Ex. 9. Make two noun groups from each set of words

Example: file: your secretary, legal documents: your secretary’s file, the file of legal documents.

1. story: Helen, the French Revolution

2. style: my favourite author, the 1950s

3. place: language education, women

4. ideas: modern linguistics, my son

5. rules: the club, tennis

Ex. 10. Revision: translate from English into Russian paying attention to the plural forms of the following nouns.

As we sailed up the River Hudson towards the cities of New York and Brooklyn, we experienced a sensation which is, I think, common to all travellers who come to the end of their voyage. Many people have tried to analyse this emotion, and I have read many such analyses but none have ever really satisfied me.

The buildings stood out against the skyline like enormous boxes of matches stuck on end. The houses and churches were completely dwarfed by them. As we went up the river, we examined it all with our glasses. It seemed as if each building brushed the skies.

There were a lot of ships in the river mouth. They were bringing cargoes from all over the world — cargoes of meat and potatoes and mangoes, of machines and toys and many other things. They carried silks from China and teas from India as well. They flew the colours of almost every seafaring nation on the globe.

Armies of customs-officials, port-authorities and others, came on board. The passengers were paraded before the port doctor. He was a huge fat man. The first class passengers filed before him as solemn as oxen. Most of the third class passengers stood waiting their turn as quiet as mice, though some were as noisy as a flock of geese. They carried their savings in knotted handkerchiefs, and the rest of their belongings in bundles. Many seemed to have completely lost their bearings in their new and strange surroundings and seemed as bewildered as sheep, while their wives and children stared around like startled deer.

We landed with every manifestation of high spirits and the customs people examined our effects. The hangers-on stared at us as though we were curious phenomena.

On the day we landed, the news got around that an armistice had been signed, and New York was beside itself with joy. Nobody then guessed how many world crises would follow in the years to come; and what small consolation there would be for the men who had performed their duties like heroes in “a war to end war”.

Test A. Plural/singular

1. My hair ___ clean. A — is; B — are

2. Can I borrow your scissors? Mine … not sharp enough. A — is; B — are

3. Bad news (not/make) people happy. A — don’t make; B — doesn’t make

4. I don’t want … or help. A — advices; B — an advice; C — advice

5. I’ve seen some comedies this month. Each … funnier than the last.

A — was; B — were

6. We’d like three … eggs. A — dozen of; B — dozen; C — dozens

7. Knowledge … power. A — is; B — are

8. Everybody … ready. A — is; B — are

9. I need my glasses. Where … the glasses? A — is; B — are

10. In summer we eat a lot of …. A — fruit; B — fruits

11. There … a lot of sheep in the field. A — is; B — are

12. The police… to interview Fred about the accident. A – wants; B – want

13. Money … not everything. A — is; B — are

14. Last Saturday we went fishing, but we didn’t catch many ….

A — fish; B — fishs; C — fishes

15. Mathematics … an exact science. A — is; B — are

16. It costs four … dollars. A — hundred; B — hundreds

17. Julia’s clothes … in her wardrobe. A — is; B — are

18. Our team … the best. A — is; B — are

19. Our team … playing well. A — is; B — are

20. The United States … a violent history. A — have; B — has

Test B. Possessive s’ /’s

1. Liz/the text-book:

A — Liz’s text-book

B — the text-book of Liz

2. The roof/the house:

A — the house’s roof

B — the roof of the house

3. The rabbits/the cage:

A — the rabbits’ cage;

B — the cage of the rabbits

4. Our dog/a new kennel:

A — our dog’s new kennel

B — a new kennel of our dog

5. The Smiths/the car:

A — the Smiths’ car

B — the car of the Smiths

6. Charles/the book:

A — Charles’ book;

B — the book of Charles

7. A bird/a nest:

A — a nest of a bird

B — a bird’s nest

8. Those men/the umbrellas:

A — those men’s umbrellas

B — the umbrellas of those men

9. My parents/the friends:

A — the friends of my parents

B — my parents’ friends

10.Tom and Alice/the car:

A — Tom and Alice’s car;

B — the car of Tom and Alice

11. King Charles II/the portrait:

A — the portrait of King Charles II

B — King’s Charles II portrait

12. The title/the novel I lent you yesterday:

A — the title of the novel I lent you yesterday

B — the novel’s title I lent you yesterday