nouns
nouns always ending in plural ‘s’
• Nouns ending -ics have no singular form, they use
zero article and a singular verb, e.g.:
mathematics, linguistics, physics, politics, athletics.
Mathematics is my favorite subject.
• When not used to mean 'subjects of study', nouns
of this kind can use the + plural verb.
Economics is a difficult subject.
The economics of this case are complex.
• Some nouns always ending in plural ‘s’ are
counted as singular, though they have no singular
form, e.g.
the news, darts, billiards (and other plural games),
cities with plural forms Naples, Athens etc.
The news is on at 10.00
Athens is a beautiful city
• Illness words always ending in plural ‘s’ use a
singular verb, e.g. measles, mumps.
Measles is a highly infectious disease
• Some nouns always ending in plural ‘s’ can
have a singular verb when singular, and a
plural verb when plural, e.g. crossroads,
series, species, means.
This species is interesting.
Both species are now extinct.
This is a means to an end
All means have been exhausted
• Some nouns always ending in plural ‘s’ use a plural
verb, e.g. belongings, clothes, congratulations,
earnings, goods, outskirts, remains, stairs,
surroundings, thanks.
Are these your belongings?
These are the remains of my car!
• Some of these nouns have a singular form with a
different meaning.
Looks: She was admiring Jack's good looks.
Look: Could I have a look at your answers?
nouns describing groups
(collective nouns)
• Some nouns describing groups of people are
singular only, but can be followed by a singular or
plural verb, e.g. the majority, the public.
• Some singular nouns describing groups of people
use singular or plural verb depending on how we
think of them, e.g. government, army, council,
management, etc.
The government is planning to raise taxes. ( = one
body)
The government are undecided about this matter (= a
group of individuals)
• Some nouns describing groups of people or animals
have no plural ‘s’ and use a plural verb, e.g. people,
the police, cattle.
The police are investigating the fire.
• People can be used with plural ‘s’ to mean
nationality or race.
The peoples of the world are united in their desire for
peace.
change of meaning
• Some nouns have different meanings for singular and
plural.
Damage: The insurance company paid for the damage to
the house.
Damages: The court awarded damages of £50,000.
Custom: Giving eggs at Easter is a custom here.
Customs: When we passed through customs, we had to
open our cases.
• Others include, expense / expenses (money spent as
part of a job), manner / manners (way of behaving),
work / a work, works (of art, literature etc), glass /
glasses (spectacles).
pairs
• Some nouns with plural form only can be used with
a pair of .. ./ two pairs of etc, though this can be left
out, e.g. glasses, trousers, shorts, pyjamas.
Where are my glasses? I've got two pairs of glasses.
• Other words which can be singular, and which can
also be used with pair are socks, shoes, sandals,
gloves.
collections
Some collections of nouns are
described with a + noun + of,
e.g. a bunch of flowers
Friends
People
Thieves
Cattle
Sheep
Cards
Experts
Lawyers / doctors
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
a circle of friends
a crowd of people
a gang of thieves
a herd of cattle
a flock of sheep
a pack of cards
a panel of experts
a team of lawyers /
doctors
partitives
• Some mass nouns e.g. bread have a
countable item which describes a 'piece' of
the whole, and which can be used when we
want to specify 'one' of that item.
E.g. a loaf of bread
Soap
Dust
Lightning
Thunder
Rain
News
Cake
a bar of soap
a cloud of dust
a flash of
lightning
a clap of
thunder
a shower of
rain
an item of
news
a slice of cake
compound nouns
• Noun + noun. The first noun is normally
singular (but: a clothes brush).
• Check in a dictionary for the use of a hyphen,
as this varies greatly.
a bus ticket
a key ring
Categories include:
• Type
a seat belt, a comedy film
• Containers
milk jug, a water bottle
• Purpose (-er) (for)
A can opener (a thing that opens cans)
A book shelf (a shelf for books)
• Place
a bedroom chair, a school playground
• Part of a whole
a car door, a mouse button
• -ing + noun
frying pan, writing desk
• noun + -ing
sight-seeing, water-skiing
• from multi-word verb
a take-off, a hold-up
of and possessive apostrophe
• Use of for things when there is no compound noun,
for parts of things and for abstract ideas.
the end of the road
the aim of the project
Use possessive apostrophe for things
belonging to people.
singular
apostrophe s
Michael's desk
plural with s
apostrophe only
The boys'
bedroom.
plural without s
apostrophe s
The children's
bedroom.
• Names ending in ‘s’ add apostrophe ‘s’, or
apostrophe, but are pronounced as if they have
apostrophe ‘s’.
The Jones' house / the Jones's house
(both pronounced the same)
• We also use possessive apostrophe with references
to time, and in some fixed expressions.
Time: an hour's bus-ride, a days' work etc
Expressions: be at your wits' end
Complete the sentence
a The stars of the film were met outside the cinema by _____ fans.
b A sudden _____ of lightening lit the night sky.
c The building crashed to the ground, leaving a _____ of dust.
d A _____ of doctors in south London is carrying out a new study into
childhood illnesses.
e One of the soldiers produced a _____ of cards, and they started to
play.
f After a heavy _____ of rain, the pitch was slippery.
g Let me give you a _____ of advice. Don't borrow any money from
that bank.
h Harry bought a large _____ of grapes from the supermarket.
I The train crash was the first _____ on the late news.
J The bank was raided by a _____ of armed robbers
answers
a crowd b flash c cloud d team e pack f shower
g piece h bunch I item j gang
Add an apostrophe where necessary
Hamlet father the King of Denmark has died, and his mother has
married his fathers brother, Claudius. Denmark is under threat of
invasion by a foreign princes army. Two soldiers on duty on the
ramparts of the castle see Hamlets fathers ghost. Later, the ghost
speaks to Hamlet and describes his brothers method of murdering
him. Hamlet promises to avenge his murder, but pretends to be
mad to escape his uncles suspicions. Claudius asks Hamlets friends
to find out the reasons for his strange behavior. Claudius adviser,
Polonius, the father of Hamlets girlfriend Ophelia, suggests that his
madness is caused by love. Hamlets friends invite a troupe of
actors to try to make Hamlet less unhappy. Hamlet asks them to
put on a play he has written in which his fathers murder will be
acted. His uncles guilt becomes clear when he stops the play and
leaves with his courtiers. Hamlet kills Polonius in error and is sent
to England with his friends as part of the kings attempt to kill
Hamlet. What happens next? You'll have to read the play!
Answers
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Hamlet's father the
father's brother
prince's army
Hamlet's father's ghost.
Brother’s method
uncle's suspicions.
Hamlet's friends
Claudius's / Claudius’ adviser
Hamlet's girlfriend Ophelia
Hamlet's friends invite
father's murder
uncle's guilt
king's attempt