a piece of paper/cake/information/advice/furniture; a glass / bottle of water/beer/wine; a jar of jam; a rasher of bacon; a pint of beer; a box / sheet of paper; a packet of tea; a slice / loaf of bread; a pot of yoghurt; a pot / cup of tea; a kilo / pound of meat; a tube of toothpaste; a bar of chocolate/soap; a bit / piece of chalk; an ice cube; a lump of sugar; a bag of flour; a pair of trousers; a game of soccer; a(n) item / piece of news; a drop / can of oil; a can of Coke; a carton of milk; a block of wood; a flash / bolt of lightning; a clap / peal of thunder etc.
Plural Nouns
· objects consisting of two parts: garments (trousers, pyjamas etc), instruments (binoculars, compasses etc), tools (scissors, pliers etc).
· arms, ashes, barracks, clothes, congratulations, earnings, (good) looks, outskirts, people, police, premises, riches, stairs, surroundings, wages etc. The police are looking for the bank robbers.
· Group nouns (army, audience, class, club, committee, company, council, crew, crowd, headquarters, family, jury, government, press, public, staff, team etc) can take either a singular or a plural verb depending on whether we see the group as a whole or as individuals. The staff of the company works really hard to increase production. (the staff as a group) The staff were given a bonus at Christmas. (each member of the staff separately as individuals).
Note how certain nouns can be used in the singular and plural with
a different meaning.
| Singular | Plural |
| Give me a glassof water, please. Has she always had short hair? How would you rate this on a scale of 1 to 10? In Japan it is not a customto kiss your friends. Have you got any lined paper I could use? She’s wearing a ring made of wood. I can’t talk now; I have a lot of work to do. We had at least 200 people at our wedding. The rain is falling really heavily now. You need experience for this job. We used a compass to find our direction. | I’ve been wearing glasses since I was 8 years old. There are so many hairs in the sink! Can you put that fish on the scales for me please? Our bags were thoroughly searched at customs. He showed his papers to the customs officer. John loves his Sunday afternoon walk in the woods. A lot of Dali’s works are on display in this museum. The peoples of Europe are hoping for change. The villagers are hoping for the rains to come soon. I had a lot of interesting experiences visiting Asia. Use your compasses to draw some circles. |
1. Write the opposites.Use a or an.
| 1 a big house - … a small house.. | 4 a new book - ……………. | 7 an old man - …………….. |
| 2 a full glass - …………………. | 5 a cold day - ……………… | 8 a light bag - ……………... |
| 3 an easy question - ……………. | 6 an expensive hotel - …….. |
2. Correct the spelling of these plurals. Write the correct plural.
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| … watches … | … feet … | ||||
| knifes | …………………… | childs | …………………… | ||
| tomatos | …………………… | tooths | …………………… | ||
| monkies | …………………… | womans | …………………… | ||
| babys | …………………… | sheeps | …………………… |
3. Put a/an in each space, or leave it blank.
a) The old bridge was made of … - … iron.
b) Shall we have ….. fish? This restaurant is famous for it.
c) Could you bring me ……. glass, please?
d) They make these towels from ……. recycled paper.
e) This table is made of ….. wood.
f) That was silly of me. Now there’s …… coffee all over the table.
g) My shirt is dry now. Have you got ….. iron?
h) One wall is …… glass, so there is lots of light in the room.
i) Can you buy me …….. paper? I want to check the football results.
j) There’s ……. small wood at the end of our garden.
4. Choose the best word or phrase.
a) I’ll post your letters. Have you got.. 2..?
1) a stamp 2) any stamps 3) any stamp
b) The streets were empty. There weren’t …… there.
1) peoples 2) some people 3) any people
c) Have you got ……? I can help you.
1) a luggage 2) some luggages 3) any luggage
d) Do you like ……? No, I don’t.
1) hot milk 2) a hot milk 3) some hot milk
e) We’ve just moved into our house, and we haven’t got ……..
1) a furniture 2) any furniture 3) some furniture
f) There wasn’t any wood, so we used ……..
1) plastic 2) any plastic 3) a plastic
g) Can you help me? I’d like …….
1) an advice 2) some advice 3) advices
h) There’s been a robbery! Call ……..
1) a police 2) some police 3) the police
5. Put is or are in each space.
a) Helen’s hair … is … very long.
b) The weather ………. really good at the moment.
c) Don’t worry. The police here …….. very friendly.
d) Can you turn on the television? The news ……… on.
e) Women ……… usually better listeners than men.
f) Where ……… the money that I gave you yesterday?
g) Your glasses …….. on the table.
h) David’s French ……… good. He’s been taking lessons.
i) Where ……… my trousers? I left them here.
j) The people here ……….. very friendly.
6. Complete the sentences. Put in a/an/some if necessary +words from the box.
beautiful weather bad news fruit long hair information
work perfume paper new socks new job envelope
1. Mary’s got … long hair … which comes half-way down her back.
2. There’s ……………………….. about English courses in this book. It’s quite useful.
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3. I’ve got a card for Ian’s birthday but I haven’t got …………………… to put it in.
4. My daughter bought me ………………………… for my birthday. It smells lovely.
5. I don’t usually buy ………………………, but I did this morning. There was an interesting story in it.
6. A: Why is Jane crying? B: She’s just had……………………...
7. Oh dear! Look at this hole! I need ………………………..
8. It’s ………………………. today, isn’t it? Let’s go swimming.
9. I’m sure you’ve all got ……………………. to do, so please be quiet and do it!
10. Julia is really happy. She’s got …………………………. in a multi-national company. It’s a big change from her old one.
11. Please eat ………………………... I bought a lot in the market today.
7. Underline the correct verb form.
| 1 Mathematics is /are my favourite subject. 2 Wood come/comes from trees. 3 The news was/were interesting this evening. 4 Her advice was/were useful. 5 Your furniture is/are so tasteful. 6 Tennis is/are a game played by 2 or 4 people. 7 Butter contain/contains a lot of fat. 8 The scissors cut/cuts really well. 9 Your hair is/are so shiny. 10 Japanese is/are difficult to learn. | 11 Most people is/are worried about the future. 12 Children usually like/likes sweet things 13 This company has/have six branches. 14 That jewellery really suit/suits you. 15 Water is/are necessary for survival. 16 My luggage was/were lost by the airline. 17 Measles is/are infectious. 18 This machinery is/are very noisy. 19 £300 is/are too much to spend on that dress. 20 Your scales is/are not very accurate. |
8. Write the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
1 The people of Africa … believe … (believe) in various religions.
2 20 years ……………. (be) a long time to spend in prison for theft.
3 The staircase ……….. (be) too steep for my grandmother to climb.
4 Cathay Pacific ………….. (be) an Asian airline.
5 Happiness …………. (be) the key to success.
6 Flu ………….. (make) you feel miserable.
7 A loaf of bread ………….. (cost) more now than it did ten years ago.
8 I think olive oil …………….. (add) a lot of flavour to cooking.
9 The committee ……………… (meet) every Wednesday in the boardroom.
10 It is said that lightning never …………. (strike) in the same place twice.
11 My favourite pyjamas ……… (be) the ones with red and white stripes.
12 All the members of staff ………….. (get) together in the staff room.
13 Some people think French ……………. (sound) so romantic.
14 There ………… (be) too much sugar in my tea.
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15 Physics ……….. (involve) a lot of theoretical study.
16 Gravity …………. (pull) things towards the centre of the Earth.
17 Good looks ………. (be) all you need to be a model.
18 A crew of over five people ………….. (work) in most commercial aeroplanes.
19 Decorating a house …………… (be) a lot of trouble.
20 Your trousers ……………. (go) nicely with this blue top.
9. Finish the sentences without changing the meaning of the first sentence.
1 She has got scruffy hair. Her hair … is scruffy. …
2 You need some teaching experience before we employ you. Some ……………………………
3 He was given some very useful information. Some ……………………………………………
4 He bought a new suit for the wedding. A new suit ……………………………………………
5 An alarm protects this shop from burglaries. This shop ………………………………………..
6 People use sand to make glass. Sand …………………………………………………………...
7 I like playing darts more than any other game. Darts …………………………………………..
8 Nowadays men and women wear trousers. Trousers …………………………………………...
9 You are not allowed to park here. Parking ……………………………………………………..
10 You need binoculars to see that far. Binoculars ………………………………………………..
11 Models always wear smart clothes. Smart clothes ……………………………………………..
12 This greengrocer’s always has fresh vegetables. The vegetables ………………………………
13 The government is passing new laws. New laws ……………………………………………….
14 I found physics very difficult at school. Physics ……………………………………………….
15 The man found the advice very useful. The advice …………………………………………….
NUMBERS:
CARDINAL, ORDINAL, FRACTIONS AND DECIMALS
A bit of theory
| Cardinal numbers | 1 one 2 two 3 three 4 four 5 five 6 six 7 seven 8 eight 9 nine 10 ten | 11 eleven 12 twelve 13 thirteen 14 fourteen 15 fifteen 16 sixteen 17 seventeen 18 eighteen 19 nineteen 20 twenty | 21 twenty - one 22 twenty - two, etc. 30 thirty 40 forty 50 fifty 60 sixty 70 seventy 80 eighty 90 ninety 100 a hundred / one hundred | ||||||
| 0 = nought or zero. In telephone numbers we say it like the letter ‘O’. In football we say nil. In tennis we say love. | |||||||||
| 1,000 1,001 2,250 999,999 1,000,000 5,000,000 | a hundred and one two hundred (hundred does not have a plural s) three hundred nine hundred and ninety-nine a thousand/ one thousand a thousand and one two thousand, two hundred and fifty (thousand has no plural s) nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine a million/ one million five million (million does not have a plural s) | ||||||||
| Ordinal numbers | 1st first 2nd second 3rd third 4th fourth 5th fifth 6th sixth 7th seventh 8th eighth | 9th ninth 10th tenth 11th eleventh 12th twelfth 13th thirteenth 14th fourteenth 15th fifteenth 16th sixteenth | 17th seventeenth 18th eighteenth 19th nineteenth 20th twentieth 21st twenty-first 22nd twenty-second 23rd twenty-third 24th twenty-fourth | 25th twenty-fifth 26th twenty-sixth 27th twenty - seventh 28th twenty-eighth 29th twenty-ninth 30th thirtieth 31st thirty-first | |||||
| Other examples | Fractions and decimals ½ = a half ¼ = a quarter ¾ = three quarters | 1½ = one and a half 2¼ = two and a quarter 5¾ = five and three quarters | 1.5 = one point five 2.25 = two point two five 5.75 = five point seven five | ||||||
1. Write the words as cardinal numbers.
| a) a hundred and nine b) eighty-seven c) two hundred and fifty-five d) three hundred and thirty-two e) nine hundred and ninety-eight f) two thousand and one g) two million h) two hundred thousand i) fifty one thousand, two hundred and ten j) four thousand, nine hundred and twelve | …… 109 …… …………….. …………….. …………….. …………….. …………….. …………….. …………….. …………….. …………….. |
2. Write the cardinal numbers as words.
| a) 18 b) 90 c) 49 d) 71 e) 8 | …… eighteen …… …………………. …………………. …………………. …………………. | f) 64 g) 97 h) 23 i) 14 j) 56 | …………………. …………………. …………………. …………………. …………………. |
3. Write the ordinal numbers as words.
| a) 3rd b) 9th c) 21st d) 30th e) 14th | …..… third …..… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… | f) 5th g) 2nd h) 43rd i) 1st j) 10th | ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… |
4. Choose the best answer.
| a) 296 b) 5,695 c) 10,000,000 d) 5.75 e) ¾ f) 1½ g) 200,000 h) 17.98 | = 1) two thousand, nine hundred and sixty 2) two hundred and ninety-six ü = 1) five thousand, six hundred and ninety-five 2) fifty six hundred and nine and five = 1) ten hundred thousand 2) ten million = 1) five point seven five 2) five comma seventy-five = 1) four thirds 2) three quarters = 1) a one and half 2) one and a half = 1) two hundred thousand 2) two hundred thousands = 1) seventeen point nine eight 2) one seven point nine eight |
PRONOUNS
I, me, mine
this, that
one, ones
A bit of theory
| Pronouns can be: | 1) Subject pronouns | I he we you she they it | |
| These come before the main verb: | I think it’s awful. Do you like this film? | ||
| 2) Object pronouns | me him us you her them it | ||
| These come after the main verb: | I sent them a letter. Ellen told us the answer. | ||
| 3) Possessive pronouns | mine his ours yours hers theirs (its) | (its is not often used) | |
| Is this pen yours or mine? | |||
| No apostrophe before s with possessive pronouns. | |||
| 4) Demonstrative pronouns this and that | singular this that plural these those | ||
| What’s this? I’d like those, please. | |||
| With nouns | These shoes are nice. Is that blue car yours? | ||
| one/ones | I like that one. I don’t like the blue ones. ‘Did you buy a loaf?’ ‘I bought a small one.’ That was a nice biscuit. Can I have another one? |
POSSESSION 1
A bit of theory
Possession means having or owning things.
| Possessive adjectives | my your his her its our their |
| This is my bike. Those are our books. | |
| Possessive pronouns | mine yours his hers its ours theirs |
| This bike is mine. Those books are ours. | |
| We cannot say: This is mine bike. This bike is the mine. | |
| whose? | Whose bike is this? It’s mine. Whose books are these? They’re ours. Whose is this bike? Whose are these books? • Who’s (who is) does not have the same meaning as whose (of who), but it has the same pronunciation. |
1. Choose the correct word underlined in each sentence.
a) Are these books yours/your?
b) Is this her/hers house?
c) This car is my/mine.
d) This isn’t us/our suitcase.
e) Their/Theirs bags are missing.
f) Is that your/yours pullover?
g) This is my/mine brother.
h) That bike is her/hers.
i) Whose/Who’s bag is this?
j) I love it’s/its colour!
2. Rewrite each sentence so that it means the same as the first sentence. Use the word in bold.
a) Do they own that big house?
Theirs
... Is that big house theirs?....................................
b) Who owns this bike?
Whose
………………………………………………….
c) these are my books.
Mine
.............................................................................
d) Does she own that boat?
Hers
…………………………………………………
e) Do you own a computer?
Got
…………………………………………………
f) Is that your dog?
Yours
…………………………………………………
g) We own these houses.
Ours
…………………………………………………
h) This is her seat.
Hers
…………………………………………………
i) This is their classroom.
Theirs
…………………………………………………
j) Who does this CD belong to?
Whose
…………………………………………………
3. Put in my/your/his/its etc.
1 Did you enjoy.. your.. holiday?
2 I forgot ……………. umbrella this morning so I got wet.
3 When are we moving to ……………. new house?
4 The neighbours are angry because someone stole ……………. car last night.
5 Sydney is famous for ………….. opera house.
6 Oliver’s got two sisters. …………. older sister is married.
7 The lion lifted ……………. head and looked at us.
8 Jill had a wonderful time. It was the best holiday of ……………….. life.
9 My husband gave me ……………. grandmother’s ring when we got married.
10 I’m sorry I didn’t telephone you. I lost ……………. number.
POSSESSION 2:
APOSTROPHE, OF
A bit of theory
| Possessive apostrophe | We use an apostrophe when we talk about things belonging to people. Singular (’s) This is Jane’s house. That’s my friend’s bike. Plurals (s’) These are the boys’ desks. Two words with apostrophe together. Is that Ann’s aunt’scar? = Is this the car that belongs to the aunt of Ann? Belonging to two people. This is Carol and Tony’shouse. Written notices, no apostrophe. Welcome to Wallsend Boys Club. Names ending in s. St James’ Park St.James’s Park • No apostrophe in front of the s of plural words. • No apostrophe in possessive pronouns yours, hers, its, ours, theirs. |
| of | We can use of when we talk about things belonging to things. The roof of the housewas damaged. of is not always necessary I saw this dress in the shop window. own and belong I ownthis bike. Do you own this bike? This bike belongsto me. Does this bike belong to you? |
Remember:
| ’s/s’ (people or animals) · singular noun + ’s the cat’s claws, the boy’s hats · regular plural noun + ’ the tourists’ passports · irregular plural noun not ending in s + ’s the men’s room, the children’s playroom · compound noun + ’s his mother-in-law’s car · ’s after the last of two or more names to show common possession Ann and Sally’s flat (They share the same flat) but: Ann’s and Sally’s flats (each one has got a flat) | of (inanimate things) · of + inanimate thing/abstract noun the door ofthe house, the beauty of the view · of + possessive case/pronouns when there is a determiner (this, any etc) before the nouns Look at this painting of Picasso’s. (one of Picasso’s paintings), a dress ofhers (one of her dresses) · of + people (in longer phrases) That’s the brother ofone of my friends. · ’s/of to talk about places or organisations London’s attractions/the attractions of London |
Note: phrases of place + ’s (at the butcher’ s) time/distance expression + ’s/’ (last week ’s news, three days ’ visit).
1. Put in any missing apostrophes. In some sentences, no apostrophes are necessary.
| a) Is that book yours or Sams? b) Davids sisters cats name is Syrup. c) Have you met Pats brothers? d) Are those shoes hers? e) These are the girls fathers. f) Those are the teachers cars. g) These sandwiches are ours, not yours. h) My books are in my friends bag. i) Whose gloves are these? j) That is Jacks fathers bike. | …Is that book yours or Sam’s?................. ………………………………………………… ………………………………………………… ………………………………………………… ………………………………………………… ………………………………………………… ………………………………………………… ………………………………………………… ………………………………………………… ………………………………………………… |
2. Make compound words.
| a) the window of the shop b) the leg of the table c) the door of the car d) the playground of the school e) the wheel of the bicycle f) the handle of the door | …the shop window………………. ……………………………………… ……………………………………… ……………………………………… ……………………………………… ……………………………………… |
3. Choose the correct word underlined in each sentence.
a) Does this motorbike own/belong to you?
b) Does Tim own/belong this bike?
c) Is this book yours/your’s?
d) Who’s/Whose running shoes are these?
e) It’s/Its not mine.
f) Ann says this isn’t hers/her’s.
g) It’s/Its got two legs and wings.
h) The dog has lost it’s/its ball.
4. Complete each sentence so that it means the same as the first sentence.
a) This desk belongs to Jim.
This … is Jim’s desk…………………………
b) That belongs to her.
That’s …………………………………….
c) Does this belong to you or him?
Is this …………………………………….?
d) Who does this ruler belong to?
Whose ……………………………………?
e) Do the empty seats belong to them?
Are the …………………………………...?
f) We own this swimming pool.
…………………………………………us.
5. Complete the sentences. Use – ’s or s’ + a noun.
1 David and Sue are husband and wife. David is.. Sue’s husband…
2 This car belongs to Ann. It’s ………………………….
3 The king lives in a very beautiful palace. The ……………………………. is very beautiful.
4 I was with Elena at her house last night. I was at ………………………….. last night.
5 All the students have put their books on the table. All ………………………. are on the table.
6 My sister was born on 28th June. The 28th June is ………………………………...
7 Mrs Penn makes delicious cakes. ……………………………………. are delicious.
8 My grandparents have a house next door to us. My …………………… is next door to ours.
9 Mr and Mrs Smith have a daughter, Chris. Mr and Mrs Smith are ………………………...
6. This is Mike and Alan’s room. Whose are the objects in the room – Mike’s or Alan’s?
Mike likes: football, motorbikes, chocolate, wild animals.
Alan likes: reading, playing the guitar, computer games, running.
1 … The elephant poster is Mike’s. ………. 5 ………………………………………..
2 ………………………………………… 6 ………………………………………..
3 ………………………………………… 7 ………………………………………..
4 ………………………………………… 8 ………………………………………..
7. Complete the sentences. Use –’s/-s’/the … of ….
1 What’s.. the name of this street?.. (the name/this street)
2 When’s.. Alice’s birthday?.. (the birthday/Alice)
3 Which is ………………………………………………? (the favourite team/John)
4 When’s ……………………………………………….? (the end/the programme)
5 When’s ………………………………………? (the anniversary party/your parents)
6 How big are …………………………………………..? (the windows/the house)
7 What’s ………………………………………? (the telephone number/the station)
8 Do you know ……………………………………….? (the daughter/Mr Turner)
9 Did you go to ………………………………………? (the wedding/your aunt)
8. Rewrite the following using the correct possessive form.
1 the butterflies – the wings … the butterflies’ wings…………………………
2 the students – the books …………………………………………………
3 drive – three hours ……………………………………………………….
4 the department store – the staff …………………………………………
5 living – the cost ………………………………………………………….
6 some friends – my brother ……………………………………………….
7 bread – the price …………………………………………………………
8 the baby – the pram ……………………………………………………...
9 John and Paul – the wives ……………………………………………….
10 the men – the changing rooms …………………………………………...
11 the sea – the waves ………………………………………………………
12 a climb – two hundred meters …………………………………………...
13 Lucy and Emily – the mother ……………………………………………
14 the house – my father’s closest friend …………………………………...
15 the president – the decision ……………………………………………...
16 my physics professor – the report ………………………………………..
17 the park – the playground ………………………………………………..
18 the Smiths – the car ………………………………………………………
19 my mother-in-law – the garden …………………………………………..
DEMONSTRATIVES
(THIS – THESE/THAT – THOSE)
A bit of theory