo, bacterium, tempo, focus, vortex, fait accompli, cicerone, echinus, acropolis, bisectrix, gladiolus, aphis, aquarium, chela, possum, concetto, drachma, femme fatale, jinnee, jus, magus, Nemesis, medusa, metamorphosis, miasma, minimus, octopus, portmanteau, Sioux, soldo, sphinx, toga, vox, curriculum vitae, arc-boutant, locus classicus, obiter dictum, billet-doux, nebula, diagnosis, neurosis, psychosis, sclerosis.

Ex. 3. Choose the required nouns from the list below and use them in the sentence in the plural. Translate the sentences.

adieu analysis bowler-hat cactus dug-out

memorandum Miss Spenlow Mr Norman pas

parenthesis Roman rickshaw stratum woman-writer

1. The clerk's office of ... Dodson and Fogg was a dark mouldy, earthly-smelling room. 2. She descended into his boat, followed by the continual ... of Don Benito. 3. More than six hundred red-wheeled ... rolled along the wide, level streets. 4. The ... around certain items mean that those items are important. 5. Dr. Kronsky was never in doubt about his ... of world conditions. 6. They sat in their ... . 7. When in Rome, do as the ... do. 8. Not two hundred miles away, men in their trenches were sheltering in their ... from the bitter cold and the pitiless bombardment. 9. The castle was really a castle of the square embattled plan that ... built everywhere. 10. The increase of ... reacted on their connection with journalism. 11. They ... added that if Mr Copperfield would do them the favour to call, they would be happy to hold some conversation on the matter. 12. Last night the laboratory was broken into, and several valuable papers and ... were stolen. 13. The temperature of the lower ... of the air was much higher. 14. These new ... were not difficult to study, and soon Molly was whirling in the dancing crowd. 15. The crosses stuck up like long ... .