A. Complete the table with the singular or plural forms of the nouns.

singular

plural

singular

plural

dish

………………..

………………..

knives

species

………………..

………………..

taxes

person

………………..

………………..

potatoes

city

………………..

………………..

phenomena

crisis

………………..

………………..

mice

tomato

………………..

………………..

stimuli

fish

………………..

………………..

families

switch

………………..

………………..

teeth

box

………………..

………………..

crises

studio

………………..

………………..

means

Answers

singular

plural

singular

plural

dish

dishes

knife

knives

species

species

tax

taxes

person

people

potato

potatoes

city

cities

phenomenon

phenomena

crisis

crises

mouse

mice

tomato

tomatoes

stimulus

stimuli

fish

fish

family

families

switch

switches

tooth

teeth

box

boxes

crisis

crises

studio

studios

means

means

B. Underline the correct option. Sometimes both options may be possible.

 I’ve just heard the news, and unfortunately it’s / they’re not good.

 The government has / have many difficult decisions to take in the next few weeks.

 The stairs is / are a bit wet, so be careful when you leave.

 The only trousers I ever wear is / are jeans – and sometimes shorts in summer.

 What was / were the best advice you received when you were growing up?

 When I was at school I thought mathematics was / were really difficult.

 Measles is / are very common among schoolchildren.

 The latest data show / shows that the situation is improving gradually.

 The remains of a Roman villa was / were discovered on this site.

10   Can you pass me the scissors which is / are on the kitchen table?

Answers

1 it’s   2 has / have   3 are   4 are   5 was   6 was

7 is   8 show / shows   9 were   10 are

C. Complete each sentence, using one word from box A and one from box B.

A   box     crowd     glass     gust     herd     loaf     piece

plateful    sheet     spoonful

B   advice     bread     chocolates     cows     honey     paper

pasta     people     water     wind

 Let me give you a ……………. of ……………. – never listen to what other people tell you!

 If you pass the bakery, can you buy a ……………. of ……………. please?

3   Would you like a of ……………. to ……………. drink with your meal?

4   A ……………. of ……………. had gathered in the square to listen to the President’s speech.

 Sorry I’m late -I got stuck behind a ……………. of ……………. on their way back to the farm.

6   Fiorelli’s is the best value Italian restaurant I know – a big ……………. of ……………. for only €6!

7   My grandfather was walking with his dog yesterday when a ……………. of ……………. blew his hat into the canal!

8   The best remedy for a sore throat is a cup of hot water with lemon juice and a ……………. of ……………. in it.

9   On her birthday Sara got a big ……………. of ……………. with a note saying ‘With love from Mum and Dad’.

10   Before answering any questions, please write your name at the top of the first ……………. of ……………. .

Answers

1 piece of advice   2 loaf of bread   3 glass of water

4 crowd of people   5 herd of cows

6 plateful of pasta   7 gust of wind

8 spoonful of honey   9 box of chocolates

10 sheet of paper

D. Write the plurals of the nouns in the box, if possible (not all of the nouns have plurals – put ✗ if not). Then add each singular noun to the correct group of nouns below.

bacterium ……………   basis ……………   belief ……………

church ……………   echo ……………   information ……………

kilo ……………   means ……………   pyjamas ……………

shelf ……………   stimulus ……………   thermos ……………

1   video, studio, piano tile   ……………….

2   potato, hero, tomato   ……………….

3   leaf, wife, thief   ……………….

4   species, aircraft, deer   ……………….

5   crisis, oasis, thesis   ……………….

6   chief, house, doctor   ……………….

 fungus, cactus, nucleus   ……………….

8   furniture, advice, news   ……………….

9   shorts, binoculars, jeans   ……………….

10   hoover, tippex, sellotape   ……………….

11   medium, memorandum, continuum   ……………….

12   catch, beach, stitch   ……………….

Answers

bacterium – bacteria

basis – bases

belief – beliefs

church – churches

echo – echoes

information – ✗

means – ✗

pyjamas – ✗

shelf – shelves

stimulus – stimuli

thermos – thermoses

1 kilo   2 echo   3 shelf   4 means   5 basis

6 belief   7 stimulus   8 information

9 pyjamas   10 thermos   11 bacterium

12 church

E. Cross out all the incorrect nouns in this text.

The Oaked Chef

It sometimes seems that hardly a week passes without a new cookery (1) serie / series appearing on our televisions or (2) radios / radioes. Food has always been popular in the media, but the popularity of so-called ‘celebrity chefs’ is a relatively new (3) phenomenon / phenomena. Jamie Oliver’s love of fresh, healthy (4) ingredients / ingredientes began during his child hood as he was growing up in his parents’ pub. After leaving (5) school / school, he decided he wanted to become a chef, and his first jobs included working at Antonio Carluccio’s Neal (6) street / Street Restaurant, and at the River Café. Inspired by these (7) experience / experiences. Oliver made his first TV show, The Naked Chef, which showed him preparing (8) partys /parties for his friends, and his lively presenting style made him popular with young and old (9) persons / people. Later programmes included Jamie’s Great Escape, focusing on Italian (10) food / Food, and Jamie’s Fowl Dinners, in which he showed how badly some farms treated their (11) chicken / chickens. Finally, in 2008, he opened his own chain of Italian restaurants, with (12) branches / branchs around the UK.

Answers

1 serie   2 radioes   3 phenomena

4 ingredientes   5 School   6 street

7 experience   8 partys   9 persons

10 Food   11 chicken   12 branchs

F. Write down …

1   … two things you eat now but didn’t eat when you were a child.

      mangoes and turkey

2   … your favourite and least favourite subjects at school.

      …………………………………..

3   … three people from history that you would love to have dinner with.

      …………………………………..

4   … two countries you would like to visit in the future.

      …………………………………..

5   … three well-known brand names in your country.

      …………………………………..

6   … five things that you own at least two of.

      …………………………………..

Answers

your own answers

G. Circle the correct option.

1   I heard ………… very interesting news this morning.

      a a     b some     c these

2   When I passed my exams, my mother bought me a beautiful ………… of flowers.

      a box     b bunch     c packet

3   I’m sorry your food is burnt. Our new chef hasn’t got ………… experience.

      a an     b much     c many

4   I bought ………… trousers this afternoon.

      a these     b a     c this

5   My brother is going to spend next year training to be a chef in ………… .

      a United States

      b the United States

      c the United States

Answers

1 b   2 b   3 b   4 a   5 c

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