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SINGULARIA
TANTUM NOUNS (uncountable)
Materials:
(iron,
tin, sand, coal, bread, cheese, wine, tea, water, fruit, money,
hair, coffee, butter, furniture, clothing)
NB! Some of them may become
countable with a change of meaning:
An
iron(s) – утюг,
a
tin(s)-конс.банка , a coal(s)-уголёк, a
coffee(s)-порция кофе, a butter –пачка масла,
a hair(s)-волосок,
Fruits,
teas, wines, mineral waters
– different kinds; the
sands of Sahara, the blue skies of Italy.
-Ways
of showing partition:
A ball of string, a bar of
chocolate, a block of ice, a heap of earth, a loaf of bread, a
lump of coal (sugar), a slice of bacon(bread), a stick of chalk
(dynamite), a sheet of paper, a strip of land, an article of
furniture, a grain of rice, a pile(heap) of rubbish, a blade of
grass, a drop of water(blood), a (bit) piece of …
Abstract
Notions: (advice,
information, knowledge, permission, progress, weather, news,
behaviour.)
NB!
Some of them may become countable with a change of meaning: a
beauty(ies) – красавица,
a
youth(s) – юноша.
-Ways
of showing partition:
a
piece of advice(news), an item of news, a word of advice.
e.g.
He gave me some pieces of advice.
NB!
* Sciences
in –ics
(physics, mathematics, phonetics, linguistics) are in the singular
(IS) unless we put “these”
and they express processes (is/are):
e.g.
These acoustics are(is) unreliable. Your phonetics are(is) as
good as they were.
*
Illnesses:
measles,
mumps, rickets, shingles IS
*
Games
: billiards,
draughts, dominoes, bowls, darts, cards, fives IS.
When used attributively –s
is omitted: a
billiard table.
3.
Proper Names:
(Athens,
Naples, Wales, the United Nations, the United States, Brussels,
Flanders.)
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PLURALIA TANTUM NOUNS
Парные
предметы одежды и инструменты:
(binoculars,
braces, breeches, shorts,
glasses,
knickers, pants, pincers, pliers, pajamas, scales, scissors,
spectacles,
tweezers,
tights, tongs, trousers, drawers, suspenders)
[can be used with a
pair of … ]
Other
nouns:
(the
Middle Ages, annals, arms, ashes, belongings, clothes,
credentials, damages (pay*), dregs, earnings, goods, manners,
odds, outskirts, pains, particulars, premises, quarters, remains,
resources, shortcomings, surroundings, the tropics, valuables,
whereabouts, brains, contents, customs, fireworks, holidays,
wages, wits, clergy, folk, people, police, vermin, youth,
graffiti, the rich, the poor, the sick, the Midlands, the
Highlands.
Full
Family:
(The
Robinsons are
…; if the name ends in s,ss,ch,sh,x,z
+ es
e.g.
the Johneses, the Goozes)
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COLLECTIVE
NOUNS :
audience,
board, class, the clergy, the aristocracy, committee, (the)
Congress, crew, crowd, the elite, family, flock the gentry,
government, group, herd, jury, majority, minority, Parliament, the
Proletariat, the public, staff, team IS
or ARE
People
are
(люди) –
people
is
(народ),
peoples
– народы
A
number of …
agrees with a plural verb. e.g.
There were a number of people there.
10
staff
(=10 people on the staff), 20
crew
(=20 crewmen). 40
police
(=policemen). Offspring
is(are)
BUT
never
offsprings.
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