复数可数名词 PLURAL COUNTABLE NOUNS.docx

复数可数名词 PLURAL COUNTABLE NOUNS.docx

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复数可数名词PLURALCOUNTABLENOUNS

CHAPTER15. PLURALCOUNTABLENOUNS

1.Theabsenceofadeterminerbeforepluralcountablenouns

Theabsenceofadeterminerbeforepluralcountablenounsgenerallyhasthesamesignificanceasthepresenceofaoranbeforesingularcountablenouns.

a.Makingageneralstatement

Whenusedingeneralstatements,pluralcountablenounsareusuallynotprecededbydeterminers.Thepluralcountablenounsinthefollowinggeneralstatementsareunderlined.

e.g.Musiciansmustpractiseagreatdeal.

   Newspaperscancontainvaluableinformation.

   Larchesareconifers.

Ageneralideacanoftenbeexpressedeitherbymeansofasingularcountablenounprecededbyaoran,orbymeansofapluralcountablenounnotprecededbyadeterminer.Forinstance,ineachofthefollowingpairsofsentences,bothsentencesinthepairhavethesamemeaning.

   Musiciansmustpractiseagreatdeal.

   Amusicianmustpractiseagreatdeal.

   Newspaperscancontainvaluableinformation.

   Anewspapercancontainvaluableinformation.

   Larchesareconifers.

   Alarchisaconifer.

SeeExercises1,2,3and4.

b.Referringtosomethingnotmentionedbefore

Pluralcountablenounsaregenerallynotprecededbyadeterminerwhenreferringtosomethingnotmentionedbefore.

e.g.Branchesblockedourpath.

   Cloudsweregatheringoverhead.

   Suddenlywesawbuildingsinfrontofus.

Intheseexamples,thepluralnounsbranches,cloudsandbuildingsarenotprecededbydeterminers.Itisassumedthatthebranches,cloudsandbuildingshavenotbeenreferredtopreviously.

c.Namingaprofession

Whenasentencesuchasthefollowingisusedtonameaprofessionpractisedbytwoormorepeople,thenameoftheprofessionisinthepluralandisnotprecededbyadeterminer.

e.g.Theyaredoctors.

   Myfriendsareelectricians.

   Wewerechefs.

2.TheuseofThebeforepluralcountablenouns

a.Referringtosomethingmentionedbefore

Ingeneral,thehasthesamemeaningwhenusedwithpluralcountablenounsaswhenusedwithsingularcountablenouns.Forinstance,theisusedwithpluralcountablenounswhenreferringtosomethingwhichhasbeenmentionedbefore.

e.g.Fallenleavescoveredtheground.Theleavesrustledaswewalked.

   Intheorchardwereapplesandpears.Theappleswerenearlyripe.

   Thedoorsopened,andstudentsandteachersbeganleavingthebuilding.Thestudentsweretalkingandlaughing.

Intheseexamples,thefirsttimethewordsleaves,applesandstudentsappear,theyarenotprecededbydeterminers,becausethethingsreferredtohavenotbeenmentionedpreviously.Thesecondtimethewordsleaves,applesandstudentsappear,theyareprecededbythe,sincethethingsreferredtohavealreadybeenmentioned.

SeeExercise5.

b.Referringtosomethingwhenitisconsideredobviouswhatismeant

Theisusedwithpluralcountablenounswhenthespeakerorwriterconsidersitobviouswhichparticularpersonsorthingsaremeant.

e.g.Thestarsareshiningbrightly.

   Therosesareblooming.

   Wehaveputthechildrentobed.

   Iwassittingonthefrontsteps.

Thesesentencesgiveexamplesoftheuseofthetorefertothingswhichareparticularlyimportanttothespeakerorwriter.Theexpressionthestarsusuallyreferstothestarswhichcanbeseenfromthepartoftheearthwhereonelives.Theexpressiontherosesmightrefertorosesinone'sowngarden,ortorosesinwhichonefeelsaparticularinterest.Thechildrenmightrefertoone'sownchildrenortochildrenforwhomoneisresponsible.Thefrontstepsmightrefertothefrontstepsofone'sownhouse.

c.Namesofnationalities

Theissometimesusedwiththenameofanationalityinordertomakeageneralstatementaboutthepeopleofthatnationality.Apluralverbmustbeusedinsuchastatement.

Whenthenameofanationalityendsinthesoundofch,s,shorz,thenameofthenationalitymustusuallybeprecededbythe.

Nationality

Example

 French

 TheFrencharefamousfortheirfinewines.

 Irish

 TheIrishareknownaspoetsandsongwriters.

Whenthenameofanationalitydoesnotendinthesoundofch,s,shorz,thelettersmustbeaddedtotheendofthenamewhenitisusedinageneralstatement.Namesofnationalitiestowhichshasbeenaddedareoftenusedwithoutbeingprecededbythe.

Nationality

Example

 Argentinian

 Argentiniansliketoeatbeef.

 Canadian

 Canadianshaveatraditionofplayinghockey.

d.Adjectivesreferringtoclassesofpeople

Adjectivessuchasrichandpoorcanbeusedwiththeinordertorefertoagroupofpeopleasaclass.Apluralverbmustbeused.

e.g.Theblindattendspecialschools.

   Thepoordonotowntheirownhomes.

   Therichoftenmarriedformoney.

Intheaboveexamples,theblindhasthemeaningofblindpeople,thepoorhasthemeaningofpoorpeople,andtherichhasthemeaningofrichpeople.

Thefollowingtablesummarizesthemostimportantusesofthedeterminersa,an,andthewithsingularandpluralcountablenouns.

TheabsenceofadeterminerandtheuseofA,AnandThebeforecountablenouns

Use

SingularCountableNouns

PluralCountableNouns

 AweakenedformofOne

 a/an

 Namingaprofession

 a/an

 nodeterminer

 Makingageneralstatement

 a/an

 nodeterminer

 Somethingnotmentionedbefore

 a/an

 nodeterminer

 Somethingreferredtoasaclass

 the

 Somethingmentionedbefore

 the

 the

 Whenitisobviouswhatismeant

 the

 the

 Nationalitiesendinginch,se,sh

 the

 Adjectivesreferringtoclassesofpeople

 the

SeeExercise6.

3.TheuseofThewithpropernouns

a.Namesofpeople

InEnglish,namesofpeopleinthesingulararenotusuallyprecededbyadeterminer.

e.g.WashingtonwasthefirstpresidentoftheUnitedStates.

   JackandEleanorsawthemovie.

Determinersarealsousuallynotusedwhenatitleprecedesaperson'sname.

   DoctorDefoehasagoodreputation.

   Mr.Carpenterisafriendofours.

Intheseexamples,thetitlesDoctorandMr.arenotprecededbydeterminers.

However,namesofpeopleinthepluralareusuallyprecededbythe.

e.g.TheSmithsliveinthathouse.

   IhaveknowntheHarrisonsforyears.

b.Namesofplaces

InEnglish,theisusuallyusedbeforethefollowingtypesofplacename:

  TypeofPlaceName

   canal

   desert

   ocean

   river

   sea

   pluralplacenames

   placenamescontainingthewordof

Thefollowingareexamplesofnamesofcanals,deserts,oceans,rivers,andseas:

e.g.thePanamaCanal

   theMojaveDesert

   theAtlanticOcean

   theSt.LawrenceRiver

   theBeaufortSea

Thefollowingareexamplesofpluralplacenames:

e.g.theUnitedStates

   theBritishIsles

   theGreatLakes

   theRockyMountains

Thefollowingareexamplesofplacenamescontainingthewordof:

e.g.theGulfofMexico

   theCapeofGoodHope

   theBayofBiscay

   theIsleofWight

Othertypesofplacenameareusuallynotprecededbydeterminers.Forinstance,determinersareusuallynotusedbeforethefollowingtypesofplacename:

TypeofPlaceName

Example

 lake

 LakeSuperior

 island

 ManhattanIsland

 mountain

 MountRainier

 park

 YosemiteNationalPark

 city

 Boston

 street

 MainStreet

 country

 Canada

 state

 Kansas

 province

 NovaScotia

 county

 HalifaxCounty

SeeExercise7.

4.Nounsusedonlyintheplural

SomeEnglishnounsareusuallyusedonlyintheplural.Suchnounstakeapluralverb,andgenerallyhaveapluralform.Forinstance,thefollowingnouns,whichallrefertoobjectswithtwoparts,areusuallyusedonlyintheplural:

e.g.jeans

   pajamas

   pliers

   scissors

Ifitisdesiredtorefertosuchobjectsindividually,theexpressionpairofisoftenused.

e.g.apairofjeans

   apairofpajamas

   apairofpliers

   apairofscissors

Whentheexpressionpairofisusedasthesubjectoftheverb,theverbmustagreewiththewordpair.

e.g.Jeansarefashionable.

   Apairofjeansisexpensive.

   Pliersareveryuseful.

   Apairofpliersisoftenuseful.

Intheaboveexamples,thenounsjeansandplierstakethepluralverbare,andthenounpairtakesthesingularverbis.

SeeExercise8.

EXERCISESforChapter15

1.Rewritethefollowinggeneralstatementsusingsingularnouns.Makesurethattheverbsagreewiththeirsubjects.Forexample:

   Engineersmustbefamiliarwithcomputers.

   Anengineermustbefamiliarwithcomputers.

   Treesproduceoxygen.

   Atreeproducesoxygen.

1.Automobilesshouldbekeptingoodrepair.

2.Batslocateinsectsbymeansofsonar.

3.Diplomatsshould,ifpossible,bemultilingual.

4.Hatsareusefulincoldweather.

5.Physicistsmuststudyagreatdeal.

6.Elephantscanbedangerous.

Answers

2.Rewritethefollowinggeneralstatementsusingpluralnouns.Makesurethattheverbsagreewiththeirsubjects.Forexample:

   Abicycleisaconvenientmeansoftransportation.

   Bicyclesareaconvenientmeansoftransportation.

   Asecretaryshouldbeproficientinspellingandgrammar.

   Secretariesshouldbeproficientinspellingandgrammar.

1.Asportsmanneedstoremaincalmunderpressure.

2.Aneaglehasgoodeyesight.

3.Aconferencerequirescarefulplanning.

4.Arockiscomposedofminerals.

5.Apotatoisrichinstarch.

6.Anomeletteismadeofeggsandotheringredients.

Answers

3.Rewritethefollowingge