Grammar in writing Warm-up – Part 1

? Singular or plural

Singular and plural forms are extensively used in English language and will definitely appear many times in IELTS. However, even advanced applicants sometimes make mistakes when choosing which form to write – singular or plural. So it is crucial to clearly distinguish these 2 forms to succeed in your IELTS test

This grammar lesson will remind the rules of using singular and plural forms and give you some exercises to master your skills. To complete this lesson, read the theory in green box and complete the exercises below

: Use plural nouns with

: ( Plural verbs (are, do, have, make etc –
Apples are lying on the table

: With quantifiers many, a lot of, a great deal of, plenty of, lots of, the number of –
You took many books from the library

: With numbers bigger than 1 –
. There are 4 cats in that room

: Use singular nouns with

: ( Singular verbs (is, has, was, does, makes etc –
. Our dog is playing

: With indefinite articles a, an –
. You bought a bag, which is very nice

: With word one –
. One pencil has been taken from the box

: Attention

( Some nouns look plural, but are singular (news, aerobics, mathematics –
( Some nouns are used only in the plural (glasses, jeans, scissors, goods –
( Some nouns change form in the plural (person→people, man→men, child→children –

: Practice

: Choose the correct sentence in each pair

N1
.a. Many endangered animal are protected by the government
.b. Many endangered animals are protected by the government

N2
.a. Your child is very adorable
.b. Your child are very adorable

N3
!a. So many people is wasting their time on playing computer games
!b. So many people are wasting their time on playing computer games

N4
.a. There are several problems with your plan
.b. There is several problem with your plan

N5
.a. The old pond was full of fish
.b. The old pond was full of fishes

N6
.a. My sister tell me to watch more documental movies
.b. My sister tells me to watch more documental movies

N7
.a. The teacher always give me hard exercises
.b. The teacher always gives me hard exercises

N8
.a. The number of cars on the roads is increasing
.b. The number of cars on the roads are increasing

N9
.a. A lot of woman are studying science today
.b. A lot of women are studying science today

N10
.a. Many new ideas spring from brainstorming
.b. Many new idea springs from brainstorming

N11
.a. People that made a speech last week is truly eloquent
.b. A person that made a speech last week is truly eloquent

N12
.a. This news rejoiced everyone
.b. These news rejoiced everyone

: ANSWERS

N1.b
N2.a
N3.b
N4.a
N5.a
N6.b
N7.b
N8.a
N9.b
N10.a
N11.b
N12.a