inglese - aggettivi e pronomi interrogativi
form
for person subject who (pron)
object whom who (pron)
possessive whose (pron and adj)
for things subject what (pron and adj)
object whiat (pron and adj)
for person and things when choise is restricted
subject which
object which
what (adjective) can be used for persons also. All this adjectives and pronouns have the same form for singular and plural.
note the who, hose + noun, what, which when used as subjects are normally followed by an affirmative not an interrogative verb :
who pays the bills ? Ann pays them
whose horse won ? The queen's horse won
which of your brothers is getting married ? Tom is
When we wish to find out who performs/performed/will perform an action, we use who ? whose ? which ? with affirmative verb.
whato ? can be used similarly
what happened ?
what went wrong ?
( but with who /what + be + noun/pronoun questions the interrogative verb is used
what day is it ?
we see that is here is interrrogative when we put the question into reported speech and it becomes
He wants to know what day it is
example of the use of who whom whose which and what in questions
who, whom, whose
who as subject
who keeps the key ?
who/whom as object
who/whom did you see ? I saw the secretary
whose
whose books are these ? They are Ann's
whose are these ? (pron)
what
as subjecte
what delayed you ? pron
as object
what paper do you read ? (adj) I read New York Time
what did they eat ? they ate rice
which
as subject
which of them arrived first ?
as object
which do you like best ?
who and whom as objects of verbs or prepositions
as direct objects
whom is the technically correct form and is used in formal written and spoken English. In ordinary conversation howether we almost Always use who so that we can say
whom did you meet ?
who did you meet ?
there is no difference in meaning but the second is much more usual than than the first
similarly we can say
whom did you help ?
who did you help?
after prepositions
In formal English the prepositions is immediately followed by whom
with whom did you go
to whom were you speaking '
But in ordinary spoken English we usually move the preposition to the end of the sentence.
whom the normally changes to who
who did you go with ?
who were you speaking to ?
what adjective and pronoun
what is a general interrogative used for things
what time is it ?
what Street is it ?
what does he want ?
when what is used with prepositions the preposition is normally placed at the end of the sentence as shown above :
what did you open it with ?
what.........for ? = why
what did you di that for ?
what+ be .......like ? is request for a description and can be used for things or people
what was the exam like ? it was very difficult
used of people it may concern either appearance or character
what is he like ? he is friendly or he was tall
what does he/it look like ? concern appearance only and can also means What does he/it resemble ?
what does he look like ? he looks like a scarecrow.
what is he ? = what is his profession
what adj used for persons is possible be not common
what men are you talking about ?
who are you talking about ? is much more usual
what adj is very common in questions about measurements. It is used in thi way chiefly with nouns age size weight lenght
what height is your room ?
what age is he ?
which compared with who and what
who is a general interrogative pronoun for persons
what is general interrogativ pronoun ad adjective used mainly for things
which pronoun and adj is used instead who and what when the choice is restricted
example of which and what used for things
what will you have to drink ?
we have gin whisky and sherry which will you have ?
example of which and who used for people
who do you want to speak to ? I want to speak with mr Smith
we have two mr Smith here john and joe which do you want ?
which pronoun of people is not used alone as subject of a verb
which of you knows the formula (of you is essential)
who knows the formula
which adj can be used of people when there is only a very slight idea of restriction
which poet do you like best ?
giovedì 2 novembre 2017
mercoledì 1 novembre 2017
inglese - numerals a/an and one
inglese - numerals a/an and one
Numerals present little difficulty
The same form is used for adjectives and pronouns
six hundred people bought tickets
hundred of tourists come to this museum
one/ones must be added if the numeral is followed by an adjective alone
Have you got a big plate ?
no Would two small ones do ?
a/an and one (adjective)
when conunting or measuring time distance weight etc. we can use either a/an or one for the singular:
a pound
one pound
Lesson cost a/one pound an hour
The an before hour in this last expression is not replaceable by one
But in other types of statement a/an and one are not normally interchangeable because one + noun normally means one only/ not more than one and a/an does not mean this :
A shotgun is no good (it is the wrong sort of thing)
One shotgun is no good (I need two or three )
Special use of one
1) one (adjective/pronoun ) used with another /Others
one (boy) wanted to read another /Others wanted to watch tv
One day ha wanted his lunch early another day he wanted it late.
2) one can be used before day week month year summer winter etc
or before the name of the day or month to denote a particular time when something happened
one night the was a terrible storm
One winter the snow fell early
One day a telegram arrived
3) one day can also be used to mean "at some future date"
One day you'll be sorry you treated him so badly (some day would be possible)
a/an and one (pronoun)
one is the pronoun equivalent of a/an
Did you get a ticket? yes I managed to get one
The plural of one used in this way is some
Did you buy grapers ? yes I brought some
contrast with
Did you hear the speech ? yes I heard it
Did you hear the speeches ? yes I heard them
Numerals present little difficulty
The same form is used for adjectives and pronouns
six hundred people bought tickets
hundred of tourists come to this museum
one/ones must be added if the numeral is followed by an adjective alone
Have you got a big plate ?
no Would two small ones do ?
a/an and one (adjective)
when conunting or measuring time distance weight etc. we can use either a/an or one for the singular:
a pound
one pound
Lesson cost a/one pound an hour
The an before hour in this last expression is not replaceable by one
But in other types of statement a/an and one are not normally interchangeable because one + noun normally means one only/ not more than one and a/an does not mean this :
A shotgun is no good (it is the wrong sort of thing)
One shotgun is no good (I need two or three )
Special use of one
1) one (adjective/pronoun ) used with another /Others
one (boy) wanted to read another /Others wanted to watch tv
One day ha wanted his lunch early another day he wanted it late.
2) one can be used before day week month year summer winter etc
or before the name of the day or month to denote a particular time when something happened
one night the was a terrible storm
One winter the snow fell early
One day a telegram arrived
3) one day can also be used to mean "at some future date"
One day you'll be sorry you treated him so badly (some day would be possible)
a/an and one (pronoun)
one is the pronoun equivalent of a/an
Did you get a ticket? yes I managed to get one
The plural of one used in this way is some
Did you buy grapers ? yes I brought some
contrast with
Did you hear the speech ? yes I heard it
Did you hear the speeches ? yes I heard them
martedì 31 ottobre 2017
inglese - both either neither
inglese - both either neither
both means one and another. It takes a plural verb
both banks of the river were covered in bushes
She has two sons. Both are taller then she is.
neither means not one and not another. it takes an affimative singular verb
neither of them drinks coffe
either means any one of two
Did you like his two songs? No I didn't like either (of them)
neither + affirmative verb = either + negative verb
neither is preferred at the beginning of a sentence
Neither book give the answer
either could not be used here.
neither can also be used alone as a negative answer to a question
which did you buy ? neither
either would not be used.
Pronouns and possessive adjectives with neither either (used of people)
As they take singular verbs the pronouns should be he/him and she /her and the possessive adjectives should be his and her. But in colloquial English there is growing tendency to use they /them and their
Neither of them could make up his mind (formal English)
Niether of them make us their minds (colloquial)
Neither of them knew the way di they ? (colloquial)
both means one and another. It takes a plural verb
both banks of the river were covered in bushes
She has two sons. Both are taller then she is.
neither means not one and not another. it takes an affimative singular verb
neither of them drinks coffe
either means any one of two
Did you like his two songs? No I didn't like either (of them)
neither + affirmative verb = either + negative verb
neither is preferred at the beginning of a sentence
Neither book give the answer
either could not be used here.
neither can also be used alone as a negative answer to a question
which did you buy ? neither
either would not be used.
Pronouns and possessive adjectives with neither either (used of people)
As they take singular verbs the pronouns should be he/him and she /her and the possessive adjectives should be his and her. But in colloquial English there is growing tendency to use they /them and their
Neither of them could make up his mind (formal English)
Niether of them make us their minds (colloquial)
Neither of them knew the way di they ? (colloquial)
lunedì 30 ottobre 2017
inglese - distributive adjectives and pronouns
inglese - distributive adjectives and pronouns
each - every - everyone- every body every thing
every compared to all
technically every means a number of people or things considered inidvidually while all means a number of people or things considered as a Group. But in practice every and its compounds are often used when wr are thinking of a Group.
each (adjective and pronoun9 and every (adjective ) .
each means a nuumber of person of things considered individualy. Every can have this meaning but with every there is less emphasis
on the individual. Every man had a weapon = all the men had weapons and implies that the speaker counted the men and the weapons and found that he had the same number of eache. Each man had qa weapon implies that the speaker went to each man in turn and checked tha he had a weapo.
each is a pronoun ad adjective each man knows what to do
every is an adjective only every man knows......
each can be used of two or more persons or things and is normally used of small numbers every is not normally used of very small numbers.
Both take a singular verb. The possessive adjective is his/her/its.
For the reciprocal pronoun each other
everyone / everybody and everything (pronouns)
everyibe everybody + singular verb is normally preferred to all the people + plural verb we say everyone is ready instead of all the people are ready. There is no difference between everyone and everybody.
everything is similarly preferred to all (the) things we say every has been wasted.
The expressions all( the) people all (the) things are possible when followed by a phrase or a clause :
I got all the things you asked for
Pronouns and possessive adjectives with everyone/everybody and everything
As every one / everybody takes a singular verb the pronoun should be he/him she /her with possessive adjectives his and her. But this is only found in formal English. In ordinary conversation the plural forms they /them and their is used instead :
Has everyone got their books ?
Everyone enjoys it, don't they ?
Eveyone likes their own way/ways of doing things
everything however has the pronoun it and possessive adjective.
each - every - everyone- every body every thing
every compared to all
technically every means a number of people or things considered inidvidually while all means a number of people or things considered as a Group. But in practice every and its compounds are often used when wr are thinking of a Group.
each (adjective and pronoun9 and every (adjective ) .
each means a nuumber of person of things considered individualy. Every can have this meaning but with every there is less emphasis
on the individual. Every man had a weapon = all the men had weapons and implies that the speaker counted the men and the weapons and found that he had the same number of eache. Each man had qa weapon implies that the speaker went to each man in turn and checked tha he had a weapo.
each is a pronoun ad adjective each man knows what to do
every is an adjective only every man knows......
each can be used of two or more persons or things and is normally used of small numbers every is not normally used of very small numbers.
Both take a singular verb. The possessive adjective is his/her/its.
For the reciprocal pronoun each other
everyone / everybody and everything (pronouns)
everyibe everybody + singular verb is normally preferred to all the people + plural verb we say everyone is ready instead of all the people are ready. There is no difference between everyone and everybody.
everything is similarly preferred to all (the) things we say every has been wasted.
The expressions all( the) people all (the) things are possible when followed by a phrase or a clause :
I got all the things you asked for
Pronouns and possessive adjectives with everyone/everybody and everything
As every one / everybody takes a singular verb the pronoun should be he/him she /her with possessive adjectives his and her. But this is only found in formal English. In ordinary conversation the plural forms they /them and their is used instead :
Has everyone got their books ?
Everyone enjoys it, don't they ?
Eveyone likes their own way/ways of doing things
everything however has the pronoun it and possessive adjective.
venerdì 27 ottobre 2017
inglese - demonstrative adjectives and pronouns
inglese - demonstrative adjective e pronouns
this thes, that those agree with their noun in number (they are the only adjectives to do this )
this boy, this girl these boys these girls
that actress that actor those actresses those Actors
note the use of this /these and that/ those + noun + of yours /Peter's etc.
that car of yours is Always breaking down (yor car is Always breaking down)
example for use as pronouns
this is my Brother
what is that ?
this and that can represent clauses
Our car broke down on the way to the airport. This made us late for the plane.
this/these that/those used with one/ones
When there is som idea of comparison or selection the pronoun one/ones is often placed after these demonstrative but it is not essential excepti when the demonstrative is followed by an adjective.
this chair is too low: I'll sit in that (one )
which do you like ? I like this (one) best
one is optional
but
I like this blue one
this thes, that those agree with their noun in number (they are the only adjectives to do this )
this boy, this girl these boys these girls
that actress that actor those actresses those Actors
note the use of this /these and that/ those + noun + of yours /Peter's etc.
that car of yours is Always breaking down (yor car is Always breaking down)
example for use as pronouns
this is my Brother
what is that ?
this and that can represent clauses
Our car broke down on the way to the airport. This made us late for the plane.
this/these that/those used with one/ones
When there is som idea of comparison or selection the pronoun one/ones is often placed after these demonstrative but it is not essential excepti when the demonstrative is followed by an adjective.
this chair is too low: I'll sit in that (one )
which do you like ? I like this (one) best
one is optional
but
I like this blue one
giovedì 26 ottobre 2017
inglese - adjectives
inglese -adjective
Kinds and Agreement
Adjectives in English have only one form which is used with singular and plural and feminine nouns
a good boy a good boys
The only exception are the dimostrative adjectives
this cat these cats
Position of adjectives before a noun they are not usually separated by and excetp the last two adjectives of color
a big square box
a black and White cap
Adjectives of quality however can be placed after the verbs be seem appear look and is then placed between the last two adjectives
the house looked large and inconvenient
comparison
There are three degrees of comparison
bright brighter the brightest
adjective of three or more syllables form their comparative and superlative by putting more and the most before the positive
interesting more interesting the most interesting
akjective of two syllables follo one or other of the above rules those endin in ful or re usually take more the most
doubtful more doubtful the most doubtful
those ending in er y o ly usually add er est
pretty prettier the prettiest
irregular comparisons
good better the best
bad worse the worst
little less the least
many more the most
much more the most
far further the furthest
old older oldest elder the eldest
elder e the eldest imply seniority rather than age. They are chefly used for comparisons within a family
my elder Brother
but elder cannot be placed before than so older must be used here
constructions with comparisons
with the positive form of the adjective good tall clever we use as..........as in the affirmative and not as .......as oppure not so ..................as
A boy of sixteen is often as tall as his father
with the comparative we use than
He makes fewer mistakes than you
comparison of three or more people/things is expressed by the superlative with the ........... in /of
this is the oldest theatre in London
Parallel increase is expressed by the + comparative ..... the + comparative
do you want a big house ?
yes the bigger the better
to increase o decrease is expressed by two comparatives joined by and
colder and colder
adjectives of quality used as nouns
good/ bad poor/ rich Young /old
The poor = poor people
use with pronoun one/ones
adjectives of quality can be used without their noun if the pronoun one (singular) or ones (plural )
is placed afterwards
I like those pencil , I take the blue one
Kinds and Agreement
- of quality square good Golden fat heavy dry
- demonstrative this that these those
- distributive each every either neither
- quantitative some any no few many much one
- interrogative which what whose
- possessive my yoour his her its our your their
Adjectives in English have only one form which is used with singular and plural and feminine nouns
a good boy a good boys
The only exception are the dimostrative adjectives
this cat these cats
Position of adjectives before a noun they are not usually separated by and excetp the last two adjectives of color
a big square box
a black and White cap
Adjectives of quality however can be placed after the verbs be seem appear look and is then placed between the last two adjectives
the house looked large and inconvenient
comparison
There are three degrees of comparison
- positiv dark tall useful
- comparative darker taller more useful
- superlative the darkest the tallest the most useful
bright brighter the brightest
adjective of three or more syllables form their comparative and superlative by putting more and the most before the positive
interesting more interesting the most interesting
akjective of two syllables follo one or other of the above rules those endin in ful or re usually take more the most
doubtful more doubtful the most doubtful
those ending in er y o ly usually add er est
pretty prettier the prettiest
irregular comparisons
good better the best
bad worse the worst
little less the least
many more the most
much more the most
far further the furthest
old older oldest elder the eldest
elder e the eldest imply seniority rather than age. They are chefly used for comparisons within a family
my elder Brother
but elder cannot be placed before than so older must be used here
constructions with comparisons
with the positive form of the adjective good tall clever we use as..........as in the affirmative and not as .......as oppure not so ..................as
A boy of sixteen is often as tall as his father
with the comparative we use than
He makes fewer mistakes than you
comparison of three or more people/things is expressed by the superlative with the ........... in /of
this is the oldest theatre in London
Parallel increase is expressed by the + comparative ..... the + comparative
do you want a big house ?
yes the bigger the better
to increase o decrease is expressed by two comparatives joined by and
colder and colder
adjectives of quality used as nouns
good/ bad poor/ rich Young /old
The poor = poor people
use with pronoun one/ones
adjectives of quality can be used without their noun if the pronoun one (singular) or ones (plural )
is placed afterwards
I like those pencil , I take the blue one
mercoledì 25 ottobre 2017
inglese - nouns
inglese - nouns
There are four kinds of nouns in English
common nouns dog table man
proper nouns Tom France
abstract nouns charity beauty fear
collective nouns swarm team crow flock Group
a noun can function as
The subject of a verb Tom arrived
complement of the verb be become seem : Tom is an actor
The object of a verb : I saw Tom
the object of a preposition I spoke Tom
A noun can also be in the possessive case
Tom's works
Gender
Masculine men boys and male animals (pronoun he/ they )
feminine women girls and female animals ( pronoun she /they)
neuter : inanimate things animals whose sex we don't know and somtimes babies whose sex we don't know
Exceptions
ship are considered feminine and sometimes cars and other vehicles when regarded with affection or respect . Countries when referred to by name are also considered feminine
Most noun have the same form for masculine and feminine :
parent painter driver singer cousin child artist cook judge rider
some have different forms
Brother and sister uncle and aunt nephew and niece
some form feminine from the masculine by adding ness note that words ending in or or er often drop o or e
actor actress conductor conductress manager manageress
note also
salesman saleswoman spokeman spokewoman
recently there has been an attempt to de-sex these words by using person instead of men
salesperson
Plurals
The plural of a noun is usually made by adding s to the singular
dog dogs day days
exception
Nouns ending in o ore ss sh ch or x form their plural by adding es
tomatoes kisses boxes
But words of foreign origin is abbreviated words ending in o add s
piano pianos dynamo dynamos
Nouns ending in y following a consonant form their plural by dropping the y in adding ies
baby babies lady ladies
Nouns ending in y following a consonant form their plural adding s only
donkey donkeys boy boys
Tweve nouns ending in f or fe drop the f ore fe and add ves.
These nouns are wife life knife wolf self calf shelf leaf loaf thief sheaf half
wife wives wolf wolves
Other words ending in f ore fe add s in the plural in the ordinary way
handkerchief handkerchiefs safe safes
A few nouns form their plural by a vowel change
man men
woman women
louse lice
foot feet
mouse mice
goose geese
tooth theeth
ox oxen
the plural of child is children
Name of certain creatures do not change in the plural
the word fish is normally unchanged fishes exist but is uncommon.
Some types of fish do not normally change in the plural salmon trout squid pike mackerel cod turbot plaice but if used in a plural sense they would teke a plural verb. Others however do change.
We talk of herrings sardines lobster crabs and all other shellfish whales Dolphins sharks eels.
sheep and deer don't change one sheep two sheep
spormen who shoot duck pheasant partridge snipe ptarmigan teal wood cock grouse etc. use the same form for singular and plural. But other people normally add s to the plural form of names of birds in common use
The word game used by sporsmen to mean an animal/animals hented is Always in the singular and takes a singular verb
A few other words don't change
Aircraft craft
quid (slang for £1)
counsel (barristers working in court)
certain words are Always singular
advice
knowledge
baggage
furniture
information
news
luggage
rubbish
Certain words are Always plural : police clothes
garments consisting in two parts Pyjamas trousers breeches pants
tools or instruments cosisting of two parts binoculars glasses spectacles pliers shears scissors scales
premieses and quarters (used to mean accomodation)
All above words takes a plural verb.
There are also a number of words ending in ics
mathematics
physics
plitics
hysterics
ethics
athletics
whichi have a plural form and normally take a plural verb
Athletics are his main interest
But names of sciences can be considered singular in such sentences as
Mathematisc is an exacti science
Ethics is one of the subjects of course
Some measuremets and numerals do no change either
Words whicih retain their original Greek or latin forms make their plurals according to the rules of
Greek or latin
erratum errata
radius radii
crisis crises
memorandum memoranda
datum data
phenomenon phenomena
terminus termini
basis bases
oasis oases
axis axes
thesis theses
But there is a tendency particularly with farly common Latin or Greek words to make the plural according to the rule of English
dogma dogmas
gymnasium gymnasiums
formula formulas
Sometimes there are two plural forms with different meanings
index indexes list of contents of books
indices a Mathematical term
appendix appendixes a medical term
appendices used both as a medical term and also for additions to a book
Genius geniuses extraordinarly intelligent persons
genii supernatural beings
compound nouns
normally the last word is made plural
armchair armchairs
bookcase bookcases
where man woman is prefixed both parts are made plural
men students women students
compound nouns formed with prepositions or adverbs make only the first word plural
sister-in-law sisters-in-law looker-on lookers-on
when the compound noun ha an adjective as the last word the fisto word is usually made plural
court martial courts martial
words ending in ful usually make their plural in the ordinary way
handful handfuls
Initials can be made plural
VIPs (Very Important Persons)
OAPs Old Age Pensioners)
The possesive case form
's is used with singular nouns and plural nouns not ending in s
a man's job
a children's voice
A simple apostrophe ' is used with plural nouns ending in s
a girls' school
Classical nams ending in s usulli add only apostrophe
Pythagoras' Theorem
Archimedes' Law
with compounds the last word takes 's
My Brother-in-law's guitar
Use of the possesive case and of + noun used for possession
The possessive case is chiefly used of people contries or animals as show above but can used also
Of ship and boats the ship's bell
of planes trains car and other vehicles though here the of constucion is safer
in time expressions
a week's Holiday
in expressions of money + Worth
£ 1's Worth of stamps
with for + noun + sake
for heaven's sake
in a few expression
a stone's throw journey's end the water's edge
we can say either a winter's day but we cannot make spring or autumn possessive except when they are personified Autumn's return
of+ noun is used for possesion
when the possessor noun is followd by a phrase or clause
the boy ran about obeyng the directions of a man with a whistle
with inanimate possesions except those listed above
the walls of the town
However it is often possible to replace noun 1 of noun 2 by noun 2 noun 1 in order
the town walls
the first become a sort of adjective
There are four kinds of nouns in English
common nouns dog table man
proper nouns Tom France
abstract nouns charity beauty fear
collective nouns swarm team crow flock Group
a noun can function as
The subject of a verb Tom arrived
complement of the verb be become seem : Tom is an actor
The object of a verb : I saw Tom
the object of a preposition I spoke Tom
A noun can also be in the possessive case
Tom's works
Gender
Masculine men boys and male animals (pronoun he/ they )
feminine women girls and female animals ( pronoun she /they)
neuter : inanimate things animals whose sex we don't know and somtimes babies whose sex we don't know
Exceptions
ship are considered feminine and sometimes cars and other vehicles when regarded with affection or respect . Countries when referred to by name are also considered feminine
Most noun have the same form for masculine and feminine :
parent painter driver singer cousin child artist cook judge rider
some have different forms
Brother and sister uncle and aunt nephew and niece
some form feminine from the masculine by adding ness note that words ending in or or er often drop o or e
actor actress conductor conductress manager manageress
note also
salesman saleswoman spokeman spokewoman
recently there has been an attempt to de-sex these words by using person instead of men
salesperson
Plurals
The plural of a noun is usually made by adding s to the singular
dog dogs day days
exception
Nouns ending in o ore ss sh ch or x form their plural by adding es
tomatoes kisses boxes
But words of foreign origin is abbreviated words ending in o add s
piano pianos dynamo dynamos
Nouns ending in y following a consonant form their plural by dropping the y in adding ies
baby babies lady ladies
Nouns ending in y following a consonant form their plural adding s only
donkey donkeys boy boys
Tweve nouns ending in f or fe drop the f ore fe and add ves.
These nouns are wife life knife wolf self calf shelf leaf loaf thief sheaf half
wife wives wolf wolves
Other words ending in f ore fe add s in the plural in the ordinary way
handkerchief handkerchiefs safe safes
A few nouns form their plural by a vowel change
man men
woman women
louse lice
foot feet
mouse mice
goose geese
tooth theeth
ox oxen
the plural of child is children
Name of certain creatures do not change in the plural
the word fish is normally unchanged fishes exist but is uncommon.
Some types of fish do not normally change in the plural salmon trout squid pike mackerel cod turbot plaice but if used in a plural sense they would teke a plural verb. Others however do change.
We talk of herrings sardines lobster crabs and all other shellfish whales Dolphins sharks eels.
sheep and deer don't change one sheep two sheep
spormen who shoot duck pheasant partridge snipe ptarmigan teal wood cock grouse etc. use the same form for singular and plural. But other people normally add s to the plural form of names of birds in common use
The word game used by sporsmen to mean an animal/animals hented is Always in the singular and takes a singular verb
A few other words don't change
Aircraft craft
quid (slang for £1)
counsel (barristers working in court)
certain words are Always singular
advice
knowledge
baggage
furniture
information
news
luggage
rubbish
Certain words are Always plural : police clothes
garments consisting in two parts Pyjamas trousers breeches pants
tools or instruments cosisting of two parts binoculars glasses spectacles pliers shears scissors scales
premieses and quarters (used to mean accomodation)
All above words takes a plural verb.
There are also a number of words ending in ics
mathematics
physics
plitics
hysterics
ethics
athletics
whichi have a plural form and normally take a plural verb
Athletics are his main interest
But names of sciences can be considered singular in such sentences as
Mathematisc is an exacti science
Ethics is one of the subjects of course
Some measuremets and numerals do no change either
Words whicih retain their original Greek or latin forms make their plurals according to the rules of
Greek or latin
erratum errata
radius radii
crisis crises
memorandum memoranda
datum data
phenomenon phenomena
terminus termini
basis bases
oasis oases
axis axes
thesis theses
But there is a tendency particularly with farly common Latin or Greek words to make the plural according to the rule of English
dogma dogmas
gymnasium gymnasiums
formula formulas
Sometimes there are two plural forms with different meanings
index indexes list of contents of books
indices a Mathematical term
appendix appendixes a medical term
appendices used both as a medical term and also for additions to a book
Genius geniuses extraordinarly intelligent persons
genii supernatural beings
compound nouns
normally the last word is made plural
armchair armchairs
bookcase bookcases
where man woman is prefixed both parts are made plural
men students women students
compound nouns formed with prepositions or adverbs make only the first word plural
sister-in-law sisters-in-law looker-on lookers-on
when the compound noun ha an adjective as the last word the fisto word is usually made plural
court martial courts martial
words ending in ful usually make their plural in the ordinary way
handful handfuls
Initials can be made plural
VIPs (Very Important Persons)
OAPs Old Age Pensioners)
The possesive case form
's is used with singular nouns and plural nouns not ending in s
a man's job
a children's voice
A simple apostrophe ' is used with plural nouns ending in s
a girls' school
Classical nams ending in s usulli add only apostrophe
Pythagoras' Theorem
Archimedes' Law
with compounds the last word takes 's
My Brother-in-law's guitar
Use of the possesive case and of + noun used for possession
The possessive case is chiefly used of people contries or animals as show above but can used also
Of ship and boats the ship's bell
of planes trains car and other vehicles though here the of constucion is safer
in time expressions
a week's Holiday
in expressions of money + Worth
£ 1's Worth of stamps
with for + noun + sake
for heaven's sake
in a few expression
a stone's throw journey's end the water's edge
we can say either a winter's day but we cannot make spring or autumn possessive except when they are personified Autumn's return
of+ noun is used for possesion
when the possessor noun is followd by a phrase or clause
the boy ran about obeyng the directions of a man with a whistle
with inanimate possesions except those listed above
the walls of the town
However it is often possible to replace noun 1 of noun 2 by noun 2 noun 1 in order
the town walls
the first become a sort of adjective
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