English Grammar with Kudjo. Part 4. Понятная и забавная грамматика для детей и взрослых. Larisa Lubimova
made him a bit suspicious.
8 freedom
a No sooner had he thought it was a right place to deprive animals of ***** than the lynx pushed him into the cage and locked it.
b Who gave her such ***** to do what she likes?
9 time
a Kudjo tried to get out of the cage dozens of *****, in vain.
b To his horror he realised that he didn’t know how much ***** he would have to spend locked in.
10 failure
a He cursed himself for his stupid gullibility, which brought his plans to *****.
b He couldn’t help admitting being complete *****.
11 memory
a He tried to evoke recent ***** so as to understand where he had made a mistake but he couldn’t.
b He blamed his poor ***** and fell asleep in despair.
PLURAL NOUNS
Some nouns are always plural and take a plural verb: archives, belongings, movables, clothes, congratulations, thanks, brains (intellect), nuptials, tidings, contents, earnings, goods, outskirts, premises, remains, surroundings, arms, ashes (of a dead cremated body), barracks, headquarters, (good) looks, riches, stairs, wages, breadcrumbs, leftovers, dregs, eatables, (dis) likes, blues, hysterics, condolences, creeps, jim-jams, shenanigans, guts (bowels, courage), pains (take pains), mores, odds, whereabouts, smithereens etc.
Some nouns for things with two parts (often clothes, tools or equipment) also end in -s and are always plural. They include: pyjamas, trousers, jeans, dungarees, overalls, pants, shorts, tights, scissors, pliers, tongs, nippers, tweezers, binoculars, glasses, spectacles, goggles, headphones, earphones, scales, compasses, braces, handcuffs, etc.
Some nouns can have a different meaning when they are in the plural:
air — atmosphere
airs – arrogance, self-importance
custom — a habit, tradition
customs – the place at a port, airport, or border where travellers’ bags are looked at to find out if any goods are being carried illegally
force – strength or energy
forces — an organised military force
spectacle – an unusual or unexpected event or situation that attracts attention
spectacles – glasses
Kudjo’s spectacles make him look serious and clever.
manner – a way or method
manners – polite or well-bred social behaviour
compass — a device for finding direction
compasses – a V-shaped device that is used for drawing circles
scale — a set of numbers, amounts, etc., used to measure or compare the level of something
scales – a device for weighing things or people
people — men, women, and children
peoples — nations
EXERCISE 4
Find the proper noun and put it into the correct gap: blues, eatables, guts, surroundings, smithereens, brains, pliers, belongings, nippers, odds, pains, creeps
1 Kudjo didn’t sleep well because he felt nervous in unfamiliar *****.
2 He wished he could be slugging now in his bed in his room with all his favourite ***** around.
3 He regretted not having any tools with him, especially, the*****or *****to break the lock on the cage.
4 His own helplessness gave him the***** and he even started whining.
5 Suddenly he heard a kind of hissing and immediately imagined a big snake slithering towards him. It gave him such ***** that he couldn’t help roaring at the darkness.
6 The hissing stopped but the dead silence was now far scarier than any sound and Kudjo didn’t have the ***** to keep his eyes open.
7 Suddenly he felt something soft touching him. He took great *****to look through his half-closed eyes.
8 What he saw made him think that the fear had scrambled his *****and he had hallucinations.
9 There was Kit sitting in front of him and smiling happily. The next moment the kitten jumped onto the cage hoping to smash it to *****.
10 Having realised that it was no use doing it, Kit sighed heavily, sat down next to the cage and offered some ***** to Kudjo.
11 At this very moment Chilly, Luna and Cuba turned up. Against all the *****, the friends were together.
THE PLURAL OF NOUNS
Nouns are made plural by adding:
– s to the noun: a pit – pits
– es to nouns ending in -s, -ss, -x, -ch, -sh, -z or -zz: a bush – bushes
– ies to nouns ending in consonant + y: an enemy – enemies
but -s to nouns ending in vowel + y: day – days
– es to nouns ending in consonant + o: a hero – heroes
but -s to nouns ending in vowel + o: a boy – boys, abbreviations:
photograph /a photo – photos, musical instruments: a piano – pianos and proper nouns: Filipino – Filipinos.
Some nouns ending in -o can take either -es or -s: a buffalo – buffaloes / buffalos, a mosquito – mosquitoes / mosquitos, a volcano – volcanoes / volcanos, a zero – zeroes / zeros, a flamingo – flamingoes / flamingos, a tornado – tornadoes / tornados, etc.
– ves to some nouns ending in -f/-fe: wolf – wolves, life – lives
There are some exceptions: a belief – beliefs, a chief – chiefs, a cliff – cliffs, a dwarf – dwarfs, a handkerchief – handkerchiefs, a hoof – hoofs/hooves, a roof – roofs, a safe –