II NOUNS 1st exercise 1) communicate `a communication Typical endings which make nouns from verbs (sometimes, we have to make other small changes): acceptance, agreement, arrival, behaviour, discovery, knowledge, possession, postage, experience, decision, attention, 2) babble – Some nouns have the same form as verbs: act, attempt, etc. babbling – a noun (it has its own entry in a dictionary) 3) See 1) know `a knowledge 4) See 1) prepare `a preparation 5) See 1) encourage `a encouragement 6) See 1) recognize `a recognition 7) See 1) solve `a solution 8) See 1) refuse `a refusal 9) science `a scientist Typical endings which make nouns referring to people who do things: actor, assistant, beggar, driver, engineer, historian, pianist, president 10) See 1) behave `a behaviour 2nd exercise 1) wings of feathers `a feather wings Names of materials and substances (leather, gold) are like adjectives when we use them to form compound nouns: a watch made of gold `a a gold watch. 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. 2) a machine that flies `a a flying machine (letadlo) (some dictionaries say that hyphen can be used: flying-machine) 3) a path of flight `a flight path (dráha letu, letová dráha) 4) a cyclist who is a champion `a a champion cyclist 5) a seat of the pilot `a pilot’s seat / pilot-seat - The use of ‘s and s’ for purposes other than possession Regular use: Father’s chair Relationship: Angela’s son Actions: Scott’s journey Purpose: A girls’ school (= a school for girls) Characteristics: John’s stammer (= John has a stammer) 6) a machine made of carbon fibre `a carbon fibre machine Names of materials and substances (leather, gold) are like adjectives when we use them to form compound nouns: a watch made of gold `a 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. 7) a wind from the south `a south wind 8) a shirt made of silk `a a silk shirt See 6) 9) hair like silk `a silky/silken hair · Names of materials and substances (leather, gold) are like adjectives when we use them to form compound nouns: a watch made of gold `a 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. · Two important exceptions are wood and wool, which have adjectival forms: a table made of wood `a a wooden table, a dress made of wool `a a woollen dress · There are adjectival forms for words like gold: glass/glassy, gold/golden, leather/leathery, solver/silvery, silk/silky/silken, steel/steely, stone/stony. We use them to mean ‘like’: a golden sunset (a sunset like gold) 10) a spoon made of wood `a a wooden spoon See 9) 3^rd exercise 1) a coat made of the skin of a leopard `a leopardskin coat When we refer to material which is produced or made by a living animal, ‘s is generally required: a bird’s nest, cow’s milk, lamb’s wool , etc. Where the source of a material is an animal that has been slaughtered, ‘s is not generally used: beef broth, cowhide, sheepskin, etc. 2) the wildlife of the earth `a the earth’s wildlife - The use of ‘s and s’ with non-living things Geographical reference: America’s policy Institutional reference: the European Economic Community’s exports Time references: a day’s work Etc. 3) clothing worn by children `a children’s clothing - The use of ‘s and s’ for purposes other than possession Regular use: Father’s chair Relationship: Angela’s son Actions: Scott’s journey Purpose: A girls’ school (= a school for girls) Characteristics: John’s stammer (= John has a stammer) 4) coats worn by ladies `aladies’ coats - The use of ‘s and s’ for purposes other than possession Regular use: Father’s chair Relationship: Angela’s son Actions: Scott’s journey Purpose: A girls’ school (= a school for girls) Characteristics: John’s stammer (= John has a stammer) 5) a fur coat worn by an actress `a an actress’s fur coat We use ‘s and s’ with people and some living things to show possession: Gus’s car. 6) the revenge of the crocodiles `a the crocodiles’ revenge The use of ‘s and s’ with living things We may use ‘s and s’ after: Personal names: Gus’s car Personal nouns: the doctor’s surgery Indefinite pronouns: anyone’s guess Collective nouns: the army’s advance, the committee’s decision Higher animals: the horse’s stable Some lower animals: an ant’s nest 7) skins of customers `a customers’ skins 4^th exercise I think that what Alexander wants you to do, really, is to say whether the nouns are countable or uncountable. o If a noun is countable, we can use a / an in front of it, it has a plural, and we can use a number in front of it. o If a noun is uncountable, we do not normally use a / an in front of it; rather, we either used no article or we use some / any. 1) Wine is not cheap… `a wine is uncountable; the author is writing here about wine in general 2) …a good wine can cost a lot of money… `a Many nouns which are normally uncountable can be used as countables if we refer to particular varieties. When this occurs, the noun is often preceded by an adjective (a nice wine) or there is some kind of specification (a wine of high quality): The region produces an excellent wine. (i.e. a kind of wine which…) 3) …spare a thought… `a thought is countable 4) …a New York wine merchant… `a merchant is countable 5) …lost a bottle of wine… `a bottle is countable 6) …50,000 a glass… `a glass is countable (we don’t refer to the material, but to the thing which is made of the material) 7) It was a 1784 Chateau Margaux… 8)…took the bottle to a wine tasting… `a wine tasting refers to an event at which wine is being tasted 9) …and put it on a table… `a table is countable 10) The bottle was made of dark glass… `a (we don’t refer to the thing which is made of the material, but to the material itself) 11) He hit it with a tray… `a tray is countable 12) …making a large hole in it… `a hole is countable 13) …was able to taste some of it… `a 14) …a terrible tragedy. `a a disastrous event (event is countable) 5^th exercise Advice `a advice, information, jewellery, scenery … are normally uncountable in English Penny `a Pennies – when we refer to separate coins Pence – when we refer to a total amount Jewellery `a advice, information, jewellery, scenery … are normally uncountable in English Meat – It says: Tick the words which NORMALLY have plurals in English Meat doesn’t; it is thought of as a substance or material. Scenery `a – Alexander says that advice, information, jewellery, scenery … are normally uncountable in English – It says in my dictionaries, however, that scenery has its plural (sceneries). o a picturesque view or landscape o the painted backcloths, stage structures, etc., used to represent a location in a theatre or studio 6^th exercise A cube of ice A bar of chocolate A slice of bread A sheet of paper A bar of soap A bottle of milk A jar of jam A box of matches A pot of tea A tube of toothpaste Add a drop of water A pinch of salt A sip of tea A splash of soda – kapka sody A wisp of smoke (chuchvalec – wisps of mist – chuchvalce mlhy) 7^th exercise 1) The acoustics in this room are very good. a. Acoustics, economics, phonetics and statistics take a singular verb only when they refer to the academic subject. b. They take a plural verb when the reference is specific: Your statistics are unreliable. 2) The police are interested in this case. a. Some collective nouns must be followed by a plural verb; they do not have plural forms. 3) The goods you ordered have arrived. a. …is among the nouns which occur only in the plural and are followed by a plural verb… 4) Where are the scissors? a. The word Scissors is among nouns which have plural forms only and which are used with plural verbs. 5) Our works has/have a good canteen. a. Some plural-form nouns can be regarded as a single unit (+ verb in the singular) or collective (+ verb in the plural): barracks, crossroads, gasworks, headquarters, species, works… b. The same group of nouns as species: i. This species of rose is… ii. There are thousands of species of butterflies. Our works have just informed us that they recognize the above-mentioned claim. Náš závod nám právě oznámil, že uznává výše uvedenou reklamaci. Our works is overcommitted on orders and will have difficulty in meeting their obligations. Náš závod je přetížen objednávkami a bude plnit své závazky jen s námahou. 6) Our company headquarters is in London. a. See 5) 8^th exercise 1) The statistics in this report are… · Acoustics, economics, phonetics and statistics take a singular verb only when they refer to the academic subject. · They take a plural verb when the reference is specific: Your statistics are unreliable. 2) Acoustics is o See 1) 3) There are cross-roads every mile. (I think you could say is.) · Some plural-form nouns can be regarded as a single unit (+ verb in the singular) or collective (+ verb in the plural): barracks, crossroads, gasworks, headquarters, species, works… · The same group of nouns as species: o This species of rose is… o There are thousands of species of butterflies. 4) This species has… o See 3) 5) The military have o Some collective nouns must be followed by a plural verb; they do not have plural forms. 6) The public is/are… o Some collective nouns have no regular plural but can be followed by a singular or plural verb. 7) The jury is/are… o Some collective nouns can be used with singular or plural verbs. 8) There are vermin… o Some collective nouns must be followed by a plural verb; they do not have plural forms.