1 Write the plural of the following compounds.

Ladybird, policeman, smelling-bottle, passer-by, snowball,

landlord, lady-in-waiting, forget-me-not, step-daughter, hat-
check girl, housewife, custom-house, woman-teacher, man-of-
war, mischief-maker, clergyman, looker-on, headline, workman,
hair-raiser, knee-boot, hardhead, countrywoman, court martial,
fingertip, kiss-me-quick, nut-pine, oil-well, grown-up, pathway.

2 Some nouns have a different meaning in plural. Read these sentences,

translate them into Ukrainian.
Singular Plural

The needle of a You can draw a perfect circle with

compass always points north. compasses.
It is an English custom to celebrate When he got off the plane his bag was searched
the Queen’s birthday. at Customs.
She has a lot of experience working We had lots of exciting experiences on our
with children. journey through Africa.
Would you like a glass of milk? He can’t see very well without his glasses.
She has got long, blonde hair. There are two hairs in this soup!
They were shocked at the scale of She weighed herself on the scales.
the disaster.
This door is made of wood. The boy got lost in the woods.
He goes to work every day except Picasso’s works are really fascinating.
Sunday.

3 Complete the sentences by using a few or a little and the given noun. Use the
plural form of the noun when necessary. Translate the sentences into
Ukrainian.
1. We sang _____ (song) at the party. 2. I feel like listening to _____ (music) tonight.
3. Do you need _____ (help) with that? 4. I bought _____ (fruit) at the market. 5. I need
_____ (advice). 6. Could you give me _____ (information)? 7. I’m not finished with
the work. I need _____ more (time). 8. We need ____ more (desk) in our classroom. 9.
If I accept that job, I’ll make _____ more (money). 10. Don’s plane will arrive in _____
more (hour). 11. Tommy, put just _____ (toothpaste) on your toothbrush, not half a
tube. 12. We need to be able to see the humor in a situation even when we are unhappy.
_____ (laughter) never hurts. 13. Greg’s joke produced _____ (laugh) in the audience,
but most of the people didn’t think it was funny. 14. Pedro already knew _____ English
(grammar) before he took his course. 15. I’ve made _____ (progress) in the last couple
of weeks.
 4 Complete the sentences with the given words. Use the plural form of the
noun when necessary. Translate the sentences into Ukrainian.
1. Joe, would you like (a/some) _____ (lamb) for dinner tonight? 2. _____ (lamb)
(is/are) born in the springtime. 3. It takes me a lot of _____ (time) to write a composition.
4. I really like that movie. I have seen it three _____ (time). 5. Students of Prof. Young’s
literature class have to write a lot of _____ (paper). 6. Students who take thorough
lecture notes use a lot of _____ (paper). 7. The New York Times is (a/some) famous
_____ (paper). 8. Rodin’s statue of “The Thinker” is one of my favourite _____ (work)
of art. 9. I have a lot of _____ (work) to do tonight. 10. If _____ (light) accidentally
(gets/get) in a darkroom, (it/they) can ruin photographic negatives. 11. There (is/are) a
lot of fluorescent _____ (light) on the ceilings of the school building. 12. Erin has
straight _____ (hair) and Sara has curly _____ (hair). 13. Brian has a white cat. When
I stood up from Brian’s sofa, my black slacks were covered with short, white _____
(hair). 14. We’d like two cheese sandwiches and two _____ (coffee), please. 15. I don’t
drink a lot of _____ (coffee). I prefer tea. 16. I wear _____ (glass) because I’m
nearsighted. 17. In some countries, people use _____ (glass) for their tea; in other
countries they use cups. 18. Framed paintings are usually covered with _____ (glass) to
protect them. 19. _____ (iron) (is/are) necessary to animal and plant life. 20. _____
(iron) (is/are) used to make clothes look neat. 21. _____ (drink) (is/are) the cause of all
his problems. 22. He ordered just a sandwich and _____ (a/--) (drink). 23. Look! There
is somebody in the house because there (is/are) _____ (a/--) (light) on inside.
Make the following uncountable nouns plural as in the example.
5
Example:
ice – two ice cubes

1. advice 6. tea 11. jam 16. chocolate

2. toast 7. wood 12. water 17. spectacles
3. sugar 8. bacon 13. beef 18. toothpaste
4. soap 9. news 14. paper 19. information
5. yoghurt 10. ink 15. hockey 20. spaghetti
Insert the appropriate noun.
6
1. Sally has got very long brown _____ (hair/hairs). 2. We had _____ (a very
good weather/very good weather) when we were on holiday. 3. Sorry I’m late. I had
_____ (trouble/troubles) with the car this morning. 4. It’s very difficult to find a _____
(work/job) at the moment. 5. The flat is empty. We haven’t got any _____
(furniture/furnitures) yet. 6. Our _____ (travel/journey) from London to Istambul by
train was very interesting. 7. When the fire alarm rang, there was _____ (a complete
chaos/complete chaos). 8. After spending most of his life travelling round the world, he
is now writing a book about his _____ (experience/ experiences). 9. I want something
to read. I’m going to buy _____ (a paper/ some paper). 10. I want to write some letters.
I need _____ (a writing paper/some writing paper). 11. Tom gave me _____ (some
good advice/good advices). 12. We were very unfortunate. We had _____ (bad luck/a
bad luck). 13. I want to buy a box of _____ (chocolate/chocolates).

7 Fill in is or are.
1. Where _____ your trousers? 2. Could you tell me where the scissors _____?
3. Tonight, there _____ athletics on TV. 4. Money _____ easy to spend and difficult to
save. 5. Gloves _____ worn in cold weather. 6. This student’s knowledge _____
amazing. 7. Love _____ the reason for much happiness in the world. 8. This bread _____
stale. 9. Your pajamas _____ on the bed. 10. My luggage _____ too heavy to carry.
11. My advice to you _____ to stay in bed. 12. Physics _____ my favourite subject. 13.
Measles _____ a common illness. 14. The glasses _____ in the cupboard. 15. My mum’s
hair _____ really long. 16. Our bathroom scales _____ quite accurate. 17. Darts _____
a popular game in England. 18. This work _____ too hard for me. 19. People _____
unhappy with the new tax system.

8 Underline the correct item. Translate the sentences into Ukrainian.

1. All of his belongings was/were in one small suitcase. 2. Soccer

is/are a popular game in England. 3. Aerobics does/do you a lot
of good. 4. Chocolate makes/make you put on weight. 5. Most
people enjoys/enjoy Christmas. 6. The money he makes is/are
enough to live on. 7. The police is looking/are looking for the
murderer. 8. Her good looks always gets/get her what she wants. 9. The young couple
is getting/are getting married next year. 10. My advice is/are to stop smoking
immediately. 11. Measles, which is/are a children’s disease, is/are dangerous for adults.
12. The audience was/were given free tickets to the next show. 13. The economics I
learnt at school is/are out of date now. 14. Her grandparents’ death in a car accident
was/were a great shock. 15. Fish is/are easy to look after as pets. 16. Television news
gives/give you more information than radio news. 17. The stairs to the first floor is/are
over there. 18. The information I got was/were very helpful.

9 Most personal nouns have the same form whether male or female (doctor,
teacher). Some nouns have different forms, though. Some of these are:
actor – actress grandfather – grandmother monk – nun
bachelor – spinster headmaster – headmistress nephew – niece
boy – girl hero – heroine policeman – policewoman
bridegroom – bride host – hostess prince – princess
brother – sister husband – wife salesman – saleswoman
duke – duchess king – queen son – daughter
emperor – empress landlord – landlady steward – stewardess
father – mother lord – lady uncle – aunt
gentleman – lady male – female waiter – waitress
god – goddess man – woman widower – widow
10 Supply the missing words. Refer to the list in ex 22 as little as possible.
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 humor. 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. Tony is an actor and his wife is an _____. 7. John and Jane work in a
restaurant; he’s a waiter and she’s a _____. 8. In fairy tales the handsome _____ usually
marries the beautiful princess. 9. In mythology, Mars is the god of war; Diana is the
_____ of hunting. 10. Katerina is the _____ to her father’s fortune. 11. Why does
everyone expect the hero of the story to marry the _____? 12. A widow can often
manage on her own much better than a _____. 13. A _____ won the award for most
sales this month; a salesman came second. 14. When you look at fish, it’s often difficult
to distinguish between male and _____. 15. Very few people know the names of the
kings and _____ of England. 16. I took the photo of the bride and the _____ at the
wedding. 17. The Smiths have a son called Robert and a _____ called Jill. 18. My uncle
and _____ are over here from Canada. 19. I enjoy being an uncle. I have two _____ and
three nephews.
Choose the singular or plural verb that is required by the subject.
11
1. There is/are not a lot of television programs suitable for
children. 2. Each student is/are required to take out health
insurance. 3. There is/are a long list of jobs to be done before
we leave. 4. The information in these reports is/are not
correct. 5. The news about the patient’s recovery has/have
been very good these days. 6. The star of the show acts/act very well, and so does/do all
the other members of the cast. 7. Their scissors was/were not strong enough to cut the
wire. 8. The ship’s passengers, as well as the entire crew, was/were rescued. 9. Here
is/are the news stories you asked for. 10. The furniture which was/were ordered a few
months ago is/are being delivered now. 11. A program of two very famous films is/are
being shown tonight. 12. There has/have been some signs of improvement in his work.
13. Many a man has/have wanted to escape from poverty. 14. The basic knowledge of
English and mathematics has/have been declining for a decade. 15. The use of symbols
in many parts of the story plays/play a significant role in bringing out the main theme.
16. There is/are a lot of problems that needs/need to be discussed. 17. Some of the fruit
was/were spoiled. 18. A number of the people in this city lives/live in poverty. 19.
Everybody is/are coming to see the play. 20. To take mistakes is/are only
human. 21. Playing with matches is/are very dangerous.
22. Advertising in that newspaper costs/cost a lot of
money. 23. This year’s deficit, together with those of
previous years, has/have caused the company to go
bankrupt. 24. Each of the machines is/are carefully
inspected before being put into operation.
25. His valuable computer as well as his important files, was/were saved from the fire.
26. There was/were several posters on the wall. 27. Most of the new equipment has/have
already been installed in the factory. 28. Equality between men and women was/were
often not taken for granted in the past. 29. In my country, every home has/have a big
stone fence. 30. Today’s divorce rate is higher than ever because the number of working
mothers is/are increasing.
Choose the singular or plural verb that is required by the subject.
12
1. The US has/have a population of around 250 million. 2.
The news about Mr. Hogan is/are surprising. 3.
Massachusetts is/are a state in the northeastern part of the
US. 4. Physics seeks/seek to understand the mysteries of the
physical world. 5. Statistics is/are a branch of maths. 6. The
statistics in that report on oil production is/are incorrect. 7.
Fifty minutes is/are the maximum length of time allowed
for the exam. 8. Twenty dollars is/are an unreasonable price for the necklace. 9. The
police is/are prepared in case of a riot. 10. The English is/are proud, independent people.
11. English is/are not my native language. 12. Portuguese is/are somewhat similar to
Spanish, aren’t they/isn’t it? 13. The poor is/are helped by government programs. 14.
The weather in the southern states gets/get very hot in summer. 15. The results of Dr.
Noll’s experiment was/were published in a scientific journal. 16. Bob and his friends
is/are coming to the anniversary party tomorrow night. 17. Every woman, man and child
is/are protected under the law. 18. Washing the dishes is/are not her job. 19. Some of
the furniture in our apartment is/are secondhand. 20. At least three-quarters of that book
on famous Americans is/are about people who lived in the 19th century. 21. One of the
countries I would like to visit is/are Italy. 22. Some of the cities I’d like to visit is/are
Rome and Venice. 23. Each student in the class has/have to have a book. 24. Each of
the students has/have a notebook. 25. None of the students was/were late today. 26. The
number of students in this room right now is/are twenty. 27. A number of students in
the class speaks/speak English well. 28. Ten minutes is/are more than enough to
complete this exercise. 29. The old in my country is/are cared for by their children. 30.
Only the black widow spider, of all the spiders in the US, has/have
caused death. 31. Oranges, tomatoes, fresh strawberries,
cabbage, and green lettuce is/are rich in vitamin C. 32.
Almost every professor and student approves/approve
of the choice of Dr. Brown as the new president. 33.
Making pies and cakes is/are Mrs. Reed’s responsibi-
lity. 34. Some of the fruit is/are rotten. 35. Half of the
students in the class is/are from Arabic-speaking countries. 36. Half of the money
belongs/belong to me. 37. A lot of clothing in those stores is/are from southern Asia.
38. A number of students is/are absent today. 39. Does/Do all of the homework have to
be finished by tomorrow? 40. What percentage of the earth’s surface is/are covered by
water? 41. What percentage of the people in the world is/are illiterate? 42. Does/Do any
of you know the answer to that question? 43. Both my aunt and my brother is/are here.
44. Not only my mother but also my friend is/are here. 45. Neither my uncle nor my
girlfriend is/are at home. 46. Either my friends or my relatives is/are not satisfied. 47.
Neither my sister nor my parents is/are sleeping.
 13 Join two nouns to express possession. Sometimes you have to use an
apostrophe (‘) with or without s, sometimes you have to use the of-phrase.
Example:
the door/the room the door of the room
mother/Ann Ann’s mother
1. the daughter/Charles; 2. the camera/Kate; 3. the eyes/the cat; 4. the top/the page; 5.
the mate/glasses; 6. the newspaper/yesterday; 7. the name/your wife; 8. the new
manager/the company; 9. the result/the football match; 10. the name/this street; 11. the
car/Mike’s parents; 12. the children/Don and Jane; 13. the birthday/my mother; 14. the
new headmaster/the school; 15. the economic policy/the government; 16. the name/the
man I saw you with yesterday; 17. the husband/the woman talking to Max; 18. the
cottage/my aunt and uncle; 19. the ground floor/the building; 20. the garden/our
neighbours; 21. the toys/the children.

14 Using the information given, make sentences with nouns denoting periods of
time and distance.
Example:
My house is very near here. It takes me only 5 minutes to get it. (walk).
So it’s only 5 minutes’ walk far from here.
1. I went to sleep at 3 o’clock this morning and woke up an hour later at 4 o’clock. (sleep)
2. If I leave my house at 9 o’clock and drive to London, I arrive at about 12 o’clock.
(drive) 3. Carol is leaving on holiday on the 13th. She has to come back to work on the
27th. (holiday) 4. If I leave my house at 8.50 and walk to work, I get to work at 9 o’clock.
(walk) 5. I flew from Heathrow to Paris. The plane took off at 9 a.m. and landed at 10
a.m. (flight) 6. The delegation arrived in Stockholm on the 5th and left it on the 8th. (visit)
7. We started travelling round the region six days ago. Today we are coming back home.
(trip) 8. They delayed in the house for an instant and then they went at once to the river’s
edge to go aboard a steamer. (delay) 9. Rex decided to walk to the railway station which
was two miles far from the village. (walk) 10. That morning he had already done good
work. It took him three hours. (work)

15 Translate into English.

1. Чи знає поліція про викрадені гроші? 2. Куди я поклав свої окуляри? Ти
їх не бачиш? 3. Ти легко впізнаєш Ніка навіть у натовпі: в нього зелене волосся.
4. Автомобіль – це не розкіш, а засіб пересування. 5. Я хочу замовити дві кави та
три тістечка. 6. Літні канікули я провів у бабусі в селі. 7. Ви можете відвідати її.
Вона живе у п’яти хвилинах ходи звідси. 8. Познайомтесь! Це мама Джона та
Мері. 9. Третій праворуч – це магазин квітів Стівенсонс. 10. Вірші Байрона та
Шеллі вивчаються в школі. 11. Ніхто не може пояснити поведінку Марі на
вчорашній вечірці. 12. По дорозі додому ми купимо великий букет троянд,
улюблених квітів моєї мами. 13. Джек провів тиждень, гостюючи у місіс Вайлд.
14. Тригодинна перерва – ось що мені потрібно. 15. Усі впевнені, що це одна з
витівок сина Мері.