Nouns. Defining Singular and Plural CHAPTER. Part A. Signal Words: Singular and Plural Signal Words with Of

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1 CHAPTER 30 Nouns PART A PART B PART C Defining and Signal Words: and Signal Words with Of Part A Defining and Nouns are words that refer to people, places, or things. They can be either singular or plural. means one. means more than one. the glass a lamp a lesson glasses lamps lessons As you can see, nouns usually add -s or -es to form the plural. Some nouns form their plurals in other ways. Here are a few examples: child crisis criterion foot goose man medium memorandum phenomenon tooth woman children crises criteria feet geese men media memoranda (memorandums) phenomena teeth women 407

2 408 UNIT 6 Reviewing the Basics These nouns ending in -f or -fe change endings to -ves in the plural: half knife life scarf shelf wife wolf halves knives lives scarves shelves wives wolves Hyphenated nouns form plurals by adding -s or -es to the main word: brother-in-law maid-of-honor passer-by brothers-in-law maids-of-honor passers-by Other nouns do not change at all to form the plural; here are a few examples: deer equipment fish merchandise deer equipment fish merchandise If you are unsure about the plural of a noun, check a dictionary. For example, if you look up the noun woman in the dictionary, you may see an entry like this: woman, women The first word listed, woman, is the singular form of the noun; the second word, women, is the plural. Some dictionaries list the plural form of a noun only if the plural is unusual. If no plural is listed, that noun probably adds -s or -es.* Remember: Do not add an -s to words that form plurals by changing an internal letter. For example, the plural of man is men, not mens; the plural of woman is women, not womens; the plural of foot is feet, not feets. * For more work on spelling plurals, see Chapter 38, Spelling, Part H.

3 CHAPTER 30 Nouns 409 PRACTICE 1 Make these singular nouns plural. 1. man 11. passer-by 2. half 12. criterion 3. foot 13. shelf 4. son-in-law 14. mouse 5. moose 15. child 6. life 16. father-in-law 7. tooth 17. knife 8. medium 18. deer 9. woman 19. secretary 10. crisis 20. goose Part B Signal Words: and A signal word tells you whether a singular or a plural noun usually follows. These signal words tell you that a singular noun usually follows: Signal Words a(n) a single another house each every one These signal words tell you that a plural noun usually follows: Signal Words all both few many most several some two (or more) various houses

4 410 UNIT 6 Reviewing the Basics PRACTICE 2 Some of the following sentences contain incorrect singulars and plurals. Correct the errors. Put a C after correct sentences. 1. By three years old, most children have firm ideas about how men and woman should behave. 2. Children develop their concepts about gender differences through conditioning, a process of learning that reinforces certain behaviors while discouraging other. 3. Conditioning occurs through the messages delivered by parents, peer, and the media. 4. Research shows that parents begin to treat their childrens differently as early as 24 hour after birth. 5. Fathers hold their infant girls gently and speak softly to them, but they bounce baby boys, playing airplane and tickling their feets. 6. Mothers, too, condition gender roles; they reward little girls who play quietly and help with chores, while excusing the loud play of boys as natural. 7. Once in school, children quickly learn that certain kinds of make-believe such as playing house or having tea parties are girls games; boys are encouraged by their friend to crash cars and shoot toy guns. 8. While the boundaries are less rigid for girls at this stage, most boys who show any interest in feminine clothes or activity will be mocked by their peers. 9. Many TV ad play a key conditioning role by showing boys involved in sports or jobs and girls playing indoors with toy ovens or dolls. 10. By limiting choices for most child, we ignore many talents and interest that might greatly enhance their lifes and society as a whole. Part C Signal Words with Of Many signal words are followed by of... or of the.... Usually, these signal words are followed by a plural noun (or a collective noun) because they really refer to one or more from a larger group.

5 CHAPTER 30 Nouns 411 one of the pictures is... each of the many of the a few of the pictures are... lots of the Be careful: The signal words one of the and each of the are followed by a plural noun, but the verb is singular because only the signal word (one or each) is the real subject.* One of the coats is on sale. Each of the flowers smells sweet. PRACTICE 3 Fill in your own nouns in the following sentences. Use a different noun in each sentence. 1. Since Jacob wrote each of his with care, the A s came as no surprise. 2. You are one of the few I know who can listen to the radio and watch television at the same time. 3. Naomi liked several of the new but remained faithful to her long-time favorites. 4. Many of the wore Walkmans. 5. Determined to win the Salesperson of the Year award, Clyde called on all his two or three times a month. 6. One of the was wearing a down jacket. PRACTICE 4 REVIEW Proofread the following essay for errors in singular and plural nouns. Correct the errors above the lines. The Language of Color, the Color of Cash (1) Have you ever wondered why, every year, the merchandises in different stores seems strangely color-coordinated? (2) One year, lavender man s shirts * For more work on this type of construction, see Chapter 27, Present Tense (Agreement), Part C.

6 412 UNIT 6 Reviewing the Basics seem to be everywhere, no matter what the brand. (3) The next year, the hot color might be turquoise or lime green. (4) It is as if all the designer met secretly to pick the season s hues. (5) In fact, this phenomena is real, but it is color-trend experts, not designers, who pick the next new colors. (6) One of the most famous colortrend company is Pantone. (7) Each year, Pantone selects several color palettes for its long list of client DKNY, Apple Computer, Pottery Barn, Nike, Kitchen Aid, and more. (8) Pantone is known for its 1757 colors, including 27 shade of white. (9) Chances are that the pale yellow of that kitchen mixer and matching toaster in the store window is a Pantone shade. (10) Those gray and moss green sheet and towels stacked on a department store shelves may well be colors by Pantone. (11) The company s laboratories create and standardize a formula for every shade. (12) Each of the special color that helps sell a brand is kept top-secret. (13) IBM is known as Big Blue, after its color, mixed from two Pantone shades. (14) Barbie pink is a trademarked Pantone color, and the jewelry store Tiffany is now working with Pantone to trademark the famous robin s egg blue of its bags, box, and medium ads. (15) At their annual meeting, Pantone s color forecasters consider many criterion. (16) Sand and pale blue are soothing earth tones in times of stress. (17) Red is exciting and daring; yellow is uplifting. (18) During war years, patriotic colors do well, as do traditional colors like colonial blue and burgundy. (19) Color is a language that peoples respond to, whether they are aware of it or not. (20) Pantone is banking on it. Exploring Online Interactive: Check your expertise at making nouns plural.