Nouns 名詞
BasicNouns: plurals and quantities.
- Plural rules: add s; add es after s/x/ch/sh; consonant + y changes to ies.
- Five key irregular plurals: tooth→teeth, foot→feet, mouse→mice, child→children, leaf→leaves.
- Uncountable nouns (water, milk, cheese, homework) take no s; use much, not many.
文體小知識：Learn basic grammar.
§Text Passage
1Tomorrow our class is having an English party. Miss Lee gives us a shopping list. Ken and I go to the supermarket with two other children. We buy three packets of biscuits and two bottles of orange juice. Ken wants a glass of water because he is thirsty. We also buy some cat food for our pet cat.
2We also buy five apples, six bananas and a piece of cheese for the fruit salad. The shop assistant is kind to us children. I brush my teeth twice a day, so I buy a new toothbrush too. The two babies in the trolley next to us are crying loudly. A little mouse runs under the shelf, but it hides from us quickly.
3At night, I pack my school bag and count my pencils: one, two, three. My little brother loses his school things every week, but my books are always tidy. I check the shopping list one more time. Everything is ready. I cannot wait for the party tomorrow!
§Sentence-by-sentence translation Sentence-by-sentence translation
Tomorrow our class is having an English party.
明天我們班會舉行一個英文派對。
Miss Lee gives us a shopping list.
李老師給了我們一張購物清單。
Ken and I go to the supermarket with two other children.
我同 Ken 還有另外兩個小朋友一起去超級市場。
We buy three packets of biscuits and two bottles of orange juice.
我們買了三包餅乾同兩樽橙汁。
Ken wants a glass of water because he is thirsty.
Ken 想要一杯水，因為他很口渴。
We also buy some cat food for our pet cat.
我們還買了一些貓糧給家裡的貓。
We also buy five apples, six bananas and a piece of cheese for the fruit salad.
我們還買了五個蘋果、六根香蕉同一塊芝士來整水果沙律。
The shop assistant is kind to us children.
店員對我們這些小朋友很友善。
I brush my teeth twice a day, so I buy a new toothbrush too.
我每日刷兩次牙，所以順便買了支新牙刷。
The two babies in the trolley next to us are crying loudly.
旁邊購物車上面兩個寶寶哭得好大聲。
A little mouse runs under the shelf, but it hides from us quickly.
有一隻小老鼠在貨架下面跑過，不過很快就躲起來了。
At night, I pack my school bag and count my pencils: one, two, three.
晚上我收拾書包，數一數那些鉛筆：一、二、三。
My little brother loses his school things every week, but my books are always tidy.
弟弟每個星期都會不見一些上學的東西，但我的書常常都好整齊。
I check the shopping list one more time.
我再檢查一次購物清單。
Everything is ready.
全部東西都準備好。
I cannot wait for the party tomorrow!
我好期待明天的派對呀！
1Summary 重點摘要
Nouns: plurals and quantities.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
A sweet baked snack, counted in packets: three packets of biscuits.
A fruit drink. It is uncountable, so use bottles: two bottles of orange juice.
A yellow food made from milk. Uncountable: a piece of cheese.
A brush for cleaning teeth. tooth + brush.
A very young child. Plural: two babies.
A small animal with a long tail. Irregular plural: mice.
A small package. Partitive: a packet of biscuits.
A glass or plastic container. Partitive: a bottle of juice.
A basket on wheels for shopping.
3Step by step Steps
- Countable plurals: add s / esMost words add s: apple becomes apples. Words ending in s, x, ch or sh add es: bus becomes buses, watch becomes watches, because a bare s is hard to say after those sounds. Check the last one or two letters of the word before you decide, and never just guess.
- Consonant + y: change to iesbaby becomes babies, cherry becomes cherries: with a consonant + y, change y to i and add es. But a vowel + y just adds s: boy becomes boys, key becomes keys, because ay, oy and ey keep their sound. The mistake to avoid is changing every y to ies and writing boies; look at the letter before y first.
- Irregular plurals to memorizetooth becomes teeth, foot becomes feet, mouse becomes mice, child becomes children, leaf becomes leaves. Irregular plurals have no rule, but there are shortcuts: tooth and foot swap oo for ee; words ending in f or fe often become ves, like leaf and knife. Two words a day on a word card is enough.
- Uncountable nouns take no swater, milk, cheese, homework and information are uncountable: they never take s, and the verb is singular — There is some water. Never two waters. The test: if you cannot count it piece by piece, it is probably uncountable. Do not write many homeworks; say much homework or a lot of homework.
- Partitives help you counta glass of water, two bottles of orange juice, three packets of biscuits, a piece of cheese. To give the amount of an uncountable noun, put number + partitive + of in front. When the amount changes, only the number and the partitive change: three glasses of water still ends with water.
- Compound nounsTwo words join into one new word: school bag, toothbrush, bus stop. The two meanings are glued together, so think of tooth + brush and the meaning is clear. Watch the spelling: some compounds are written apart and some are joined — check the dictionary. Learning a compound is like learning two words at once.
5Worked example Example
Question: How do we use irregular plurals and uncountable nouns on a shopping list?
- Step 1: Spot the uncountable nouns first — water, milk, cheese and homework never take an s, and they are where most mistakes happen.
- Step 2: Use much, not many, with uncountable nouns — much homework, never many homeworks.
- Step 3: Show the amount with a partitive — two bottles of juice, a piece of cheese; when the amount changes, only the number and the partitive change.
- Step 4: Memorize irregular plurals one by one — tooth becomes teeth, foot becomes feet, mouse becomes mice, child becomes children.
- Step 5: Write your own sentence about what you bought — I bought three packets of biscuits and two bottles of orange juice. — then check each noun.
- Answer: Sample answer: We bought three packets of biscuits, two bottles of orange juice, five apples, six bananas and a piece of cheese. My little brother lost two teeth last month, and the two babies in the trolley are crying.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1Plural of bus?
Q2a ___ of water (glass)?
Q3Plural of tooth?
Q4a ___ of advice?
Q5Plural of child?
8Recap Recap
- Plural rules: add s; add es after s/x/ch/sh; consonant + y changes to ies.
- Five key irregular plurals: tooth→teeth, foot→feet, mouse→mice, child→children, leaf→leaves.
- Uncountable nouns (water, milk, cheese, homework) take no s; use much, not many.
- Partitives: a glass of / a bottle of / a packet of / a piece of.
- Compound nouns join two words: school bag, toothbrush, bus stop.