IV. Nouns Used only in the Plural

1) Tools, instruments, pieces of equipment that consist of two parts: scissors, pliers, pincers, tweezers, tongs, binoculars, scales, handcuffs, shears, glasses, spectacles

2) Things we wear that consist of two parts: clothes, pyjamas, shorts, trousers, tights, braces, trunks, dungarees, leggings, jodhpurs, knickers, underpants, jeans, pants

3) Other nouns to remember: cattle, military, clergy, gentry, poultry, police, vermin, people, staff, the rich, the poor, the homeless, arms, wages, customs, thanks, holidays, lodgings, goods, foundations, premises, authorities, acoustics, contents, looks, outskirts, surroundings, traffic-lights, stairs, proceeds, whereabouts, belongings, savings, brains (=intellect), congratulations, earnings, manners, headphones, etc.

Note 1: Nouns like crossroads, headquarters, kennels, series, species and works (=factory) are singular when they refer to one, and they are plural when they refer to more than one. Examples are:

• This species of moth is rare.
• There are thousands of species.

Note 2: Some nouns are used only in the plural in Russian but have two forms in English depending on the number of objects they denote: a watch – watches, a sledge – sledges, a gate – gates, etc.

V. Collective nouns

A collective noun is a noun such as family or team that refers to a group of people or things. We use a singular verb with such nouns if we see the institution or the organization as a whole unit, and a plural verb if we see it as a collection of individuals. Often we can use either with very little difference in meaning, although in formal writing (such as academic writing) it is more common to use a singular verb: family, government, association, audience, committee, community, company, crowd, department, family, firm, government, group, jury, orchestra, school, team, university, and the names of specific organizations such as the Bank of England, the BBC, IBM, Sony, etc.

cf. All the family are fond of sports. Every family here owns a cottage.

Note 1: We can use singular or plural verbs with nouns like the majority, the public, the youth of today. Examples are:

• The public want (wants) to know how they are (it is) governed.

The Category of Case

Case is a grammatical category which shows relation of the noun with other words in a sentence. English nouns have two cases: the common case and the possessive (genitive) case. However, not all English nouns possess the category of case; there are certain nouns, mainly nouns denoting inanimate objects, which cannot be used in the possessive case.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16