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2011 The Plural of Nouns The regular plural of nouns is formed by adding s to the singular forms: Dog dogs, table tables When the noun ends in: -s, -z, -x, -ch, -sh, the plural is formed by adding es. Bus buses, Glass glasses, Box boxes, Watch watches When the noun ends in o, the plural is formed by adding es: hero heroes, potato potatoes When the noun ends in o, but preceded by a vowel, the plural is formed by adding only s (radios, scenarios); also in the case of borrowed nouns (pianos, sopranos) and abreviations (kilos, photos). When the noun ends in y preceded by a consonant, the plural is formed by turning y to i and adding es: city- cities, factory factories Vowel + y + s: boy- boys The irregular plural of nouns can be formed: 1. by turning -f in the voiced v: knife knives, calf calves, half halves, leaf leaves, life lives, wife wives, wolf - wolves 2. by vowel mutation: man men, woman women, foot feet, goose geese, tooth teeth, mouse mice, louse lice 3. by adding en: ox oxen, child children 4. by adding nothing: headquarters, means, series, species deer, sheep, salmon, trout 5. by adding a foreign plural: -us > - i: stimulus stimuli, -um> - a: agendum- agenda, datum data, stratum strata -is>- es: analysis - analyses, axis - axes, crisis - crises, hypothesis - hypotheses, synthesissyntheses, thesis - theses Nouns used only in the singular: Food, chalk, silk, money, gold, honey, luggage, cofee, beer; knowledge, information, justice, wisdom, love mumps (oreion), measles (pojar) economics, electronics, physics, phonetics, politics (GAMES) billiards, cards, darts news The quantfication of these nouns is made with the help of: a piece of, an item of, a bit of, a bar of, a bag of, a slice of etc. Nouns used only in the plural: (objects made out of two parts) binoculars, glasses, scissors, tongs, jeans, clothes, pants, shorts - savings, tropics, stairs, fireworks, funds, customs, scales - cattle, people, youth, police (peoples = popoare) The quantfication of these nouns is made with the help of: a flight of, a pair of etc.

The Article Indefinite articles: a is used before a noun beginning with a consonant An- is used before a noun beginning with a vowel It is used to single out items in a category: a spoon, an apple The definite article : THE it is used to single out specific items in a category: The car I saw in front of my house was red. The ZERO article: it is used to refer to every item in a category and to the category as a whole. We talk about those items in general: Cars and bicycles are means of transportation. * Indefinite articles cannot be used with uncountable nouns: wine, meat, food etc. Instead you can use some wine, some meat, some food etc. Articles and Geography: You should use the ZERO article with: -continents: Europe, Asia, America -countries: Romania, Canada -cities: Bucharest, New York -lakes: Lake Ontario -mountains: Mount Rushmore -proper nouns followed by common nouns: Bran Castle, London Bridge You should use the definite article (THE) with: -geographic names in the plural: the Alps, the Carpathians, the Netherlands -proper nouns with an adjective: the United Kingdom, the British Isles, the Pacific Ocean -rivers: the Olt, the Thames -seas and ocean: The Black Sea, the Atlantic Ocean - the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal -deserts, gulfs, capes: the Sahara Desert, the Persian Gulf, the Cape of Good Hope -hotels and restaurants: the Plaza Hotel -museums: the National History Museum