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Unit 66 · A and the

train(s) bus(es) (singular and plural)

Study

A

The plural of a noun is usually -s:

singular (= one) plural (= two or more)
a flower some flowers
a train two trains
one week a few weeks
a nice place some nice places
this student these students

Spelling (→ Appendix 5):

-s / -sh / -ch / -x → -es bus → buses dish → dishes church → churches box → boxes potato → potatoes tomato → tomatoes
also
-y → -ies baby → babies dictionary → dictionaries party → parties
but -ay / -ey / -oy → -ys day → days monkey → monkeys boy → boys
-f / -fe → -ves shelf → shelves knife → knives wife → wives
B

These things are plural:

scissors glasses trousers jeans shorts tights pyjamas
›

Do you wear glasses?

›

Where are the scissors? I need them.

You can also say a pair of scissors / a pair of trousers / a pair of pyjamas etc.:

›

I need a new pair of jeans. or I need some new jeans. (not a new jeans)

C

Some plurals do not end in -s:

this man → these men one foot → two feet that sheep → those sheep
a woman → some women a tooth → all my teeth a fish → a lot of fish
a child → many children a mouse → some mice

also a person → two people / some people / a lot of people etc.:

›

She's a nice person.

›

but They are nice people. (not nice persons)

D

People is plural (= they), so we say people are / people have etc.:

›

A lot of people speak English. (not speaks)

›

I like the people here. They are very friendly.

Police is plural:

›

The police want to talk to anybody who saw the accident. (not The police wants)

Exercises (4)

0/4 exercises checked
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66.1

Write the plural.

  1. 1
    flower example
  2. 2
    boat
  3. 3
    woman
  4. 4
    city
  5. 5
    umbrella
  6. 6
    address
  7. 7
    knife
  8. 8
    sandwich
  9. 9
    family
  10. 10
    foot
  11. 11
    holiday
  12. 12
    potato
66.2

Look at the pictures and complete the sentences.

  1. 1Many sheep grazing in a field.
    There are a lot of in the field.example
  2. 2A man brushing his teeth.
    Gary is cleaning his .
  3. 3Three people waiting at a bus stop.
    There are three at the bus stop.
  4. 4A woman with her two children.
    Lucy has two .
  5. 5Many fish swimming in a river.
    There are a lot of in the river.
  6. 6Leaves falling from a tree.
    The are falling from the tree.
66.3

Are these sentences OK? Change the sentences where necessary.

  1. 1
    1 I'm going to buy some flowers.
    ✓ 正确，无需修改example
  2. 2
    2 I need a new jeans.
    I need a new pair of jeans.example
  3. 3
    3 It's a lovely park with a lot of beautiful tree.
  4. 4
    4 There was a woman in the car with two mens.
  5. 5
    5 Sheep eat grass.
  6. 6
    6 David is married and has three childs.
  7. 7
    7 Most of my friend are student.
  8. 8
    8 He put on his pyjama and went to bed.
  9. 9
    9 We went fishing, but we didn't catch many fish.
  10. 10
    10 Do you know many persons in this town?
  11. 11
    11 I like your trouser. Where did you get it?
  12. 12
    12 The town centre is usually full of tourist.
  13. 13
    13 I don't like mice. I'm afraid of them.
  14. 14
    14 This scissor isn't very sharp.
66.4

Which is right? Complete the sentences.

  1. 1
    It's a nice place. Many people there on holiday.example
  2. 2
    Some people always late.
  3. 3
    The new city hall is not a beautiful building. Most people like it.
  4. 4
    A lot of people TV every day.
  5. 5
    Three people injured in the accident.
  6. 6
    How many people in that house?
  7. 7
    the police know the cause of the explosion?
  8. 8
    The police looking for the stolen car.
  9. 9
    I need my glasses, but I can't find .
  10. 10
    I'm going to buy new jeans today.