LESSON 24 SINGULAR AND PLURAL NOUNS (PETERSON’S TOEFL SUCCESS)

(PETERSON’S TOEFL SUCCESS)

LESSON 24

SINGULAR AND PLURAL NOUNS

PLURAL NOUNS IN PLACE OF SINGULAR NOUNS AND SINGULAR NOUNS IN PLACE OF PLURAL NOUNS Underlined nouns in the Structure section may be incorrect because they are plural but should be singular, or because they are singular but should be plural. Sometimes it is clear that a singular subject is incorrectly used because the verb is plural, or that a plural noun is used incorrectly because the verb is singular. In this type of item, the verb will NOT be underlined, because this is not a verb error. Sometimes it is obvious that a plural or a singular noun is needed because of the determiners that precede the noun. Certain determiners are used only before singular nouns, whereas other determiners are used only before plural nouns. Determiners Used with Singular Nouns Determiners Used with Plural Nouns a/an one a single each every this that two, three, four, etc. dozens of hundreds of thousands of a few (of) many (of) a number of  the number of a couple (of) every one of each one of each of one of these those Each contestant won a prize. Each of the contestants won a prize. This flower is a yellow rose. These flowers are yellow roses. I only attended one game this season. It was one of the most exciting games that I ever attended. Sample Items Several of (A) Washington Irving’s story (B) have become (C) classics in American literature (D). The correct answer is (B). In this item, both the determiner before the noun (Several of ) and the plural verb (have) indicate that a plural noun (stories) should be used. Mauna Loa, an active (A) volcano on (B) the island (C) of Hawaii, usually has one eruptions (D) every three years. The correct answer is (D). A singular noun must be used after the determiner one. One of the (A) most beautiful (B) state capitol (C) is the Utah Sate Capitol, located (D) in Salt Lake City. The correct answer is (C). The pattern is one of the + superlative adjective + plural noun. The plural noun capitols must therefore be used. ERRORS INVOLVING IRREGULAR PLURALS Most plural nouns in English end in -s, but a few are irregular. Only the most common irregular plurals are tested on the TOEFL test. (Irregular plurals that come to English from Latin or Greek—data, cacti, alumnae, or phenomena, for example—will NOT be tested on the TOEFL test.) Common Irregular Plural Nouns Singular Noun Plural Noun child man woman foot tooth mouse fish children men women feet teeth mice fish Sample Item As childs (A) grow older (B) , their (C) bones become thicker (D) and longer. The correct answer is (A). The plural form of child is children. ERRORS WITH PLURAL FORMS OF NONCOUNT NOUNS In some items, a noncount noun (such as furniture, research, sunshine, information, bread, and so on) is incorrectly given as a plural noun. Sample Item Some (A) encyclopedias deal with (B) specific fields, such as music (C) or philosophy, and provide informations (D) only on subject. The correct answer is (D). Information is an uncountable noun and cannot be pluralized. ERRORS WITH PLURAL COMPOUND NOUNS Compound nouns consist of two nouns used together to express a single idea: grocery store, travel agent, dinner party, and house cat, for example. Only the second noun of compounds is pluralized: grocery stores, travel agents, dinner parties, and house cats. (There are rare exceptions to this rule—sports cars and women doctors, for example—but these won’t be tested.) Sample Item Raymond Chandler’s detectives stories (A) are admired (B) both by critics and (C) general readers (D). The correct answer is (A). The plural form of this compound noun is detective stories. ERRORS INVOLVING PLURAL FORMS OF NUMBERS AND MEASUREMENT Some errors involve numbers + measurements: They went for a 6-mile walk. They walked 6 miles. In the first sentence, the number + measurement are used as an adjective, and the measurement is singular. In the second, the measurement is a noun and is therefore plural. Numbers such as hundred, thousand, and million may be pluralized when they are used indefinitely—in other words, when they do not follow other numbers: seven thousand                           thousands five million dollars                      millions of dollars Sample Items The (A) U.S. president serves (B) a maximum (C) of two 4-years (D) terms. The correct answer is (D). When used before a noun, a number + measurement is singular. Thousand (A) of antibiotics have been (B) developed, but only (C) about thirty are (D) in common use today. The correct answer is (A). The plural form thousands should be used. EXERCISE 24 Focus: Identifying and correcting errors involving singular and plural nouns (Note: One or two items in this exercise do not focus on singular-plural errors. These are marked in the answer key with an asterisk.) Directions: Decide which of the four underlined words or phrases—(A), (B), (C), or (D)—would not be considered correct, and write the letter of the expression in the blank. ________ 1 The male (A) mandril baboon is one (B) of the most (C) colorful of all mammal (D). ________ 2 Zoonoses are diseases (A) that can be transmitted (B) to humans (C) beings by animals (D). ________ 3 Many (A) championship automobiles (B) and motorcycle (C) races (D) take place in Daytona Beach, Florida. ________ 4 The Newberry Award is granted every years (A) to the authors (B) of outstanding books (C) for children (D). ________ 5 The (A) major source (B) of air (C) pollution vary from city (D) to city. ________ 6 Around (A) 75 percents (B) of the earth’s surface (C) is covered by water (D). ________ 7 All college (A) and universities get their funds (B) from a variety (C) of sources (D). ________ 8 Russell Cave in (A) northeastern Alabama was the home (B) of cliff-dwelling Indians thousand (C) of years (D) ago. ________ 9 The Federalist Papers is a 500-pages (A) collection of (B) eighteenth-century newspaper (C) articles written to support (D) the Constitution. ________ 10 he mathematician and astronomer (A) David Rittenhouse was (B) one of the first man (C) of science (D) in the American colonies. ________ 11 Insurance underwriter (A) insure people (B) against many types (C) of risks (D). ________ 12 The (A) electric toaster (B) was one of the earliest appliance (C) to be developed for the kitchen (D). ________ 13 Tornadoes can pick up objects (A) as heavy as automobiles (B) and carry them for hundreds (C) of foot (D) ________ 14 Many kinds (A) of vegetables (B) are growth (C) in (D) California’s Imperial Valley. ________ 15 In typical pioneers (A0 settlements, men (B) , women, and children (C) worked from morning until night at farm (D) and household tasks. ________ 16 Few of the doctors (A) practicing in the thirteen North American colonies (B) had formal training (C) in the field of medicines (D). ________ 17 The pine (A) tree is probably the more (B) important lumber (C) tree (D)in the world.

ANSWER KEY