SKILLS ENHANCEMENT SEMINAR

Ma. Jessica T. Alalid & Mark Fullmer

Eastern Visayas State University

August 14, 2011

Mary Jessica T. Alalid

Leyte Normal UniversityEastern Visayas State

University

Singulars & Plurals Workshop

Pretest: Complete the following 10 questions in 10 minutes.

1. Which is the correct plural for the word “mouse”?

(a) mouses (c) mice

(b) mouse (d) mices

2. Which is a correct singular-plural pair?

(a) thief--thiefs (c) tomato--tomatos

(b) roof--rooves (d) hero--heroes

3. Which has a correctly pluralized noun?

(a) The two ladys were late. (c) The two sandwiches were eaten.

(b) The two womans were late. (d) The two cupes of water.

4. Which of the following sentences uses an incorrect plural noun?

(a) I broke my one pair of glasses and now I cannot see.

(b) After the murder, many polices arrived on the scene of the incident.

(c) A number of people attended the fiesta in V&G subdivision.

(d) There was much furniture at the store.

5. Some words are never pluralized in English. Which of these is always singular?

(a) appendix (c) information

(b) media (d) data

6. Which sentence is grammatically correct?

(a) My scissors is not cutting correctly. (c) Physics is my favorite

subject.

(b) Economics are a difficult subject. (d) The United States are

very influential.

7. Some words have 2 acceptable plurals. Which includes an unacceptable form?

(a) appendixes/appendices (c) syllabuses/syllabi

(b) indexes/indices (d) criterions/criteria

8. Which incorrectly pluralizes a word that should be singular?

(a) Reading will teach many facts. (c) Reading will improve your

vocabularies.

(b) If you read, you will gain new ideas. (d) Reading will teach you more words.

9. What is the correct plural for the word “phenomenon”?

(a) phenomenones (c) phenomena

(b) phenomenons (d) phenomenas

10. For words ending in “y”, what is the correct rule?

(a) Add “s” after all words ending in “y”

(b) Add “ies” after all words ending in “y”

(c) Add “s” after words ending in vowel + y, but replace “y” with –ies for words ending in consonant + y

(d) Add “s” after words ending in consonant + y, but replace “y” with –ies for words ending in vowel + y

Topic 1: Plural Nouns

There are 4 main ways to construct plural in English. There is a pattern, but there are also exceptions to the rule.

1. word + s2. word + es3. Word - y + ies4. Word - f + ves

Word + s (*most common*)

singular plurala car two carsa cassette two cassettesa lamp two lampsa hat two hatsa cup two cups

Word + es

Add “es” after sibilants. (What are sibilants?)

singular plurala box two boxes

a sandwichtwo sandwiches

a boss two bossesa buzz two buzzesa couch two couches

Sibilants include “ch” “ts” “zh” “z” “x” “s”

For words ending in “y”

singular plurala city two citiesa lady two ladies

singular plurala boy two boysa day two days

Rule 2: After vowel + y, add “s”

Rule 1: After consonant + y, replace with “ies”

For words ending “f” or “fe”

Add -s Replace with -vessingular

pluralsingular

plural

a roof two roofs a thieftwo thieves

a cliff two cliffs a wife two wivesa sheriff

two sheriffs

a shelftwo shelves

For words ending in “o”

Add -s Add -essingular

pluralsingular

plural

a disco two discos a tomatotwo tomatoes

a pianotwo pianos

a potatotwo potatoes

a phototwo photos

a hero two heroes

Activity: Pluralize these words

1. overlay2. sanctuary3. trench4. trinket5. reef6. leaf7. interruption8. information

overlayssanctuariestrenchestrinketsreefsleavesinterruptionsinformation

For some words, you never add “s” (Uncountable nouns)

Noun Sentence

homeworkMy Math homework was not easy.

informationInformation is more available in the internet age.

knowledgeHis knowledge of English is excellent.

furnitureAll the furniture was on sale at the store.

Topic 2: Singular Nouns

Some nouns are singular even though they refer to plural things

Noun Sentencewater She spilled a lot of water.

fruitWould you like some fruit?

hair Your hair looks lovely.

riceHe always eats too much rice.

Some nouns end in “s” but use a singular verb

Noun Sentence

newsGood evening. Here is the news.

physicsPhysics is our first lesson on Monday morning.

progressProgress was made in developing new technologies.

The United States

The United States is a country with 50 states.

Activity: is the sentence correct?

In the past decade, scientists have made many progresses in the field of genomic research.

In the past decade, scientists have made much progress in the field of genomic research.

Activity: is the sentence correct?

The furniture at the stores were very expensive.

The items of furniture at the stores were very expensive.

The furniture at the stores was very expensive.

Topic 3: Irregular plurals

singular plurala man two mena woman two women

a childtwo children

a mouse two micea tooth two teetha goose two geesea foot two feet

Topic 4: Foreign Plurals

Words in English borrowed from other languages often don’t follow the above rules. You have to memorize them.

Foreign Plurals with “es” ending

Singular:AnalysisAxisBasisDiagnosis

Plural:AnalysesAxesBasesDiagnoses

Foreign Plurals with “a” ending

Plural:DataMediaCriteriaPhenomena

Singular:DatumMediumCriterionPhenomenon

Foreign Plurals with 2 forms

Singular:SyllabusIndexAppendix

Plural:Syllabi/SyllabusesIndices/IndexesAppendixes/Appendices

Plurals/Singulars: Post-TestComplete the following 10 questions in 8 minutes

1. Which is the correct plural for the word “goose”?

(a) gooses(b) gooves (c) geese (d) geeses

2. Which is the correct singular-plural pair?

(a) reef—reeves (b) potato—potatos

(c) hoof—hoofs (d) thief—thieves

3. Which of the following sentences uses an incorrect plural noun?

(a) The dean approved all the syllabi.

(b) The scientist computed much data.

(c) Winston had many homeworks from school.

(d) I learned many facts today.

4. Which has a correctly pluralized noun?

(a) Three childrens (b) Four photoes

(c) Two citys (d) Five boxes

5. Which of these is always singular?

(a) hair (b) knowledge

(c) history (d) metonymy

6. Which sentence is grammatically correct?

(a) Every day, the news are depressing.

(b) The Philippines are a collection of over 7,000 islands.

(c) There are many unexplained phenomena.

(d) The book has three appendix.

7. Some words have 2 acceptable plurals. Which includes an unacceptable form?

(a) appendixes/appendices (c) syllabuses/syllabi

(b) indexes/indices (d) criterions/criteria

8. Which is incorrect?(a)Economics is a difficult subject(b)The nightly news was watched by 5.7 million

viewers.(c) The informations about the LET were overwhelming.(d) I went to many beaches during the summer.

9. What is the correct way to pluralize “basis”?(c) bases (b) basises(c) basices (d) basis

10. Which is an incorrect plural?(a) boys (b) convoies(c) quandries (d) appendices

Idiom LET QuestionsWhat is an idiom?

An idiom is a phrase where the words together have a meaning different from the dictionary definition of individual words.

RainCatDog

“It’s raining cats and dogs.”

“A penny saved is a penny earned”Explanation: This means we shouldn’t spend or waste money but instead save it.

Sample sentence: “I decided to watch a movie at home instead of at the mall. After all, a penny saved is a penny earned.”

Idioms Post-test

Complete the following 10 questions in 8 minutes.

Tips for LET pronunciation questions1. The right answer will never be a literal translation. Eliminate answers that are too close to the original idiom. 2. If you are not sure of the meaning of the idiom, make an educated guess. Ask yourself: is the idiom optimistic or pessimistic? Does the idiom sound good or bad? Then match it with an answer that has the same feeling.

What do the following underlined idioms mean?1. We have waited long enough. It’s time to face the music.(a)face the speaker (b) strive for

excellence(c) listen to music (d) begin a difficult challenge2. He learned to swim through trial by fire.(b)a court case (b) learning by doing(c) an easy experience (d) an impossible task3. The acid test for a good friendship is respect.(c)difficult exam (b) sign of friendship(c) best way to judge (d) a lie-detector test

4. The banker made some risky investments. Which idiom describes her action?(a)A dark horse (b) a ballpark figure(c) playing with fire (d) a drop in the bucket5. The actress had her day in the sun.(b)moment of fame (b) most popular movie(c) a beautiful tan (d) significant achievement6. The government made across the board changes.(a) educational (b) systemwide(c) international (d) dangerous7. I have no preference. The ball is in your court.(c)your hometown (b) your hobby(c) your choice (d) your possession

8. Don’t move to Manila. You’ll be opening a whole can of worms.(a)spoiled food (b) a place of

opportunity(c) many problems (d) many people9. Only an act of God can save us from the typhoon now.(a) belief in religion (b) humans are unable to save(c) dramatic action(d) a terrible accident10. Watch out for changes in the law next year.(b)be prepared (b) applies to children(c) do not believe (d) be happy