Means of expressing the gender of animate nouns
1. Different words, one for the masculine and one for the feminine: boy / girl, gander / goose, bachelor / spinster.
Note:
| Masculine | Feminine | Common noun |
| father | mother | parent |
| boy | girl | child |
| king | queen | monarch / sovereign |
| stag | hind | deer |
| boar | sow | pig |
2. Composition: with the help of words denoting sex (male/female, boy/girl, man/woman, he/she, bull/cow, cock/hen, etc) or some proper names (billy /nanny, jack/jenny), e.g. milkman – milk-woman, male cousin – female cousin.
3. Suffixation: -ess added to the masculine to form the feminine:
- no change of the form: lion – lioness, host – hostess;
- omission of the vowel in the last syllable: tiger – tigress, actor – actress;
- -other modifications: duke – duchess, master – mistress;
-er or -groom added to the feminine to form the masculine:
widow – widower, bride – bridegroom;
other suffixes added to the masculine:
-ine (hero – heroine)
-ina ( czar/tsar – czarina/tsarina)
-ette (usher – usherette)
-ix (executor – executrix)
4. Nouns denoting animals are generally considered to be neuter; however, in personifications:
-big and strong animals (e.g. horse, lion, elephant, dog, eagle) are said to be masculine:
e.g. The lion was very proud of his mane.
-small animals (e.g. cat, mouse, hare) are looked upon as feminine:
e.g. The hare was afraid of her own shadow.
Note: in fairy-tales the gender of animals or plants often depends on the author.
Inanimate nouns in personification
As a rule, inanimate nouns are neuter. However, in the poetical and the rhetorical style or even in the everyday speech, they may be treated as either masculine or feminine.
1. Nouns which can be masculine denote:
a) natural elements and phenomena characterized by force: wind, sun, winter, ocean, death.
e.g. Mr. Wind was an old gentleman who lived in the mountains.
b) violent passions and actions: anger, fear, crime, war, love.
e.g. The War, with his grim face, came again to take his toll.
c) rivers and mountains: the Danube, the Thames, Mount Everest.
e.g. You can see old father Thames.
2. Nouns which can be feminine denote:
a) natural elements and phenomena implying fertility or attachment: earth, moon, sea, spring, morning, evening.
e.g. Good Mother Earth will give us her fruits.
b) gentle feelings or abstractions: hope, modesty, devotion, friendship, peace, truth, fame.
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e.g. Peace will soon wave her flag again.
c) negative passions and feelings: jealousy, ambition, revenge, pride, treason.
e.g. Jealousy often walks with her sister revenge.
d) countries viewed as political or economic units.
e.g. The book is about Ukraine and her people.
e) vessels or vehicles to which an affectionate attitude is attached: ship, car, boat, bus.
e.g. Have you seen our new boat? Isn't she beautiful?
The category of case
The category of case refers to the relation in which one noun stands to some other word in the sentence.
Some grammarians speak about two cases in English: genitive (possessive) and common. Others support the idea of four cases: the nominative, the possessive/genitive (analytic and synthetic), the dative and the accusative; the possessive/genitive analytic is also known as Norman genitive or French genitive (e.g. the future of mankind, the roof of the house, the leaves of the tree), the possessive/genitive synthetic is also known as Saxon genitive (e.g. John's wife, my friend's name, Alex's job).
According to the first classification the genitive case is formed by adding -'s (the apostrophe s) to the noun in the singular and only ' (the apostrophe) to plural forms ending in -s:
singular: a student's book
plural: students' books
Note:
1. Nouns forming their plural by changing the root vowel take the apostrophe s in the plural:
singular: a woman's dress
plural: women's dresses
2. Nouns ending in -s form the genitive case in two ways:
Dickens' novels
Dickens's novels
The pronunciation of the genitive case ending follows the same rules as the pronunciation of the plural ending.
Sometimes the apostrophe s may refer to a whole group of words (the group genitive): Ann and John's room.
As to its use the genitive case falls under:
- The Dependent Genitive.
- The Absolute Genitive.
The Dependent Genitive is used with the noun it modifies and comes before it.
The Absolute Genitive may be used without any noun or be separated from the noun it modifies.
The Dependent Genitive
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1. The chief meaning of the genitive case is that of the possession: John's idea, his uncle's flat.
2. The Dependent Genitive may express the doer of an action (the so-called subjective genitive) or show that some person is the object of the action (the so-called objective genitive): e.g She knew it was Mary's step. Or: Gwendolen's reception in the neighbourhood fulfilled her uncle's expectations.
3. The noun in the genitive case may denote qualitative relations: e.g. He looked smart in his new officer's clothes.
The use of the genitive case of nouns denoting inanimate things and abstract notions is rather limited.
The genitive case of nouns expressing time, space and weight is widely used: two days' time.
The genitive case is used in some set expressions: for heaven's (God's) sake, to one's heart's delight, at one's wit's end, a stone's throw, a hair's breadth.
The Absolute Genitive
1. The Absolute Genitive may be used anaphorically: her face has a vague resemblance to her brother's.
2. The Absolute Genitive may have local meaning: the baker's, the tobacconist, my aunt's, etc.
The Absolute Genitive may be introduced by the preposition of: She is a relation of the Colonel's.
According to the second classification we have 4 cases: the nominative, the genitive (possessive), the accusative and the dative.
A: The Nominative case has the syntactic function of a subject, predicative or apposition.
B: The Genitive case has the function of an attribute or a predicative:
From the point of view of meaning, the Genitive case may be possessive, of origin, subjective, objective, descriptive, partitive and of measure:
possessive – Mrs. Johnson's passport (Mrs. Johnson has a passport) the earth's gravity / the gravity of the earth (The earth has a certain gravity)
subjective – the parents' consent (The parents consented...)
the decline of trade (trade declined...)
objective – the prisoner's release (...released the prisoner)
a statement of the fact (...stated the facts)
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of origin – mother's letter (The letter is from Mother)
the wines of France (France produces wines)
descriptive – a doctor's degree (a doctoral degree, a doctorate)
of measure – ten days' absence (The absence lasted ten days)
partitive – the earth's surface / the surface of the earth (The earth has a (rough) surface)
From the point of view of form, the Genitive case may be:
· The Synthetical (Saxon) Genitive;
-'s (apostrophe s) is added to the singular number or to the irregular plural, e.g. the girl's house, the women's letter;
' (apostrophe) is added to the regular plural or to proper nouns ending in -s, e.g. the girls' book, Dickens' works.
The Synthetical Genitive may be used with the following types of nouns:
- nouns denoting persons or names of persons (e.g. George's letter, the doctor's order);
-nouns denoting other beings when given some importance or in personification (e.g. the cow's milk, the spider's web);
- nouns denoting measurement, time, space, quantity, value (e.g. a two months' vacation, yesterday's news, a two miles' walk, a pound's worth of potatoes);
Note: measurement can also be expressed by means of a compound adjective;
- collective nouns (e.g. the government's decision);
- inanimate nouns in personification, i.e. geographical names, vehicles, abstractions, natural phenomena, institutions, celestial bodies (e.g. England's history, the ship's crew, freedom's voice, the day's heat, the world's economy, the sun's rays). When such nouns are followed by a superlative adjective or by “only, first, last”, the Synthetical Genitive may be replaced by a prepositional phrase with “in”;
- other nouns of special relevance to human activity (e.g. the mind's development, my life's aim, duty's call, love's spirit).
When we heard a noun is not expressed, we may speak of the elliptic genitive.
· The Analytical Genitive with the preposition “of” is used mainly with neuter nouns (e.g. the cover of the book). In certain situations, it is preferred to the Synthetical Genitive (e.g. the responsibility of the man at the wheel, the murder of John, a great admirer of Shakespeare, the suffering of the poor).
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The double genitive is a construction with a synthetical and analytical genitive (e.g. a friend of Henry's).
C: The Dative case is marked by the preposition “to” and “for” or by word-order; it has the function of an indirect object. Sometimes, it can modify a whole sentence.
e.g. To John, there is nothing more beautiful in the world.
It can also indicate direction:
e.g. He waved his hand to the girl from the train.
There are two types of the Dative:
1. The prepositional Dative, that is used in the following situations:
- after verbs like announce, belong, communicate, describe, explain, introduce, listen, suggest, translate, speak, occur, reply, dictate:
e.g. Explain to Mary what it means.
He didn't reply to his parents.
- when the Dative is governed by an adjective or a noun:
e.g. He was kind to the old woman.
- when the Accusative precedes the Dative:
e.g. Give the money to your brother.
2. The Dative without a preposition is used when the Dative precedes the object of the sentence:
e.g. He showed the boy his new book.
D: The Accusative case can function as a direct object, a prepositional object, an adverbial or an attribute.
Note: - certain verbs are followed by two accusatives: answer, ask, envy, forgive, hear, save, teach; e.g. She taught Jane English.
· certain verbs are followed by a noun in the Accusative which is a cognate object. This noun is usually modified by an adjective; e.g. He died a miserable death.
Exercises
Exercise 1
State the number of the nouns in bold type. Define the class they belong to.
C) Sam amused himself by fitting branches into the fire as closely as possible.
CI) He wore the remains of shorts and his feet were bare like Jack’s.
CII) Demerest reached out to switch radios.
CIII) He seemed to have more grey hairs at his temples.
CIV) The grey waters of the Atlantic stared back at me.
CV) A fence ran all around to keep our rabbits and deer.
CVI) I really cannot help your beliefs or your disbeliefs.
CVII) You didn’t witness any of these phenomena yourself, did you?
CVIII) The sheep were silent; the only sound in the darkness was the bubbling of the stream.
CIX) Three mouthfuls of soup convinced him that he could not eat.
CX) He gazed with delight upon the passers-by.
CXI) You are not one of those people who see nothing and hear nothing.
CXII) Perhaps, there aren’t any grown-ups there.
CXIII) He would like to have a pair of scissors and cut his hair.
CXIV) I’m quite willing to answer any questions the police want to ask me.
Exercise 2
Give the plural (in spelling and transcription).
House, mouth, month, mouse, bath, roof, half, shelf, chief, woman, foot, ox, deer, swine, crisis, thesis, phenomenon, criterion, datum, series, formula, antenna, medium, means, memorandum, house-wife, woman-teacher, passer-by, brother-in-law, boy-friend, postman, man-servant.
Exercise 3
State the number of the nouns in bold type and give the corresponding singular or plural, if any.
Ø The doctor told him not to read without glasses.
Ø Women who write anonymous letters to themselves are such a common phenomenon that the police are sure to jump to that solution.
Ø Once she got an offer, but the wages were only fourteen shillings a week.
Ø The Japanese are wonderful people, fond of dancing and light wines.
Ø His clothes were work of art – of exquisite cut.
Ø There was scarcely a white hair on her head and her eyes, as black and shining as buttons, sparkled with fun.
Ø One of the stewardesses, her lips moving gently, was making a count of heads.
Ø Do you ski? – Used to. But I haven’t any skis now.
Ø It gave the impression of shameful slum conditions, in spite of the television antennae at practically every roof.
Ø Alice was one of those actresses who were quite sure of themselves from the first rehearsal.
Ø Love can never make us forget that we are brothers-in-arms, can it?
Ø You’re not to leave the state unless we give you permission.
Ø It gave him a thrill to realize that Julia had genius.
Ø There was no piano, partly because it would have taken much room.
Ø Are you going to pay me damages?
Exercise 4
Change the number of the nouns in bold type making all the necessary changes.
1. Afterwards he took a photo of me to finish out the film.
2. He was as lively as a trout in a mountain stream.
3. It was like lying in the dark with a mosquito hovering above his face.
4. He heard a late cuckoo calling.
5. He knew almost every person from each stratum of society.
6. It is only a hypothesis, but it’s possible.
7. Everybody had a handkerchief concealed in his cuff.
8. The waitress spent the morning working in the dining-room.
9. She was sitting in an antique chair and the youth sat at her feet.
10. Suddenly she realized that there was not a passer-by in the street.
Exercise 5
Explain the formation of the plural of the nouns in bold type.
Ø He was just six feet tall and he had a gallant bearing.
Ø I moved the stick forward and came down slowly to fifteen hundred feet.
Ø They arrived daily from various termini.
Ø He used his white linen pocket handkerchief and held it against his lips.
Ø He had neglected his work so much that now he had only a fortnight to learn what the curriculum allowed three months for.
Ø The outlines of the cypresses that lined the driveway were sharp and clear.
Ø If wolves appeared tonight it wouldn’t be surprising.
Ø There were some daffodils, narcissi and hyacinths in the garden.
Ø Public sanatoria are short of beds.
Ø The larks sprang up in front of his feet.
Exercise 6
Test your countable and uncountable nouns. Classify these words:
Car, mobile phone, computer, job, meat, love, travel, pasta, music, fridge, passport, washing machine, money, humour, rice, nicotine, oxygen.
Exercise 7
Decide whether the following nouns are countable, uncountable, or both. There are three of each type.
C) Bread
D) Coca-Cola
E) Food
F) Glass
G) Sandwich
H) Lamb
I) Pea
J) Oyster
K) Salt
Complete these sentences with three of the countable / uncountable nouns given above. Use each noun twice, once as countable and once as uncountable.
1. The ________ are in the cupboard over the sink.
2. ________ is sold all over the world.
3. In spring there are _______ in all the fields around here.
4. Would you like another slice of ___ ?
5. I’m thirsty – I think I’ll have a _______.
6. _______ is one of the hardest materials there is.
Exercise 8
Are the following nouns countable or uncountable?
1. People
2. News
3. Jeans
4. Scissors
Choose the correct words, plural or singular, in these sentences.
1. I believe that most people is / are basically good.
2. The news was / were on when I got home.
3. Those / that jeans really look / looks good on you.
4. If you are looking for the scissors, they’re / it’s in the kitchen.
Exercise 9
Complete the following exclamations.
What a/an ..! (countable singular)
What ..! (plural and uncountable)
C) …lovely song!
CI) …clever student you are!
CII) …nice flat you have got!
CIII) …awful weather!
CIV) …horrible place prison is!
CV) …interesting job you were offered!
CVI) …pleasure to see you here!
CVII)…hard texts these are!
Exercise 10
Complete these grammar rules and give examples:
1) You can use numbers (one, two, three, etc) only with __________ nouns.
2) _________ nouns have a singular and a plural form.
3) _________ nouns only have one form.
Exercise 11
State the number of the following nouns and write down the corresponding singular or plural, if any.
| money | clothes | man | means | thesis | ship |
| news | goods | woman | species | datum | berry |
| hair | police | child | series | family | valley |
| advice | riches | foot | deer | life | editor-in-chief |
| knowledge | trousers | mouse | sheep | roof | phenomenon |
Exercise 12
A) Match the words in column A with their descriptions in column B. Give their definitions according to the model.
Model: Addendum – addenda, sections at the end of the book or document that contain extra information.
| A | B |
| 1. alumnus | a) the area containing the main buildings of a university and some living accommodation for students; |
| 2. terminus | b) the central part of an atom; |
| 3. corpus | c) a large group of people who sing together; |
| 4. bonus | d) the place where smth happens or the most important area of it or point with which it is associated; |
| 5. fungus | e) any of various bacteria; |
| 6. bacillus | f) smth that makes a process develop more quickly; |
| 7. locus | g) a man who used to be a student of a particular school, college or university; |
| 8. genus | h) a group of specially trained people and animals which gives performances of their entertainment; |
| 9. nucleus | i) a thick fleshy plant that has no leaves, is covered with spikes, and grows in deserts |
| 10. campus | j) an amount of money that you get as well as your usual pay, either as a gift or as a reward for the work that you have done; |
| 11. stimulus | k) a large amount of articles, books, magazines, etc. that have been deliberately collected together for some purpose; |
| 12. syllabus | l) a plant that has no flowers, leaves or green colouring ( for example, a mushroom); |
| 13. circus | m) a kind of germ, smaller than bacteria that can cause disease in people, animals or plants; |
| 14. radius | n) a class or group of similar things, especially a group of animals or plants closely related; |
| 15. virus | o) a large railway or bus station where several routes begin and end; |
| 16. cactus | p) the subject to be studied in a particular course; |
| 17. chorus | q) the length of a straight line drawn between the center and the outside range of a circle. |
B) Fill in the blanks in the sentences below with a suitable word in plural from A-column of part A.
· Have all your employees got Christmas _____?
· There are a lot of _____ in this tiny drop of water.
· We are having a _____ party next week. All those who used to be our students are kindly invited.
· How many students are living on _____ at present?
· We could see nothing but the stones and _____ of the Mexican desert.
· As professional singer she sang in a number of _____ all over the Eastern coast.
· Several _____ have been touring the country lately.
· Mushrooms are _____.
· The _____ of the conflicts have been shifting all the time.
· The fundamental particles make _____, the _____join in atoms.
· The reaction of the body changes in response to the outside _____.
· We have new _____ at our university this year.
· Please indicate the value of these _____.
· There are two _____ on each railway line.
· The doctor analyzed the substance and identified several new _____ there.
· We have been collecting several _____ of listening comprehension materials for a few years.
· The scientists have been studying several _____ of closely related animals and plants.
C) Translate the sentences into English.
o Випускники збиралися на території своїх факультетів.
o Хвора людина жодним чином не реагувала на стимули.
o У грибах знайшли кілька невідомих вірусів.
o На всіх кінцевих станціях росли кактуси.
o Усі працівники фірми отримали премії.
o Ретельно виміряйте радіуси всіх окружностей.
o Ці бацили важко розпізнати.
o Наразі ми будемо бомбардувати ядра протонами.
o Місцезнаходження увесь час змінюються.
o Ці навчальні програми запроваджуються з нового року.
o Будь ласка, зустріньте випускників на вокзалі.
o Не хвилюйтесь, бацили будуть знешкоджені.
o Премії – це стимули, чи не так?
o Я не можу визначити радіус, поки не буду знати довжину окружності.
o Хоча над проблемою й працює ціла група вчених, їм поки що не вдалося встановити зв'язок між різними біологічними видами.
Exercise 13
A) Match the words in column A with their descriptions in column B.
| A | B |
| 1. alga | a) a particular part of region of a city, country, the world etc. |
| 2. alumna | b) a thin part of an insect or an animal attached to its head and used to feel free; |
| 3. larva | c) one of small circular bones that form the backbone of an animal or human being; |
| 4. area | d) a difficult situation in which you have to choose between two or more alternatives; |
| 5. antenna | e) a type of plant with no stem or leaves which grows in the water or on damp surfaces; |
| 6. arena | f) a diffuse mass of interstellar dust or gas or both; |
| 7. formula | g) a woman who used to be a student of a particular school, college or university; |
| 8. dilemma | h) a serious play for the theatre, television or radio; |
| 9. nebula | i) an area of land of a large room where sports, entertainments and other public events take place; |
| 10. diploma | j) a short group of letters, numbers or other symbols, which represents a scientific or mathematical rule; |
| 11. vertebra | k) an insect at the stage of its life when it looks like a short fat worm; |
| 12. drama | l) a qualification which a student may be awarded by a university or a college, and which is not as high as a degree |
B) Fill in the blanks in the sentences below with a suitable word in plural from the column A of the previous part of this exercise.
a. Many insects have compound eyes and _____.
b. A lot of alumni and _____ have already arrived to participate in the party.
c. ______ have no stems or leaves and grow in the water or on damp surfaces.
d. It has been raining in all ______ of Great Britain for several days.
e. Being an outstanding athlete, he performed on the world's best _____.
f. All her life he had to solve difficult moral _____.
g. Has she got her _____ in linguistics and art?
h. I remember her acting in Shakespeare's best _____ and tragedies.
i. Unfortunately, there are no magic ______, which, once learned, can thereafter be applied to every situation.
j. After the _____ hatch out, they live in soil until they change into their adult form as flies, ants, beetles, etc.
k. The scientists have theorized that many planetary systems originated from rotating ______ which cooled and contracted into the planets and their moons, while a major part of the condensing _____ became the suns.
l. The spinal column of the human being consists of a number of _____ .
1) Translate into English.
1. Він чудово знав усі формули переведення метричних мір вимірювання в ті, які прийняті в англомовних країнах.
2. У цьому віддаленому озері збереглися деякі унікальні види водорості.
3. На зустріч, що відбудеться завтра, запрошені випускники та випускниці нашого університету.
4. У багатьох регіонах країни випав чималий сніг, через що повітряні залізничні термінали блоковані.
5. Він має дипломи кількох провідних університетів країни.
6. Личинки живуть і розвиваються в ґрунті, перш ніж перетворяться на комах.
7. Усе своє життя я вирішую непрості дилеми: бути чи не бути, робити чи не робити та таке інше.
8. Відповідно до деяких гіпотез, космічні тіла, тобто планети, їх супутники та астероїди, сформувалися внаслідок охолодження туманностей, що обертаються.
9. Свого часу він виступав на кращих аренах світу.
10. Багато комах мають спеціальні органи, які називаються антенами.
11. Мені пощастило побачити найкращі драми Шекспіра на сцені цього славнозвісного театру.
12. Сподіваюся, хребець не ушкоджений, і хворий зможе ходити.
Exercise 14
A) Match the words in column A with their descriptions in column B.
| A | B |
| 1. addendum | a) a flower with a lot of long thin petals that are dark pink, yellow or orange in colour; |
| 2. album | b) something needed and desired; |
| 3. aquarium | c) a written statement that you prepare specially for a person or committee to give them information about a particular matter; |
| 4. bacterium | d) a mistake that has been made during the printing of a book; |
| 5. chrysanthemum | e) a place or a building where large number of interesting things are preserved and studied, and displayed to the public; |
| 6. corrigendum | f) a substance or material which is used for a particular purpose or in order to produce a particular effect; |
| 7. curriculum | g) a section at the end of a book or document that contains extra information; |
| 8. desideratum | h) one of the female reproductive cells to produce young species; |
| 9. erratum | i) a conference in which experts or scholars discuss a particular subject; |
| 10. museum | j) an error to be corrected, especially a printer's error; |
| 11. symposium | k) a special book in which you collect something, for example photos, stamps, etc |
| 12. memorandum | l) a group of people in society who have similar features of class, education, power; |
| 13. medium | m) a very small organism which lives in air, water, soil, plants and animals, and which may cause disease; |
| 14. ovum | n) all courses of study (or one of those) that are taught in a school, college or university; |
| 15.stratum | o) a glass tank filled with water in which people keep fish and small underwater animals |
B) Fill in the blanks in the sentences below with a suitable word in plural from section A of this exercise.
1) Have you looked in the _____? The information you require might be there.
2) He is a stamp collector. Let's give him two nice big _____ as his birthday present.
3) I have never seen such big _____. Are they for big fish or something?
4) We have just finished the analysis. We deal with new _____ which may cause very serious diseases.
5) I don't like roses, I prefer _____. I like their long, thin petals.
6) Of course, there are misprints in the book. Have you ever seen a book without them? There is a list of _____ at the end.
7) A banker with a lot of money is a _____ of business activity.
8) Have you found any ______ in the book? - Unfortunately, I have, we'll have to give a list of them at the end of the book.
9) Air or water is a _____ for sound propagation.
10) They prepared a 99-page ______ for the Committee.
11) She is the curator of the ______ of Modern Art.
12) The female _______ are fertilized by male cells to produce young animals or human beings.
13) Some authorities have introduced environmental subjects into _____.
14) The political leaders have mostly been drawn from the upper _____ of society.
15) They took part in a series of _____ on Functional Linguistics.
1. Translate into English.
1. У твого брата завтра день народження. - давай подаруємо йому альбом для фотокарток, у нього їх так багато!
2. Студентство та школярі – сприятливе середовище для радикальних ідей.
3. Багато політичних партій використовують нижчі прошарки суспільства в своїх інтересах.
4. Це дивна книга – додатків значно більше, ніж загального тексту.
5. Жіночі яйцеклітини запліднюються і дають життя новим організмам.
6. У фойє буде багато світла, встановимо декілька акваріумів із золотими рибками та водоростями.
7. Хризантеми – гарні квіти, хоча декому вони не подобаються.
8. Могутній спонсор – бажана умова для створення серйозних професійних спортивних команд.
9. Хоча він уже написав декілька меморандумів керівництву компанії, жодних змін поки що не відбулося.
10. Ви коли-небудь бачили такі довгі переліки друкарських помилок?
11. За останній рік вона взяла участь у двох симпозіумах з перекладознавства.
12. У зв'язку зі значними змінами у світі, навчальні плани багатьох соціальних дисциплін довелося змінити.
13. Оскільки книги вже були надруковані, переліки помічених помилок довелося додавати до кожної з них.
14. Після кількох років досліджень вченим вдалося віднайти бактерії, що викликали цю страшну хворобу.
15. Вашу роботу необхідно доповнити двома додатками.
Exercise 15
A) Match the words in column A with their descriptions in column B.
| A | B |
| 1. apex | a) a little number which shows how many times you must multiple a number by itself; |
| 2. appendix | b) the environment or context in which something (e.g. society) develops and grows; |
| 3. codex | c) the highest point; |
| 4. index | d) the pointed end or top of something; |
| 5. matrix | e) a mass of wind, water etc. that spins round so fast that it pulls objects down into its empty centre; |
| 6. vertex | f) extra information or further discussion of a subject that is placed after the end of the main text; |
| 7. vortex | g) an ancient book which was written by hand, not printed |
B) Fill in the blanks in the sentences below with a suitable word in plural from column A of the first part of this exercise.
1) If you need any further information, please see ______ 5 and 6.
2) Tiger Peninsulas are triangles with their _____ to the north.
3) There are a lot of ancient _____ at this library.
4) ______ are the little numbers that show how many times you must multiply a number by itself, e.g. 32=9.
5) We have to look at the cultural _____ that makes a work of art sensible.
6) They drove down as fast as they could and got right into _____ of dust.
7) ______ are the points opposite to the base of figures.
3) Translate into English.
1. Викрадений автомобіль слід шукати у двох трикутниках, вершини яких розташовані в Нью-Йорку і Нью-Форті.
2. Вихори підхоплювали цілі автобуси і піднімали їх над землею.
3. В додатках можна знайти розширене обговорювання зазначених проблем.
4. Найвища точка польоту м'яча повинна бути на відстані не менш, ніж 4 метри від землі.
5. Тут повно старовинних рукописів, я ніколи не бачила одразу стільки.
6. Значення математичних ступенів не можуть тут бути рівними.
7. Вихори часто утворюються на березі і на воді внаслідок різкого перепаду тиску.
8. Для того, щоб зрозуміти картини цього митця, необхідно усвідомлювати психологічний контекст його творчості і життя.
9. Навчальні плани будь-якого учбового закладу слід розглядати тільки в контексті загальної політичної ситуації і загального рівня освіти в країні.
10. На симпозіумах обговорювалася поведінка літальних апаратів у найвищих точках траєкторії їх руху.
Exercise 16
A) Match the words in column A with their descriptions in column B.
| A | B |
| 1. analysis | a) a situation when a conflict or problem is so great that it is difficult to deal with it; |
| 2. axis | b) missing out of one or more words from a sentence when the sentence can be understood without them; |
| 3. basis | c) a remark or extra part that is put in a sentence and separated from it by commas, dashes or brackets; |
| 4. crisis | d) an idea which is suggested as a possible explanation for a particular situation or condition but which has not been proved to be correct; |
| 5. diagnosis | e) a small area which is pleasant and which is surrounded by big unpleasant areas; |
| 6. ellipsis | f) a large city which is the main city of a country or region; |
| 7. hypothesis | g) the central and most important part of something, from which it has been or can be further developed; |
| 8. oasis | h) a summary of a longer piece of writing or work; |
| 9. parenthesis | i) an idea or theory that is expressed as a statement and is discussed in a logical way; |
| 10. metropolis | j) the process of considering something carefully and in detail in order to explain or understand it; |
| 11. synopsis | k) the discovery or identification of what is wrong with someone or something; |
| 12. thesis | l) an imaginary line along which something can be divided equally or around which it moves evenly. |
B) Fill in the blanks in the sentences below with a suitable word in plural from column A of the first part of this exercise.
1. This may help to explain many things that cannot be explained even through a series of _____ .
2. The peninsula was about sixty miles long and thirty miles broad on its north-south and east-west ______ correspondently.
3. This was the _____ of the final decision.
4. At the moment of any serious _______ her first reaction was to take out a chewing gum.
5. He is afraid a preliminary _______ will be confirmed.
6. In everyday speech people use a lot of ______ , because many sentences can be easily understood without all those words that have been missed out.
7. There have been a lot of ______ about the purpose of Egyptian pyramids.
8. The towns were ______ of well-being in a desert of poverty.
9. How do you usually separate ______ in the sentence?
10. The ______ aren't always the capitals of their countries.
11. Please submit the ______ of all messages, which have arrived this week.
12. The main _____ of the book were concerned with the origins of man.
1. Translate into English.
· Незважаючи на низку аналізів, присвячених цьому питанню, погляди дослідників різняться.
· Вісі усіх цих об'єктів не можуть перетинати одна одну.
· У цій книзі представлені короткі викладки доповідей учасників цих двох симпозіумів.
· Основи цих наук також можна знайти у рукописних книгах, що зберігаються у провідних музеях світу.
· Не забудьте поставити тут дужки, інакше вам доведеться включити це у перелік друкарських помилок.
· Протягом останнього десятиріччя країна пережила кілька криз.
· У розмовній мові люди дуже часто використовують еліпс, хоча багато з них не знає, що означає цей термін.
· Хоча в пустелях трапляються оази, мандрівникам бажано покладатися лише на себе.
· Основу правильних гіпотез становлять достовірні знання.
· Якщо зсунути вісі планет, їхній клімат зміниться.
· Найвідоміші музеї часто розташовані у найбільших містах відповідних країн.
Exercise 17
A) Match the words in column A with their descriptions in column B.
| A | B |
| 1. criterion | a) an evil spirit; |
| 2. automaton | b) a tiny particle of matter that is smaller than an atom and has a negative electric charge; |
| 3. demon | c) any concentration of energy, activity or strength (e.g. a collection of nerve cells); |
| 4. electron | d) something that happens or exists and can be seen or experienced; |
| 5. neutron | e) a standard by which you judge or evaluate something; |
| 6. ganglion | f) a tiny particle of matter that is smaller than an atom and has a positive electric charge; |
| 7. proton | g) a small mechanical figure that can move automatically; |
| 8. phenomenon | h) a tiny particle of matter that is smaller than an atom and has no electrical charge |
B) Fill in the blanks in the sentences below with a suitable word in plural from column A of the first part of this exercise.
They moved mechanically like _____ in some sci-fi film.
The only _____ are your test result, nothing else.
Can you explain the world without using the notions of gods and _____?
Atoms consist of ______, _______ and ______ , which are all very small.
This painter saw the natural _____ in a way that few other people had before.
Exercise 18
Fill in the table below according to the way the plural forms are written.
| First element in plural | Last element in plural |
| Attorneys general | Assistant directors |
Attorney general; notary public; passer-by; assistant director; boy-friend; grown-up; sit-in; take-off; forget-me-not; cover-up; show-off; looker-on; bird of prey; comrade in arms; bride-to-be; man-of-war; fountain pen; breakdown; stand-by; spoonful; summing-up; tooth brush; postman; commander-in-chief.
Exercise 19
Correct the mistakes.
Model: I need some informations. – I need some information.
1. We had a great weather.
2. I’m looking for a new jeans.
3. I can’t find my sunglass.
4. We had a lot of homeworks yesterday.
5. We had such a terrible weather last night! The storm knocked out the electricities for hours.
6. I love antique furnitures, but I would need an advice from a specialist before I bought any.
7. My knowledges in that area are very poor.
8. His researches are definitely making great progresses these days.
9. He has done a lot of original works recently.
10. If you have your hair cut in that saloon, it will cost you a lot of monies.
11. Your hairs look very nice today. Have you just washed its?
12. Ten kilometer is a long way to walk.
13. One of my brother work in a shoe shop.
14. Physic were my favourite subjects at the school.
15. I don’t like wear pajama in the bed.
Exercise 20
Which part of these sentences is right?
a. Margaret has got very long black hair / hairs.
b. We had a very good weather / very good weather when we were on holiday.
c. Sorry I’m late. I had trouble / troubles with the car this morning.
d. I want something to read. I’m going to buy a / some paper.
e. I want to write some letters. I need a / some paper.
f. It’s very difficult to find work / job at the moment. Most people prefer a job / work which is near home.
g. Bad news don’t / doesn’t make people happy.
h. Our travel / journey from London to Istanbul by train was very interesting.
i. The flat is empty. We haven’t got any furniture / furnitures yet.
j. When the fire alarm rang there was a complete chaos / complete chaos.
k. I had to buy a / some bread because I wanted to make some sandwiches.
l. They will give you plenty of information / informations here.
Exercise 21
Choose the correct form, singular or plural.
1) The trousers you bought doesn’t / don’t fit you. They are / it is too short for you.
2) Physics was / were my best subject at school. – Really? But I think mathematics is / are much easier than physics.
3) Fortunately the news wasn’t / weren’t as bad as we had expected.
4) The police want /wants to interview me about the robbery.
5) Three days isn’t / aren’t long enough for a good holiday.
6) Where does / do your family live? – All my family live/lives with me.
7) England has /have lost all the football matches this season.
8) Does / do the police know about the stolen money?
9) Can I borrow your scissors? Mine isn’t / aren’t sharp enough.
10) I’m going to take a taxi. Six miles is / are too far for me to walk.
11) The danger of the forests fires is/are very serious for the environment.
12) The fear of the murder and robbery has/have caused many people to leave big cities.
13) The effects of that crime was/were very devastating for the city.
14) Fifty dollars is/are too much to pay for these trousers.
15) Mr. Smith accompanied by his wife and daughter is / are arriving tonight.
16) The doctor and his assistant have /has already finished their work today.
17) The majority of the people believes/believe him to be innocent.
18) Neither Bill nor Mary is / are going to the party tonight.
19) Neither Jane nor her parents was/were at home.
20) The mass media, TV and the press have/ has enormous power in any society.
21) The police have /has weighed all the evidence and have / has found the accused guilty.
22) When is / are the daily news on? – They are / it is on every hour on channel A.
23) Your advice was/were very useful. I usually use your advice/advices when I’m in trouble/troubles.
24) This book contains much/many useful information/informations.
25) Money isn’t/aren’t everything in my life but it is difficult to live without it/them.
26) Fish/fishes travel long distances and different fish live/lives at different levels of water.
27) Coffee/a coffee or tea/a tea, pleases? – Two tea/teas and a coffee/coffee, please.
28) People/peoples eat more fruit/fruits now than they used to.
29) The fruits/fruit of nature belong to all mankind.
30) Too much/manyknowledge/knowledges makes the head bold.
Exercise 22
Put the information before the noun: number + noun + noun.
Model: a sixteen-year-old girl, a ten-hour-flight.
1) a note that is worth 10 pounds;
2) a language course that lasts four weeks;
3) a drive that takes three hours;
4) a meal that consists of three courses;
5) a holiday that lasts two weeks;
6) a house that was built two hundred years ago;
7) a delay in the airport that went on for two hours;
8) a letter that goes on for ten pages;
9) a university course that takes three years;
10) a prison sentence of ten years;
11) a hotel with five stars;
12) a speed limit of 40 miles an hour.
Exercise 23
Write a new sentence according to the model.
Model: Our holiday lasted three weeks. – It was a three-week holiday.
1. The woman was 27. She was a …
2. The flight lasted three hours. It was a …
3. The strike lasted four days. It was a …
4. The book has 200 pages. It is a …
5. The boys were 10 years old. They were …
6. The television series has ten parts. It is …
7. The bottle holds 2 liters. It is …
8. Each of the tickets cost 10 pounds. They were …
9. The building has 10 floors. It is…
10. This bag of potatoes weights 5 kilos. It is …
11. We walked for 5 miles. It was …
Exercise 24
Replace the of-phrase by the noun in the Genitive case.
1. The plays of Shakespeare are very popular in our country.
2. The house of my daughter-in-law is within a stone’s throw from here.
3. He slipped his hand through the arm of his mother.
4. I saw the neck of my neighbour grow redder.
5. When she caught the eye of her husband she smiled.
6. The cheeks of the secretary continued to brighten.
7. A chill smile played round the lips of Ann.
8. He told me of the return of his brother Roger.
9. The supper of the children is ready.
10. In the distance we saw the hut of a native.
11. Will you join the excursion of today?
12. The voice of a girl was heard in the distance.
Exercise 25
Replace the of-phrase by the genitive.
The assistant of the director;
The nephew of Sir Charles;
The order of the Commander-in-Chief;
The old coat of my father;
The birthday of my boy-friend;
The duties of men-servants;
The last letter of my mother-in-law;
The last novel of Hemingway;
The early poems of Robert Burns;
One of the greatest tragedies of Shakespeare;
The latest record of the champion;
Games of children;
Clothes of men;
An interval of ten minutes;
A distance of five miles;
The crew of the ship;
The population of England;
For the sake of economy;
The mother of Mary and John;
The rooms of the daughter and the son;
The new house of the Parkers.
Exercise 26
Use the Absolute Genitive Case.
1. His eyes avoided the eyes of Andrew.
2. It was her job; not the job of old lady Winnie.
3. She had an unexpectedly pleasant voice, a little deeper than the voice of a clown.
4. I’m not going to the house of Caroline Kent at all.
5. After breakfast he went off to the house of Fleur.
6. You must come to the house of my father.
7. Peter was the son of one of Aunt Lottie’s friends.
8. You are quite sure he wasn’t one of the doctor’s patients.
9. I am thinking of one of my father’s cousins, who was a well-known physician and lived in Harley Street.
Exercise 27
Join two nouns using apostrophe (‘) or of-phrase.
1. the newspaper / today;
2. the birthday / my father;
3. the manager / the company;
4. the economic policy / the government;
5. the garden / Mr. Brown;
6. the new headmaster / the school;
7. the dean / the Law faculty;
8. the camera / the boy;
9. the top / the page;
10. the name / the street;
11. the house / my uncle and aunt;
12. the toys / the children;
13. the author / the book;
14. the children / Ann.
Exercise 28
Use the genitive case if possible.
1. the crown of the queen;
2. the house of Mr. and Mrs. Green;
3. the wedding of Jack and Jane;
4. the favourite of the boss;
5. the title of the book;
6. the beginning of the performance;
7. the decision of the President;
8. the success of the firm;
9. the clothes of the children;
10. the hats of men;
11. the owner of the café;
12. the distance in a mile;
13. the health of my mother;
14. the present of my parents.
Exercise 29
Write a new sentence using ‘s with underlined words.
1. The meeting tomorrow has been cancelled.
2. The storm last week caused a lot of damage in our town.
3. The only cinema in the town has been closed down.
4. Exports from Britain to the USA have fallen recently.
5. Tourism is the main industry in the region.
6. There will be a big crowd at the football match this evening.
7. The son of my elder brother Peter is a doctor.
8. I usually buy bread at the bakery not far from my house.
9. I’m looking forward to spending my holiday in the house of my aunt near the sea.
10. Russia has the largest deposits of oil in the world.
11. The crew of the ship stood on the deck.
12. There are a lot of interesting books in the libraries of the city.
Exercise 30
Read the text. Explain whether the nouns used in it are proper or common, countable or uncountable, plural or singular, in common or genitive case.
London Favourite Stores
Oxford Street is one of the biggest and most popular shopping centres in London. One of the largest department stores in Oxford Street is Selfridge’s. Big stores started in America and the idea was brought to England by Gordon Selfridge about one hundred years ago. Selfridge’s is still one of the biggest stores in London as well as Harrods. It has about 235 different departments and it is a very expensive department store, that’s why most Londoners prefer to go to cheaper shops: Mark & Spencer and Woolworth’s. Mark & Spencer is Britain’s favourite store. Tourists love it too. It attracts a great variety of customers, from housewives to millionaires. Last year it made a profit of 529 million pounds, which is more than 10 million pounds a week.
It all started 105 years ago, when a young Polish immigrant Michael Marks, had a stall in Leeds market. He didn’t have many things to sell: some cotton, a little wool, lots of buttons and a few shoelaces. Above his stall he put the famous notice: “Don’t ask how much – it’s a penny”. Ten years later he met Tom Spencer and together they started Penny Stalls in many towns in the north of England. Today there are 564 ranches of M&S all over the world – in the USA, Canada, Spain, France, Belgium and so on.
Surprisingly, tastes in food and clothes are international. What sells well in Paris sells just as well in Newcastle.
The store bases its business on three principles: good value, good quality and good service. Also, it changes with the times – once it was all jumpers and knickers. Now it is food, furniture and flowers as well. Top fashion designers advise on style of clothes.
But perhaps the most important key to its success is its happy, well-trained staff. Conditions of work are excellent. There are company doctors, dentists, hairdressers and even chiropodists to look after the staff and all the staff can have lunch for under 40 p.!
Most big stores have a tea-room, a restaurant and a post-office. You will also find here a room where you can rest if you are tired.
Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street are rightly considered the shopping streets in London. Their nice shops and department stores attract people from all over the country and from foreign countries as well.
Exercise 31
Fill in the table below with male / female equivalents.
| Monk | |
| King | |
| Nephew | |
| Bachelor | |
| Barman | |
| Postmaster | |
| Emperor | |
| Duke | |
| bride | |
| Waiter | |
| Poet | |
| God | |
| Hero | |
| Widow | |
| Steward | |
| Host | |
| Usher | |
| Author | |
| Sister | |
| Father | |
| Lady | |
| Uncle | |
| mister |
Exercise 32
Fill in the table below like in the example.
| ANIMAL | MALE | FEMALE | YOUNG | GROUP |
| cattle | bull | cow | calf | Herd |
| bee | ||||
| cat | ||||
| goose | ||||
| goat | ||||
| chicken | ||||
| lion | ||||
| fox | ||||
| tiger | ||||
| horse | ||||
| dog | ||||
| sheep | ||||
| duck | ||||
| pig |
Exercise 33
Give the feminine gender of the following nouns:
King, uncle, sir, cook, son, husband, poet, actor, hero, Czar, Sultan, steward, host, landlord, cook-sparrow, man-servant, Prince, lion, grand-father, milk-man, salesman, gentleman, boyfriend, tiger.
THE ARTICLE
The article is a functional part of speech used with nouns.
There are two articles in Modern English: the indefinite a/an article used only with countable nouns in the singular (a book, an apple) and the definite the article used with nouns both in the singular and in the plural (the sun, the children).
The indefinite article is used:
| With countable nouns in the singular to show that the noun belongs to a certain class; in the plural no article is used in this case. | Have you got a car? – Never. |
| With a countable noun mentioned for the first time. | Give me a pen and a pencil, please. |
| To talk about someone’s job. | She is a doctor. He works as a pilot. |
| With a noun in a general sense (has the meaning of ‘every, any’). | A straw shows which way the wind blows. |
| In the meaning of “one”. | Wait a minute! |
| After the construction: There is…/was…, and after: It is… This is … | It is a book. This is a hotel. |
| After the words: such, rather, quite. What …! (exclamations). | Ann is such a pretty girl. What a strange person! |
| With a noun modified by the adjective in the positive degree. | I’ve read an interesting book. Are you a good driver? |
| a/an +ordinal numeral has the meaning “one more”. | She gave me a second cup of coffee. |
| Also with: a dozen, a hundred, a thousand, a million, a pound, a week, an hour, a mile,- in the meaning “one”. | We have English classes twice a week. |
| In some expressions: a lot of, as a result, as a matter of fact, as a rule, it’s a pity, it’s a pleasure, in a hurry, to go for a walk, to have a mind to do something, to fly into a passion, to get in a rage to take a fancy to smb, in a low (loud) voice, a great many, a great deal, it’s a shame, to have a good time, to be at a loss, at a glance. | She was at a loss what to say. It’s a pleasure to see you again. Let’s go for a walk. |
The definite article is used:
| With a noun when it is clear in the situation which thing or person is meant, or with the noun mentioned before. | Can you turn off the light, please? Will you pass me the salt, please? |
| Also: the police, the army, the fire brigade, the bank, the doctor, the dentist. | The police are looking for the thief. John isn’t well. He has gone to the doctor. |
| When the noun is modified by a particularizing attribute (and of-phrase or an attributive clause, always used in post position). | He knocked at the door of the nearest house. This is the flat John bought. |
| When the noun denotes a thing unique (the sun, the moon, the earth, the universe) or a class, an invention, musical instruments. | The earth goes round the sun. 1. Bell invented the telephone. Can you play the piano? |
| With the nouns modified by the adjective in the superlative degree and the ordinal numbers. | This is the best day in my life. Major Yuri Gagarin was the first man to circle the Earth. |
| With the adjectives: the following, next, last, same, very, only. But: next year/time, last week/year. | Answer the following questions. This is the only book on this problem. |
| Also: the sky, the sea, the ground, the country, the environment, the world, the cinema, the theatre, the radio (but: television), the weather, the government. | There are no stars in the sky tonight. Do you often go to the theatre? I’ve heard the news on the radio. |
| The + adjective: the rich = rich people in general; these expressions are always plural. | The old, the sick, the poor, the blind, the unemployed, the young. |
| The + nationality words: the French = the French people. | The English, the Irish, the Welsh, the Scots. |
| With the names of the oceans, seas, rivers, canals, mountain chains, island groups, deserts, areas. | The Atlantic Ocean, the Thames, the British Isles, the Ontario (but: Lake Ontario), the Alps, the Sahara. |
| We sat the with the names of the countries which include words like republic, union, kingdom, state, with plural names, regions. | The United Kingdom, the United States, the Philippines, the North, the South (of France); but: from East to West, from North to South. |
| The names of the following towns, countries, provinces are used with the definite article: the Hague, the Netherlands, the West Indies, the Ruhr, the Riviera, the Crimea, the Caucasus, the Congo. Names of streets and squares are usually used without articles, but there are a few exceptions: the High Street, the Strand. | |
| We say the before the names of the hotels, theatres, museums/galleries, cinemas, restaurants/pubs, newspapers, ships, also before the names with of. But: many shops, restaurants, banks are named after the people who started them; these names end in –s or ‘s, we do not use the with these names. Also: many names are two words, the first name is usually the name of the person or a place; we do not usually say the with these names, but we say:” The White House”, “The Royal Palace”, because “white” and “royal” are not names. | The Hilton (Hotel), the British Museum; cinemas: the Odeon, the Classic; newspapers: the Times, the Washington Post; ships: the Queen Elizabeth; the Tower of London, the Houses of Parliament; shops: Selfridge’s, Harrods; hotels: Claridge’s. |
| With the names denoting the whole family. | The Simons, the Smiths. |
| With the nouns in the singular used in the generic sense. But: a) we use “man” (=human beings in general) without “the”; b) we do not use the with parts of the body (use his, her, my, etc.) | The tragedy and the comedy first appeared in Greece. Man is the greatest creation of nature. He broke his leg. I hurt my arm. |
| With the date (in speech). | On the fifth of May/ on May the fifth. |
| With organizations, official titles, documents, the whole species. | The United Nations (but: Parliament, Congress), the President, the Constitution, the dinosaurs. |
| In some expressions: at the same time, in the original, on the whole, the other day (refers to the past), the day after tomorrow, the day before yesterday, in the morning/afternoon/ evening, at the seaside, by the way, just the same, to tell the truth, out of the question, to take the trouble to do smth, to keep the house, to keep the bed, on the one hand/ on the other hand, to be on the safe side. | I met him the other day. You didn’t take the trouble to consult your doctor. You’d better keep the bed. |
There is no article:
| Before the nouns modified by the pronouns (possessive: my, his, her, our, your, their, its; demonstrative: this, that, those, these; interrogative: what, which, whose; indefinite: some, any, each, every, many, much, no; and also by cardinal numerals). | My friend and I would like to spend our holidays in the country. I’d like to read this book. What question have you discussed? Take any book you like. |
| Before the names of a person, streets, squares, towns, villages; before the names of sciences and subjects; before airports, stations, parks, mountain peaks, bridges, single islands and the names of planets. | Oxford Street is one of the biggest and most popular shopping centers in London. He is fond of mathematics and physics. |
| Before plural countable nouns in general sense. | I like pets. Children learn a lot from playing. |
| After the verbs: elect, appoint, turn, commence. | He was elected President of the country. |
| Before the nouns of material and abstract nouns in general sense. | Life is impossible without water. What fine weather! But: The weather is fine today. |
| Note: many abstract nouns and nouns of material used with the indefinite article become countable | Paper was invented in China. I bought a paper on my way home. |
| With the nouns denoting titles and ranks followed by the names of persons. | Mr. Brown, Dr. Fox, Mrs. Simmons. |
| With the nouns expressing relationships: a) followed by names of persons; b) nouns expressing relationship not followed by a proper noun when used by the members of the family. | Aunt Polly is coming tonight. Uncle James lives in London. Tom, hasn’t Father come yet? Where is Mother? |
| With the names of months, days, seasons. But: when these names are modified by a particularizing attribute, the definite article is used. | The May of 1945 will always stay in the memory of people. |
| With the names of countries and continents, with official titles. | Europe, Asia, Great Britain, Poland. |
| With the names of meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper. We use the indefinite article when there is an adjective before dinner, supper, and the definite article when the situation makes the idea definite. | I have breakfast at 8. How did you like the dinner? Thank you, that was a nice dinner. |
| The nouns: school, college, bed, jail, prison, church are used without an article when they express the purpose for which the objects denoted by these nouns serve. | To go to school = to be a schoolboy; to be in prison = to be a prisoner. |
| With names of languages when they are not followed by the noun language are used without any article. | Do you speak English? But: The English language is spoken all over the world. |
| Most + noun (without article) – the noun is used in general sense. Most + of + the – definite objects are meant. | Most children like ice-cream. Most of the streets in London are not wide. |
| In some expressions: for ages, at first, at first sight, at home, to go home, at school, at table, by chance, by heart, by name, by mistake, to go to bed, to go by bus/train/plane, to go out of town, out of doors, to take to heart, to take offence, to give/to take/to ask permission, to lose heart, at present, from morning till night, from head to foot, from beginning to end, for hours, in debt. | He could read for hours. He fell in love with her at first sight. She was dressed in furs from head to foot. I haven’t seen you for ages. |
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