EXERCISES

I. Look at these nouns. Are they countable (C) or uncountable (U)?

1. car (C) 6. golf 11. music 16. love
2. work 7. banana 12. flower 17. furniture
3. news 8. rice 13. money 18. electricity
4. meat 9. song 14. ship 19. water
5. photo 10. minute 15. advice 20. meal
II. Complete the sentences, using one of the following words. Use a/an where
necessary.
accident apple milk coat sugar key electricity sand

luck cheese blood letter moment music interview

1. It wasn't your fault. It was an accident.

2. You'd better drink hot milk before going to bed.
3. I couldn't get into the house because I didn't have ________.
4. Do you take ________ in your tea?
5. The heart pumps ________ through the body.
6. John has got ________ for job tomorrow morning.
7. I didn't phone you. I wrote ________ instead.
8. I'm not ready yet. Can you wait ________, please?
9. It's very warm today. Why are you wearing ________?
10. Good ________ in your new job.
11. Listen! Can you hear ________?
12. Power station produce ________.
13. Are you hungry? Would you like ________?
14. Is there ________ in this soup?
15. Wait! There's ________ in my shoes.

1
III. Complete the postcard. Choose the correct form.
The island is very peaceful. (0) Life/ A life is good here. Everybody moves at
a nice slow pace. People have (1) time/ a time to stop and talk. It's (2) experience/
an experience I won't forget a long time. There aren't many shops, so I can't spend
all my money, although I did buy (3) painting/ a painting yesterday. Now I'm sitting
on the beach reading (4) paper/ a paper. The hotel breakfast is so enormous that I
don't need to have lunch. I've just brought (5) orange/ an orange with me to eat later.
I've been trying all the different (6) fruit/ fruits grown in this part of the world, and
they're all delicious.
IV. Which of the underlined part of these sentences is correct?
1. Did you hear noise/ a noise just now?
2. There was somebody in the house because there was light/ a light on inside.
3. What would it be like to travel at the speed of light/ a light?
4. I didn't have time/ a time for breakfast.
5. We had wonderful time/ a wonderful time in Paris.
6. It's very difficult to find a work/job at the moment.
7. They offered me a job because I had a lot of experience/ experiences.
8. I haven't got a paper/any paper to write on.
9. Bad news don't/doesn't make people happy.
10. We had very good weather/ a very good weather while we were on holiday.
11. Your hair is/Your hairs are too long. You should have it/ them cut.
12. Let me give you an advice/ a piece of advice.
13. The house is built of stone/stones.
14. If you want to know the news, you can read paper/ a paper.
15. E-mail is a relative new mean/means of communication.
V. Choose the right answer.
1. It's important to brush your ________ at least twice a day.
a. tooth b. teeth c. tooths d. toothes
2. We have a lot of ________ near our house causing pollution.

2
a. factorys b. factores c. factories d. factoris
3. There are a number of interesting ________ at my party.
a. people b. persons c. peoples d. person
4. Have you ever seen the new ________ in that shop next door?
a. radioes b. radies c. radioses d. radios
5. They've put some lovely ________ in the city park.
a. benchs b. benchies c. benches d. bench
6. We usually buy three ________ of bread at the weekend.
a. loaves b. loafs c. loafes d. loave
7. You're really afraid of ________ aren't you?
a. mouses b. mice c. mices d. mouse
8. Those cows have got their ________ with them.
a. calfs b. calfes c. scarves d. calves
9. We've bought some new ________ to wear.
a. clothies b. cloths c. clothes d. cloth
10. They had to mend the ________ of the houses after the storm.
a. roofes b. rooves c. roofs d. roof
11. The nursery has places for 30 ________.
a. childs b. childes c. childrens d. children
12. We saw a flock of ________ grazing in the fields.
a. sheep b. sheeps c. sheepes d. ships
13. The farmer kept a flock of ________.
a. goose b. gooses c. geese d. geese
14. Do you like these ________?
a. photoes b. photos c. photo d. photoies
15. Some types of ________ cause diseases.
a. bacterium b. bacteriums c. bacterias d. bacteria

3
VI. Complete the sentences with the given nouns, adding final -s/-es if necessary.
change river garbage hardware music
traffic junk thunder screwdriver homework
1. I put some banana peels, empty juice cartons, and broken bottles in the waste can.
The can is full of ________.
2. Tools that are used for turning screws are called ________.
3. The children got scared when they heard ________ during the storm.
4. I have some coins in my pocket. In other words, I have some ________ in my
pocket.
5. They have a rusty car without an engine, broken chairs, and an old refrigerator in
their front yard. Their yard is full of ________.
6. The Mississippi, the Amazon, and the Nile are well-known ________.
7. The street is full of cars, trucks, and buses. It is full of ________.
8. I like to listen to operas, symphonies, and folk songs. I enjoy ________.
9. Tonight I have to read 20 pages in my history book, do 30 algebra problems, and
write a composition. In other words, I have a lot of ________ to do tonight.
10. I went to the store to get some nails, hammers, and srews. In other words, I
bought some ________.
VII. Choose the correct form of the verb, singular or plural.
1. The results of Dr. Noll's experiment was/were published in a scientific journal.
2. One of your children has/have lost a shoe.
3. A number of police officers here works/work with dogs.
4. There is/are some interesting pictures in today's paper.
5. No two teams wear the same. Each team wears/ wear a different color.
6. Every man, woman, and child is/ are protected under the law.
7. The cattle is/are going to be sold with the farm.
8. An officer and his dog has/have to work closely together.
9. My cat as well as my dogs likes/like cat food.

4
10. Gymnastics is/are an easy lesson at school.
11. The trousers you bought for me doesn't/ don't fit me.
12. Where do/does your family live?
13. Three days isn't/ aren't long enough for a good holiday.
14. My cousin, along with my aunt and uncle, works/work in my grandpa's
hardware store.
15. Measles is/are cured without much difficulty nowadays.
16. The United Nations has/have its headquarters in New York.
17. Neither the moon nor stars is/are visible in this dark night.
18. Why isn't/aren't there a hospital close to those villages?
19. The staff at the school wasn't/weren't happy with their working condition.
20. The news on the radio and TV stations confirms/confirm that a serious storm is
approaching our city.
21. I don't like very hot weather. Thirty degrees is/are too warm for me.
22. Not all policemen is/are allowed to carry guns.
23. One of our jobs is/are to prevent crime happening in the first place.
24. A lot of crime is/ are caused by people being careless.
25. Each of my friends has/have a present.
26. The number of desks in that classroom is/are thirty-five.
27. The remains of the meal was/were thrown in the bin.
28. Three-fourths of the pizzas has/have been already eaten.
29. Can I borrow your scissors? Mine isn't/ aren't sharp enough.
30. Five times five is/are twenty-five.
VIII. Supply the correct form (singular or plural) of the verb in brackets.
1. The Philippines ________ (have) signed the new human rights agreement.
2. ________ (Be) bacon and eggs what you usually eat?
3. The police ________ (think) that more than one person (be) in the stolen car.
4. The majority of children's parents ________ (be) unemployed.

5
5. Everyone ________ (be) pleased with her answer.
6. None of my brothers ________ (remember) my mother's birthday.
7. Both of these shirts ________ (be) dirty.
8. Fifty minutes ________ (be) the maximum length of time allowed for the exam.
9. Some of my friends ________ (live) abroad.
10. Ann, along with her friends ________ (be) playing volleyball.
11. I wonder if either of those alternatives ________ (be) a good idea.
12. A lot of the students in the class ________ (be) from Southeast Asia.
13. Alex, as well as his two older brothers, ________ (have) a good full-time job.
14. Two-thirds of the money ________ (be) mine.
15. The Japanese ________ (have) a long and interesting history.

IX. Most of the sentences are wrong. Put a tick (✔) if the sentence is correct. If it
is incorrect, cross the unnecessary or wrong word and write or correct it in the
space.
1. I like a classical music very much. a
2. The crowd are all enjoying the game. 
3. My grandmother wears glass when she reads.
4. We like Martin and Jill. They're nice persons.
5. The government want to increase taxes.
6. Cattle was driven hundreds of miles.
7. This scissors is not very sharp.
8. That's a wonderful news!
9. There was a police officer standing at the corner.
10. Leafs turn yellow in the fall. 11. I'm going to buy a new pyjama.
12. There is some luggages in the car.
13. Three pounds are not a big enough tip.
14. I heard an interesting piece of information.
15. Has the police arrived yet?

6
X. What do we call these things and people? Use the structure noun + noun.
1. A station from which trains leave is a train station.
2. Shoes made of leather are ________.
3. A boy who is five years old is ________.
4. Clothes for working in are ________.
5. Somebody whose job is to inspect factories is ________.
6. The carpet in the dining room is ________.
7. The Director of Marketing is ________.
8. A bottle containing medicine and made of glass is ________.
9. Shops that sell shoes are ________.
10. A card that gives you credit is ________.
XI. Answer the questions using two of the following words each time.
accident belt card credit editor frying
shop forecast weather number pan
newspaper road room seat window
1. This can be caused by bad driving. A road accident
2. If you're staying at a hotel, you need to remember this. Your ________.
3. You should wear this when you're in a car. A ________.
4. You can sometimes use this to pay for things instead of cash. A ________.
5. If you want to know if it's going to rain, you can read or listen to this. The
________.
6. This person is a top journalist. A ________.
7. You might stop to look in this when you're walking along a street. A ________.
8. This can be used for cooking. A ________.

7
XII. Complete the sentences, using one of the following. Sometimes you need the
singular (day/ page...) and sometimes the plural (days/ pages ...).
15 minute(s) two hour(s) five day(s) 60 minute(s)
six mile(s) 500 year(s) 20 pound(s) fen page(s)
450 page(s) two year(s) five course(s) 15 year(s) old
1. It's quite a long book. There are 450 pages.
2. A few days ago I received a ten-page letter.
3. I didn't have any change. I only had a ________ note.
4. At work in the morning I usually have a ________ break for coffee.
5. There are ________ in an hour.
6. It's only a ________ flight from London to Madrid.
7. It was a big meal. There were ________.
8. Mary has just started a new job. She's got a ________ contract.
9. The oldest building in the city is the ________ old castle.
10. I work ________ a week. Saturday and Sunday are free.
11. We went for a ________ walk in the country.
12. I teach English for two ________ girls.
XIII. Join the two (or three) nouns. Sometimes you have to use's ors and
sometimes you have to use of.
1. the mistake/ the policeman the policeman's mistake
2. the bottom/the bottle the bottom of the bottle
3. the daughter/Mr Hill
4. the name/ this street
5. the gardens/ our neighbors
6. the children/Don and Mary
7. the wedding/ the friend/ Helen
8. the ground floor/ the building
9. the car/the parents/ Mike

8
10. the economic policy/ the government
11. the money/ the gangsters
12. the tail/ the horse
13. the house/ the people we met in Spain
14. the arm/ the chair
15. the monthly meeting/ the club
16. the work/last year
17. the death/ someone important
18. the middle/ the night
19. the room/ my sisters
20. the door/ the garage
XIV. Rewrite the underlined phrases, using a possessive form.
1. The storm last week caused a lot of damage.
Last week's storm caused a lot of damage.
2. The meeting tomorrow has been cancelled.
3. The only cinema in the town has closed down.
4. Exports from Britain to the United States have fallen recently.
5. Tourism is the main industry in the region.
6. The prices this year are even lower.
7. A rest for five minutes is enough for me.
8. From here it's a drive of two hours.
9. I'll see you in a week.
10. The paper yesterday reported the assassination of the Prime Minister.