Grammar Lesson 11
• Vocab:
• Ambiguous- means having a double meaning; unclear; uncertain
• Ambivalent- means having conflicted feelings or attitudes about something
Irregular Plural Nouns, Part 2
• Some singular nouns change completely in their plural forms (tooth-teeth,
mouse-mice, man-men, alga-algae)
• Other nouns are the same in their singular and plural forms (offspring, deer,
cod)
• When we are uncertain, it is very important that we use a dictionary to check
plural forms. If the plural form is regular, the dictionary will not list it.
Sometimes the dictionary will list two plural forms. Use the first one listed.
Nouns ending in f, ff, and fe
• We add s to form the plural (foodstuff-foodstuffs, chief-chiefs)
• However, for some of these nouns we change the f to v and add es (selfselves, wife-wives, thief-thieves)
Nouns Ending in o
• We usually add s to form the plurals, especially if they are musical terms
(piano-pianos, alto-altos, studio-studios, video-videos, radio-radios)
• However, nouns ending in –o preceded by a consonant add –es to form the
plural (embargo-embargoes, cargo-cargoes, tomato-tomatoes, veto-vetoes,
echo-echoes, mango-mangoes)
Compound Nouns and Nouns Ending in -ful
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We make the main element plural in a compound noun
Commander-in-chief=commanders-in-chief
Mother-in-law=mothers-in-law
Zookeeper=zooskeeper
Power of attorney=powers of attorney
We form the plurals of nouns ending in –ful by adding an s at the end
(cupful-cupfuls)
Grammar Lesson 12
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Vocab:
Amare- Latin word meaning “to love”
Amiable- means affable, pleasant, and good-natured
Amicable- not as personal, showing goodwill and formal friendliness
Irregular Verbs, Part 1: Be, have, and do
• Three of the most frequently used verbs in the English language
• The tenses of these verbs are irregular
• Points of view: verb forms often change according to three points of viewfirst person (I, we), second person (you), and third person (he, she, it, they,
and singular or plural nouns)
• Look at the chart in your book for the different tenses.
Grammar Lesson 13
• Vocab:
• Lobby- a special group that tries to influence legislation, can also be a verb
meaning “to try to influence”
• Census- an official count of people in any given place
Four Principal Parts of Verbs
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Every verb has four basic forms, or principal parts
1. the verb
2. the present participle
3. the past tense
4. the past participle
The 4 Principal Parts
• Present Tense: the first principal part is the singular verb in its present tense form
(lobby)
• Present Participle: the second principal part, used to form the progressive tenses
(continuing action), preceded by a form of the be helping verb, add -ing to the
singular verb (is lobbying)
• Past Tense: the third principal part, used to express past time, form by adding ed to
most verbs (lobbied)
• Past Participle: the fourth principal part, used to form the perfect tenses, preceded
by a form of the have helping verb (have lobbied)