From Theory to Practice (1)
Grammar is one of those issues that needs to be stressed with students to help them use it as a communicative resource to sound not only syntactically correct but also idiomatically right. Now that I am currently working with students who need to develop and consolidate their English-speaking skills to perform better in their future working fields, I will be posting regularly sample exercises in various areas of the English grammar.
The first sample activity that I created is the following one on nouns in English. Feel free to download it and use it to strengthen your learners’ communicative resource, -grammar.
From Theory to Practice
Nouns in English
Mass Noun: Nouns that can be
pluralized and are always singular such as gases, fluids, natural phenomena,
materials, academic fields, ideas, emotions, and behaviors.
Mass-to-Count Nouns: Certain mass nouns
that shift to count ones when denoting a type, kind, unit, or serving.
Count Nouns: Nouns that can be
either singular or plural, except in certain cases such as scissors that is
always a plural count noun.
Collective Nouns: This is a
subdivision of count nouns that when being used as subjects, they can take
singular or plural verbs with a difference in meaning or intention on the side
of the speaker.
1.
Classify the following nouns according to the categories
below.
binder
– difficulty – ethics – beer – ozone – book – beauty – milk – mouse –
experience – oil – fish – CD – carbon dioxide – pen – wine – grass – cheese –
scissors – rain – marker – helium – tea
|
Mass Nouns
|
Mass-to-Count
Nouns
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Count Nouns
|
2.
Which of the following have no singular forms? Supply
the singular form in case it is possible.
socks
|
beddings
|
||
pants
|
slacks
|
||
clothes
|
scissors
|
||
shoes
|
jeans
|
||
belongings
|
belt
|
||
desks
|
briefs
|
3.
Complete the following phrases with “a unit or a serving
of” or with a “collective noun.”
a)
a __________ of coffee
b)
a __________ of deer
c)
a __________ of chocolate
d)
a __________ of lions
e)
a __________ of pastry
f)
a __________ of geese
g)
a __________ of bread
h)
a __________ of witches
i)
a __________ of pizza
j)
a __________ of wolves
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loaf
|
band
|
pack
|
cup
|
|
coven
|
slice
|
|
piece
|
pride
|
|
bar
|
flock
|
Friday, January 17, 2014
