DRA. JEAN RODRIGUEZ PAZO Subject: Basic English Area: Grammar Interamerican University Guayama Campus Proyecto Titulo V Coopertivo Improving Academic Outcomes Through a Technology-Based Consortium Program for the Core Curriculum Module on Nouns DRA. JEAN RODRIGUEZ PAZO Subject: Basic English Area: Grammar

OBJECTIVES Core Curriculum Objectives: Through the study of this Module on Singular and Plural Nouns, students will be able to: recognize the singular and plural nouns correctly. know the different classes of singular and plural nouns correctly. understand the singular and plural nouns and their functions in sentences correctly. define singular and plural nouns correctly. apply the rules by changing singular nouns to plural nouns and plural nouns to singular nouns correctly. apply the spelling rules correctly. use the nouns in sentence structures correctly.

How do we form plural nouns? Are there special nouns? OVERVIEW Students will reinforce their knowledge of singular and plural nouns, applying all levels of critical thinking skills. Focus Questions: What is a noun? What is a singular noun? What is a plural noun? How do we form plural nouns? Are there special nouns?

TIME-FRAME Time-Frame: It will take approximately 50 minutes to complete the Module. Resources: Examples, rules, grammatical frames, picture boxes Assessment: Pre- test, and post-test Criteria of evaluation: You must achieve 72% or more for mastery level. Instructional Activities: Skill-building exercises Creative and Empowerment Section Go to other links and/or do further exercises.

Dear student, Welcome to the basic study of nouns. This module will be devoted completely to the study of “singular and plural nouns”. Nouns are important in the learning of English, because as you will recall a complete thought; or sentence; is made up of a noun and a verb. Furthermore, nouns are usually the first words that all children learn. Since there is a diversity of meaning for nouns, the best way to approach the study of nouns is through their characteristics. You will begin by taking a Pre-test. You must achieve a score of 72% or more to continue with the Assessment Exercises. Before beginning the Assessment Exercises the different Rules will be explained in a simple manner. Then, you may proceed with the exercises. Finally, you will take a Post-test. You must also achieve a score of 72 % in order to pass the Module. Last but not least, you will be provided with additional links you may use to continue reinforcing your skills and knowledge on singular and plural nouns.

PRE – TEST Part I. MULTIPLE CHOICE Read the following words carefully. The words are nouns. Then change them to their plural form by applying the rules and choosing the correct alternative. 1. infection infectiones infections infectionies infecctionnes

PRE – TEST 4. monkey 2. cliff 5. tax 3. company monkeys clives monkies monkeyies monkieys 5. tax taxies texes taxs taxes 2. cliff clives clifs cliffs Clivfes 3. company companyies companies companiees companys

Part II. Identify Read the following sentences. There may be more than one plural noun in each sentence. Only one of them is irregular or special. Write the irregular or special plural noun in each sentence. Joe helped the children paint their toys. Are the sheep chasing the boys? Babies who are one month old usually do not have teeth. Always be careful of how you place knives on the tables. The boxes were ruined by the deer. The fish in the ponds were dying. The boys’ feet hurt from the hikes. Were the women ready for the raffles? The mice were hard to keep in the traps. People must be careful when they walk alone in the parks.

Part III. Change to plural The underlined noun in each sentence is spelled in its singular form. Write the correct plural form after each sentence. Be sure to apply the correct rule. She wanted a few kiss from her boyfriend. There were too many tomato in the boxes. The Super hero were in the film. That man has had three wife. Where did the thief hide the money?

Part IV. Exercise: Regular Plural Nouns The following nouns in each sentence are spelled in their singular form. Write the correct plural form after each sentence. 1. There are two many pants in the drawer. 2. How many avocado did you buy? 3. Nancy does not enjoy cutting onion. 4. We will use the gazebo for the barbecue. 5. Those mosquito have to be eliminated.

Show the Answers How well did you do? Let’s review the rules and do some activities after correcting your answers: Part I. B C A D Part II. children sheep teeth knives deer fish feet women mice people Part III. kisses tomatoes heroes wives thieves Part IV. pants avocados / avocadoes onions gazebos mosquitos / mosquitoes

Nouns Say place: Guayama, Puerto Rico, El Morro tower, Museum, school, college, shower, building, bridge, store, supermarket, park, many more Say thing: tree, house, flower, cross, hate, love, grass, moss, cart, girl, sketch, wife, star, pencil, rock, mug and life Person, place, or thing, words that do some naming. Nouns are so many , children’s first nouns are hundreds for a penny. Say person: mommy Maria, daddy Pedro, sister, brother, teacher, actor, secretary, reader, And plural? Government, organization, establishment, foundation Copyright: Dr. Jean Rodriguez Pazo March 2005 Nouns are many as you can see, Regular and irregular, You have learned them with me.

EXPLANATORY NOTES: Nouns are thought of as “naming words”. Nouns name people, places or things. Let us take a look at their characteristics. We will only study singular and plural nouns. SINGULAR NOUN DEFINITION: When a noun names only one thing; it is singular. Example: dog, man, park PLURAL NOUN DEFINITION: When a noun names more than one; then it is said to be plural, Example: dogs, cats, parks Nouns also denote abstract and intangible concepts: birth, hope, love CAUTION: You must be careful. There are regular nouns and irregular nouns.

NOUNS GIVE NAMES TO: People: Juan Ramos is a teacher.

NOUNS GIVE NAMES TO: Places: Interamerican University is in Guayama.

NOUNS GIVE NAMES TO: Animals: Cats are interesting house pets.

NOUNS GIVE NAMES TO: Actions: Parking can be a hassle at Plaza del Caribe.

NOUNS GIVE NAMES TO: Feelings: I feel less stress when I jog.

NOUNS GIVE NAMES TO: Abstract qualities: Her parents talked about her love for Raúl.

NOUNS GIVE NAMES TO: Abstract ideas: His personal philosophy is intriguing.

NOUNS GIVE NAMES TO: Concrete things: Pedro lost his English Dictionary.

CHARACTERISTICS Nouns can also be identified by their endings. Some common nouns are: -er/ -or speaker, actor -ism vandalism, criticism - ist scientist, artist - ment government, establishment - tion organization, foundation

The words “a, an and the” signal that a noun is coming: CHARACTERISTICS The words “a, an and the” signal that a noun is coming: Singular Plural the tree trees ball balls an apple airplane a building cat

NOUN PLURALS NOUN PLURALS RULE 1: SINGULAR PLURAL dog dogs table tables room rooms door doors NOUN PLURALS RULE 1: Most nouns generally become plural by adding an “ s”.

NOUN PLURALS SINGULAR PLURAL bus busses prize prizes patch patches fox foxes boss bosses brush brushes RULE 2: Nouns that end in a hissing sound “ –s, -ch, -sh, -z, -x and – ss” , become plural by adding “–es.”

NOUN PLURALS SINGULAR PLURAL way ways key keys boy boys day days RULE 3: If the noun ends in a: “vowel plus y” (- ay,- ey,- iy-, oy,), then add “ s” to form the plural.

NOUN PLURALS SINGULAR PLURAL lady ladies baby babies poppy poppies penny pennies RULE 4: If the noun ends in a “consonant plus y “, “change the y to ie “ and add s to form the plural:

NOUN PLURALS SINGULAR PLURAL knife knives elf elves wife wives self selves RULE 5: Some nouns that end in “ f or fe “ have plurals that end in – ves:

NOUN PLURALS RULE 6: RULE 6: Nouns ending in “ o “ are formed into plural by either adding “ –s or -es” . Some plurals may be formed either way. You must check the dictionary or follow some simple rules: -OS OES EITHER -OS OR OES kilo kilos pro pros studio studios echo echoes hero heroes potato potatoes veto vetoes avocado avocados/ avocadoes buffalo buffalos / buffaloes mango mangos/ mangoes ghetto ghettos/ ghettoes mulatto mulattos/ mulattoes RULE 6: Nouns ending in “ a vowel plus o” - “ –ao, -eo, - o, -oo. – uo; Have plurals that end in just “s”. All musical terms ending in “o” form plurals by ending in just “s”.

EXCEPTIONS EXCEPTIONS: Nouns ending in “o” preceded by a vowel: Nouns ending in “ o “ preceded by a consonant: dynamo dynamos halo halos piano pianos Nouns ending in “o” preceded by a vowel: cuckoo cuckoos portafolio portafolios

NOUN PLURALS RULE 7: IRREGULAR PLURALS Certain irregular nouns have special plural forms. These change the vowel sound in becoming plural: SINGULAR PLURAL foot feet goose geese man men tooth teeth

NOUN PLURALS RULE 7: IRREGULAR PLURALS Some Old English plurals are still in use. These are called “ mutated plurals.” SINGULAR PLURAL child children ox oxen

NOUN PLURALS RULE 7: IRREGULAR PLURALS Some nouns have the same form in the singular as in the plural: SINGULAR PLURAL sheep fish species cod

NOUN PLURALS Some nouns have a plural form, but use a singular verb: RULE 7: IRREGULAR PLURALS Some nouns have a plural form, but use a singular verb: EXAMPLES: linguistics- Linguistics is the study of language. news – The news on Channel 4 starts at 5:00 PM.

NOUN PLURALS Some nouns have a plural form and use a plural verb. RULE 7: IRREGULAR PLURALS Some nouns have a plural form and use a plural verb. EXAMPLES: jeans- J. Lo jeans give the best fit. glasses - She cannot read with those glasses.

NOUN PLURALS RULE 8: Nouns ending in ch with a k sound form plurals by adding –s. SINGULAR PLURAL stomach stomachs epoch epochs

ACTIVITY 1 ACTIVITY 1: Read the following words carefully. The words are nouns. Change them to plural by choosing the correct alternative: 1. turkey turkeys turkies turkeiyes 2. prevention a. preventions b. preventiones c. preventionies d. prevenions 3. account a. accounts b. accounties c. accountes d. accounts 4. ferry a. ferryes b. ferreis c.ferries d.ferryies 5. ability a. abilities b. abilitays c. abilities d. abilityies

ACTIVITY 2 ACTIVITY 2: Change the singular nouns to the plural. Choose the correct alternative. ____ 1.The plural of horse is: horse horsies horses ____2. The plural of cup is: cups cupies cupys cupps _____3. The plural of sketch is: sketch sketches sketchyes sketchies _____4. The plural of ox is: a. ox b. oxies c. oxen d. oxyes ______5. The plural of scissors is: scissorss scissors scissories scissorys

ACTIVITY 3 desk ________________ piano ________________ ACTIVITY 3: For each noun, type the plural form in the space: desk ________________ piano ________________ planet ________________ alley ________________ ax ________________

ACTIVITY 4 ACTIVITY 4: For each singular noun, type the plural form in the space: restaurant two ______________________ linoleum many _______________________ entrance several _______________________ community a lot of _______________________ campus some _______________________

ACTIVITY 5 ACTIVITY 5: In the following sentences there is one singular noun that should be plural. Underline that noun and write the correct form after the sentence. Pam needs ten loaf of bread for breakfast. Buy two new cage, since the monkey broke his. Various storm will hit Puerto Rico in September. The most beautiful monument are those in church. She made three wish on her birthday.

Show me the Answers You must obtain 72%, that means 18 items correct to continue. If you did not, you should return and re-do the first part of the Module. Activity 1 A C Activity 2 B Activity 3 desks pianos planets alleys axes Activity 4 restaurants linoleums entrances communities campuses Activity 5 loaves cages storms monuments wishes

NOUN PLURALS RULE 9: Nouns which retain their original Greek or Latin forms make plurals according to the rules of Greek or Latin. SINGULAR PLURAL alumnus alumni crisis crises phenomenon phenomena stimulus stimuli cactus cacti

NOUN PLURALS Some nouns retain foreign plurals. Some have adapted a regular English plural form as well: SINGULAR FOREIGN PLURAL ENGLISH PLURAL antenna antennae antennas formula formulae formulas

NOUN PLURALS Nouns ending in “us” take on an “ a”. ( only in technical use) SINGULAR PLURAL corpus corpora genus genera

NOUN PLURALS Nouns ending in “ us” with plural: SINGULAR FOREIGN PLURAL ENGLISH PLURAL cactus cacti cactuses fungus fungi funguses octopus octopi octopuses syllabus syllabi syllabuses

Nouns ending in “ um” with plural” SINGULAR FOREIGN PLURAL ENGLISH PLURAL curriculum curricula curriculums memorandum memoranda memorandums symposium symposia symposiums

Nouns ending in – ex , ix becoming plural -ices: SINGULAR FOREIGN PLURAL PLURAL ENGLISH apex apices apexes appendix appendices appendixes index indices indexes matrix matrices matrixes

Nouns ending in – is become -es in plural: SINGULAR PLURAL analysis analyses basis bases emphasis emphases oasis oases thesis theses Nouns ending in --on become a: criterion criteria phenomenon phenoma

NOUN PLURALS RULE: Numerical expressions are usually singular, but can be plural if the individuals within the numerical group are acting individually. EXAMPLES: Twenty thousand dollars is less money than expected Twenty percent of the faculty have Ph.D’s.

NOUN PLURALS RULE: The plurals of single capital letters, acronyms and Arabic numerals take an –s WITHOUT an apostrophe: EXAMPLES: F( letter F )---- Fs ATM ( Automatic Teller machine) ATMS 3 ( the Arabic Numeral 3)—3s

OTHER IRREGULAR PLURALS FROM DIFFERENT LANGUAGES: SINGULAR PLURAL ITALIAN libretto libretti virtuoso virtuosi HEBREW cherub cherubim seraph seraphim GREEK schema schemata

COMPOUND NOUNS RULE: Normally, the last word changes to plural. SINGULAR PLURAL armchair armchairs fireman firemen

WHERE man or woman come first, both parts change to plural: woman- teacher women-teachers manservant menservants

locker-on lockers-on father- in- law fathers – in – law spoonful COMPOUND nouns formed with prepositions or adverbs make only the first word plural: locker-on lockers-on father- in- law fathers – in – law spoonful spoonfuls

POST- TEST Part I : Change the singular nouns to the plural: 1. The plural of zero is: zeros zeroies zeroys zero 2. The plural of species is: specy specyies species speci 3. The plural of fungus is: fungus fungis fungy fungi 4. The plural of stimulus is: a. stimulis b. stimuses c. stimulesies d. stimuli 5. The plural of index is: indexies indexyes indices index

POST- TEST PART II: For each noun, type the plural form in the space: 1. base ______________ 2. diagnosis ______________ 3. analysis ______________ 4. auto ______________ 5. torpedo ______________

POST- TEST Part III: For each singular noun, type the plural form in the space: 1. fish many ___________________ 2. cactus several ___________________ 3. news several ___________________ bacterium many ___________________ 5. curriculum a lot of ___________________

POST- TEST Part IV: Identify the nouns in the following sentences: 1. The North and South had a Civil War. and a the war 2. The Art Museum inaugurated in 1978. museum art inaugurated in 3. It will take all your knowledge to pass the SAT. will your All knowledge 4. The novels are on reserve. on are reserve the 5. Tell the children to keep their heads inside the car. children their inside the

POST- TEST Part V: Read the following sentences carefully. Select the irregular or special noun which is in plural. Change it to singular. The old lady’s scrarves were old-fashioned. Maria was told to dean the shelves. Bobby and Tommy are twins brothers and they are firemen. The field with poppies look breathtaking. The nuclei seemed astonishing to the scientist.

POST- TEST Show the Answers: Remember that you must score 72%, or 18 items correct. If you do not score 72%, please go back, review and do the tests and activities again. Part I A C D Part II bases diagnoses analyses autos torpedos / torpedoes Part III fish cacti news bacteria curriculums Part IV Part V scarf shelf fireman poppy nucleus

Write down their respective plural and singular forms CHALLENGE Read the following paragraph. Pick out at least 10 singular and plural nouns. Write down their respective plural and singular forms SINGULAR PLURAL 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. The Colonel decided to make a detour and go through the woods. The Colonel had ten scouts with him. As the Advisor he had to make the best decisions. The other alternatives were not accepted. He knew they would find many species: mosquitoes, deer and fish. This was no ordinary journey. They had to get back to the tents- back to camp. He was making a video to present evidence of the events. The situation would be questioned and discussed. At last they saw the cliff. They all walked to the edge. They had finally arrived. Down there was the camp!

Show the Answers SINGULAR PLURAL Colonel Colonels * woods detour detours scouts Advisor Advisors decisions decision journey journeys alternatives alternative camp camps * species video * deer situation situations * fish 8. edge edges events event 9. cliff cliffs * These are the same in singular and plural

CREATIVE AND EMPOWERMENT SECTION ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE! www.funbrain.com/funbrain/plurals web2.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/plural.htm web.2.uvcs.ca/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/irrplu.htm www.einfoweb.com/grammar/nouns/ip.html www.einfoweb.com/grammar/nouns/worksheets/answers www.gsu.edu/eslhpb/aegweb/exercises/x9/x9-A/x9-A.htm www.engl.virginia.edu./OE/OEA/nouns.html Webster.commnet.edu/grammar/nouns.htm www.collegeem.gc.ca/cemdept/anglais/plurals.htm http://www.english-zone.com/spellingplurals.html www.-englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/plural1.htm www.kidsdomain.com/down/pe/lfspellitright.html www.english-zone.com/spelling/1endings.html café.rapidus.net/anlgagne/plural/plural/html www.stufun.com/grammar www.lovetolearnplace.com/Grammar/singular&pluralnouns.html