C Police, peopleand cattle

These nouns have a plural meaning and take a plural verb. The police have warned motorists to take extra care. People don't know what the future will bring. The cattle are going to be sold with the farm.

page 379 Group nouns in American English

81 Exercises

1 Pair nouns (A)

Trevor and Laura are shopping for clothes. Choose the correct form.

Trevor: These trousers (►) is/are a bit tight. They (1) doesn't/don't feel very comfortable. And I think the

blue ones (2) goes/go better with the jacket. Laura: That jacket (3) is/are too long.

Trevor: Well, the jeans (4) fits/fit all right. Perhaps I'll buy the jeans instead. Laura: Yes, the jeans (5) looks/look good on you. I like the style. I think they (6) suits/suit you. Now you

get changed while I look for (7) a/some shorts. And I might get (8) a/some skirt.

2 Pair nouns (A)

Complete what Rachel says to Vicky. Put one word in each space.

This old suitcase was in the corridor. I don't know
who left it here. It's been here for about three days,
so I'm having a look inside. There's a
pair (►)of pyjamas, (1)………….. jeans, two

(2)………………of tight sanda (3)………. of

sunglasses. There are (4)…………… red shorts, too.

3 Group nouns (B)

Complete this TV news report. Choose the correct form of the verb.

Zedco (►) have/has just announced that it made a loss of £35 million last year. The management (1) is/are well aware that they have made mistakes. The press (2) have/has all been printing stories and articles critical of the company. The Zedco board (3) knows/know that they now have some difficult decisions to take. Naturally, the staff (4) is/are worried about their jobs and (5) wants/want a meeting with management as soon as possible. But Chief Executive Barry Douglas says things aren't really so bad. He has said that the company still (6) has/have a great future ahead of it.

4 Group nouns (B-C)

Put in a group noun and is or are. Use these nouns:

cattle, choir, crew, crowd, orchestra, police, population, team

► The crowd are all enjoying the game.

1 This United................................................. the best one Tom has ever seen.

2 The ………………………………… hoping they can take part in a national singing contest.

3 The ship's.............................................. all very tired after a long sea voyage.

4 The ………………………………. one of the biggest that has played at one of our concerts.

5 The …………………………………. installing cameras to photograph speeding motorists.

6 At the moment beef …………………......................... cheap because sales of beef are low.

7 The country's............................................. growing rapidly because of immigration.

82 Two nouns together

A Introduction

Look at these phrases.

a bread knife = a knife for cutting bread a cookery book = a book about cookery

a bus driver = someone who drives a bus my birthday party = a party on my birthday

the street lights = the lights in the street a paper bag = a bag made of paper

In English we often use one noun before another like this.

The two nouns are often written as separate words, but we sometimes use a hyphen (-), or we write them as a single word.

a tea break at the tea-table a large teapot

There are no exact rules about whether we join the words or not. If you are unsure, it is usually safest to write two separate words.

B A souvenir shop, etc

Look at these examples.

a souvenir shop = a shop selling souvenirs

an animal hospital = a hospital for animals

through the letter-box = a box for letters

The first noun is usually singular. There are some exceptions, e.g. a sports dub, a goods train, a clothes-brush, a sales conference.

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