Active Grammar 2 - Nigel Turton 2007

Unit 1 Nouns

● Countable and uncountable

● Plural forms

● Irregular plurals

● Plural nouns

● Countable and uncountable

(lots of cars, lots of traffic)

Sally likes to make up sentences that rhyme.

Reminder

A sentence begins with а capital letter and ends with a full stop.

We get wood from trees.

We get honey from bees.

We get rain from clouds.

We get milk from cows.

Sally has used some nouns in her sentences.

We get wood from trees.

We get honey from bees.

We get rain from clouds.

We get milk from cows.

REMINDER

A noun is the name of someone or something.

Some of these nouns are countable. You can count the things they name.

Some of the nouns ore uncountable. You cannot count the things they name.

Most countable nouns have two forms: a singular form and a plural form.

Uncountable nouns do not have a plural form.

PRACTICE

Sally's mother has written a shopping list. Look at the things on the list and say what she is going to buy. Make five sentences like this:

e.g. She's going to buy some cheese.

SHOPPING LIST

cheese bread

pineapple (1) rolls

eggs baked beans (3 small tins)

honey (2 jars) sauce (2 bottles)

flour rice

milk (3 cartons) spaghetti (2 packets)

watermelon (1 large) bananas (6)

sugar apples

potatoes (5 kilos) tomato ketchup (1 large bottle)

cornflakes (2 large packets)

● Plural forms

(ribbons, watches, babies, knives)

This is one of Sally's favourite bedtime stories.

THE PINK RIBBONS

Once upon a time, in a small village called Foppingham, there lived a little girl called Jody Hunt. Her parents, John and Martha, had six children altogether: three girls and three boys. Two of the boys, Gavin and Mark, were still babies.

Mr Hunt was a carpenter. But there was no work for carpenters in Foppingham and so the family was very poor. Her father earned a little from sharpening knives and scissors. He was also good at mending clocks and watches. But such work did not pay well, and there was barely enough money to buy food.

For a long long time Jody had wanted some pink ribbons to tie in her hair. She knew she would never get them. Her parents had no money for presents, not even birthday presents.

Every night, just before Jody got into bed, she would look in the mirror at her pretty hair and say, I wish, I wish, I wish I had some pink ribbons!' One night her mother was coming up the stairs to say goodnight when she heard Jody making her wish. Martha's eyes filled with tears. She went back downstairs and told her husband what she had heard.

The next day John went off to the market. He was carrying his bag of carpenter's tools, which he no longer used. Two hours later he arrived back home without the bag of tools but with a broad smile on his face.

The next morning Jody woke up early and saw two beautiful pink ribbons lying at the foot of her bed. She was so happy that she burst into tears. Her parents never told her where the ribbons had come from.

From that day on Jody believed in fairies.

To make a noun plural you usually add -s at the end:

some pink ribbons

her parents had no money for presents

Sometimes you odd -es to make the plural form.

He was also good at mending clocks and watches.

Grammar Help

You add -es to words that end with a hissing sound, like ssss or shhhh.

SINGULAR plural

bus buses

fox foxes

dish dishes

torch torches

If the singular form ends with -e, you just add -s.

SINGULAR plural

face facer

horse horses

How do you make nouns like baby and fairy plural?

Two of the boys, Gavin and Mark, were still babies.

From that day on Jody believed in fairies.

Grammar Help

You change the -y to -ies.

SINGULAR PLURAL

teddy teddies

pappy puppies

fly flies

butterfly butterflies

story stories

lady ladies

family families

Grammar Help

If there is a vowel before the -y, you just add -s.

SINGULAR PLURAL

day days

toy toys

boy boys

Do you remember the vowel letters? a e i о u

Be careful with nouns ending with -f or -fe.

Her father earned a little from sharpening knives and scissors.

Grammar Help

You usually change an -f or -fe ending to -ves.

SINGULAR PLURAL

half halves

leaf leaves

thief thieves

wolf wolves

calf calves

shelf shelves

wife wives

life lives

Grammar Help

With some of these nouns, you just add -s.

SINGULAR PLURAL

handkerchief handkerchiefs

chef chefs

roof roofs

PRACTICE

1 What can you see in the toy shop?

Make five sentences like this:

e.g. I can see two kites.

2 How do you make these nouns plural?

Put each one into the correct box: А, В, C or D.

The first word, ball, has been done as an example.

● Irregular plurals

(mice, feet, children)

Do you know this nursery rhyme?

THREE BLIND MICE

Three blind mice.

See how they run!

They all ran after the farmer's wife

Who cut off their tails with a carving knife.

Have you ever seen such a thing in your life

As three blind mice?

What is unusual about the word mice? Here is a clue.

SINGULAR

one cat

a puppy

a horse

a kitten

a goat

PLURAL

two cats

three puppies

two horses

three kittens

six goats

Plural forms usually have an -s at the end.

The word mice is plural but it doesn't end with an -s.

SINGULAR

a mouse

PLURAL

three mice

Here are some more nouns like mice.

Jill has lost a tooth.

Jack has lost four teeth.

Pam has one foot off the ground.

Bob has both feet off the ground.

The men and women were chased by some geese.

Grammar Help

You make these nouns plural by changing the vowel sounds.

SINGULAR PLURAL

mouse mice

man men

woman women

fireman firemen

goose geese

These are irregular nouns. The plural form doesn’t end with -s.

How do you make words like fish and sheep plural?

Wow! I've caught a fish!

Three flying fish.

One black sheep.

Five jumping sheep.

Did you know?

In stories for young children, some writers use fishes as the plural of fish.

Grammar Help

The plural form of these nouns is the same as the singular.

SINGULAR PLURAL

deer deer

reindeer reindeer

aircraft aircraft

spacecraft spacecraft

salmon salmon

The nouns child and ox are very unusual.

Alan and Kate have just one child.

Alan and Kate have six children.

An ox on the back of a truck.

Two oxen on the back of a truck.

Here is a reminder of some irregular plural forms.

PRACTICE

Fill in the gaps with the correct plural forms.

(The singular forms are shown in brackets.)

A Day in the Countryside

Last Sunday the weather was fine and we went for a long drive in the countryside. Many of the fields that we passed were full of cows and (1) ... (sheep). In other fields we saw lots of (2) ... (woman) and (3) ... (child). They were picking strawberries, blackberries and other types of fruit.

After an hour or so, my father stopped the car and we went for a walk along a riverbank. Before long we came across several old (4) ... (man) who were fishing. One of them showed me all the (5) ... (fish) he had caught.

We then came to a farm and I was frightened because some angry (6) ... (goose) came running towards us; they were making a terrible noise. There was also a big black dog with enormous (7) ... (tooth). We decided to move on.

About ten minutes later we were having a snack on the riverbank when there was another terrible noise. Two (8) ... (aircraft) - I think they were jet fighters - swooped down from the sky and flew past right above our heads. The noise was deafening and it frightened all the (9) ...(deer) which darted back into the woods.

Even though I had been frightened, I enjoyed my day in the countryside. But I am not used to walking so much and, by the time we got back into the car, my legs and (10) ... (foot) were very tired.

● Plural nouns

(shorts, glasses, scissors)

What is this cartoon about?