ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ
Настоящее пособие представляет собой подробный грамматический
справочник и практические задания по теме СУЩЕСТВИТЕЛЬНОЕ.
Пособие появилось в результате многолетней работы со студентами над
данной грамматической темой. Тема СУЩЕСТВИТЕЛЬНОЕ
рассмотрена во всех аспектах и к каждому рассмотренному аспекту
подобраны упражнения.
Пособие построено по модульному образцу. В первой части даются
теоретические сведения о существительном, его категориях и правилах
словообразования. Во второй части представлены многочисленные
упражнения со ссылками на правила в рамочках, что позволяет
студентам снова повторить вкратце правила перед самостоятельным
выполнением упражнений.
Пособие составлено по материалам известных грамматистов.
Теоретическая часть включает правила и определения из Грамматики
английского языка В.Л.Каушанской, практической грамматики М.Винса
(First Certificate),Английский язык Х.Миффлин, Грамматика
Л.Г.Александер, интернет-курс английского языка English Page.
Упражнения подобраны из разных учебников и составлены автором
пособия для более полного усвоения студентами данной грамматической
темы.
Большое внимание уделено проблеме словообразования. Этой проблеме
отведена часть пособия, состоящая из большого количества упражнений,
способствующих не только усвоению темы СЛОВООБРАЗОВАНИЕ
СУЩЕСТВИТЕЛЬНЫХ, но так же и расширению лексического запаса
студентов, поскольку основной единицей учебного материала при работе
над любой грамматической темой служит предложение. Студенты учатся
понимать различные контексты, расширяют и активизируют свой
словарь.
Пособие может быть использовано как для работы в аудитории, так и для
самостоятельной работы. Может быть рекомендовано широкому кругу
лиц, изучающих английский язык.
Пособие "The Noun"
3
Куприна Р.Н.
THE NOUN
When we think of words, nouns are usually the first kind that come to
mind. Why not! Nouns are the names of the things we see around us, of
ourselves and other people, and of the very place we live.
§ 1. The noun is a word expressing substance in the widest sense of the word.
In the concept of substance we include not only names of living beings (e. g.
boy, girl, bird) and lifeless things (e. g. table, chair, book), but also names of
abstract notions, i. e. qualities, states, actions (kindness, strength, sleep, fear,
conversation, fight), abstracted from their bearers.
§ 2. The noun has the following morphological characteristics:
1. Nouns that can be counted have two numbers: singular and plural (e. g.
singular: a girl, plural: girls).
2. Nouns denoting living beings (and some nouns denoting lifeless things)
have two case forms: the common case and the genitive case.
It is doubtful whether the grammatical category of gender exists in Modern
English for it is hardly ever expressed by means of grammatical forms.
There is practically only one gender-forming suffix in Modern English, the
suffix -ess, expressing feminine gender. It is not widely used.
heir — heir-ess
poet — poet-ess
actor — actr-ess
waiter — waitr-ess
host — host-ess
lion — lion-ess
tiger — tiger-ess
NOTE: Gender, i. e. the distinction of nouns into masculine, feminine and neuter, may be
expressed lexically by means of different words or word-compounds:
father — mother
man — woman
boy — girl
gentleman — lady
husband — wife
cock-sparrow — hen-sparrow
boy-friend — girl-friend
man-servant — maid-servant
Very often personal or possessive pronouns indicate the gender of the noun.
§ 3. The noun has certain syntactical characteristics.
The chief syntactical functions of the noun in the sentence are those of the
subject and the object. But it may also be used as an attribute or a predicative.
The sun was rising in all his splendid beauty. (Dickens) (SUBJECT)
Troy and Yates followed the tourists. (Heym) (OBJECT)
He (Bosinney) was an architect... (Galsworthy) (PREDICATIVE)
Пособие "The Noun"
4
Куприна Р.Н.
Mary brought in the fruit on a tray and with it a glass bowl, and a blue
dish... (Mansfield) (ATTRIBUTE; the noun glass is used in the common
case)
The hero and heroine, of course, just arrived from his father's yacht.
(Mansfield) (ATTRIBUTE; the noun father is used in the genitive case)
A noun preceded by a preposition (a prepositional phrase) may be used as attribute, prepositional indirect object, and adverbial modifier.
To the left were clean panes of glass. (Ch. Bronte) (ATTRIBUTE)
Bicket did not answer, his throat felt too dry. He had heard of the police. (Galsworthy) (OBJECT)
She went into the drawing-room and lighted the fire. (Mansfield)
(ADVERBIAL MODIFIER)
"Stop everything, Laura!" cried Jose in astonishment. (Mansfield).
(ADVERBIAL MODIFIER)
The noun is generally associated with the article. Because of the comparative
scarcity of morphological distinctions in English in some cases only articles
show that the word is a noun.
A noun can be modified by an adjective, a pronoun, by another noun or by
verbals.
§ 4. Morphological composition of nouns.
According to their morphological composition we distinguish simple, derivative and compound nouns.
1. Simple nouns are nouns which have neither prefixes nor suffixes. They are
indecomposable: chair, table, room, map, fish, work.
2. Derivative nouns are nouns which have derivative elements (prefixes or
suffixes or both): reader, sailor, blackness, childhood, misconduct, inexperience.
Productive noun-forming suffixes are:
-er: reader, teacher, worker
-ist: communist, telegraphist, dramatist
-ess: heiress, hostess, actress
-ness: carelessness, madness, blackness
-ism: socialism, nationalism, imperialism
Unproductive suffixes are:
-hood: childhood, manhood
-dom: freedom
-ship: friendship, relationship
-ment: development
-ance: importance
-ence: dependence
Пособие "The Noun"
5
Куприна Р.Н.
-ty: cruelty
-ity: generosity
3. Compound nouns are nouns built from two or more stems. Compound
nouns often have one stress. The meaning of a compound often differs from
the meanings of its elements.
The main types of compound nouns are as follows:
(a) noun-stem + noun-stem: appletree, snowball;
(b) adjective-stem + noun-stem: blackbird, bluebell;
(c) verb-stem + noun-stem: pickpocket; the stem of a gerund or of a participle may be the first component of a compound noun: dining-room, readinghall, dancing-girl.
§5. Classification of nouns.
Nouns fall under two classes: (A) proper nouns; (B) common nouns.
NOTE: The name proper is from Lat. proprius "one's own". Hence a proper name
means one's own individual name, as distinct from a common name, that can be given to
a class of individuals. The name common is From Lat. communis and means that which
is shared by several things or individuals possessing some common characteristic.
A. Proper nouns are individual names given to separate persons or things. As
regards their meaning proper nouns may be personal names (Mary, Peter,
Shakespeare), geographical names (Moscow, London, the Caucasus), the
names of the months and of the days of the week (February, Monday), names
of ships, hotels, clubs, etc.
A large number of nouns now proper were originally common nouns (Brown,
Smith, Mason).
Proper nouns may change their meaning and become common nouns;
George went over to the table and took a sandwich and a glass of champagne. (Aldington)
B. Common nouns are names that can be applied to any individual of a class
of persons or things (e. g. man, dog, book), collections of similar individuals
or things regarded as a single unit (e. g. peasantry, family), materials (e. g.
snow, iron, cotton) or abstract notions (e. g. kindness, development).
Thus there are different groups of common nouns: class nouns, collective
nouns, nouns of material and abstract nouns.
Nouns may also be classified from another point of view: nouns denoting
things (the word thing is used in a broad sense) that can be counted are called
countable nouns; nouns denoting things that cannot be counted ate called uncountable nouns.
1. Class nouns denote persons or things belonging to a class. They are countables and have two number: singular and plural They are generally used with an
article.
Пособие "The Noun"
6
Куприна Р.Н.
"Well, sir, " said Mrs. Parker, "I wasn't in the shop above a great deal. "
(Mansfield)
He goes to the part of the town where the shops are, (Lessing)
2. Collective nouns denote a number or collection of similar individuals or
things as a single unit.
Collective nouns fall under the following groups:
(a) nouns used only in the singular and denoting a number of things collected,
together and regarded as a single object: foliage, machinery.
It was not restful, that green foliage. (London)
Machinery new to the industry in Australia was introduced for preparing land. (Agricultural Gazette)
(b) nouns which are singular in form though plural In meaning:
police, poultry, cattle, people, gentry. They are usually called nouns of multitude. When the subject of the sentence is a noun of multitude the verb used as
predicate is in the plural:
I had no idea the police were so devilishly prudent. (Shaw)
Unless cattle are in good condition in calving, milk production will never reach a high level. (Agricultural Gazette)
The weather was warm and the people were sitting at their doors. (Dickens)
(c) nouns that may be both singular and plural: family, crowd, fleet, nation.
We can think of a number of crowds, fleets or different nations as well as of a
single crowd, fleet, etc.
A small crowd is lined up to see the guests arrive. (Shaw)
Accordingly they were soon afoot, and walking in the direction of the
scene of action, towards which crowds of people were already pouring
from a variety of quarters, (Dickens)
3. Nouns of material denote material: iron, gold, paper, tea, water. They are
uncountables and are generally used without my article.
There was a scent of honey from the lime-trees in flower. (Galsworthy)
There was coffee still in the urn. (Wells)
Nouns of material are used in the plural to denote different sorts of a given
material.
... that his senior counted upon him in this enterprise, and had consigned
a quantity of select wines to him... (Thackeray)
Nouns of material may turn into class nouns (thus becoming countables) when
they come to express an individual object of definite shape.
Compare:
To the left were clean panes of glass. (Ch. Bronte)
"He came in here, " said the waiter looking at the light through the tumПособие "The Noun"
7
Куприна Р.Н.
bler, "ordered a glass of this ale. " (Dickens)
But the person in the glass made a face at her, and Miss Moss went out.
(Mansfield)
4. Abstract nouns denote some quality, state, action or idea: kindness, sadness, fight. They are usually uncountables, though some of them may be
countables (e. g. idea, hour).
Therefore when the youngsters saw that mother looked neither frightened nor offended, they gathered new courage. (Dodge)
Accustomed to John Reed's abuse — I never had an idea of plying
to it. (Ch. Bronte)
It's these people with fixed ideas. (Galsworthy)
Abstract nouns may change their meaning and become class nouns. This
change is marked by the use of the article and of the plural number:
beauty
a beauty
beauties
sight
a sights
sights
He was responsive to beauty and here was cause to respond. (London)
She was a beauty. (Dickens)
... but she isn't one of those horrid regular beauties. (Aldington)
5. Countable and uncountable nnouns.
Countable nouns
A countable noun has a singular and a plural form. We can use a singular
or plural verb with it. We can use numbers with it.
Where is my shirt?
Where are my shirts?
a shirt, shirts, some shirts, four shirts
Uncountable nouns
An uncountable noun has only one form. We can only use a singular verb
with it. We cannot use numbers with it.
Here is some advice for you.
advice, some advice
However, we can count an uncountable noun indirectly by using a phrase
like a piece of, a bit of.
When I left home my mother gave me two useful bits of advice.
I've found out several interesting pieces of information.
A few uncountable nouns end in -s, but they follow the normal rules for
uncountable nouns and have a singular verb.
The news is very bad today.
Billiards is an interesting game.
Пособие "The Noun"
8
Куприна Р.Н.
Typical uncountable nouns
Substances:
water, air, coffee, plastic, iron, paper
Abstract ideas: life, fun, freedom, health, time, progress
Activities:
work, travel, sleep, football, help, research
Human feelings: happiness, anger, honesty, hope, respect, courage
Groups of items: furniture, luggage
Other words are found in the Practice section. Note the words below
which
are uncountable in English but countable in many other languages:
accommodation, advice, behaviour, business, cash, equipment, furniture,
health,
homework, information, knowledge, luggage, money, permission, rubbish,
scenery, traffic, travel, weather, work
Uncountable nouns that describe a category
Some uncountable nouns can be used in a countable way when they describe a category.
Uncountable use: Would you like some fruit after your coffee?
Use as a category: There are two main fruits exported from Madeira, bananas and pineapples.
Change of meaning
Some words have different meanings in countable and uncountable
forms.
Countable: an iron
(domestic appliance)
a wood
(small area of trees)
a paper
(newspaper)
a chicken (the animal)
Uncountable: some iron (a substance/material)
some wood (a substance/material)
some paper (a substance/material)
chicken
(the meat)
There is a similar contrast between:
Item:
a coffee (a cup of coffee)
Material:
coffee
Other examples with a change of meaning:
business (in general)
a business (a company)
gossip (talking)
a gossip (a person)
hair (all together) a hair (a single strand)
help (in general) a help (a helpful person/thing)
toast (grilled bread)
a toast (formal words said before drinking)
Пособие "The Noun"
9
Куприна Р.Н.
work (in general)
a work (a work of art/engineering)
Plural nouns
These nouns only have a plural form and take a plural verb.
My trousers are too tight.
The stairs are very steep. Other
common examples are:
clothes, contents, feelings, goods, jeans, means, outskirts, surroundings,
thanks
Group nouns
Some nouns can be followed by either a singular or plural verb.
/ think the government is/are wrong.
It depends whether we think of the group as a whole (singular verb), or
its individual members (plural verb). Other common examples:
army, audience, class, company, crew, crowd, data, family, group, media,
press, public, staff, team
Some group nouns only take a plural verb: cattle, police, people
§ 6. The category of number.
English countable nouns have two numbers— the singular and the plural.
I The main types of the plural forms of English nouns are as follows:
1. The general rule for forming the plural of English nouns is by adding the
ending -s (-es) to the singular; -s is pronounced in different ways:
[iz] after sibilants: noses, horses, bridges. [z] after voiced consonants other
than sibilants and after vowels: flowers, beds, doves, bees, boys.
[s] after voiceless consonants other than sibilants: caps, books, hats, cliffs.
2. If the noun ends in -s, -ss, -x, -sh, -ch, or tch, the plural formed by adding
-es to the singular:
bus — buses
box — boxes
bench — benches
glass — glasses
brush — brushes
match — matches
3. If the noun ends in -y preceded by a consonant, y is changed into i before
-es.
Fly — flies
army — armies
lady —ladies
In proper names, however, the plural is formed by adding the ending -s to the
singular: Mary, Marys.
Note. -If the final -y is preceded by a vowel the plural is formed by simply
adding -s to the singular.
Day —days monkey—monkeys
play — plays
toy — toys
Пособие "The Noun"
10
Куприна Р.Н.
key — keys boy — boys
4. If the noun ends in -o preceded by a consonant, the plural is generally
formed by adding -es. Only a few nouns ending in -o preceded by a consonant form the plural in -s.
Cargo — cargoes
hero — heroes
potato — potatoes
echo — echoes
but: piano — pianos
solo — solos
photo — photos
All nouns ending in -o preceded by a vowel form the plural in -s and not in
-es.
Cuckoo — cuckoos
portfolio — portfolios
There are a few nouns ending in -o which form the plural both in -s and -es:
mosquito — mosquitos or mosquitoes
5. With certain nouns the final voiceless consonants are changed
into the corresponding voiced consonants when the noun takes the plural form.
a) The following nouns ending in -f (in some cases followed by a mute ∂)
change it into v (both
in spelling and pronunciation) in the plural:
wife — wives
thief — thieves
knife — knives calf — calves
life — lives
half — halves,.
self — selves
shelf — shelves
leaf — leaves
wolf — wolves
There are some nouns ending in -f which have two forms in the plural:
scarf — scarfs or scarves
wharf — wharfs or wharves
b) Nouns ending in -th [θ] after long vowels change it into [ð] in pronunciation (which does not affect their spelling).
bath (ba:θ) — baths [ba:ðz]
path [pa:θ] — paths [pa:ðz]
oath [ouθ] — oaths [ouðz]
But [θ] is always retained after consonants (including r) short vowels:
smith —smiths [smiθs]
month — months [mΛnθs]
myth — myths [miθs]
birth — births [b∂ :θs]
Пособие "The Noun"
11
Куприна Р.Н.
health — healths [helθs]
(c) One noun ending in [s] changes it into [z] (in pronunciation):
house [haus] — houses [hauziz}
II. The plural forms of some nouns are survivals of earlier formations. .
1. There are seven nouns which form the plural by changing the root vowels:
man - men
goose — geese
woman - women mouse - mice
foot - feet
louse - lice
tooth - teeth
2. There are two nouns which form the plural in -en:
ox — oxen
child — children
Note. -The noun brother has, beside its usual plural form brothers, another plural form
brethren, which is hardly ever used in colloquial language. It belongs to the elevated style
and denotes people of the same creed and not relationship.
The noun cow has, beside its usual plural form cows, a plural kine, which sometimes occurs in poetry.
3. In some nouns the plural form does not differ from the singular: deer, sheep,
swine, fish, trout.
III. Some words borrowed from Latin or Greek keep their Latin or Greek plural forms: e. g. phenomenon, phenomena; datum, data; crisis, crises; stimulus,
stimuli; formula, formulae; index, indices. Some of these nouns have acquired
English plural forms: memorandums, formulas, indexes, terminuses, etc.
The tendency to use the foreign plural is still strong in the technical language
of science, but in fiction and colloquial English there is an evident inclination
to give to certain words the regular English plural forms in -s. Thus in some
cases two plural forms are preserved (formulae, formulas; antennae, antenas).
IV. In compound nouns the plural is formed in different ways.
1. As a rule a compound noun forms the plural by adding -s to the head-word:
editor-in-chief — editors-in-chief
brother-in-law — brothers-in-law
looker-on — lookers-on
2. In some compound nouns the final element takes the plural form:
lady-bird — lady-birds
3. If there is no noun-stem in the compound, -s is added to the last element:
forget-me-not — forget-me-nots
merry-go-round — merry-go-rounds
V. Some nouns have only the plural form:
1. Trousers, spectacles, breeches, scissors, tongs, fetters. These are for the
Пособие "The Noun"
12
Куприна Р.Н.
most part names of things which imply plurality or consist of two or more
parts.
2. Billiards, barracks, works. These nouns may be treated as singulars. We
may say: a chemical works, a barracks, etc.
3 Words like phonetics, physics, politics, optics, etc. are usually treated as
singulars except in some special cases.
It was not practical politics! (Galsworthy)
All party politics are top dressing. (Galsworthy)
4. The word news is treated as a singular.
When she goes to make little purchases, there is no news for her.
(Thackeray)
The news he gave them was to be read in the lamentations. (Sabatini)
§ 7. The category of case.
Case indicates the relations of the noun (or pronoun) to the other words in the
sentence.
English nouns denoting living beings (and some nouns denoting lifeless
things) have two cases; an uninflected form called the common case and an
inflected form called form called the genitive case.
1. The genitive case is formed by adding -'s (the apostrophe s) to the noun in
the singular and only ' (the apostrophe) to plural forms ending in -s.
SINGULAR: a girl's book PLURAL: a girl's school
Note 1. Nouns forming their plural by changing the root vowel take the apostrophe in the plural.
SINGULAR: a man's hat PLURAL: men's hats
Note 2. Nouns ending in -s form the genitive case in two ways: Dickens' novels, Dickens's novels.
The pronunciation of the genitive case ending follows the same rules as the
pronunciation of the plural ending:
[iz] after sibilants: prince's, judge's, witch's, etc.
[z] after voiced consonants other than sibilants and after vowels: boy's,
man's, king's.
[s] after voiceless consonants other than sibilants: Smith's, count's, bishop's.
Note. With nouns ending in -s and forming the genitive case in two ways (Dickens' novels,
Dickens's novels) the ending is pronounced [iz] whether the letter s is written or not,
2. Sometimes the apostrophe s may refer to a whole group of words (the
group-genitive): Jane and Mary's room. The last word of the group need not
even be a noun: I shall be back in an hour or two's time.
Пособие "The Noun"
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Куприна Р.Н.
As to its use the genitive case falls under:
(A) The Dependent Genitive.
(B) The Absolute Genitive.
The Dependent Genitive is used with the noun it modifies and comes before it.
The Absolute Genitive may be used without any noun or be separated from the
noun it modifies.
A. The Dependent Genitive.
1. The chief meaning of the genitive case is that of possession:
... a young man and a girl came out of the solicitor's office.
(Braine)
He stayed at Fanny's flat. (Aldington)
2. Very close to the meaning of possession is that of a part to a whole:
A faint smile had come on Victorine's face — she was adding up the
money she might earn. (Galsworthy)
His sister's eyes fixed on him with a certain astonishment, obliged him at
last to look at Fleur. (Galsworthy)
3. The Dependent Genitive may express the doer of an action (the so-called
subject ive genitive) or show that some person is the object of the action (the
so-called objective genitive):
It was Tom's step, then, that Maggie heard on the steps. (Eliot)
Gwendolen's reception in the neighbourhood fulfilled her uncle's
4. The noun in the genitive case may denote qualitative relations:
He looked ever so much smarter in his new officer's clothes with the little
blue chevron... (Aldington)
The use of the genitive case of nouns denoting inanimate things and abstract
notions is rather limited.
The genitive case of nouns denoting inanimate things may denote the relations
between a part and the whole.
... the sudden shaking of an aspen's leaves in the puffs of breeze that
rose along the river... (Galsworthy) He stepped on the truck's running
board hanging on with his left arm. (Heym)
The genitive case of nouns expressing time, space and weight is widely used.
From the depot he was sent to the officers' training camp with two days'
leave. (Aldington)
They both quite took to him again and during his month's leave gave
him a good time. (Aldington)
There is a remnant still of the last year's golden clusters... (Eliot)
The three of us had had dinner, and walked down past the to the river's
edge. (Snow)
Пособие "The Noun"
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Куприна Р.Н.
The genitive case is used in some set expressions: for heaven's (God's) sake; to
one's heart's delight; at one's wit's end; a stone's throw; a hair's breadth.
B. The Absolute Genitive.
1. The Absolute Genitive may be used anaphorically.
Mrs. Moss's face bore a laded resemblance to her brother's. (Eliot)
The face Michael drew began by being Victorine's and ended by being
Fleur's. (Galsworthy)
2. The Absolute Genitive may have local meaning; the stationer's the baker's,
the tobacconist's, my uncle's, etc.
On her way home she usually bought a slice of honey-cake at the
baker's; (Mansfield)
"My dear, " said the lace collar she secured from Partridge's, "I fit you
beautifully, " (Dreiser)
The Absolute Genitive may be introduced by the preposition of.
She is a relation of the Colonel's (Austen)
Пособие "The Noun"
15
Куприна Р.Н.
Practice with reference to grammar
1 One-word nouns
1 A Noun endings: people who do things/people who come from places
Study:
1 We use some words only as nouns: e. g. desk, hat, tree, etc.
2 However, we often make nouns from other words by adding different endings
or suffixes and sometimes making other small changes. For example, if we add er to a verb like play, we get the noun player, if we add -ity to the adjective active,
we get the noun activity. There is no easy rule to tell us which endings to use to
make nouns.
3 Typical endings which make nouns:
people
dothe
things:
driver,
engineer,
historian,
Write: who
Give
nounsactor,
whichassistant,
describebeggar,
people who
do things
or who
come pianist
from places.
people
who
come
from places:
Athenian,
Berliner,
Milanese,
Muscovite,
RoUse these
noun
endings:
-an, -ant,
-ar, -er, -ian,
-ist, -or.
Some are
used more
man.
than once.
1 He acts very well. He's a fine ........................ 6 She's from Athens. She's
an
2 Don't beg. You're not a ................................... 7 Manuel assists me. He's
my
3 I can't play the piano. I'm not a ....................... 8 She always tells lies.
She's such a
4 She drives well. She's a good .................. ....... 9 He's from Texas. He's a
5 I'm from Berlin. I'm a ...................................... 10 Anna is studying history. She's a fine
1 B Nouns formed from verbs, adjectives, other nouns
Study:
1 Some nouns have the same form as verbs: act, attempt, blame, book, call,
copy, cost, 18 a spoon made of wood.....
dance, fall, fear, help, joke, kiss, laugh, try, vote, wait, walk, wash, wish.
2 Typical endings which make nouns from:
- verbs: acceptance, agreement, arrival, behaviour, discovery, knowledge,
possession.
- adjectives: absence, activity, anxiety, constancy, happiness.
- other nouns: boyhood, kingdom, lunacy, mouthful, sexism.
And note -ing forms used as nouns: I've given your shirt an ironing.
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Куприна Р.Н.
Write: Give the nouns derived from verbs, adjectives or other nouns. Use
these endings: -age, -hood, -ation -ion, -ful, -ence, -ency, -ness, -al, -(er)y, ment, -ety, -ism, -ity, -ing.
1 I decided this. It was my ................................
2 Don't be so anxious. Control your ...................
3 Ann's a socialist. She believes in ...................
4 We all want to be happy. We all seek ............
5 We all agree. We're all in ...............................
6 Who discovered this? Who made this .......... ?
7 We'll all arrive. We'll be met on ......................
8 I was a child then. That was in my .................
9 She is absent. Can you explain her ............. ?
10 I'll post this. What's the ................................ ?
11 Try again. Have another ..................................
12 Be more efficient improve your ......................
13 Don't be so curious. Control your ....................
14 Address this envelope. I'll give you the ...........
15 I refused their offer. My ......................... is final.
16 I warned you. I gave you enough ....................
17 Put it in your mouth. Take one ........................
18 Can you explain it? Is there an ........................
19 They tried him. I was at the .............................
20 Don't argue. I don't want an ............................
1 C Nouns and verbs with the same spelling but different stress
Study:
1 With some words, when the stress is on the first syllable, the word is a noun.
When the stress is on the second syllable, it is a verb. The meanings are related:
noun: We have finished Book 1. We have made good 'progress.
verb: We are now ready to pro'gress to Book 2.
2 The meanings can also be quite different:
noun: My son's 'conduct at school hasn't been very good.
verb: Mahler used to con'duct the Vienna Philharmonic.
Write: Underline the syllable that you would stress when speaking.
1 I need a permit to work in this country.
2 I can't permit you to park here.
3 Will they increase my salary next year?
4 I'm looking for an increase in salary.
5 Joy objects to your proposal.
6 Don't treat me as if I were an object.
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7 We've had complaints about your conduct.
8 I'll conduct you to your seat.
9 This is the entrance to the building.
10 Gloria will entrance you.
11 Do you want to buy this record?
12 Let me record your voice.
13 I've brought you a present.
14 Please present my compliments to him.
15 I must protest at your proposal.
16 The proposal didn't go without protest.
17 I've got an Australian accent.
18 Please accent every syllable.
19 Our exports have increased this year.
20 We export everything we make.
21 I'll escort you to your new office.
22 You'll need an escort.
23 Our imports have increased.
24 We import too much.
1 D Context
Write: Refer to the words in brackets and put in the right nouns.
COMPUTER TANTRUMS
A clever computer built at Imperial College, London, often suffers from (bore)
1
................ The computer was built to find out about human (communicate)
2
.........................The computer acquired a simple vocabulary in the same way
as babies do: through (babble) 3 .........................It is common (know)
4
........................ that when babies babble, it is a (prepare) 5 ........................for
speech. When babies make sounds like real words, they are encouraged to remember them. With (encourage) 6 ........................from their parents, babies
quickly build up their vocabulary. In the same way, the clever computer learnt
to use real words. For example, it learnt to identify a black cat. It was then
shown a white cat to test how good it was at (recognize) 7 .........................It refused to co-operate because the (solve) 8 ........................to the
problem was too easy. At first this (refuse) 9 ........................puzzled scientists,
but then they decided the computer was having a tantrum. 'It just sits there and
goes on strike,' a (science) 11 ....................... said.
These clever computers must also be taught good (behave) 11 ......................... .
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2. Compound nouns
2 A Nouns formed with gerund ('-ing') + noun: 'dancing-shoes'
Study:
1 When a noun has two or more parts (e.g. classroom), we call it a compound
noun.
We can make compound nouns with the -ing form: e.g. dancing-shoes.
2 The -ing form can sometimes be an adjective:
Can you see that 'dancing 'couple? (= couple that is dancing)
When the -ing form is an adjective, we stress both words and never use a hyphen.
3 The -ing form can be the first part of a compound noun:
I need a pair of 'dancing-shoes. (= shoes used for dancing; not 'shoes that are
Write:
a tick
theform
second
partstress
of a compound
noun.
dancing'; Put
When
the if-ing
is aword
noun,iswe
the first word
only and a hy1phen
You
need
a
pair
of
running
shoes.
____
is optional.
2 We sat beside a running stream.____
3 Put it in the frying pan.____
4 I like the smell of frying sausages.____
5 This water is near boiling point.____
6 I need some boiling water.____
7 Where are my walking shoes? ____
8 Vera is a walking dictionary.____
2 B Apostrophe s ('s) or compound noun?
Study:
1 We use apostrophe s('s) and s apostrophe (s) with people and some living things
to show possession: Gus's car, the girls' shoes, a dog's bark [> 2.8].
2 When we want to show possession with things, we can use of: the leg of the table. However, we often prefer to use a compound noun instead of of. the table-leg.
3 We can say the voice of a man or a man's voice. (Not *a man voice*) We can
say the leg of a table or a table-leg (Not *a table's leg*)
Write: Supply a phrase with 's or a compound noun in place of the phrases
in italics.
1 Where's the key of the car? ..............................
2 Where's the surgery of the doctor?...................
3 It's the idea of the committee.............................
4 Don't damage the nib of the pen........................
5 It's the keyboard of the computer......................
6 I've cleaned the top of the desk........................
7 It was in the reign of King John.......................
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Куприна Р.Н.
8 Do you like the poetry of Eliot?........................
9 It's the responsibility of no one.........................
10 Look at the handle of the suitcase.....................
11 Polish the knob of the front door......................
12 The journey of Scott is historic........................
13 Who stole the bicycle of the postman?............
14 Put out the stub of that cigarette......................
15 We've got a new table in the kitchen..............
16 Don't pull the tail of the horse.........................
17 Please clean the switches of the lights.............
18 I spoke to the secretary of the boss..................
19 This is the new policy of the party...................
20 The cover of the book is torn...........................
21 He's the son of Mr Jones..................................
22 The gate of the factory was shut.......................
23 Please open the door of the garage...................
24 I've lost the photos of the children....................
25 The phone in the office is out of order.............
26 The critic of the film was wrong........................
27 She's a teacher of dancing.................................
28 Who's the mother of the twins?........................
29 That's the wife of my brother...........................
30 I need a new lamp for reading..........................
31 The surface of the road is slippery.................
32 He is the secretary of the President.................
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Куприна Р.Н.
2 C Compound nouns which tell us about materials and substances
Study:
1 Names of materials and substances (leather, gold) are like adjectives
when we use them to form compound nouns: a watch made of gold-* a
gold watch. (Not *golden*) These words behave like adjectives in this
one way, but they remain nouns because they do not have comparative or
superlative forms and we cannot put very in front of them. We stress both
words in spoken English: I can't afford a'gold'watch.
2 Two important exceptions are wood and wool, which have adjectival
forms:
a table made of wood = a wooden table', a dress made of wool = a woollen dress.
3 There are adjectival forms for words like gold: glass/glassy,
gold/golden, leather/leathery, silver/silvery, silk/silky/silken, steel/steely,
stone/stony.
We use them to mean 'like': a golden sunset (= a sunset like gold).
Write: Make compound nouns or use adjectival forms.
1 a raincoat made of plastic..............................
2 a shirt made of silk.........................................
3 hair like silk....................................................
4 a table-top made of glass................................
5 eyes like glass.................................................
6 a wallet made of leather..................................
7 a spoon made of stainless steel.......................
8 nerves like steel..............................................
9 a pullover made of wool.................................
10 a blouse made of cotton ................................
11 a teapot made of silver.................................
12 a voice like silver..........................................
13 a wall made of stone.....................................
14 silence like stone...........................................
15 a tile made of ceramic...................................
16 a nailbrush made of nylon ...........................
17 a tongue like leather.....................................
18 a spoon made of wood.................................
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Куприна Р.Н.
2 D Context
Write: Refer to the words in brackets and put in the right compounds.
GREEK BIRDMAN
You probably remember the story of Daedalus, who made (wings of feathers)
1
........................... for himself and his son, Icarus, to escape Minos, King of
Crete. A young Greek, Kanellos Kanellopoulos, recently repeated this journey
in (a machine that flies) 2 ............................. called 'Daedalus'. His (path
of flight) 3.............................was from Crete to Santorini, a distance of 119
kilometres. Kanellos, (a cyclist who is a champion) 4..............................didn't
use wax and feathers, but (power from pedals) 5 .............................to drive his
machine. He was in the (seat of the pilot) 6 .............................for 3 hours and 5
minutes. His (machine made of carbon fibre) 7 .............................weighed 31
kilos and its wings measured 34 metres. Icarus, in the old story, flew too close
to the sun. The wax that held his wings melted, so he crashed into the sea.
Kanellos, however, kept 3 to 4 metres above the water and had a good (wind
from the south) 8 .............................He broke the record for human-powered
flight previously set up by Bryan Allen, who 'cycled' 35.8 km across the English Channel.
3. Number (singular and plural) (1)
3A Nouns with plurals ending in -s or -es: 'friends', 'matches'.
Study:
1 We add -s to form the plural of most nouns.
We pronounce -s as /s/ after these sounds: /f/ chiefs', /k/ cakes; /p/ taps; /t/
pets; /6/ months. We pronounce -s as /z/ after these sounds: /b/ verbs; /d/
friends; /g/ bags; / l / bells; /m/ names; /n/ lessons; / / songs; vowel (a, e,
i, o, u) + s: eyes, or vowel sound + r: chairs.
2 We add -es after nouns ending in -o: potato - potatoes; -s: class - classes; -x: box - boxes; -ch: match - matches; -sh: dish - dishes.
We do not pronounce e in plurals like: cakes, clothes, tables, names, eyes.
We pronounce the plural as /iz/ after these sounds:
/z/:
noises;Write
/d /:the
oranges;
/ /: dishes;
/t / : matches;
box-their
Write:
plurals/s/:
of buses;
these nouns
in the columns
below/ks/:
to show
es.
pronunciation,
address, beach, bottle, cinema, clock, guitar, hotel, island, lake, light, month,
office, park, piece, smile, space, tape, village.
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Куприна Р.Н.
1
2
3
4
5
6
|s|
.....................................
.....................................
.....................................
.....................................
.....................................
.....................................
|z|
7 .....................................
8 .....................................
9 .....................................
10 .....................................
11 .....................................
12 .....................................
13
14
15
16
17
18
|iz|
.....................................
.....................................
.....................................
.....................................
.....................................
.....................................
3B Nouns with plurals ending in -s or -es: 'countries', 'knives'
Study:
1 Consonant (b, c, d, etc.) + -y becomes -/es: country/countries, strawberry/strawberries.
2 Vowel (a, e, o and u) + -y adds an -s: days, keys, boys, guys.
Proper nouns (names spelt with a capital letter) ending in -y just add an -s: Have
you met the Kennedys? The last four Januarys have been very cold.
3 We change the ending -for -fe into -ves in the plural with the following nouns:
calf/calves, half/halves, knife/knives, leaf/leaves, life/lives, loaf/loaves, self/selves,
sheaf/sheaves, shelf/shelves, thief/thieves, wife/wives and wolf/wolves.
4 We add -s or -ves to: hoof - hoofs/hooves, scarf - scarfs/scarves.
5 We just add -s to: handkerchief/handkerchiefs, roof/roofs.
Write: Rewrite these sentences in the plural making necessary changes.
1
2
3
4
5
6
This cherry is very sweet.
I've lost my key.
The roof has been damaged.
This knife is blunt.
We have a Henry in our family. We have three .....
The leaf is turning yellow.
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Куприна Р.Н.
3C Nouns ending in -o and some irregular plural forms
Study:
1 To nouns ending in -o, we add -es: hero - heroes, potato - potatoes, tomato - tomatoes. Or we add -es or -s: cargo - cargoes or cargos, volcano volcanoes or volcanos.
Or we add only -s: bamboos, photos, pianos, radios, solos, videos, zoos.
2 We change the vowels of some nouns to form the plural: foot/feet,
goose/geese, man/men, mouse/mice, tooth/teeth, woman/women. And
note: child/children, ox/oxen.
3 Some nouns have the same singular and plural forms: aircraft, deer,
salmon, trout, sheep.
4 Nationality nouns ending in -ese and -ss have the same singular and
plural forms: a Chinese - the Chinese; a Swiss - the Swiss.
Write: Rewrite these sentences in the plural making necessary changes.
1 Which video do you like best?
6 A postman is busy all the time.
2 Which volcano is erupting?
7 We're going to sell that sheep.
3 This is John's pet mouse.
8 I can see a salmon in the water.
4 This tooth is giving me trouble.
9 Which aircraft has just landed?
5 Can you see that goose?
10 A Swiss is used to mountains.
3D Context
Write: Supply the correct plural forms.
WHAT DOES IT COME UNDER?
If you're dieting there are certain (food)1............................you really have to
avoid: (cake) 2........................and (biscuit) 3 ........................ are out for a start,
but you can't live for ever on (tomato) 4........................ and (orange)
5
......................... . There are (man) 6 ........................and (woman)
7
........................ who spend their entire (life) 8 ........................ counting the
calories they take in each day. Some national (cuisine) 9 ........................ make
you fat. The (Japanese) 10 ........................ have a high protein diet, while the
(Swiss) 11 ........................eat a lot of milk (product) 12 ........................ .
Personally, I'm lucky not to have to diet, but my friend, John, can't eat anything without looking it up in his Calorie Chart. This is carefully organized so
that (strawberry) 13 ............................ and peach)14........................ are under
'Fruit'; (potato) 15 ........................ and (spaghetti ) 16 ........................ come under
'Starchy Foods', and so on. I entertained John to a nice low calorie meal yesterday and at the end I offered him some jelly. 'What does "jelly" come under?'
he asked looking at his chart. 'Half a litre of double cream,' I said, pouring the
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Куприна Р.Н.
stuff over my plate!
EXTRA PRACTICE
Write the correct plural noun from each pair. Use your dictionary if you
need help.
Example: memorys, memories memories
1. plates, platees
9. bushs, bushes
17. alumnuses, alumni
2. foxes, foxs
10. chiefs, chieves 18. studios, studioes
3. peachs, peaches 11. leafs, leaves
19. childs, children
4. radioes, radios
12. foots, feet
20. boxs, boxes
5. pianoes, pianos 13. mans, men
21. posts, postes
6. heros, heroes
14. wishes, wishs
22. cupsful, cupfuls
7. stories, storys
15. sheeps, sheep
23. 5es, 5's
8. tooths, teeth
16. chefs, cheves
24. cellos, celloes
Write the plural form of each noun in parentheses. Use your dictionary if
you need help.
Example: Two ......... in the chorus brought their ......... (alto, cello)
altos cellos
25. Use these ......... to cut those ......... of bread. (knife, loaf)
26. All the ......... ran, but the ......... walked. (child, woman)
27. Did you catch many ......... or ......... on your fishing trips? (salmon, trout)
28. Two of the ......... escaped over the ......... (thief, roof)
29. My ......... have visited faraway ......... (brother-in-law, country)
30. All of the ......... on those two ......... play ......... (music box, bookshelf,
waltz)
31. ......... flew around the ......... of the ......... (Bee, hoof, donkey)
32. The ......... grow ......... and ......... (Rooney, potato, broccoli)
33. These ......... cut a hole in my ......... (scissors, pants)
Rewrite each sentence, correcting the spelling errors in the plural nouns.
Use your dictionary if you need help.
Example: The sopranoes gave forget-me-nots to the alumnuses.
The sopranos gave forget-me-nots to the alumni.
34. My great-uncles raise gooses and turkies on their farms.
35. The Kellys have modern theorys about farming.
36. My sister-in-laws have won many trophys at the state fair.
37. They grow the best tomatos, zucchinis, and beetes.
38. Our sheep and lambes lead peaceful lifes.
39. The womans carried bucketsful of water to the horseses.
40. Some rabbites were hiding under the bushs near the vegetables.
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Куприна Р.Н.
41. The mens put on old trouserses and sweaters.
42. The childs have had measles but not chicken pox.
4 Number (singular and plural) (2)
4A Collective nouns followed by singular or plural verbs: 'government'
Study:
1 Words like government and family are collective nouns because they refer to
groups.
2 We can use singular or plural verbs with nouns like committee, company, family, government and jury. What will you be doing while the family is (or are) on
holiday?
These words also have regular plurals: Many families are in need of help.
3 We can use singular or plural verbs with nouns like the majority, the public and
the youth of today. The public want (or wants) to know how they are (or It is)
governed.
These words do not have regular plural forms: (Not *the publics*)
4 We use only plural verbs with nouns like cattle, the military, people, the police
and vermin: There are too many people in the world.
(Not *There is too many people* *There are too many peoples*)
These words do not have normal plural forms, but note that peoples means 'national
populations': The peoples of the Arab World have a common language.
Write: Supply is, are, has or have. Give two forms where possible.
1 The government ............. bringing in a new bill.
2 The company............ going to employ six staff.
3 All governments............ trying to control crime.
4 The jury............ trying to decide now.
5 The youth of today ............. many advantages.
6 The .......... vermin in this restaurant.
7 The military............ occupied the house.
8 The police............ interested in this case.
9 The public............ concerned about it.
10 How many people............ coming tonight?
11 The committee............ meeting now.
12 A lot of people ........... signed the petition.
4B Nouns with a plural form + singular or plural verbs: 'acoustics'
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Куприна Р.Н.
Study:
1 Nouns ending in -ics:
- athletics, gymnastics, linguistics, mathematics (maths) and physics take a
singular verb: Mathematics is not the most popular school subject. (Not
*Mathematics are*)
- acoustics, economics, phonetics and statistics take a singular verb only
when they refer to the academic subject: Statistics is a branch of economics.
(Not *statistics are*)
They take a plural verb when the reference is specific: Your statistics are
unreliable.
2 Nouns like crossroads, headquarters, kennels, series, species and works (=
factory) are singular when they refer to one: This species of moth is rare.
They are plural when they refer to more than one: There are thousands of
species.
Write: Supply is, are, has or have.
1 The acoustics in this room.............. very good.
2 This crossroads............. dangerous.
3 There............. four crossroads in our village.
4 Acoustics............. a subject I know little about.
5 Our company headquarters ........... in London.
6 There............. many series of books on birds.
7 ............. there any kennels in this area?
8 The statistics in this report............. inaccurate.
9 ............. there any statistics for road accidents?
10 Many species of moth............. disappeared.
11 This species............. green and white spots.
12 Our works............. a good canteen.
13 My maths ............. got worse and worse!
14 There............. crossroads every mile.
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4C Nouns with a plural form + plural verbs: 'trousers'
Study:
1 These nouns have a plural form only and are followed by a plural verb:
glasses (= spectacles), jeans, pants, pliers, pyjamas, scissors, shorts, tights,
trousers:
My trousers are torn.
All these nouns can combine with a pair of, (two) pairs of.
I bought a pair of shorts yesterday and two pairs of trousers.
2 These nouns are plural in form and are followed by a plural verb:
belongings, brains (= intellect), clothes, congratulations, earnings, goods,
Write: Supply the missing words.
manners, stairs:
1 The goods you ordered.......................................arrived.
Were those clothes expensive?
2 Where.................... the scissors? -...................... are in the first drawer on
the left.
3 How much.............................a good pair of trousers cost these days?
4 How much did you pay for......................... trousers? -........................... were
very expensive!
5 I know he's clever, but.............................aren't the only thing in life.
6 I'm so pleased you got into university!.............................on your success!
7 If your clothes....................... dirty, please put them in the laundry basket.
8 My jeans (not)............... faded much even though I keep washing ...............
9 I'm looking for the pliers. - You'll find........................on that shelf.
10 All their belongings..........................been destroyed in a fire.
11 My earnings (not)....................high, but at least they ................... regular.
12 These shorts.............................fit me at all!
4D Context
Write: Put in singular or plural verb-forms.
LIES, DAMN LIES?
Statistics (be) 1.................. a branch of economics, but it is often said that there
(be) 2...................lies, damn lies and statistics. Recent statistics of British life
(show) 3...................that the family (be) 4 ................... happier than it used to
be. The youth of today (be) 5...................likely to live longer than the previous
generation. People (own) 6...................more things than they used to, but more
police (be) 7...................employed to fight crime. Mathematics (be)
8
................... a subject which is studied more by boys than by girls, as (be)
9
...................physics. The earnings of working women (be) 10 ................ getting
higher all the time and many women earn more than their husbands. Good
manners (be) 11 ...................declining. The public (spend) 12 ...................more
on clothes, and clothes (be) 13 ...................becoming more and more expensive.
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Куприна Р.Н.
Glasses (be) 14 ...................worn by more people, but only a minority (favour)
15
...................contact lenses. Statistics (make) 16 ...................us want to grind
our teeth and can probably tell us if we have any teeth left to grind!
COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
1 Underline the most suitable word in each sentence.
a) Different countries have different weather/weathers.
b) All areas of the skin are in fact covered in tiny hair/hairs.
c) We've looked at the menu and we'd all like chicken/chickens.
d) Jack is a millionaire and owns a lot of business/businesses.
e) Have you a copy of the complete work/works of Dante?
f) None of the passengers had insured their baggage/baggages.
g) Students must pass their paper/papers to the front.
h) I'm afraid we can't find cheap accommodation/accommodations for all of
you.
2
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
Complete each sentence with a/an, some or by leaving the space blank
When the play ended, there was . ........ lengthy applause.
I can't come out tonight. I have ........... homework to do.
Sue received................. excellent education.
The inside is strengthened with .......... steel frame.
My friends bought me ............. coffee maker for my birthday
David has just bought .............. new furniture.
Let me give you................ advice.
h) My trousers need pressing. Can you lend me iron?
3
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
Underline the most suitable word in each sentence.
I would love to go on a long journey/travel by train.
What's the latest news? Can I look at your paper/journal?
Here's your ticket. Do you have any luggage/suitcase?
Don't forget to buy a sliced bread/loaf.
Why don't we leave the car in this car park/parking.
I can't come to work today. I have a bad cold/flu.
g) Excuse me sir, but do you have a licence/permission for this gun?
h) Brighton has quite a good beach/seaside.
4
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Put one suitable word in each space.
I'm looking for ....................... Do you know anywhere I can stay?
Take my ....................... , don't go out alone after dark.
The government plans to improve .............. by paying teachers more.
Can you lend me some .................. ? I want to print out a letter.
I need some ...................... about language schools. Can you help me?
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Куприна Р.Н.
f) Richard is unemployed, and he is looking for a ........... .
g) Could I have some .................... ? Those apples and oranges look nice.
h) I used to have long .............. , but I had it cut.
i) I can't do this on my own. Could you give me some .... ?
j) If you can't undo the knot, cut the string with some .......
5
Complete each sentence with the most suitable word or phrase.
a) I like your new trousers. Where did you .................. buy?
A) it B) them C) them both D) them all
b) There is always a very large ....... at the church I go to.
A) congregation B) audience C) spectator D) company
c) The local.............. has agreed to repair the road outside our house.
A) government B) people C) council D) jury
d) When the police arrived, we were pleased to see .... .
A) him B) him or her C) it D) them
e) The car turned over, but luckily it didn't suffer serious .. .
A) damage B) injury C) damages D) injuries
f) Sorry, I'm late, but I had a lot of ...... to do.
A) job B) work C) task D) labour
g) Julie bought herself a complete new ..... for winter.
A) outfit B) cloth C) clothing D) wear
h) I feel like going out tonight. Let's go to a/an ... .
A) dancing B) night C) club D entertainment
i) Thanks for a great weekend! We really had a/an ... .
A) fun B) enjoyment C) hospitality D) good time
j) In order to prove Smith is guilty, we must find some . .
A) information B) evidence C) knowledge D) means
6
Choose the most appropriate meaning for each sentence.
a) You mustn't lose heart.
1) Don't have an operation. Don't give up hope.
b) Where's my glass?
1) I need a drink. 2) I can't see.
c) Jack has a new post.
1) The postman has delivered a letter. 2) He has a different job.
d) All goods must be paid for in advance.
1) Nothing enjoyable in life is free. 2) You have to pay for these
things first.
e) I've joined a new company.
1) I have a new job. 2) I have some new friends.
f) This hotel has class.
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1) You can study hotel management here. 2) It is a good quality
hotel.
g) I don't have the means to help you.
1) I'm not able to help. 2) I can't understand what help you need.
h) I'd like some china.
1) I want to go abroad. 2) I need some cups and plates.
i) Do you have any cash?
1) Do you only have a cheque? 2) Isn't there a place to pay in this
shop?
j) They have a business in Leeds.
1) They have to go there to do a job. 2) They own a company there.
7
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the
first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given.
You must use between two and five words, including the word given.
a) This island has a large population.
people
There .................. ...................................................on this island.
b) Do you own these things?
your
Are .............................................................................. belongings?
c) The weather was good on our holiday.
had
We .......................................................................... on our holiday.
d) There were a lot of cars on the road to Manchester.
traffic
There ....................................................... on the road to Manchester.
e) Gerry is a very strong person, in my opinion.
strength
Gerry ...................................................................... in my opinion.
f) There are pieces of paper all over the floor!
litter
There.................................................................... all over the floor.
g) Can I park my car here?
allowed
Is ......................................................................................... here?
h) I know these machines are very expensive.
machinery
I know ................................................................... very expensive.
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8 Complete each sentence with a suitable word from the box.
Flight item
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
piece sheet clap
head
set
slice
Let me give you a .... ........... of advice.
There is an interesting .............. of news in the paper.
A of stairs takes you to the top of the house.
Could I have another ............... of paper, please?
Helen has a lovely ............... of hair.
Do you want another ............... of toast?
We bought Mike and Lynn a ........... of cutlery for a wedding present.
h) The lightning was followed by a ..... of thunder.
9 Complete each sentence with a suitable word from the box.
accommodation bread
cash
information
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
cookery lightning spelling advice
luggage
parking
I can't cut this loaf. Do you have a proper ..........
knife?
I'm afraid that 'neice' is a ................. mistake.
There's usually a/an .................. space opposite the cinema.
We need a/an .................... box to keep the money in.
The tourist board have built a/an .............. centre near the castle.
We decided to put a/an ................. conductor on the roof.
Marjorie used to write a/an ................ column in a magazine.
h) These suitcases are very heavy. We must find a/an ... trolley.
i) I must rush. I'm going to a/an .......... lesson.
j) Julie found her flat through a/an ......... agency.
10 Decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each space.
Food habits
Breakfast is one of those (1) ........ , that varies from person to person and
country to country. For some (2) ............... it means a (3) ............... of toast
and some coffee. In various places I've also been offered (4) ........................ or
fruit. (5) .................. executives might eat breakfast at the (6) ............................,
while for many schoolchildren breakfast is a (7) ......................... of milk at
home, and then a long wait (8) .......................... first break of the morning,
when they eat (9) ......................... or (10.......................... chocolate bar. Some
families sit down and eat together 11) ............................. the morning, and listen
to (12) .................. news on the radio or (13) ..................... early morning
television. For other people, the early morning is a rush (14) ........................
work or school, and there just simply isn't (15) .......................................... .
1) A times
B meals
C foods
D plates
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Куприна Р.Н.
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
A people
A sheet
A a cheese
A Business
A train
A glass
8) A to
9) A sandwich
10) A a
11) A for
12) A a
13) A look
14) A to
15) A there
B persons
B loaf
B the cheese
B A business
B street
B piece
B is
B the sandwich
B some
Bin
B what
B watch
B from
B it
C breakfasts
C slice
C cheese
C Business's
C morning
C warm
C until
C a sandwiches
C a piece
Cat
C some
C see
C at
C enough
D us
D sandwich
D cheeses
D Businessmen
D ottice
D box
D wh i c h
D sandwiches
D a glass of
D while
D the
D regard
D and
D time
Key points
1 Check in a dictionary to be sure that a noun is countable or uncountable.
2 The meaning of a noun may change depending on whether it is used in
a countable or uncountable sense.
3 Note that some nouns ending in -s take a singular verb:
The news is bad today
And that some nouns only have a plural form:
The police are arriving shortly.
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5 Gender
5 A Male and female word forms: 'waiter/waitress'
Study:
1 In many languages, the names of things such as book, chair, radio, table may
be grammatically masculine, feminine or neuter. Often gender doesn't relate to
sex, so that the word for 'girl' might be neuter and the word for 'chair' might be
feminine.
2 There is no grammatical gender for nouns in English. Though there can be
exceptions, we use only he and she to refer to people and it to refer to everything else. It is the pronouns, not the nouns, that tell us whether the reference is
to male or female:
He is the person you spoke to. She is the person you spoke to.
3 We still have a few male and female word forms (man/woman) and a few ess endings that refer to females: waiter/waitress, lion/lioness. In the case of
people, this -ess ending is becoming rare. In the interests of sexual equality,
words like author and manager refer to both sexes, rather than using * authoress* or manageress for a woman.
Write: Supply the missing words. Refer to this list as little as possible.
Actress, aunt, bachelor, bridegroom, cows, daughter, female, goddess, hens,
heroine, heiress,
Lionesses, mares, nephew, nieces, nuns, prince, queens, ram, saleswoman, sister, sow,
Spinster, uncle, waitress, widower.
1 John's brother is a bank clerk and his............................ is a nurse.
2 My aunt is very nice and my................... has a wonderful sense of humour.
3 My................... is a little boy of four; my niece is a little girl of two.
4 My father's brother and sister have never married. He's still a ...................
and she's a ...........................
5 These days, few men become monks and few women become ...................
6 There is only one bull in the field, but there are dozens of...................
7 The cock crows at dawn and wakes up all the...................
8 The stallion is in a separate stable from the...................
9 We call the boar Henry and we call the................... Jemima.
10 The ewes look quiet enough, but I don't like the look of that ...................
11 Tony is an actor and his wife is an ...................
12 John and Jane work in a restaurant; he is a waiter and she is a...................
13 In fairy tales the handsome.............. usually marries the beautiful princess.
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14 We went to a wildlife park and saw a lot of lions and...................
15 In mythology, Mars is the god of war; Diana is the................... of hunting.
16 Katerina is the................... to her father's fortune.
17 Why does everyone expect the hero of the story to marry the................... ?
18 A widow can often manage much better on her own than a...................
19 A........ won the award for most sales this month; a salesman came second.
20 When you look at fish, it's often difficult to distinguish between male
and...................
21 Very few people know the names of the kings and................... of England.
22 I took a photo of the bride and................... at the wedding.
23 The Smiths have a son called Robert and a................... called Jill.
24 My uncle and................... are over here from Canada.
25 I enjoy being an uncle. I have two................... and three nephews.
5B Identifying masculine and feminine through pronouns: 'He/She is a student'
Study:
1 The word forms man and woman tell us that the reference is to male and female, but with most nouns that refer to people, we don't know whether the reference is to male or female until we hear the pronoun:
My neighbour has just bought a new shed for his garden. My neighbour is always telling us about her famous son.
2 Other typical nouns like this are:
adult, artist, child, cook, cousin, darling, dear, doctor, foreigner, friend, guest,
journalist, lawyer, musician, orphan, owner, parent, passenger, person, pupil, relation, relative, scientist, singer, speaker, spouse, stranger, student, teacher, tourist, visitor, writer.
Write: Supply the correct pronouns in these sentences.
1 When I saw the doctor,.................... told me to go back and see her again
next week.
2 Jennifer is a fine musician........................ plays in the Philharmonic.
3 My lawyer told me....................... would ring me when he had the information I wanted.
4 Your visitor left....................... glasses behind when he came here yesterday.
5 Professor Myers is a brilliant scientist........................ should be given the
Nobel Prize for her work.
6 Mrs Carter, our English teacher, really knows....................... grammar!
7 The artist, Rembrandt, painted several pictures of....................... wife.
8 Anton Schmidt works as a cook at a large hotel........................ is famous for
his cooking.
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Куприна Р.Н.
9 How would you describe her? -Well,....................... is a student of about 18.
10 How do you know this passport belongs to a woman? -The owner has
....................... photo in it.
11 My daughter works as a journalist and ............... has been very successful.
12 You don't know................... so you should begin your letter 'Dear Madam'.
5C Context
Write: Put in actors, Miss, mother, Prince, princess, Sisters and the missing
words.
CINDERELLA AND THE UGLY SISTERS
Our local school recently put on Cinderella as a play and invited the Mayor of
the town to see it. After the performance, the distinguished guest went backstage.1........................ congratulated the young 2........................ and actresses.
3
....................... spoke to Henry who played the part of 4 ............................
Charming and Liz, who played the part of Cinderella. The Mayor asked Liz if
5
....................... would enjoy being a 6....................... when she married Prince
Charming and she blushed and giggled. The Mayor congratulated the Fairy
God- 7 ........................., and, of course, the teacher who produced the play,
Miss Jones. 8 ....................... Jones was very pleased because 9 .......................
had worked hard to put on the play with a company of eleven-year-olds. The
Mayor then approached us and said, 'Excellent... excellent... and... -er... you
must be the Ugly 10....................... !' 'No, ma'am!' we cried. 'We're the children's mothers!'
6. The genitive
6A How to show possession with 's, s' and the apostrophe (') on its own
Study:
1 We show possession in English with the genitive form of a noun. This
means we normally use 's and s' for people and some living creatures. We put
the possessive before the noun it refers to: Frank's car. (Not *the car of
Frank/the car of Frank's)
2 The simplest rule to remember is: Add 's to any personal noun unless it is in
the form of a plural ending in -s, - in which case, just add an apostrophe (').
This means:
- add 's to singular nouns and names not ending in -s: a boy's tie, Tom's hat.
- add 's to singular nouns ending in -s: an actress's career, a waitress's job.
- add 's to irregular plural nouns: children's games, the men's club, sheep's
wool.
- add an apostrophe (') after the -s of regular plurals: the girls' uniforms.
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Куприна Р.Н.
- add 's to names ending in -s: Charles's address, Doris's party, St James's Park.
Famous names ending in s just add ('): Yeats' poetry. This is pronounced /s/ or
/iz/.
Write:
Write: Rewrite these sentences using 's, s', or just an apostrophe (').
1 This bicycle is for a child......This is a child's bycicle ....................................
2 This pen belongs to the teacher
3 He described the career of the actress
4 That's a job for a stewardess
5 These toys belong to the chidren
6 This is a club for women
7 It's a school for girls
8 This is the lounge for residents
9 This umbrella belongs to James
10 That hat belongs to Doris
6B Apostrophe s ('s/s'), compound noun, or 'of?
Study:
1 When we want to show possession with things, we can use of. the leg of the
table. However, we often prefer to use a compound noun instead of of. the table-leg.
2 We must use of when we can't form a compound noun:
the book of the film (Not "the film's book"); the top of the box (Not "the box's
top") You can only learn these from experience. If you are in doubt, use of.
Write: Only where possible, use an apostrophe to show possession in these
sentences.
1 That's the voice of a man......That's a man's voice
2 I can't see the bottom of the box
3 That's the decision of the committee
4 It's the fault of no one
5 This is a copy of the poetry of Keats
6 That's the leg of the table
7 Where's the key of the cart
8 That's the bell of the village church that you can hear
9 These are the stables of the horses
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Куприна Р.Н.
6С The use of 's and s' with non-living things: 'an hour's journey'
Study:
We use's and s' with some non-living things:
- fixed phrases: the earth's surface, journey's end, the ship's company
- time phrases (singular): an hour's journey, a day's work, a month's salary
- time phrases (plural): two hours' journey, two days' work, two months'
salary
Write: Use 's or s' only where possible with these.
1 a delay of an hour......an hours's delay...........
2 journey of two days.......................................
3 the shade of the tree.........................................
4 the book of the film...........................................
5 the inside of the box.........................................
6 the price of success..........................................
7 work of seven years..........................................
8 the surface of the earth.....................................
9 at the door of death...........................................
10 an absence of a year .......................................
6 D Omission of the noun after 's
We generally omit the noun after 's when referring to work-places, shops, and
houses:
the doctor's, rather than the doctor's surgery, my mother's rather than my
mother's house.
What could we use in place of the words in brackets?
1 Your mother has gone to (the shop owned by the hair-dresser) ....................
2 I'll meet you at (the shop owned by the chemist) ...........................................
3 I'm going to spend the night at (the house owned by my aunt) ......................
4 We were married in (the church dedicated to St An-drew).............................
5 I bought this at (the department store owned by Marks and Spencer) ............
6E Context
Write: Put in compounds and 's and s' constructions in this story.
MIND YOUR SKIN!
We have become very conscious of conservation these days. A lot of people
won't buy any goods made from (skins of animals)1......... animal........skins .....
In many parts of the world, it is now unthinkable for a person to dress in (a
coat made of the skin of a leopard) 2............... We realize that (the wildlife of
the earth)3 ............... needs protection. This affects such things as (clothing
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Куприна Р.Н.
worn by children)4 ................... and (coats worn by la-dies)5............... If (a fur coat worn
by an actress)6...................... attracts admiration these days, it is probably created
from man-made materials. Of course, we still farm animals for their skins, but
the notice I saw in a shop recently must have been (the Mind your skin!
revenge of the crocodiles 7 ........................ It was selling crocodile -skin bags
and offering the following service: ('skins of customers)8 ................ made up'!
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Куприна Р.Н.
Wordbuilding
Nouns made from Verbs
1 -sis -ure
Make nouns ending in -sis or -ure from the following verbs, making any necessary changes in spelling. Then put each noun in its correct place in the sentences below.
emphasize
seize
hypnotize sign
diagnose fail
analyse
close
paralyse
enclose
(a) The doctor's was that I had bronchitis.
(b) Don't put an inside an aerogramme. It is not permitted.
(c) The
of the blood will help the police find the murderer.
(d) The doctor used
to make her calm and relaxed.
(e) He was very ambitious, and his
to become prime minister was a shock
to him.
(f) The
at the bottom of the letter was impossible to read.
(g) Some teachers put a lot of on learning by heart.
(h) There has been a military government since the army's of power six years
ago.
(i) This disease can lead to the of certain muscles..
(j) The
of the factory and loss of jobs came as a result of fewer orders
from abroad.
2 -y
Make nouns from the following verbs by adding -y to the end and making any
other necessary changes in spelling. Then put each noun in its correct place in
the sentences below.
prosper
expire
enquire
deliver
injure discover
recover conspire
apologize
assemble
forge
(a) In England there is no postal ................... on Sundays.
(b) He still suffers from an ................... he received in a game of football ten
years ago.
(c) He could copy other people's signatures perfectly. He was finally sent to
prison for ................... .
(d) The ................... of a ship from the bottom of the sea is a very difficult, expensive operation.
(e) The ................... of America was made in 1492 by Christopher Colombus.
(f) I wish you happiness, good health and ................... for this coming year.
(g) This is the parliamentary building, where the National ................... meets.
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Куприна Р.Н.
(h) She accepted his ................... for his rude behaviour at dinner.
(i) The President believed there was a ................... to overthrow him.
(j) On ..................., your passport may be renewed for a further five years.
(k) Thank you for your ................... about our products. We enclose our current catalogue..
3 -ence
Make nouns ending in -ence from the following verbs, making any necessary
changes in spelling. Then put each noun in its correct place in the sentences
below.
prefer
refer
exist
obey
depend
defend
correspond
pretend
offend
reside
insist coincide
differ interfere
(a) He couldn't go to university but continued his education through
................... courses.
(b)This monument is in memory of the men and women who died ...................
in of this country.
(c) Police dogs are trained to a high standard of ................... .
(d) Tea or coffee? Do you have any ...................?
(e) She wasn't really angry at all. It was just ................... .
(f) Dictionaries, encyclopaedias and atlases are called ................... books.
(g) The doctors tried to cure him of his ................... on drugs.
(h) The United Nations came into ................... in 1945.
(i) Despite his
................... that he was innocent, he was arrested.
(j) I can't tell the ................... between butter and margarine.
(k) I hope she didn't take ................... . I was only joking.
(l) I met John on holiday quite by chance. What a ................... .
(m) She complained of ................... by her mother-in-law in her private affairs.
(n) 'Place of ................... ' means the place where you live.
4 -ance
Make nouns from the following verbs by adding -ance to the end and making
any other necessary changes in spelling. Then put each noun in its correct
place in the sentences below.
annoy
attend
assist
resist
avoid
perform
endure
insure
accept
resemble
enter
disturb
(a) It was the actor's finest ................... .
(b) The teacher kept a record of every student's ................... .
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Куприна Р.Н.
(c) This signature bears no ................... to mine! It's a forgery!
(d) When I received the offer of a job, I immediately wrote a letter of ............ .
(e) The police were called to a ................... at a private party last night.
(f) My house ................... covers me for fire, flood, theft and damage.
(g) When she was very old she couldn't look after herself without ................. .
(h) When people kept talking during the film, he showed his ................... by
turning round and looking at them.
(i) The ................... to the park is through that gate there.
(j) After fierce ................. for two days, the soldiers surrendered to the enemy.
(k) By continuing his journey alone, on foot, in freezing weather without food
for two days he showed remarkable powers of ................... .
(l) The Automobile Association recommends ................... of the city centre
during the present road repairs.
5 -al
Make nouns from the following verbs by adding -al to the end and making any
other necessary changes in spelling. Then put each noun in its correct place in
the sentences below.
deny
renew
propose
remove
approve
arrive
bury
survive
refuse
dismiss
try
rehearse
(a) His unpunctuality and bad work soon led to his ................... from the firm.
(b) After the funeral service in the church, we went out to the cemetery for the
................... .
(c) Thousands of people were at the airport for the President's ................... .
(d) ................. of your season ticket for another six months will cost you £268.
(e) To get married before you are eighteen, you will need your parents'
................... and consent.
(f) The first performance of the play is tomorrow. The actors are having a final
................... tonight.
(g) At the end of the five-day ..................., he was found guilty and sent to
prison.
(h) The factory manager wants to use different machines but the workers don't
like this ....................
(i) The police were amazed at the ................... of the five children after a night
out in freezing temperatures.
(j) He made a complete ................... of the accusation against him but no one
believed him.
(k) I don't understand his ................... to help us. He's usually very helpful.
(l) The new republican government demanded the ................... of the king's
statue from the main square.
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Куприна Р.Н.
6 -age
Make nouns from the following verbs by adding -age to the end and making
any other necessary changes in spelling. Then put each noun in its correct
place in the sentences below.
use
break
shrink
wreck
store
marry
post
leak
stop
pass
(a) A family house always needs ................... space for old furniture and luggage.
(b) With the ................... of time, her heartache grew less painful.
(c) The ................. between Alan and Josephine will take place in St Andrew's
Church on April 21.
(d) The firm is proud of its non-strike record. There hasn't been a ...................
for twelve years.
(e) Airmail ................... to Australia for a large parcel is very expensive.
(f) The ................... of the smashed car was left by the road as a warning to
motorists.
(g) The Prime Minister is very angry about the ................... of information to
the press from closed secret meetings.
(h) The American ................... of this word is different from the British.
(i) In a shop selling glass and china a certain amount of ................... is unavoidable.
(j) This shirt was guaranteed against ..................., but look, it's too small for
me now and I've only washed it once.
7 Put in each space below a noon formed from the verb in brackets after the sentence.
(a) John's an expert, so I asked him for some ................... . (advise)
(b) You need more ................... before you can play the violin in public. (practise)
(c) The policeman wanted to see the motorist's driving ................... . (license).
(d) He made a ................... that she would marry and have three children.
(prophesy).
(e) We can only get there by plane. There's no ................... . (choose)
(f) 'Now children, I hope you'll all be on your best ............... when we got to
the museum.' (behave)
(g) I have to make a ................. about poor service and the rudeness of your
staff. (complain)
(h) I think you've made an ................... in the bill. Could you check it? (err)
(i) Naturally he's very unhappy at the .................... of so much money. (lose)
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Куприна Р.Н.
ture and other things. (mix)
(k) The company has shown rapid ................. in the last two years. (grow)
8 Put in each space below a noon formed from the verb in brackets after
the sentence.
(a) Newspapers in that country can say what they like. There's no ................. .
(censor)
(b) It took him a long time to recover from the ................. of his mother. (die)
(c) The ................. of poverty, disease and ignorance must be our principal
aim. (conquer)
(d) It is my ................. that there is life on mars and Venus. (believe)
(e) The police think that she committed the murder but they have no
................. . (prove)
(f) It was a great ................. to hear that your illness isn't serious. (relieve)
(g) Most of the passengers were killed in the aircrash. The ................. were
badly injured. (remain)
(h) Two miles from here, it's still possible to see the ................. of a 2, 000year-old Roman town. (remain)
(i) Some people tie a knot in their handkerchiefs as a ................. of something
important they must do. (remind)
(j) The priest asked us to say a ................. for world peace. (pray)
(k) He put the two televisions together so that we could make a ................. .
(compare)
9 Put in each space below a noon formed from the verb in brackets after
the sentence.
(a) The police car crashed into a traffic-light while it was in ................. of a
stolen car. (pursue)
(b) He feels a deep ................. for the people who killed his brother. (hate)
(c) Of course the ................. of a mountain takes longer than the .................
(ascend.... (descend).
(d) Not far from here you can see the ................. of an old church. Only the
walls are left. (ruin)
(e) If you want to know what's in a book, look at the ................. page at the
front. (contain)
(f) He has a very wide of African affairs. (know)
(g) You'll have to make a ................. soon. (decide)
(h) She's very nice but she has a ................. to talk too much. (tend)
(h) I'm not sure, but I have a ................. that he was the boy who stole my
bike. (suspect)
(j) The actors received enthusiastic ............. at the end of the show. (applaud)
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(k) The staff at this hotel are excellent. They give very good ............. . (serve)
(1) The ................. of the new baby was about four kilograms. (weigh)
(m) We believe the existence of large armies and terrible weapons is a
................. to world peace, (threaten)
(n) His first ................. missed but he killed the bird with his second, (shoot)
(o) £50, 000 was taken in the bank ................. yesterday, (rob)
(p) I've written three letters to the firm about their bad product, but they've
made no .................. (respond)
10 -sion
Make nouns, all ending in -sion, from the following verbs. Put each noun in its
correct place in the sentences below.
divide conclude expand persuade revise admit exclude
explode include
(a) I hope friendly .................. will make him change his mind. I don't want to
use force.
(b) If they get divorced, they'll have to decide on the
.................. of their
money and property.
(c) He dreamt of the .................. of his firm from a small factory to a large international business.
(d) .................. to the club is limited to members only.
(e) There was a very loud .................. when the bomb went off.
(f) In the final weeks before the exam, the students did a lot of .................. .
(g) He was delighted by his .................. in the national football team.
(h)The .................. of her name from the list of people chosen to meet the
President was a great disappointment.
(i) ... and finally, in .................., I thank you all for coming.
11 Instructions as above.
possess confuse permit discuss confess invade
tend impress
collidde
ex-
(a) The .................. of the island was resisted as soon as the soldiers landed on
the beaches.
(b) His car was slightly damaged in the .................. .
(c) Pupils must not enter the teachers' room without .................. .
(d) His dirty appearance made a bad .................. on the judge.
(e) He was arrested for .................. of illegal drugs.
(f) The police questioned him for three days until he finally made a
.................. .
(g) Three boys in the school had the same name, which caused some ............. .
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(h) During the office meeting there was a .................. about the need for a new
photocopier.
(i) He asked for an .................. of his visa for another six months.
12 -ment
Make nouns from the following verbs by adding -ment to the end. Put each
noun in its correct
place in the sentences, below.
Entertain
improve postpone arrange
enlarge
encourage
advertise
(a) The .............. for Monday is that we'll meet at 7 and take the train at 7. 45.
(b) I like this photo. I think I'll have an .................. made.
(c) This is the city's .................. district, full of cinemas and theatres.
(d) We regret to announce the .................. of this evening's concert. The conductor is ill.
The concert will take place next week.
(e) The teachers were pleased at the .................. in his work.
(f) His parents gave him a lot of .................. in his studies.
(g) There was a newspaper .................. for a job as a typist.
13 Instructions as above.
develop employ imprison announce
treat
punish agree
disappoint
manage
govern
(a) The
.................. has announced new, higher taxes.
(b) 'Capital .................. ' means the death penalty.
(c) The company .................. had talks with the workers' representatives but
they couldn't reach.
(d) A lot of country people without jobs came to the city to look for .............. .
(e) He received .................. at the hospital for his injuries.
(f) It was a big .................. to hear that you can't come to our wedding.
(g) She was sentenced to three years .................. .
(h) Television programmes were interrupted by a special .................. about the
plane crash.
(i) I hope that we will soon see the .................. of better relations between our
two countries.
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14 -tion
Make nouns ending in -tion from the following verbs, making any necessary
spelling changes. Then put each noun in its correct place in the sentences below.
revolt
pronounce
repeat
compete
produce qualify
reduce
solve
acquire
Introduce
(a) There's a lot of .................. among car manufacturers to sell most cars.
(b) There are some differences in .................. between British and American
English.
(c) Is a degree a necessary .................. for this job?
(d) .................. of the new sports car has been affected by a fire at the factory.
(e) They are trying to find a .................. to the problem.
(f) A book sometimes sells better if it has an .................. written by a famous
person.
(g) The art gallery is very proud of its recent .................. of an important painting.
(h) There was a .................. . The people rose up and overthrew the government.
(i) That must not happen again. There must be no .................. of the incident.
(j) That shop is offering a big .................. in the price of its clothes.
15 Instructions as above.
satisfy
detain
receive
publish
oppose
explain
abolish
describe
destroy
deceive
(a) The earthquake caused the complete .................. of the village.
(b) The party, or parties, against the government is called the .................. .
(c) He's finished writing his new book .................. will be next year.
(d) The new film has had a very poor .................. by the critics.
(e) She did not get the money honestly and legally. She got it by .................. .
(f) Many people would like to see the .................. of all nuclear weapons.
(g) He had to give his boss an .................. for his absence.
(h) Seven illegal immigrants are being held in .................. at the port.
(i) His work is well-paid but doesn't give him much .................. .
(j) If you send us a .................. of the missing property, we'll try to find it.
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16 -ion
Make nouns from the following verbs by adding -ion to the end. Put each
noun in its correct place in the sentences below.
prevent
predict
interrupt
select
elect
react
protect
invent
suggest
addict
(a) If I can work all day without any .................., I can finish the job by this
evening.
(b) I can't make any .................. about the .................. result. I don't know how
the voting will go.
(c) What was his .................. to the news? Was he pleased or angry?
(d) RSPCA stands for the Royal Society for the ............... of Cruelty to Animals.
(e) His .................. of a new type of car engine brought him a lot of money.
(f) His .................. to drugs nearly killed him.
(g) RSPB stands for the Royal Society for the .................. of Birds.
(h) What shall we do tomorrow? Swimming? Film? Museum? Has anyone got
a better ..................?
(i) He was delighted by his .................. for the school football team.
17 -ation
In each space below put a noun ending in -ation made from the verb in brackets below the phrase.
(a) a police ............ investigate)
(j) a serious .................. (accuse)
(b) a wild ............... exaggerate) (k) the .................. of a meeting (cancel)
(c) a heart ................. (operate).
(l) I'm full of .................. (admire)
(d) .................. leather (imitate)
(m) the .................. of words (abbreviate)
(e) good .................. (pronounce) (n) exam .................. (prepare)
(f) the manager's ............ (resign) (o) a political ............... (demonstrate)
(g) a .................. stone (found)
(p) state or private .................. (educate)
(h)
links (communicate) (q) ............ from poor countries (emigrate)
(i) a vivid .................. (imagine) (r) ............. to rich countries (immigrate)
18 Instructions as above.
(a) a .................. to charity (donate)
(b) a moment's
.................. (hesitate)
(c) a car with good .................. (accelerate)
(d) a hotel .................. (reserve)
(e) a burning .................. (sense)
(f) a .................. of song and dance (combine)
(g) a police .................. (interrogate)
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(h) a party .................. (invite)
(i) .................. of her health (deteriorate)
(j) a school .................. (examine)
(k) a timetable .................. (alter)
(l) tourist .................. (inform)
(m) an evening's .................. (relax)
(n) .................. of old paintings (restore)
(o) .................. I resisted the
(tempt)
(p) the .................. of a story (continue)
(q) a journey of .................. (explore)
(r) the .................. of a book (translate)
(s) the .................. of a speech (interpret)
(t) careful .................. (punctuate)
Nouns made from Adjectives
1. Put in each space below a noun made from the adjective in brackets after the sentence.
(a) South Africa has great mineral ...................... . (wealthy)
(b) ...................... is one of the world's great problems. (poor)
(c) Tell the ....................... (true)
(d) I must drink something. I'm dying of ...................... . (thirsty)
(e) I must eat something. I'm dying of ...................... . (hungry)
(f) He was very bright. He passed the exam with ...................... . (easy)
(g) In his ...................... he travelled a lot. Now he is too old. (young)
(h) I don't know how to express my ...................... for your help. (grateful)
(i) It's very late. There's not much ...................... of his coming now. (likely)
(j) To be a soldier you need to be strong and in good ...................... . (health)
(k) There was no doubt about his ....................... . He was sent to prison for
five years. (guilty)
(l) He escaped to ...................... by climbing over the prison wall, (free)
2. Put in each space below a noun made from the adjective in brackets after the sentence.
(a) The ...................... of the president was announced on the radio. (dead)
(b) In past wars soldiers were sometimes shot for ...................... . (cowardly)
(c) He died to save the lives of others. It was an act of ...................... . (heroic)
(d) He was a very thoughtful, philosophical person. A man of great
...................... . (wise)
(e) She felt great ...................... at being treated so badly. (angry)
(f) He left his town to find ...................... in the big city. (famous)
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(g) The tourists were impressed by the ...................... of the jewellery in the.
museum. (splendid)
(h) It was a long, slow film. I nearly died of ...................... . (boring)
(i) He was filled with ...................... at the terrible things he saw in the war.
(horrible)
(j) The ice quickly melted in the ...................... of the sun. (hot)
(k) His
...................... was hurt when a younger man was given the job
above him. (proud)
(l) I think it shows ...................... of character to admit you are wrong. (strong)
3. Put in each space below a noun made from the adjective in brackets after the sentence.
(a) To be successful you need ability and you need ...................... . (lucky)
(b) He was delighted by the ...................... of the welcome he received. (warm)
(c) The idea of going through the forest alone at night filled her with
...................... . (terrible)
(d) The ...................... of the bridge is about two kilometres. (long)
(e) The ...................... of the road is not great enough to take large trucks.
(wide)
(f) What's the ...................... of that mountain? (high)
(g) The ...................... of the water here is over three metres. (deep)
4. -ence -ance
Make nouns ending in -ence or -ance from the following adjectives and put
them in their correct places in the sentences below.
confident
intelligent
convenient
independent
important
reluctant
patient
silent
violent
innocent
elegant
arrogant
absent
present
(a) The police were there to prevent any possible .......................
(b) There was complete ...................... except for the sound of the birds.
(c) He was very unsure of himself. He didn't have much ...................... .
(d) She dressed with great ................... in clothes of the latest French fashions.
(e) Although he maintained his ...................... to the end, he was sent to prison.
(f) It doesn't matter. It's of no ...................... .
(g) What a silly thing to do. I thought he had more ...................... .
(h) He thinks he's the only person who's right! What
......................!
(i) Zimbabwe gained its ...................... in 1975.
(j) He didn't like school, and went every day with great ...................... .
(k) Please have a little ....................... We must wait another hour.
(l) Please send the goods at your earliest ...................... .
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(m) The boss didn't believe that her ...................... was due to illness.
(n) People normally stand in the ...................... of the Queen.
5. -cy
Make nouns ending in -cy from the following adjectives and put them in
their correct places in the sentences below.
obstinate
accurate
private
vacant
urgent
frequent
efficient
fluent
(a) Swiss watches are famous for their ...................... .
(b) A ...................... for an office manager was advertised in the newspaper.
(c) This is a matter of great ...................... . It must be discussed as soon as
possible.
(d) Donkeys are known for their ................. . They won't do what they're told.
(e) After five years in London, of course he speaks English with great
...................... .
(f) He always did his job well. Everyone appreciated his ...................... .
(g) The ...................... of this bus service is about one every ten minutes.
(h) I don't like to be visited or phoned too much at home. I like my
...................... .
6 -ity -ness
Make nouns from the following adjectives by adding -ity or -ness to the end,
and put them in their correct places in the sentences below.
punctual bald
similar
equal
deaf
quiet
foolish
popular
(a) He's worried about his increasing ...................... . He might get a wig.
(b) What ...................... to leave a baby out in the hot sun.
(c) The teacher insisted on ...................... .
(d) Men and women should have ...................... of pay and opportunity.
(e) I have some ...................... in my left ear.
(f) The international ...................... of the Beatles was amazing.
(g) I like the ...................... of this street. It's very peaceful.
(h) There is some ...................... between German and Dutch.
7. Instructions as above
stupid
fond
formal
serious
weak
neutral
neat real
superior Christian ill blunt
(a) Don't laugh I don't think you understand the ...................... of the situation.
(b) The principal religion of this area is ..................... .
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(c) The teacher gave a special mark for ...................... .
(d) He proved his ...................... by winning easily.
(e) Switzerland has a record of ...................... in past wars.
(f) He spoke with such ...................... that many people were offended.
(g) ...................... kept him away from work for a week.
(h) I was surprised by the ...................... of the occasion All the men wore dark
suits and ties.
(i) Engineers have found a ...................... in the bridge. They'll have to
strengthen it.
(j) The French ...................... for wine is well known They like it a lot.
(k) He is always daydreaming, he never faces ...................... .
(l) What a crazy thing to do How could anyone behave with such ..................?
8. -ty
Make nouns ending in -ty from the following adjectives, making any necessary spelling changes, then put them in their correct places in the sentences below.
curious
vain
necessary clear
simple anxious
gay
various
brief generous
(a) He spoke with great ...................... . Everyone understood.
(b) There's no
...................... to take the exam if you don't want to.
(c) We were disappointed by the ...................... of our stay in Paris. Two days
was not enough.
(d) The children looked at the foreign stranger with ...................... .
(e) There is increasing ...................... about the missing children.
(f) He is famous for his ...................... . He gives large sums to charity.
(g) In spite of his fame, wealth and success, he lives a life of great ................ .
(h) He's always looking at himself in the mirror What ...................... !
(i) In a big city like Amsterdam there's always a ...................... of things to do
in the evening.
(j) The music, dancing and decoration gave the party an atmosphere of great
...................... .
9. -y
Make nouns ending in -y from the following adjectives, making any necessary spelling changes, then put them in their correct places in the sentences.
tragic
courteous
jealous
envious
hypocritical
certain
beautiful
difficult
furious
safe
loyal
royal
cruel
(a) '...................' is another word for 'politeness'.
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(b) NSPCC stands for the National Society for the Prevention of ......................
to Children.
(c) The Scottish Highlands are full of great natural ...................... .
(d) ' ...................... ' and ' ...................... ' mean more or less the same.
(e) During the bombing, children were taken to a place of ...................... .
(f) The newspapers described the deaths in the air crash as a ...................... .
(g) At first he had great ...................... in understanding the language.
(h) That entrance is reserved for ...................... and other important people.
(i) People reacted with ...................... to the President's speech and thousands
of people attacked his palace.
(j) He says everyone is equal but he treats his employees badly. What
...................... !
(k) I think they'll arrive tomorrow but no one is sure There's not much
...................... about it.
(l) His wife supported him through all his troubles. She showed great
...................... .
10 -iness
Make nouns ending in -iness from the following adjectives, making necessary
spelling changes,
then put them in their correct places below.
happy tidv ugly holy
naughty
lovely
lazy
lonely
(a) Living alone in the city, he suffered from ...................... at first.
(b) A factory can be attractive It doesn't have to be a place of ...................... .
(c) The birth of their baby daughter brought them a lot of ...................... .
(d) He lost his job because of his ...................... .
(e) Please respect the .................. of this religious place by not talking loudly.
(f) Their mother punished them for their ...................... in breaking the window
and telling lies.
(g) The teacher complimented her pupils on their ...................... . They had all
polished their shoes and combed their hair.
(h) The ...................... of the view almost took my breath away.
11 -ion -ment
Make nouns ending in -ion or -ment from the following adjectives, making
any necessary spelling changes, then put them in their correct places below.
cautious
attractive
perfect
tense content
excited
a) After the revolution people were nervous about going into the streets There
was an atmosphere of
...................... .
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(b) She dances so beautifully she almost reaches ...................... .
(c) In his old age he lives a life of peace, comfort and ...................... .
(d) This animal is dangerous It should be handled with the greatest
...................... .
(e) The children's ...................... increased as Christmas Day drew near.
(f) The Eiffel Tower in Pans is a major tourist ...................... .
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