Page 27 - DENG103_English - I

English–I

Notes 3.3 Noun Plurals

Most nouns change their form to indicate number by adding “-s” or “-es”, as illustrated in the
following pairs of sentences:

When Matthew was small he rarely told the truth if he thought he was going to be
punished.
Many people do not believe that truths are self-evident.

As they walked through the silent house, they were worried by an unexpected echo.
I like to shout into the quarry and listen to the echoes that return.
He tripped over a box left carelessly in the hallway.
Since we are moving, we will need many boxes.
There are other nouns which form the plural by changing the last letter before adding “s”.
Some words ending in “f” form the plural by deleting “f” and adding “ves,” and words
ending in “y” form the plural by deleting the “y” and adding “ies,” as in the following pairs
of sentences:
The harbour at Marble Mountain has one wharf.

There are several wharves in Halifax Harbour.
Warsaw is their favourite city because it reminds them of their courtship.
The vacation my grandparents won includes trips to twelve European cities.
Other nouns form the plural irregularly. If English is your first language, you probably know
most of these already: when in doubt, consult a good dictionary.

Task Explain types of noun with the suitable examples.

3.4 Possessive Noun

In the possessive case, a noun or pronoun changes its form to show that it owns or is closely
related to something else. Usually, nouns become possessive by adding a combination of
an apostrophe and the letter “s.”
You can form the possessive case of a singular noun that does not end in “s” by adding an
apostrophe and “s,” as in the following sentences:
The red suitcase is Shyama’s
The only luggage that was lost was the prime minister’s.
The exhausted recruits were woken before dawn by the drill sergeant’s screams.
The miner’s face was covered in coal dust.

You can form the possessive case of a singular noun that ends in “s” by adding an apostrophe
alone or by adding an apostrophe and “s,” as in the following examples:
The bus’s seats are very uncomfortable.

The bus’ seats are very uncomfortable.
The film crew accidentally crushed the platypus’s eggs.

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