1.12 Singular and plural

2.2.4 shows sensitivity to the rights and feelings of others during group work.

2.3 uses appropriate body language and presentation skills:

2.3.2 uses appropriate intonation and facial expressions;

2.3.3 adjusts tempo and volume for emphasis.

2.3.4 pauses at appropriate places and adjusts pace to needs of audience;

2.4 uses appropriate language for different purposes and audiences:

2.4.1 uses language with the appropriate register in less familiar situations;

2.4.3 uses language carefully to express complex but common emotions such as anger, impatience, sympathy, admiration.

2.4.4 identifies and challenges discriminatory use of language.

LO 6

LANGUAGE STRUCTURE AND USE The learner will know and be able to use the sounds, words and grammar of the language to create and interpret texts.

We know this when the learner:

6.1 works with words:

6.1.1 uses prefixes, stems and suffixes/extensions to form words;

6.1.3 records words in a personal dictionary;

6.1.4 uses phonics and spelling rules to spell words correctly;

6.2 works with sentences:

6.2.3 identifies and uses nouns, pronouns, prepositions, articles and conjunctions;

6.2.6 consolidates use of punctuation learned so far.

6.4 develops awareness and use of style:

6.4.1 uses language appropriate for the audience, purpose and context (e.g.

formal / informal register);

Memorandum

Singular and Plural

The tasks on singular and plural are covered thoroughly in this unit. I have aimed to give the learners clues and strategies with regards to knowing when and how to use plurals, with special emphasis on spelling.

Read and:

1. underline all the singular nouns (singular = ONE ).

mate ; litter ; friend ; pile

1. circle the plural nouns in RED (plural – more than ONE).

kittens ; fur (in this case, plural) ; noses ; ears ; paws ; tails

Discuss : What letter do you find at the end of each plural noun?

Yes! Most singular nouns gain an –s when changed to the plural form.

Identify other plural noun endings from these words. Write the singular noun in the boxes provided.

The boxes on the shelves were filled with toys , potatoes and radios .

They were being sent to poor children of different countries .

If a noun ends in a ‘y’ following a consonant, change the y to an ies.

If a noun ends in a –y following a vowel , only add an – s .

(This one is tricky!)

When a noun ends in a single f or fe , change the ‘f’ into –ves ; alternatively the word gains an –s.

There is no firm rule for these words. Some plurals end in ‘es’; others only take an ‘s’. (All musical terms end in ‘-os’.)

Some nouns don’t really have rules as to how they change.

Take a look and then add a couple of your own examples :

mouse - mice

foot - feet

child - children

Examples of plurals which learners could give :

louse – lice ; policeman – policemen ; fireman – firemen ; woman – women ; goose – geese ; tooth – teeth ; man – men ; die – dice ; ox – oxen

Can you think of any nouns which do not change in the plural form? In other words, they stay the same - (usually name of animals) -

sheep ; water ; salmon ; buck ; deer ; fish ; moose ; aircraft ; series ; reindeer

Some nouns take a singular form as they are ‘uncountable’:

advice ; gold ; luggage ; hair ; parking ; paper ; weather

Some words appear only in plural form :

scissors ; clothes ; thanks ; police ; news ; riches ; stairs ; measles ; mumps

Answers

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