Exercise 1. Give the plural form (two plural forms if possible) of the following nouns.

a)  dish, safe, rodeo, speech, watch, berry, face, portfolio, journey, tomato, cry, key, fox, rock, bush, enemy, hero, bunch, volcano, pie, possibility, echo, video, joy, extremity, spy, lie, tiptoe, stitch, Hindoo, essay, boss, waltz, monarch, mosquito.    

b) sheaf, knife, louse, swine, ox, roof, leaf, sheep, ship, youth, loss, goose, moose, deer, wolf, mouse, foot, handkerchief, thief, birth, bath, fish, wharf, hearth, house, Burmese, Roman, proof, life, cheese, Milanese.

c) axis, continuum, phenomenon, adieu, fungus, census, crisis, datum, apparatus, antenna, stimulus, medium, analysis, delirium, basis, genius, formula,              criterion, appendix, plateau, album, agenda, diagnosis.

d) brother-in-law, clergyman, downfall, looker-on, Englishwoman, man-of-war, penknife, forget-me-not, mischief-maker, finger-tip, court-martial, stepdaughter, mouthful, sit-up, lean-to, intake, rule of thumb, commander-in-chief, woman priest, woman-hater, get-together, give-away, German, merry-go-round, lady friend, man student.

Exercise 2. Put the words in brackets into the sentences in the correct form: plural or singular.

1. Grans insisted I bring ………. . (grapefruit) (Patricia D. Cornwell)

2. The building itself was a one-story stucco structure, painted a plain sand color, bristling with assorted ……….. . (antenna) (S. Grafton)

3. The roof was composed of old red tile, mottled with soft green ………. . (alga). (S. Grafton)

4. The Automated Name Index file would either show no record for the ………. given, or would show a match for last name, first name, middle initial, and birthdate. (criterion) (S. Grafton)

5. I turned left onto Bay Street. Against the backdrop of evergreens, the profusion of bright pink and orange ………. clashed with the magenta bougainvillea that tumbled across the fences in my neighborhood. (geranium) (S. Grafton)

6. Malek Construction consisted of a series of linked trailers, arranged like ………., located in the cul-de-sac of an industrial park. (domino)                      (S. Grafton)

7. Three ………. of soup convinced him that he could not eat; and, causing a cab to be summoned, he drove to Paddington Station and took the first train to Reading. (mouthful) (John Galsworthy)

8. … in wet weather he took to smoking with Joseph, and they say like ………., one on each side of the fire. (automaton) (E. Bronte)

9. The entire world is a dreadful collection of ………. that she did exist, and that I have lost her! (memorandum) (E. Bronte)

10. ‘I desire no further………. from you,’ answered Mr. Linton. ‘You knew your mistress’s nature, and you encouraged me to harass her.’ (advice)               (E. Bronte)

11. Much of the terrain in this area was undeveloped, the landscape littered with enormous sandstone boulders and prickly ………. with leaves as large as fleshy Ping-Pong paddles. (cactus) (S. Grafton)

12. The Malek estate sat close to the borders of the backcountry, ………. of dark green in a region dense with pale chaparral. (an oasis/ oases)                      (S. Grafton)

13. To our right, a solid wash of ………. blanketed the banks of an empty creek bed. (nasturtium) (S. Grafton)

14. ………. don’t count. Not like kids do. (in-law) (Terry McMillan)

15. ………. of the results shows that the Socialists have won. (an early analysis/ early analyses)

16. Mr. Linton had put on her pillow, in the morning, a handful of golden ………. . (crocus) (E. Bronte)

17. He was already as insubstantial as a ghost, all form without ………., a series of fragmented images without permanence. (content/ contents)                   (S. Grafton)

18. The philosophic vein in him, of course, had always been too liable to crop out of the ………. of pure Forsyteism, so they were in a way prepared for his interment in a strange spot. (stratum) (John Galsworthy)

19.  Like the rest of Virginia’s citizens, whenever an execution was scheduled I found out from the ………. whether all appeals had been exhausted or the governor had granted clemency. (medium) (Patricia D. Cornwell)

20. But the ………. was cast, he could not go back. (die, dice) (John Galsworthy)

21. My life was feeling a lot like a game of ………. right now. (die, dice)               (S. Meyer)

22. If the dead villain could rise from his grave to abuse me for his offspring’s………. I should have the fun of seeing the said ………. fight him back again, indignant that he should dare to rail at the one friend he has in the world. (wrong/ wrongs, offspring/ offsprings)  (E. Bronte)

 

 

Zero plural nouns are words that are unchangeable in the form but distinguish the meaning semantically. They include:

Ø some animal nouns: deer; reindeer; sheep; grouse; plaice; moose; crouse; swine; cod; herring (herrings also possible); hake; mackerel; pike; salmon; trout; But: sharks; other animal nouns vary between -s and zero plural (buffalo; giraffe; lion; duck; fowl; partridge; pheasant) oftendepending on whether they occur in a hunting context, in which case the –s is often dropped. Compare:

· These graceful antelopes have just been bought by the zoo.

· They went to Africa to shoot antelope;

Ø some nouns with singular and plural without -s: craft (= boat); aircraft; hovercraft; spacecraft; counsel (= lawyer); offspring; quid:

· We saw a few aircraft;

· Both counsel asked for an adjournment;

Ø mass media (radio, TV, newspapers) sometimes take a singular verb, sometimes a plural one, without any difference in meaning;

Ø some nouns denoting nationalities: Chinese; Swiss; Vietnamese:

· He is a Vietnamese;

· The Vietnamese are noted for their cookery.

Ø Fish is the normal plural of fish (singular), but fishes can also be used, especially to refer to species of fish:

· My goldfish has died.(= one)

· My goldfish have died. (more than one)

· You’ll see many kinds of fish(es) in the fish market.

Ø the words kind, sort, type when occurring in the phrase these/those + Noun + of  frequently omit the -s:

· These kind of people always complain (or this kind of people with both nouns in the singular);

Ø some nouns with singular and plural both with -s: barracks; crossroads; innings; bellows; means; gallows; headquarters; series; species; works; gasworks.   

· The firm’s headquarters is/ are in London.

 

Exercise 3.Fill in the gaps in these sentences with the correct article, the correct form of the noun (singular or plural) or the correct form of the verb. Pay attention to the use of animal nouns .

1. Mr. Heathcliff has just honoured me with a call. About seven days ago he sent me a brace of ………. – the last of the season. (grouse) (E. Bronte)

2. Heathcliff would as soon lift a finger at you as the king would march his army against a colony of ………. . (mouse) (E. Bronte)

3. I was going to the Grange one evening and, just at the turn of the Heights, I encountered a little boy with ………. and two lambs before him. (sheep) (E. Bronte)

4. These white swine ………. not live. (does/ do) (Sabatini)

5. ‘Good,’ I said. ‘No one shall tell me again that fish ………. no sense with them.’ (has/ have) (Llewellyn)  

6. The deer ………. ravaging the man’s fields. (was/ were) (Twain)

7. At Capracotta, he had told me, there ………. trout in the stream below the town. (was/ were) (Hemingway)

8. ‘What have we got for supper?’ ‘………. salmon. I got ………. huge fish at the fishmonger’s for only five pounds.’

9. It was still raining heavily and very misty. Suddenly there was the sound of ………. sheep baaing over on the right. (Jack Higgins)

10. Deer………. frequently seen in the meadow at dusk. (is/ are)

11. The illustrations and photographs of ………. and coral of the Great Barrier Reef are extraordinary. (fish)

12. The tropical fish ………. transferred to another department. (was/ were)

13. When ………. were first brought into the Colorado wilderness, no one could have predicted how popular the animal would become. (llama)

14.  ‘I don’t see why not. If not him, someone else. It would be a good way out if we did manage to make a run for it and ………. hot on our heels.’ (hound) (Jack Higgins)

15.  Avenger, a motor launch a friend of mine up the coast brought for the ………. fishing only ………. went away. (shark) (Jack Higgins)

16. It was Marian’s work to drive ………. swine out on to the slope and keep an eye on them.

17. Small forest ………. areselective feeders and, as a consequence, are solitary and monogamous.(antelope)

18. Across the plain a herd of ………. ran, and, then, pivoted all at once like a school of ……….. . (antelope, fish)

19. Thousands of starving ………., too weak to make the crossing, are being carried across in landing craft. (reindeer)

20. On the opposite shore I saw two large gray black shapes: ……….! (moose)

Exercise 4.Fill in the gaps in these sentences with a, an, nothing (-) or the correct form from the brackets. Pay attention to the use of zero plural nouns.  

1. It was ………. series that had made her the preeminent television star in the country. (R.B. Parker)

2. Bennet settled into the chair to my left with ………. series of creakings.  (S. Grafton)

3. Included in ………. series is ‘The Enchanted Horse,’ among other famous children’s stories. (this/ these)

4. Without me in between, you would seem like ………. different species. (John Galsworthy)

5. The entire absence of sentiment in her inspired ………. queer species of contempt in Soames. (John Galsworthy)

6. That species of butterflies ………. commonly seen in many parts of North and South America.(is/ are)

7. It was a close, sultry day: devoid of sunshine, but with a sky too dappled and hazy to threaten rain; and our place of meeting had been fixed at the guide-stone, by ………. crossroads. (E. Bronte)

8. I stated before that I didn’t know how he gained his money; neither am I aware of ………. means he took to raise his mind from the savage ignorance into which it was sunk. (E. Bronte)

9. I gazed round for ………. means of diverting her thoughts. (E. Bronte)

10. ‘I say, Mr. Heathcliff,’ I replied, ‘you must not: you never shall, through ………. means. Another encounter between you and the master would kill her altogether.’ (my/ these) (E. Bronte)

11. All means ………. been usedto get him to change his mind. (has/ have)

12. Means ………. easily found. (was/ were) (Thackeray)

13. Hold your tongue, you foul-mouthed thief, you! you shall go to ………. gallows for this. (E. Bronte)

14. Next a policeman puppet arrived carrying ………. gallows.

15. The works ………. his country, his home, his reason for being. (was/  were) (Heym)

16. The works ………. to be closed. (was/were)

17. Climbing the hill together, we stopped for a moment to look at ………. army barracks on the edge of town.

18. New barracks ………. rising where dilapidated Navy quarters have been. (is/ are)

19. The army headquarters ………. on the other side of the square, in a former colonial mansion. (is/ are)

20. Search and rescue craft ………. at the scene of the crash this morning. (was/ were)

21. Later I was told that in criminal trials counsel ……….not permitted to talk to their witnesses during adjournments. (is/ are)

22. Some Democrats on Capitol Hill have joined in the call for ………. independent counsel to investigate campaign fund raising.

23. Officials fear glass bottles could break or injure visitors, or, after the show, damage ……….. . (aircraft)

24. Their headquarters ……….rich in symbolism. (to be)