英语语法教案讲稿

主要参考书目:

・李基安.现代英语语法.外语教学与研究出版社，1998

•张道真.实用美语语法.北京：商务印书稔，1995.

•海冰.英语语法.北京：开明出版社，1998.

•甘全益，甘全慧.朗文英语语法及用法词典.上诲：世界图书出版公司，1997.

•Alexander,Louis.LongmanEnglishGrammar（,普航等译），FLTRP,1991

•Halliday,M.A.K.,RuqaiyaHasan.CohesioninEnglish.Beijing:FLTRP,2001

TeachingPlanofWeekOne

Alms:Thestudentsareexpectedto

1.knowtheelementsofaclause;

2.understandthebasicclausetypesandtheirtransformationandexpansion.

Focus

1.clausetypes;

2.transfbnnationandexpansionofclausetypes.

DifficultPoints

1.transformationofclausetypes.

Methodology

1.presentation

2.drilling.

References

[1]李基安.现代英语语法.外语教学与研究出版社，1998

[2]章振邦.新编英语语法教程(第叩板).上海外语教育出版社，2003

[3]张道真.实用英语语法.外语数学与研究出版社，1995

[4]Alexander,Louis.LongmanEnglishGrammar(雷航等译)，FLTRP,1991

[5]Thomson,A.J.,A.V.Martinet.APracticalEnglishGrammar(4thed.).FLTRP&OxfordPress,1986

[6]Halliday,M.A.K.,RuqaiyaHasan.CohesioninEnglish.Beijing:FLTRP,2001

DURATION

3classhours

PROCEDURES

STAGE1:WARM-UP(approx.15minutes)

Askthestudentstotelltheirunderstandingoftense.

STAGE2:PRESENTATION(approx.80minutes)

(seethedraft)

STAGE3:PRACTICE(approx.40minutes)

STAGE4:HOMEWORK

1.Readthesectioninthetextbookcarefully.

2.Dotheexercisesafterthesection.

Lecture1TheStructureofEnglishSentence

I.WARM-UPQUESTIONS:

Whatisasentenceintraditionalgrammar?

Howmanysentencetypesdoyouknow?

Is“sentence“thelargestgrammaticalunit?Andwhatisthesmallestgrammaticalunit?Isitawordor

somethingelse?

Whatistheminimalmeaningfulunit?

Howmanyclausepatternsdowehave?

Whatarethesemanticandfunctionaldifferencesbetweenaprefixandasuffix?

Canyounameatleastfivemethodsofword-fbrmationandciteexamplesforeach?

Canyoudistinguishroot,stem,andbaseasmorphologicalterms?

ILPRESENTATION

1.0.Introduction

1.0.1.Definitionof"sentence”

•Intraditionalgrammar:

Asentenceissometimesdefinedastheexpressionofacompletethought.

•Inmoderngrammar:

Manymodemgrammarshaveadoptedonecommonapproachwhichisfocusedontheinternalstructureofa

sentence.Theydefine“sentence“asthelargestunittowhichagrammaticalstructurecanbeassigned.They

arguethatthebasicclausestructuresareSV,SVC,SVO,SVbO,SVOC,(+SVOA,SVA)etc.

1.0.2.Hierarchyofgrammaticalunits

Asentenceiscomposedofsmallerunits:clauses,phrases,words,etc.,whichbuildupahierarchicalstructure.

Ingrammaticalterms,whileasentenceisthelargestunit,awordisthesmallest;thatis,itisthelowest-rank

unittowhichagrammaticalfunctioncanbeassigned.

1)Higher:Asentenceconsistsofoneormoreclauses

Aclauseconsistsofoneormorephrases

Aphraseconsistsofoneormorewords.

2)Lower:Aword

1.0.3.Extendedhierarchyofgrammaticalunits

However,awordisnotthesmallestmeaningfulelementinthewritingsystem.Itcanbreakintosmaller

elementswhicharecalledmorphemes.Fromasemanticpointofview,morphemesaretheminimalmeaningful

elements.Also,asentenceusuallydoesnotstandalone;itteamsupwithothersentencestoformalarger

linguisticunit:atext.Fromthemacro-grammaticalpointofview,therefore,wecometoahierarchical

structureas:

3)Higher:Atextconsistsofoneormoresentences

Asentenceconsistsofoneormoreclauses

Aclauseconsistsofoneormorephrases

Aphraseconsistsofoneormorewords.

Aword

4)Lower:Amorpheme

1.1.Morphemes

Ashasbeensaidin1.0.3.,morphemesaretheminimalmeaningfulelements.Inotherwords,theyarethe

minimalunitsofgrammaticalanalysis.Forexample,intheword"unmentionables”,wecancutthewordinto

severalsegments:un-mention-able-s.Eachofthesesegmentshasitsownform(orsetofforms),itsown

meanings,anditsowndistribution.Un-hasthefixedphonologicalform/An/,ameaningofnegation,and

recursinwordslikew/?forgettable,““reliable,wwbelievable;mentionhasafixedphonologicalformandafixed

meaning,andrecursinword-formslikementions,mentioned,mentioning;-ablesometimesoccursas-ible,has

afixedmeaning,andrecursinwordslikecomparable,advisable,comfbrkz/?/e;-shasarangeofphonetic

fonns(/s,z,iz/)

1.1.1.Freemorpheme

Amorphemethatcanoccurinisolationistermeda"freemorpheme^^.Forexample,

•Kind:kindness,unkind,kind\y

•Friend:friendly,friendship,friendless,unfriendly,unfriendliness

1.1.2.Boundmorpheme

Amorphemethatcanonlyoccurinconjunctionwithatleastoneothermorphemeistenneda“bound

morpheme”.Aboundmorphemeisan“affix”,eitheran^inflectionalmorpheme”(e.g.,boy-5,work-^J,go-山g,

stronger)ora^derivationalaffix"(e.g.,kindness,讥-appropriate,而proper).

Tosumup,freemorphemesandboundmorphemesarcalsocalled"contentmorphemes"and"grammatical

morphemes^respectively,because,astheirnamessuggest,freemorphemesoftencarrythemeaningand

boundmorphemesoftenshowgrammaticalfeatures.Afreemorphemecanbesemanticallycompleteand

grammaticallyindependentinitsownrightwhileahoundmorphemeisaffiliatedtotherootbothinsemantic

andgrammaticalterms.

1.2.Words

1.2.1.Wordclasses

Oneoftheessentialstepswetakeintheprocessofanalysisistoidentifywordclasses,orpartsofspeechas

theyaretraditionallycalled.Wordsareclassifiedintermsofthreefactors:theenvironmentwheretheyoccur,

theirinternalstructureandtheirmeaning.

TherearetwomajorkindsofwordclassesinEnglish:openclassesandclosedclasses.Nouns,verbs,

adjectives,andadverbsareknownasopenclassesbecausetheirmembershipisfairlyopen-ended,inthesense

thatwecanreadilycoinnewwordstoaddtothem.Theclosedclasses,however,haveafairlyfixed

membership.Theyaredeterminers,pronouns,prepositions,conjunctions,atailiaries.Numeralsand

interjectionsaremarginalclasses.

Wordsintheopenclassesmaybedeterminedonthebasisofthreecomplementarycriteria:meaning,form,and

function.Forexample,

•It'sdangeroustogoaroundwithalotofcashinyourpocket.

•I'mgoingtothebanktocashthecheque.

Arootisthatpartofawordthatremainswhenallaffixeshavebeenremoved.Astemhastodowith

inflectionalfeaturesandisthepartthatremainswhenallinflectionalaffixeshavebeenremoved.Anda

baseisanyformtowhichaffixesofanykindcanbeadded.

1.2.2.Word-formation

Awordconsistsofoneormoremorphemes.Aone-morphemewordiscalleda"simpleword";awordthatis

madeupoftwoormoremorphemesiscalledeithera"derivative^ora"compound”.Herearesomecommon

approachestotheEnglishword-formation:

1.2.2.LAffixation

Affixationisaword-fbrmationapproachthatitattachesalessermorpheme,anaffix,toabase.Therearetwo

kindsofaffixes:prefixesandsuffixes.

Thefunctionofaprefixtendstobesemanticallyoriented,thatis,itaddsnewmeaningtoabase,whilesuffixes

arebasicallyclass-changingmorphemes.

Prefixes:

1)a-lackinginamoral,asymmetry

2)anti-againstanti-missile,anti-clockwise

3)arch-highest,worstarch-enemy

4)bi-twobilingual,bilateral

5)co-with,jointcoauthor,cooperate,coexist

6)counter-inoppositionto/counter-attack,counter-measure,counterpart,counteract

corresponding

7)de-toreverseactiondecode,debug

8)di-twodichotomy,disyllabic

9)dis-theoppositeof?

toreverseactiondisconnect,discount,dislike,dismount,dishonest,dishonor,etc.

10)ex-formerex-wife,ex-chairman,etc.

H)fbre-beforeforetell,forecourt,forefront,forecast,foremost,etc.

12)hyper-extremelyhypercritical,hypersensitive,hyperacute,hyperimportant,etc.

13)in-/im-/il-/ir-notinsaneinexperienced,inappropriate,inadvisable,inconvenient,etc.

14)inter-between,amonginternational,interrelated,intercultural,interdisciplinary,interpersonal

15)mal-bad(ly)maltreat,malnutrition,malpractice,malnourished,etc.

16)mini-littleminiskirt,minibus,mini-market,mini-golf,mini-school,etc.

⑺mis-wrongly,astraymisspell,misleading,misunderstanding,misguide,misinterpret,etc.

18)mono-onemonolingual,monotone,monologue,monopoly,etc.

19)out-faster,longer,etc.outrun,outperform,outlive,outnumber,etc.

20)over-toomuchoversleep,overheat,overeat,overweight,overwork,overwrite,etc.

21)poly-manypolysyllabic,polygamy,polyclinic(联合诊所),etc.

22)post-afterpost-war,postgraduate,post-Clinton,post-America,etc.

23)pre-beforeprewar,premarital,preview,pre-read,etc.

24)pro-onthesideofpro-British,pro-American,pro-Japanese,etc.

25)pseudo-falsepseudo-science,pseudo-classic,pseudo-superman,etc.

26)re-again,backrebuild,rebound,review,rewrite,reread,etc.

27)sub-lower/lessthan,substandard,suburban,submarine,subsystem,subsidiary,subway,etc.

beneath

28)super-above,bettersupennan,supennarket,superstar,super-qualified,etc.

29)trans-acrosstransplant,trans-Atlantic,transform,translate,transnational,etc.

30)tri-threetripartite,tricycle,trisyllabic,triangle,etc.

31)ultra-extremely,beyondultra-violet,ultra-modern,etc.

32)un-notunimportant,unbelievable,unexpected,undecided,untrue,unfair,etc.

33)under-toolittleunderestimate,understate,undervalue,etc.

34)uni-oneunilateral,etc.

Suffixes:

ClasschangeSuffixesExamples

-ationModernization,exploration,declaration,etc.

-mentGovernment,employment,etc.

-alRefusal,disposal

Nounsfromverbs

-eeEmployee,trainee,examinee

-erWorker,employer,examiner,doer

-ageDrainage,coverage,usage

-cyAccuracy,excellency

-hoodFalsehood,likelihood

-nessHappiness,meanness

Nounsfromadjectives-ityProductivity,activity,sincerity

-ismLiberalism,fanaticism

-istLoyalist,racialist

-thWidth,warmth,length

-ifySimplify,beautify,exemplify,qualify,justify

Verbsfromadjectivesornouns-izeModernize,hospitalize

-enShortenlengthen,redden,widen

-alEducational,environmental,national,intentional

-yHairy,sandy,handy,juicy

-ishFoolish,childish

Adjectivesfromnouns-esquePicturesque

-lessSelfless,penniless

-someTroublesome,handsome,burdensome

-OUSPoisonous,humorous

.Composition

Acompound,theproductofcomposition,isalexicalunitconsistingofmorethanonebaseandfunctioning

bothgrammaticallyandsemanticallyasasingleword.Intheory,anynumberofbasescanbeinvolvedinthe

formationofacompound,butthemajorityofEnglishcompoundscomprisetwobasesonly.Forexample,

Watermelongirlfriendboyfriendmanservanthousekeeper

deadlinesoftwarehardwareoutputdrawback

world-famoustrustworthybitter-sweetwhite-collarred-brick

light-bluewaterfallraincoatmass-producelipstick

Brain-drain

.Conversion

Conversion,averyproductivewayofproducingnewwordsinEnglish,isthederivationalprocesswherebyan

itemisadaptedorconvertedtoanewwordclasswithouttheadditionofanaffix.Forexample,

•Idon'treallyliketheretobetoomanydonTsinthisschool.

•Hisspeechcontainsalotofifsandhuts.

•Hedownedhisbeerandpunchedmeonthenose.

.Blending

Ablendisanewwordformedfrompartsoftwo(orpossiblymore)otherwords.Forexample,

・Part+part:

Motel(motor+hotel)

Smog(smoke+fog)

Heliport(helicopter+airport)

Brunch(breakfast+lunch)

•Whole+part:

Newscast(news+broadcast)

Workfare(work+welfare)

Cheeseburger(cheese+hamburger)

•Part+whole:

Paratroops(parachute+troops)

Medicaid(medical+aid)

Medicare(medical+care)

.Back-formation

Manynounsareformedfromverbs,suchasworkerfromworkandadvisorfromadvise.Back-formationrefers

toasimilarprocessonlyreversed.Itistheresultofovergeneralizationthatallnounswith-er/-orendingare

derivedfromverbs,whichistruefbrthemajorityofsuchnouns.Moreexamples:

Baby-sit(babysitter)

Edit(editor)

chain-smoke(chain-smoker)

.Shortening

Shortening,verypopularinmodernEnglish,isaprocesswherebypartofawordisclippedsothattheoriginal

word,usuallypolysyllabic,isshortenedtoasmallerword.Examplesare:

Ad(advertisement)Lab(laboratory)

Phone(telephone)Prof(professor)

Exam(examination)

.Acronyms

Anacronymisawordcoinedbyputtingtogethertheinitiallettersofagroupofwords.Therearetwomain

types:acronymsthatarepronouncedassequencesofletters(alsocalled“alphabetisms")，suchas

UFONBAFBIUNVIP

andacronymsthatarepronouncedasaword,suchas

NATOUNESCOFIFAAPEC

laser(lightamplificationbystimulatedemissionofradiation)

1.3.Phrases

Aphraseconsistsofoneormorethanoneword,usuallyastringofwordsbuiltuparoundaheadwordwhich

determinesboththeclassthatthephrasebelongstoandthewaythephraseisstructured.Werecognizefive

phraseclasses:nounphrase(NP),verbphrase(VP),adjectivephrase(AdjP),adverbphrase(AdvP),and

prepositionalphrase(PrepP).

1.3.1.Thenounphrase

Anounphraseconsistsofaheadword,whichisusuallyanoun,andoneormoreoptionalmodifiers.The

structureofaphrasecanbe:(determiner)+(pre-modifier)+headword+(post-modifier).Forexample:

Shakespeare(headword)

Thebook(determiner+headword)

Anoisyperson(determiner+adjective+headword)

Thegirlsittingonmyleft(determiner+headword+-ingparticiple)

Thereislittleworktodothisevening,(detenniner+headword+infinitive)

Thereweretwentypeoplekilledintheaccident,(determiner+headword+-edparticiple)

ThisisthebestfilmI'veeverseen,(determiner+adjective+headword+relativeclause)

1.3.2.Theverbphrase

Theheadwordofaverbphraseisthemainverb.Werecognizetwokindsofelementinviewofthestructureof

averbphrase:themainverbandauxiliaries.Theauxiliariesareoptionalandprecedethemainverb.Averb

phrasethatgoeswithoutauxiliariesistermed“thesimpleverbphrase"，whichisjustamainverbor“modifier

+mainverb”;withauxiliaries,4€thecomplexverbphrase”.

Wealsomakeadistinctionbetween“thefiniteverbphrase,,and"thenon-finiteverbphrase^^onthebasisof

theform.

1.3.3.Theadjectivephrase

Anadjectivephrase,quitesimilartoanounphraseinstructure,consistsofanadjectiveasitsheadwordand

optionalmodifiers,exceptthatitisunusualfortheretobemorethanonepremodifier.Laterweseeindetail

adjectivesinmodificationandincomparison.

1.3.4.Theadverbphrase

Theheadwordofanadverbphraseisanadverbthatcantakeoptionalpremodifiersandpostmodifiers,asin:

Hedoesn'tworkhard.

Hedoesn'tworkveryhard.

Hedoesn'tworkhardenough.

Hedoesn'tworkveryhardindeed.

1.3.5.Theprepositionalphrase

Atypicalprepositionalphraseisanounphrasewhichisthecomplementprecededbyaprepositionwhichis

theheadword.

1.4.Clauses

Wehavesaidthataclauseconsistsofoneormorephrases.Inlogicalterms,aclauseisaconstructionofa

subjectandapredicate.Asfarasthestructureisconcerned,clausesfallintosevenmajorpatterns:SV,SVC,

SVO,SVoO,SVOC,SVAandSVOA.Inviewofgrammaticalrelations,clausesaredividedintotwobroad

categories,themainclauseandthesubordinateclause,thelatterofwhichmayfunctionasanominalclause,a

relativeclause,oranadverbialcause.Besidesthese,inthesubordinateclauses,wealsohavefinite,non-finite,

andverblessclauses.Forexample,

Hecomplainedthatwhatyousaidwasnottrue.

1.4.1.Subjectandpredicate

Thesubjecthasaclosegeneralrelationtowhatisbeingdiscussed,thethemeofthesentence,withthenormal

implicationthatsomethingnew,thepredicate,isbeingsaidaboutasubject.

1.4.2.Clausepatterns

Manygrammarbooksrecognizefiveclauseelements:subject(S),verb(V),object(O),complement(C),and

adverbial(A).Verbissometimesreferredtoaspredicator.Andaswehavementionearlierinthelecture,we

havesevenbasicclausepatterns:SV,SVC,SVO,SVoO,SVOC,SVAandSVGA.

Forexample:

5)SVstructure:

Everybodylaughed.

Theguestshavearrived.

Pricesaregoingdown.

6)SVCstructure

Thatcarismine.

Shelooksverybeautiful.

Themusicsoundssweet.

7)SVOstructure

Shelovesme.

Nobodycouldanswerthequestion.

Thecarisbuildingupspeed.

8)SVoOstructure

Ioftensendhime-mails.

Marylentmehercar.

Igaveherabunchofflowers.

9)SVOCstructure

WeelectedGW.BushpresidentoftheUnitedStates.

Wcmadehimourspokesman.

Hepronouncedhimselfinfavoroftheplan.

Inmostcases,adverbialsarenotnecessary,butinsomeSVstructuresandSVOstructureswhensomeverbs

areconcerned,adverbialsbecomeindispensable.Forexample,

IliveinBeijing.

Shakespearelivedinthe16thandearly17thcentury.

Theystayedinahotel.

HewillbeflyingtoShanghai.

Heputthecoininhismouth.

Hetreatedhervilely(extremelyunpleasantlyorbadly).

Inthesesentences,theadverbialsareindispensable;otherwisethemeaningofeachsentencemaybecome

unclear.Thereforesomegrammariansarguethatweshouldaddanothertwotypesofclausestructures:SVOA

andSVAstructures.Basedonthesebasicclausestructures,wewillbeabletoproduceasmanysentencesas

welike.

1.5.Sentences

Asentenceconsistsofoneormoreclauses.Aone-clausesentenceistermeda"simplesentence;asentence

madeupoftwoormoreclausesiscalledeithera"compoundsentence"ora""complexsentence".Toperfomi

differentfunctions,asentencecanbeastatement,aquestion,acommand,oranexclamation.

1.5.1.Simple,compoundandcomplexsentences

Asdefinedabove,asimplesentencecontainsoneclause.Inasentencecontainingmorethanoneclause,the

clausesmayberelatedtooneanotherbycoordination(inacompoundsentence)orbysubordination(ina

complexsentence).

1.5.2.Statements,commands,questionsandexclamations

Ifwethinkofthesocialroleoflanguage,wecansaythatlanguageisbroadlyconcernedwithgivingand

requiringinformationandwithofferingandrequiringthingsoractions.Thefoursentencetypesarerecognized

largelyonthebasisoftheirsyntacticforms;inthemeantime,theircommunicativefunctionsarealsotakeninto

consideration:

1.5.3.Transformationandexpansionofthebasicclausepatterns(基本句型的转换与扩大)

Basedonthesevenbasicclausepatternsandthefourtypesofsentences,togetherwiththehelpofthe

coordinatorsandsubordinators,wecanthenhaveaninfinitenumberofsentencesofvarioustypes.

Hewasahandicappedchild.Heperseveredinhisstudies.Laterhebecameawell-knownscholar.

Hewasahandicappedchild,butheperseveredinhisstudies,andlaterhebecameawell-known

scholar.

Sincethedayhewasbom,hehadbeenfoundtobeahandicappedchild,butwiththeencouragement

fromhisparentsandfriendsheperseveredinhisstudies,andyearslaterhebecameawell-knownscholar

whospecializedinphysics.

1.6.Text

Ourgrammarisessentiallyasentencegrammar,wherethesentenceisthelargestlinguisticunitwhose

structurecanbedescribedintermsofregularpatternsanddeviationsfromthem.Yetitislessusualfor

sentencestooccurinisolationthanincoherentsequences.Whensentencescometogetherinacoherentwayto

conveyacompletemessage,wehaveatext.Forexample,

1)EnglishhasalotofwordsborrowedfromFrench.Ihaven'theardfrombrotherforalongtime.Mydog

barksalotatnight.

2)EnglishhasalotofwordsborrowedfromFrench.ButIdon'tthinkithasalargervocabulary.NordoI

believeitisamoredifficultlanguage.

Obviously,2)iscoherentinsequencestoconveyacompletemessageandthusfbnningatext.Andwewill

discusstextandintersentencecohesionindetaillatterinoursucceedinglectures.

III.Practice

ExerciseIC(P24-27)

TeachingPlanofWeekTwo

Aims:Thestudentsareexpectedto

1.knowtheclassificationofnouns;

2.understandthenumberformsofnounsandpartives.

Focus

1.numberformsofnouns;

2.unitnouns.

DifficultPoints

1.singularinvariables

2.pluralinvariables

3.irregularplurals.

Methodology

1.presentation

2.drilling.

References

[1]李基妾.现代英语语法.外语教学与研究出版社，1998

[2]章振邦.新编英语语法教程(第s版).上海外语教育出版社，2003

[3]张道真.实用英语语法.外语教学与研究出版社，1995

[4]Alexander,Louis.LongmanEnglishGrammar(雷航等泽)，FLTRP,1991

[5]Thomson,A.J.,A.V.Martinet.APracticalEnglishGrammar(4thed.).FLTRP&Oxford

Press,1986

DURATION

3classhours

PROCEDURES

STAGE1:WARM-UP(approx.15minutes)

Askthestudentstotelltheirunderstandingoftense.

STAGE2:PRESENTATION(approx.80minutes)

(seethedraft)

STAGE3:PRACTICE(approx.40minutes)

STAGE4:HOMEWORK

1.Readthesectioninthetextbookcarefully.

2.Dotheexercisesafterthesection.

Lecture2NounandNounPhrase

•Teachingprocedure

1.DoExerciseIConP24.

2.PresentingLecture2.

3.Giveassignment

1.Nounclasses

Concretenounsvs.abstractnouns;propernounsvs.commonnouns;countablenounsvs.

massnouns

2.Number

Regularpluralformswillbeleftoutfromdiscussion.Ourattentionwillbefocusedonsomemore

problematicissues:nounsthatareinvariablysingularorpluralandnounsthattakeirregularplural

forms.

2.1.Singularinvariables

2.1.1.Propernouns

1)Propernouns,becauseoftheiruniquereference,arenormallyinvariablesingularsevenwhen

someofthesenounsappearinthe“pluralfbrm^^:

•TheUnitedStateshastwoofficiallanguages:EnglishandSpanish.

•TheUnitedNationshasitsheadquarterslocatedinNewYork.

2)However,theNetherlandsandthePhilippinescanbeeithersingularorplural:

•TheNetherlandsis/arefamousfortwothings:tulipsandfootball.

•ThePhilippinesis/areandislandcountry.

3)Therearesomeothergeographicalpropernounswithpluralfbnnwhichareusuallyor

exclusivelytreatedasplurals:theAlps,theRockies,theHighlands,theBalkans,theMaldives

〈尔代夫(群岛”亚洲岛国1),theBermudas,theHimalayas,NiagaraFalls,etc.

4)Namesofpeoplearegenerallysingularexceptthatreferencespointstoafamily.

•TheJonesesarecomingtothepartythisevening.

•TheBlacksareawayonholidays.

5)Orthattwoormorepersonswiththesamenamearepossiblyreferredto:

•A:MayIspeaktoMark,please?

•B:WehavetwoMarkshere.TheyoungMarkortheoldMark?

2.1.2.Massnouns

Massnouns,whetherabstractorconcrete,aregenerallysingular.Theyincludecertainnouns

endingin-s,someofwhichareonlyoccasionallyusedaspluralswhentheyexpressintensity,

greatquantityandhavealiteraryflavor:

•ThesandsofSahara

•Sailingonthegreatwaters

2.2.Pluralinvariables

Thefollowingnounsarealmostalwaystreatedasplurals

1)Namesoftoolsandarticlesofdressconsistingoftwoequalparts:

Binoculars,calipers,compasses,flares,glasses,jeans,pants,trousers,pajamas,spectacles,

shorts,suspenders,tights,scissors,tongs,shades,etc.

2)Somecollectivenouns:cattle,clergy(occasionallytreatedasasingular),gentry,people,

police,vermin,etc.

3)Geographicalnamesofmountainranges,waterfalls,groupsofislands:see2.1.1.3)

4)Othernounsendingin-s:archives,arms,belongings,clothes,congratulations,contents,

customs,dregs,earnings,fireworks,funds,goods,greens,lodgings,minutes,outskirts,pains,

premises,savings,spirits,stairs,suburbs,surroundings,thanks,tropics,wages,etc.

2.3.Irregularplurals

Thegeneraltypesofirregularpluralsinclude:nounswithirregularspellingorpronunciationor

both,nounswithzeropluralsandnounsthattakeforeignplurals.

2.3.1.Irregularspelling/pronunciation

1)PluralsderivedfromOldEnglish:child-children,foot-feet,man-men,mouse-mice,ox-oxen,

penny-pence-pennies,etc.

2)Pluralsderivedfromnounsen