English Grammar with Kudjo. Part 4
Понятная и забавная грамматика для детей и взрослых
Larisa Lubimova

Cover designer Roman Lubimov

© Larisa Lubimova, 2024

© Roman Lubimov, cover design, 2024

ISBN 978-5-0064-8661-4 (т. 4)

ISBN 978-5-0062-2872-6

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Thank you for following Kudjo and me. If you are here, you must have read my previous books of Grammar with Kudjo and you know what to expect.

This book is devoted to the least popular grammar aspects: modal verbs, articles, prepositions and so on. I guess, you have just screwed up your faces at these words. Calm down.

I did try to make this grammar look less tough and more exciting by presenting and drilling it through Kudjo’s adventures and funny quizzes.

Let’s start.

Unit 1
Revision

EXERCISE 1

Put the verb in brackets in the correct form:

1 /See/ Kudjo /stand/ on the abandoned road, Chilly wanted /cry/ but couldn’t.

2 He wished he /can/ run out of the car and join his friend.

3 If only he /can/ open the door!

4 Suddenly the blue light dissipated and Chilly stopped /see/ Kudjo at all in complete darkness.

5 If he /get/ out of the car, he /help/ Kudjo.

EXERCISE 2

Rephrase the sentences using the beginning of a new one in brackets:

1 Chilly kept sitting in the car because he didn’t manage to control it. (Chilly wished he …)

2 The engine didn’t start, the doors didn’t open, the lights didn’t switch on. (Chilly couldn’t make …)

3 It was pitch dark around and Chilly felt scared stiff. (Chilly wouldn’t …)

4 He hammered on the window to break the glass to get out, but it was too strong. (He tried…)

5 Soon Chilly got exhausted and fell asleep. (Having …)

EXERCISE 3

Put the verb in brackets in the correct form and guess the last word of the sentence:

1 /wake/ up in the morning, Chilly couldn’t understand what was going *****.

2 He was sitting in the car with all the doors and windows open, the engine /work/ and the lights /switch/ *****.

3 He got out of the car and rubbed his eyes several times. He /not believe/ it if he /not see/ it with his own *****.

4 He couldn’t help /bark/ in astonishment. There was nothing in front of him. The camp and the road had *****.

5 Chilly wished Kudjo /disappear/ *****.

EXERCISE 4

Fill the gaps in the story with missing words:

What would you have ***** if you had ***** Chilly? Right. He decided to return ***** hoping Kudjo had already come back. Chilly got into the ***** and drove home as ***** as possible. He was looking forward to ***** the door and seeing Kudjo reading a book on his favourite *****.

Arriving home Chilly rushed to the door, opened it and ***** Cuba and Luna waiting for them in the hall. They looked ***** and alarmed. Chilly realised that Kudjo hadn’t returned ***** yet. He’d rather not have explained anything but he didn’t have any other option as the girls waited for him to ***** them everything. Of course, Chilly couldn’t help putting them in the picture. When he ***** talking, the dogs looked even more ***** and troubled. They wished they ***** where Kudjo was and what ***** happened to him.

EXERCISE 5

Find and correct 6 mistakes in the sentences:

1 The dogs immediately started thinking to look for Kudjo but, frankly speaking, none of them knew where to start.

2 Luna suggested to go to the place where there used to be the abandoned camp.

3 Chilly, returned from that place a few hours ago, insisted to look for Kudjo in another place.

4 Cuba kept to whimper and could hardly put forward any idea.

5 It was high time they would have some tea and calmed down.

EXERCISE 6

Choose the correct option:

1 After having some camomile tea Cuba suggested ***** at home and waiting for Kudjo *****.

a staying / returning

b staying / to return

c to stay / returning

2 Luna wished they ***** to the place where Chilly had seen him the last time.

a go

b had gone

c could go

3 Chilly would rather ***** with Cuba, but he knew that Luna would make them ***** anyway.

a to agree / to go

b agree /go

c agree / going

4 None of the dogs remembered ***** Kit for ideas though he seemed ***** some.

a ask / to have

b to ask / to have

c asking / having

5 The dogs were too ***** to notice the kitten ***** the flat.

a excited / to leave

b exciting / leaving

c excited / leave

EXERCISE 7

Translate the story:

Похоже, Кит знал, где искать Куджо. Если бы собаки не были так зациклены на заброшенном лагере, они бы тоже вспомнили про подвал. Кит был уверен, что таинственный синий свет знает, где Куджо сейчас и он надеялся найти синий шар в подвале. Подбежав к маленькому подвальному окошку, Кит остановился как вкопанный. Не веря свои глазам, он залез на дерево.

Окно было наглухо заколочено досками. Жаль, что я такой маленький и слабый, подумал котенок, вздохнул и побежал искать помощи у котов района. Ему пришлось потратить немало усилий и времени, чтобы объяснить каждому коту, зачем ему опять нужно попасть в подвал. К вечеру огромная стая котов собралась около подвала, обсуждая варианты проникновения. Наконец, самый старый и самый мудрый сфинкс предложил просто поджечь деревянные доски…

(продолжение следует)

Unit 2
Modal Verbs of Ability

Before speaking about the modal verbs of ability, let’s remember three important characteristics of all modal verbs:

1. They have only one form, so you cannot add -s, -ed, -ing or make any other modifications.

2. They are used together with main verbs. You cannot put two modals together: Kudjo will can return. Instead of it you can say: Kudjo will be able to return. or Kudjo can return.

You also can’t use auxiliary verbs like do/does/did with modals, because modals themselves already function as auxiliary verbs!

To make the negative form of a modal verb, add not immediately after it: Chilly couldn’t remember anything after that.

To make a question with a modal verb, put it in front of the subject: Could the dogs find him?

3. Never use to between a modal verb and a main verb: We must not to panic.

PRESENT ABILITY

To describe physical and mental abilities in the present as well as the possibility to perform an action, we use can/can’t or be able to / be not able to. In everyday speech, can/can’t are more common.

Kudjo can drive a car far better than Chilly. = Kudjo is able to drive a car far better than Chilly.

Can is also used to express:

Permission (informal). e.g. You can take my dad’s car.

Request (informal). e.g. Can I go out?

By the way, could expresses a more polite request. e.g. Could you help us?

Prohibition (informal). You can’t tell anybody about it.

Note: am/is/are able to would be unusual when we are commenting on something that is happening at the time of speaking:

Look! Kit can stand on his front legs! (not: Look! He is able to stand on his front legs!)

If the present ability is surprising or involves overcoming some difficulty, we can also use is/are able to:

Despite his injury Chilly is able to drive a car.

We don’t usually use be able to with stative verbs (such as see, hear, understand, believe, etc.): Cuba can’t understand what is going on. (not: Cuba isn’t able to understand what is going on.)

We cannot usually use be able to with a passive:

This road can be used to cut the distance. (not: This road is able to be used to cut the distance.)

EXERCISE 1

Choose the correct form (in two sentences both options are possible):

1 Listen! Our kitten is able to /can bark now! When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

2 Are you able to / Can you look for Kit? I haven’t seen him since the morning.

3 The dogs have been looking for Kit but he can’t / isn’t able to be found anywhere.

4 The dogs can’t /aren’t able to see their kitten anywhere, which makes them worried a lot.

5 The kitten can’t / isn’t able to live on his own. He is too little.

6 Who do you think they can /are able to find first: Kudjo or Kit?

Fixed phrases with the verb can:

Can is used with some verbs to create idiomatic expressions widely used by native English speakers:

1. can’t wait – to be excited about something

Ex: Cuba can’t wait to see her French friends soon.

2. can’t stand – to strongly dislike something

Ex: Chilly can’t stand cats in Lion.

3. can’t bear – to strongly dislike something because it makes you unhappy

Ex: Luna can’t bear to be away from Kudjo longer than a week.

4. can’t take it – cannot tolerate something

Ex: Luna can’t take her parents’ control anymore.

5. can’t be bothered – to have no interest in something

Ex: Luna knows she should be home now but she can’t be bothered.

6. can’t win – life is difficult

Ex: Sometimes no matter what you do in life, you can’t win.

7. can’t help it – to have no control over something

Ex: Cuba can’t help it, she finds cheese irresistible!

8. Can you imagine? – it is amazing

Ex: Dogs can have a kitten as a pet. Can you imagine?

9. No can do. – it cannot be done. It’s impossible.

Ex: Chilly refused to do it, he wanted to help, though. No can do.

10. What can I say? – I have no comment right now.

Ex: Everybody is shocked. What can they say?

11. Can it! – Shut up!

Ex: Luna can’t stand the words «Can it!»

12. as can be – as much as possible

Ex: The dogs were sure that everything would be fine with Kudjo. He is as smart as can be.

EXERCISE 2

Put one of these fixed expressions in the gaps:

1 The friends ***** worrying about Kudjo and Kit.

2 They have been trying very hard to find them but *****.

3 Meanwhile, the cats are trying to put out the fire as hard *****.

4 They have just managed to extinguish it without any firefighters. *****?

5 The wall is black with grime but the window is open now. *****?

6 To make things worse, Chilly has caught a cold. If only he would take medicine! But he *****.

PAST ABILITY

To talk about ability in the past, we use could/couldn’t or was/wasn’t/were/weren’t able to:

There are some situations when we tend to prefer one or the other.

1. Use be able to for a specific accomplishment (in contrast to general ability): Despite being a poor driver, Luna was able to park the car well.

Remember: If an action was realised or carried out in a particular situation in the past it is expressed with the help of was/were able to, but when could is used with reference to the past, it denotes only the ability or possibility of performing an action.

However, the negative couldn’t is possible in all situations.

Chilly couldn’t help Kudjo that night. = Chilly wasn’t able to help Kudjo that night.

In such situations we can substitute was/were able to with managed to or succeeded in: Cuba was able to persuade Luna.= Cuba managed to persuade Luna.= Cuba succeeded in persuading Luna.

2. Using could/couldn’t is more common than was able to for:

• verbs of the senses and of thinking (hear, see, smell, taste, feel, think, believe, remember, understand): It was pitch dark but Chilly could see that place.

• with the words almost, nearly and hardly: Chilly was so shocked that he could hardly speak.

It’s not wrong to use was able to in these situations, it’s just a little less common.

EXERCISE 3

Complete the sentences using could or was/were able to in positive or negative forms:

1 After the cats put out the fire, Kit ***** get into the cellar.

2 It was pitch dark in the cellar, but Kit ***** see well (all cats can see perfectly in the dark).

3 Unfortunately, he ***** find what he had expected to.

4 He mewed hoping to attract the blue ball, but the answer was a deafening silence.The only sound Kit ***** hear was the sound of his own tail tapping on the floor.

5 He ***** hardly believe that all his efforts had led to naught.

6 Having looked for the blue ball everywhere, the kitten ***** find it and had to come back home without any good news.

To talk about ability in the future, we only have one option – will/won’t be able to.

The dogs won’t be able to do anything without Kudjo.

To sum up, we use be able to instead of can:

• after another modal verb (will/would/must/might/shall/should).

They might be able to find him in the forest.

• if we want to use an -ing form or a to-Infinitive.

They enjoy being able to share all their feelings with him.

They used to be able to fight for each other.

• if we want to use Perfect Tenses.

They haven’t been able to find either Kit or Kudjo yet.

EXERCISE 4

Put the correct form of be able to in the story about Kit’s abilities:

1 He didn’t use ***** climb trees when he was little.

2 Now he loves ***** climb up any heights.

3 He ***** just ***** reach a squirrel hollow, which frightened the squirrels a lot.

4 When he gets older, he ***** catch birds.

5 He wants ***** do something useful for Luna and other dogs.

6 If he were bigger and stronger, he would ***** find Kudjo.

EXERCISE 5

Fill the gaps in the story with missing words:

Disappointed and ***** Kit finally returned home, which made Luna ***** with joy. If only they could ***** Kudjo as well! The kitten explained that he had ***** to find the glowing blue ball to be able to look for Kudjo with its help. While ***** to Kit, Chilly remembered seeing the glowing blue light in front of Kudjo standing on the ***** motionless. Bingo! The kitten was absolutely right! If they can ***** the blue light ball, it will definitely ***** them to Kudjo! The dogs got so excited that they forgot one ***** thing – they still don’t know where to look for the ***** either. It’s time they worked out the strategy.

EXERCISE 6

Find and correct 6 mistakes in the sentences:

1 They have been trying to work out the strategy since yesterday and have just able to do it.

2 They remembered canning to see the glowing blue ball whenever they were in trouble or were about to get into trouble.

3 Chilly came up with the idea of provoking a difficult situation so that the ball could help appearing.

4 The idea sounded so brilliant that Chilly wished Kudjo can be proud of him.

5 The only thing they haven’t can to do yet is to decide what trouble to create for themselves.

6 Finally Luna managed setting up a «trap» for the ball.

EXERCISE 7

Choose the correct option:

1 Luna suggested getting lost in the forest but ***** which one.

a cannot to decide

b could not to decide

c couldn’t decide

2 The dogs ***** choose the place for a “trap” until Chilly put forward his plan.

a couldn’t to

b hadn’t been able to

c haven’t been able to

3 Chilly’s plan was to pretend to get lost in the place where he had seen Kudjo the last time. He easily ***** the girls into doing it.

a managed to talk

b could talk

c managed talking

4 Luna objected to Kit going with them but he ***** persuade her to take him.

a was able to

b managed

c could to

5 His best argument is that he ***** attract the glowing ball better than the dogs.

a can to

b is able to

c manages

6 It was the argument nobody ***** resist.

a was able to

b couldn’t

c could to

EXERCISE 8

Translate the story:

Ночью никто не мог уснуть, думая о предстоящей авантюре. Поэтому утром все были невероятно сонными и едва смогли заставить себя позавтракать.

Хотя и завтраком это было назвать очень сложно – немного собачьих сухариков и много крепкого кофе. Да, да, собаки тоже иногда пьют кофе.

После кофе они смогли наконец-то полностью открыть глаза и обсудить окончательные детали операции.

Только сейчас собаки стали понимать как сильно им не хватает Куджо, его уверенности, решительности и сообразительности. Если бы только он сейчас был с ними!

Видя, что Луна и Куба вот-вот расплачутся, Чилли быстро скомандовал всем взять свои рюкзаки и отправляться в путь. Собаки решили добираться до места на электричке, а дальше идти пешком. Никто из них не мог и представить, что их ждало впереди.

Неприятности начались сразу же, как только они сошли с электрички. В то время, как они стояли на платформе, решая в какую сторону им лучше пойти, Луна открыла свой рюкзак, в котором всю дорогу спал Кит, и внезапно громко взвизгнула. Котенка в рюкзаке не было…

(продолжение следует)

Unit 3
Modal Verbs of Obligation

MUST

The modal verb must has only one form. We only use must to talk about the present and the future. For missing forms of the verb must we use its equivalent to have to.

Must expresses:

1 Strong obligation, necessity, duty to do something. We generally use must when the speaker has decided that something is necessary.

Must expresses an obligation from the speaker’s point of view, an obligation imposed by the speaker; it is used to give a strong personal opinion: The dogs believe they must keep it a secret.

As must expresses a strong obligation, we do not often use it in face-to-face conversation as it can sound impolite and often inappropriate. We often use should and ought to as an alternative to must as they express a subjective (often moral) obligation felt by the speaker, but the obligation is weaker than with must

You should treat your neighbours with more respect and never bark at their cats.

2. Prohibition; refusing permission

Must is used in negative sentences when it is forbidden/prohibited to do something; you are not allowed to do something; it is against the rules/laws:

The dogs were astonished when they saw: «You mustn’t go by train if you haven’t got a ticket (even if you are a dog).»

3. Command, urgent request, command in public notices or documents:

You must do as you are told.

In the present we can use both forms: must and have to.

Remember the difference in sentence formations: we use auxiliary do/does for to have to while making questions and negative sentences: Do the dogs have to buy train tickets? – No, they don’t have to do it.

Must is similar to have to but we use have to (not usually must) to say what someone is obliged to do: Luna has to let her parents know where she is. (She is obliged to do it, it’s not her intention)

Mustn’t and don’t have to are completely different:

You mustn’t do something = it is necessary that you do not do it (so don’t do it):

You don’t have to do something = you don’t need to do it (but you can if you want):

EXERCISE 1

Complete the sentences with must/mustn’t or have to/has to/don’t/doesn’t have to.

1 The dogs ***** get into the train again to find Kit.

2 They ***** worry. Kit is clever enough to find the way back home.

3 Anyway, the kitten ***** be left alone on the train.

4 Does everybody ***** return or does Luna alone ***** look for the pet?

5 The dogs have decided they ***** do everything together.

6 Whatever they do, they ***** separate.

7 They got into the train again and suddenly saw the poster: «If you have lost each other on the train, you ***** panic. Use our radio to make an announcement.»

TO HAVE TO

When we talk about past obligations or necessity, we use had to. The dogs had to come back.

Future obligation can be expressed by must or made more precise with will have to.

They will have to get back to the forest as soon as they find the kitten.

The form have to is also used for Perfect Tenses.

They have just had to get into the train again.

They had had to do it very quickly before the train left.

They will have had to return to the forest before dark.

Must has no infinitive, gerund or participle forms. So when necessary, we make this form with have to.

Chilly hates having to waste time.

He never used to have to take care of pets.

Having to look for Kit, the dogs might waste a lot of time.

EXERCISE 2

Complete the questions with the correct form of have to/must and answer them:

1 Is there anything you ***** do for your job or study which you hate?

2 When was the last time you ***** catch a train?

3 Name two things you ***** do every day.

4 What do you hate ***** do?

5 What did you use to ***** do when you were little?

6 What would you ***** do if you were shipwrecked?

7 What will you ***** do to save money for a rainy day?

EXERCISE 3

Complete the sentences using the proper verb and the correct form of must/have to: tell, bark, come back, run, get away, face, pinch, look for

1 The dogs ***** along all the aisles looking for the kitten but couldn’t find him anywhere.

2 Luna was extremely furious because of ***** Kit a dozen times that he ***** from her.

3 ***** the kitten in every corner of this long train, the friends were getting angrier and angrier, more and more exhausted.

4 They had already lost any hope to find the kitten on the train and thought of ***** to that platform when Chilly made a sudden stand.

5 He couldn’t believe his eyes and ***** himself to make sure it was not a hallucination.

6 There was somebody’s sweater on a berth and Kit enjoying such a balmy sleep on it that Chilly ***** loudly to wake him up.

7 When Kit realised what had happened, he got so embarrassed that was ready to do anything to avoid ***** Luna.

SHOULD AND OUGHT TO

Should and Ought to are very much alike in meaning and are often interchangeable. They are very common in spoken English. They have only one form; ought is always followed by the to-infinitive.

Should and Ought to express:

1. Mild obligation, moral or mild/weak duty, responsibility (in this meaning ought to is preferable).

should and ought to are less emphatic than must and have to:

with should the person has some choice on whether or not to act, but with must he has no choice.

Kit should apologise. (= it would be a good thing to do)

Kit must apologise. (= he has no alternative)

2. Advice, desirability, recommendation. (in this meaning should is more common).

We are talking about what is a good thing to do or the right thing to do: Luna thinks Kit should apologise to all the dogs.

3. Should (ought to) have + past participle can mean something that would have been a good idea, but that you didn’t do it. It’s like giving advice about the past when you say it to someone else, or regretting what you did or didn’t do when you’re talking about yourself.

Kit should have stayed with the dogs.

Shouldn’t (oughtn’t to) have + past participle means that something wasn’t a good idea, but you did it anyway.

He shouldn’t have run away.

EXERCISE 4

Chilly is keen on giving advice. Complete the sentences using the proper verb and the correct form of should/shouldn’t: move, use, take, catch, make, trust, yell,

1 You ***** dogs. They always know who to stay away from.

2 If you hear weird noises in the night, you simply ***** weirder noises to confirm your domination.

3 If you find a toilet in your dream, you ***** it.

4 You ***** at cats, lean in close and whisper, it’s much scarier.

5 If you are not happy where you are, you *****. You are not a tree.

6 If you drop a cactus, you ***** it.

7 You ***** decisions without eating first.

TO BE SUPPOSED TO

We can use be supposed to + infinitive instead of should/ought to to talk about an obligation to do something. It is commonly used in spoken English to express a less strong obligation which is frequently ignored: Kit is supposed to be with Luna all the time.

We can use be not supposed to’ to express prohibition:

He is not supposed to run away again.

TO BE TO

To be to is a modal expression, whose meanings are close to those of modal verbs and expressions denoting obligation: must, to have to, should, ought to.

to be to is used in the Present and Past Simple Tense.

To be to expresses:

1. Obligation or necessity arising out of an arrangement, an agreement or plan.

Luna is to come back home by midnight.

to be to in the Past Simple + Perfect Infinitive shows that the action had been arranged but did not happen. (was/were to have done)

Kit was to have stayed in Luna’s bag all the time.

to be to in the Past Simple + Simple Infinitive does not show whether the action was or was not carried out and, on the other hand, it is the only way to show a fulfilled action. (was/were to do)

Chilly was to arrange the trip.

2. Strict orders, formal commands or formal instructions.

3. A strict prohibition. May not, can’t, are not to, must not – are arranged in increasing order of severity, «must’ being an absolute prohibition: Kit is not to leave the bag until he is allowed to do it.

EXERCISE 5

Luna’s scolding Kit. Complete her sentences using the correct form of the verb in brackets with to be to and to be supposed to:

1 You ***** /obey/ me.

2 You ***** /stay/ in the bag as I had told you before the trip.

3 You ***** /let/ me know about all your intentions.

4 You ***** /tell/ me that you were going to leave the bag.

5 You ***** /have/ any secrets from me.

6 You ***** /share/ all your ideas with me instead of doing everything on your own

7 You ***** /be/ always with me so as not to make me worry big.

EXERCISE 6

Fill the gaps in the story with missing words:

Having ***** Kit, the dogs were able to resume looking ***** Kudjo. The friends had to hurry because it was getting ***** and they were supposed to come back home before nightfall. Feeling guilty and miserable, Kit kept ***** in Luna’s backpack. If he ***** run away, the dogs wouldn’t ***** wasted so much time. If the dogs hadn’t ***** so much time, they would have already ***** Kudjo. If they had found Kudjo, everybody would be ***** and cheerful. He must do something to ***** the situation. He ***** find Kudjo. If he does it, everybody will ***** him. But he can’t do it while sitting in the ***** and he isn’t allowed to get out of it. It’s totally out of the question. Suddenly it dawned on him that he ***** be able to get away in the backpack. Luna forbade him to leave her *****, but she didn’t forbid her bag to *****. What a smart kitten!

EXERCISE 7

Find and correct 7 mistakes in the sentences:

1 Luna should left Kit at home but she didn’t.

2 The dogs must to return so as to find the kitten.

3 Kit was supposed to stayed in the bag all the time.

4 Fortunately, the dogs hadn’t to come back home because they had found Kit.

5 Luna has just must to punish her pet.

6 Kit must not to do anything on his own!

7 He doesn’t have to disobey Luna anymore, otherwise, he’ll be punished.

EXERCISE 8

Choose the correct option:

1 Luna ***** at the kitten. He is too little, after all.

a shouldn’t shouted

b shouldn’t have shouted

c mustn’t have shouted

2 Chilly believes Kit *****.

a will be to be grounded

b was to have been grounded

c was to have grounded

3 Cuba thinks Kit ***** be so naughty and stubborn.

a shouldn’t

b needn’t

c oughtn’t

4 Kit doesn’t think the dogs *****to worry about him so much.

a ought

b should

c must

5 The kitten didn’t use ***** obey anybody before.

a to have

b to must

c to have to

6 Luna ***** admit not bringing up her pet at all.

a just must

b has just had to

c has just musted

7 She ***** him some basic rules of behaviour but she didn’t.

a had to teach

b must have taught

c should have taught

EXERCISE 9

Translate the story:

Кит должен был найти Куджо первым, чтобы доказать всем на что он способен. Он решил передвигаться, не вылезая из сумки. Он же обещал Луне оставаться в рюкзаке и он должен сдержать свое слово. Так как собаки горячо спорили в какую сторону идти, никто не заметил, как рюкзак тихонько откатился от них и пополз по тропинке в лес.

Он полз и представлял себе, как все удивятся и обрадуются, когда он вернется вместе с Куджо. Все наконец-то признают, что он не маленький беспомощный питомец, а полноправный член команды. Замечтавшись, котенок не заметил, как случайно свернул с тропинки и оказался в глухой чаще. Споткнувшись о поваленное дерево, Кит кубарем покатился на самое дно глубокой волчьей ямы. Очнувшись, он с ужасом понял, что самому ему оттуда не выбраться. Становилось темно и холодно. Было больно и очень-очень страшно.

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Unit 4
Modal Verbs of Probability and Deduction

Modal verbs have functions of certainty, probability, and deduction.

Deduction means making a guess about the facts using available information, depending on which we might be more certain that the conclusion is true, or less certain and we use different modal verbs to indicate the degree of certainty.

While making deductions about the present, we use must if we are sure something is true and can’t if we are sure that something is impossible. Kudjo can’t be at home now. He must be somewhere else.

When we consider some evidence and draw a certain conclusion about what happened in the past, we use must have + V3 and can’t have + V3.

Kudjo must have got lost in the forest. Kudjo couldn’t have vanished into thin air.

EXERCISE 1

Complete the dogs’ speculations about Kit with must, must have, can’t, can’t have and correct form of the verb:

1 He /get/ out of the bag. He swore not to do it.

2 He /run/ away because we had been too tough on him.

3 He /run/ to the forest. He is afraid of wild animals.

4 He /be/ in a hidey-hole somewhere nearby, looking at us.

5 Somebody /steal/ the backpack with him.

6 He /run/ very far. He was here several minutes ago.

7 He /get/ huffy. He knows how much we love him.

8 He /decide/ to look for Kudjo on his own.

POSSIBILITY

Present/Future Possibility

We can use may, might and could to talk about things that are possible in the present and future.

The dogs believe Kit might come back very soon.

Some people say that might is less certain than may, but in spoken English there is really no effective difference. The word may is less common, and we can only use could in the positive form, not the negative form while talking about possibility. He might not find Kudjo.

Past Possibility

When talking about past possibilities, we can use

might have / may have / could have + V3 (for positive possibilities) and might not have / may not have + V3 (for negative possibilities).

Kudjo might not have seen any opportunity to keep in touch with his friends.

EXERCISE 2

Rewrite the sentences using the modal verbs of present or past possibility:

1 Perhaps evil ghosts captured Kudjo.

2 Maybe Kudjo hid somewhere from those ghosts.

3 Maybe Kudjo hasn’t found the way home yet.

4 Perhaps Kudjo has decided to solve the mystery on his own.

5 Perhaps Kudjo followed the blue light ball and it took him very far from home.

6 Perhaps Kudjo got into the abandoned camp and disappeared together with it.

7 Perhaps Kudjo will never be able to find the way home.

8 Maybe Kudjo is somewhere with other dogs having new adventures.

If we need to speculate about the action in progress at the moment of speaking, we use modal verb + be + Ving

Kudjo might be trying to get home now.

If we need to speculate about the action in progress in the past, we use modal verb + have been + Ving

The blue light must have been helping Kudjo all this time.

EXERCISE 3

Answer the questions using modal verbs of deduction:

For example,

What has Kit found in the pit? – He might have found a lot of bones.

1 What is Kit doing in the pit now?

2 Who made this pit and what for?

3 Where is the blue light and why isn’t it helping Kit?

4 What are the dogs arguing about?

5 Who have they decided to look for first? Kudjo or Kit?

6 Where did the abandoned camp disappear?

7 What has happened to Kudjo?

8 Why is Luna whining?

EXERCISE 4

Look at the picture and continue the sentences with your ideas:

For example,

Chilly and Cuba must be …. – Chilly and Cuba must be trying to trace Kit.

1 They are looking down because they must be…

2 They can’t have been ….

3 They look unhappy and frustrated so they might not have ….

4 Chilly is going first because he must ….

5 You can’t see Luna with them because she could be ….

6 The dogs are not talking to each other because they might not ….

7 They are going at a snail’s pace because they must be ….

8 Chilly arched his back because he might have ….

EXERCISE 5

Make a speculation about every situation using modal verbs of deduction:

For example,

Chilly has just found Luna’s backpack but it is empty. – The kitten can’t have escaped in it.

1 While sitting and crying at the bottom of the pit, Kit suddenly heard somebody come up to it.

2 Luna stopped suddenly and raised her head, listening to some sounds very carefully.

3 Chilly stumbled over the tree root and nearly fell down in a deep hole. It was very dark in the hole but he was sure he could see somebody moving at the bottom.

4 Chilly told Cuba about it but she didn’t answer. He turned his head in surprise and didn’t see her anywhere.

5 After several minutes Chilly found her stuck in a thick clump of wait-a-bit. Cuba refused to explain how she had got there.

6 They both returned to the pit and peered out into the gloom. The dogs didn’t see anything but could hear someone snoring at the bottom.

7 They were standing at the edge of the pit when they felt somebody standing behind their backs breathing heavily.

8 Cuba got scared stiff but Chilly immediately growled, jumped and bit in the intruder’s throat.

EXERCISE 6

Choose the correct alternative:

1 Caught unawares, Chilly can’t /must have realised he was biting Luna.

2 Having an acute sense of smell, Luna must / can’t have found the friends easily.

3 Luckily, she can’t / might have been hurt badly because Chilly recognised her just in time.

4 The dogs heard miserable meowing coming from the pit. It sounded so familiar that the dogs hardly had any doubts it was Kit who must sit / be sitting in the pit.

5 Poor Kit must be spending/ have spent so long there that he stopped hoping to be rescued.

6 He must /can’t have tried to escape from this trap but he was too little and too weak to do it on his own.

7 When Kit heard the dogs talking above him, he could hardly believe his ears, thinking he must suffer / be suffering from auditory hallucination.

8 The kitten didn’t know how long he had been sitting in the trap but he had a feeling that he must have been / be there for ages.

EXERCISE 7

Fill the gaps in the story with missing words:

As the pit was absolutely *****, it must have been dug to trap huge animals. At the mere thought of having such monsters around the ***** were terribly screwed up and immediately started ***** Kit out of the pit. They used all their bags to make one long ***** but it wasn’t enough to get Kit out of the *****. Luna tied herself to one ***** of this rope and jumped to the trap to rescue her unfortunate *****. Chilly and Cuba had to try their best and worst to get the both friends up. The fear of being attacked by giant wild ***** made them far stronger and Kit was finally free and *****. He looked so ashamed of himself that the dogs didn’t ***** him. This adventure must have taught the kitten a *****, which he’ll remember for a long time.

EXERCISE 8

Find and correct 9 mistakes in the sentences:

1 The dogs were so happy to find Kit that they can’t have forgotten about the danger.

2 They were standing around the pit discussing where to go next when they heard spine chilling howls. Some wild animals must been approaching.

3 The friends looked around trying to find a kind of shelter to hide but they can hardly see anything suitable.

4 The sound of howling was getting louder and louder, which meant the monster must has been coming nearer and nearer.

5 Suddenly the beast stopped howling but it can’t go away because the dogs could hear it snapping branches to crush everything crossing its path.

6 Chilly suggested to trap the beast into the pit and the dogs rushed to cover it with big sticks for camouflage.

7 The girls with the kitten hid behind a big spruce while Chilly kept to stand near the edge of the trap to provoke the animal to jump.

8 Chilly must wish he hidden too but he had to be a tease to attract the monster.

EXERCISE 9

Choose the correct option:

1 A huge lynx appeared out of the forest and stopped to smell the air suspiciously. It ***** the dogs.

a must detect

b can’t be detecting

c must have detected

2 When the lynx saw Chilly, it growled and moved slowly towards him. Chilly ***** scared stiff but didn’t run away.

a can’t have got

b must have got

c must get

3 The lynx and Chilly ***** at the opposite edges of the trap for a long time but suddenly Kit jumped out from behind the spruce and hissed furiously.

a could have been standing

b can’t have been standing

c could stand

4 It ***** the lynx jump forward and fall right into the trap.

a must made

b can’t have made

c must have made

5 When the lynx realised what had happened, it started dancing up and down with rage and fear. It ***** helpless and yelled.

a must be feeling

b can’t have felt

c must have felt

6 The lynx yelled like a child and the dogs wished they ***** it.

a hadn’t trapped

b wouldn’t trap

c didn’t trap

7 Who knows what ***** if they hadn’t done it.

a might happen

b can have happened

c might have happened

8 The lynx suddenly fell silent and the dogs worried that it *****.

a can’t have died

b might have died

c may die

EXERCISE 10

Translate the story:

Чилли осторожно подошел к самому краю и заглянул в яму. На дне лежала рысь, свернувшись клубочком. Даже сейчас она казалась огромной и пугающей. Должно быть, она устала метаться, лишилась последних сил и заснула. Чилли гавкнул, но рысь даже не пошевелилась. Собаки растерялись. Они не могли оставить живое существо, пусть даже и такое страшное, умирать в этой яме. Более того, если есть такая ловушка, значит, есть и те, кто охотится на огромных животных и значит, рано или поздно они явятся за своей добычей.

Рысь немного пошевелилась и подняла голову. Она уже не казалась такой страшной. Большая, красивая кошка с печальными глазами. Она посмотрела вверх на собак и вдруг мяукнула, как обычная домашняя кошечка. Рысь попробовала встать, но не смогла. Возможно, она поранила лапу при падении или возможно, просто чувствовала себя совершенно обессиленной. Надо было торопиться и помочь ей выбраться наружу.

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Unit 5
Adjectives

Adjectives are words that describe nouns and we use them before nouns, or following linking verbs such as appear, be, become, get, feel, look, seem:

The huge lynx looked miserable.

Some adjectives are never used before the noun; they are only used after the linking verb: ashamed Kit

Kit was ashamed.

These include a number of “a” words like afraid, alike, alive, alone, ashamed, asleep, awake, and aware.

One exception to the “adjectives before nouns” rule is that adjectives come after words like something, anybody, nothing:

The dogs wish they were somewhere safe.

The adjectives chief, elder, eldest, former, indoor, inner, main, only, outdoor, outer, principal, upper can only be used before nouns.

Kit turned out to be the eldest kitten in his family.

And a few adjectives ending in -able/-ible can also be used before or after nouns:

They are ready for any imaginable situation. They are ready for any situation imaginable.

EXERCISE 1

Find the proper adjective and put it into the correct place in the sentence (before or after words in bold type): alike, alone, alive, mere, afraid of, quiet, imaginable, possible, living, prone to, sheer, frightening

1 Chilly wasn’t the lynx at all.

2 Kit and the lynx are in many ways.

3 Kudjo is in the middle of nowhere now.

4 Kit is trouble. After all, he is a kid.

5 It was luck to find Kit in that pit.

6 There’s nothing in the forest anymore.

7 The lynx told the friends about crazy scientists doing experiments on animals that are.

8 After hearing it, everybody wanted to escape somewhere.

9 It was the only solution.

WORD ORDER OF ADJECTIVES

In general, the correct order of adjectives in English is this:

Opinion (nice, ugly, lovely)

Size / Weight (small, large, heavy)

Age (old, new, ancient)

Shape (round, rectangular, square)

Colour (red, dark-blue, turquoise)

Origin /Nationality (Japanese, Russian, English)

Material (stone, fur, paper)

Purpose/Type (hiking, writing, summer)

It’s rare to use more than 3 adjectives. But the adjectives you do use should follow this order, at least, approximately.

When there are two or more colour adjectives, use and: yellow and orange fur.

We usually don’t use and with other adjectives if they are before a noun: a huge brown lynx

However, we can use and with other adjectives if they are after the noun: The lynx was huge and brown.

When there are two or more adjectives of the same category, the more general adjective goes before the more specific one: a nice friendly lynx

EXERCISE 2

Put the adjectives in the correct order (use commas or and if necessary):

1 Luna has a /denim/ big/ shabby/ old/ backpack.

2 The lynx’s tail is /strong/ beautiful/.

3 They looked into the /trap/ deep/ scary/ hole.

4 The dogs found a /leather/ red/ stylish/ brick/ collar and immediately recognised it.

5 There was /plastic/ square/ lunch/ one/ old/ box with a /beef/ tiny/ sausage in it.

6 The lynx led them to a /enormous/ frightening/ cold/ cave covered with /mossy/ big/ brown/ old/ green/ branches.

7 The night was so /hot/ humid/ that the dogs were happy to relax in the coolness of the cave.

8 They were /sleepy/ exhausted/ depressed/.

9 Kit saw /white/ several/ big/ clean/ bones and shrank back from the sight of them.

EXERCISE 3

Describe the following using at least 3 adjectives in the correct order:

1 your favourite bag

2 an item of the clothes you are wearing now

3 your phone

4 your bedroom

5 your pen

6 your today’s breakfast

7 your town

8 your favourite cup

9 Kit

COMPOUND ADJECTIVES

Some adjectives have more than one word. For example: a blue-eyed lynx

They are called compound adjectives. Compound adjectives often include participles: a smart-looking dog, a much-hated scientist.

When they are before a noun, we use a hyphen – but when they are after a noun and the verb «to be» or another linking verb, we do not:

Akita-Inu is a long-legged dog. Akita-Inu is long legged.

The exception is with adverbs ending in —LY. These do not require a hyphen: This evil scientist is widely known all over the forest.

There is an additional detail with compound adjectives involving numbers – when they are before the noun, we do not include —s:

The lynx has a ten-month-old kitten. Her kitten is ten months old.

EXERCISE 4

Make compound adjectives to describe the following:

For example,

a dog who loves having fun – a fun-loving dog

1 a pit which is monitored closely —

2 a trip of two days —

3 a knife that cuts sharply —

4 a cave that has dim lights —

5 an adventure that never ends —

6 bones as white as snow —

7 a lynx with a kind heart —

8 a kitten with yellow eyes —

9 roast meat that makes your mouth water —

GRADABLE AND NON-GRADABLE ADJECTIVES

Some adjectives in English are gradable, which means you can have different degrees of that quality. For example, Chilly can be: a little angry / rather angry / very angry / extremely angry

Other adjectives are non-gradable, meaning we can’t have different degrees of that quality. There are three types of non-gradable adjectives: extreme adjectives, absolute adjectives and classifying adjectives.

Extreme adjectives are words that mean extremely + adjective – for example, furious means extremely angry. Chilly can’t be a little bit furious or very furious – because the word furious itself automatically means extremely angry.

Another type of non-gradable adjective is called an absolute adjective. These are words that are either «yes or no.» For example, the word dead – you can’t be a little bit dead or very dead – either YES, you are dead, or NO, you’re not dead.

A third type of non-gradable adjective is a classifying adjective, which describes what type or category something is: for example, a leather collar – we can’t have a slightly leather collar or a very leather collar.

EXERCISE 5

Which one is the extreme adjective?

1 a bad / terrible day

2 the hungry / starving dogs

3 the exhausted / tired kitten

Which one is the absolute adjective?

4 a mysterious / unknown place

5 an essential / important part

6 an ideal / useful plan

Which one is the classifying adjective?

7 a pine tree / a tall tree

8 a dangerous animal / a carnivorous animal

9 a big cat / a predatory cat

DIFFERENCES IN USING GRADABLE

AND NON-GRADABLE ADJECTIVES

1 No comparatives / superlatives with non-gradable adjectives

With regular adjectives, we can use comparatives and superlatives: Cuba is big. Luna is bigger. The lynx is the biggest animal of them all.

With non-gradable (extreme, absolute and classifying) adjectives, we usually don’t use comparatives and superlatives. It’s impossible for one dead person to be deader than another, or for one wooden stick to be the most wooden.

2 Use different adverbs with non-gradable adjectives.

With gradable adjectives, we can use adverbs of degree like these:

Small degree: a little, a bit, slightly

Middle degree: fairly, rather, somewhat

Large degree: very, extremely, immensely, intensely, hugely, quite

With non-gradable adjectives, we CANNOT use these adverbs. However, we can use the adverbs absolutely, completely, and utterly to give additional emphasis to extreme adjectives:

The lynx was absolutely furious.The dogs were completely exhausted.

The words pretty and really can be used with gradable adjectives and with extreme adjectives, but not the absolute or classifying ones:

This cave was pretty dirty. (gradable)

This cave was pretty filthy. (extreme)

Other words that can be used with some non-gradable (absolute and extreme) adjectives include totally, nearly/almost, virtually, and quite: He was nearly dead.

With classifying adjectives, we can sometimes use the words entirely, completely, fully, largely, and mainly to say that all or most of the things fall into that category:

The lynx’s food is mainly organic.

EXERCISE 6

Complete 4 of the sentences with the word very, and the other 5 with one of the following words: entirely / almost / absolutely / practically / completely. Sometimes more than one answer is possible.

1 The lynx’s explanation was ***** clear and the dogs understood everything perfectly.

2 Chilly was ***** thrilled when the lynx kissed him and called him «my hero’.

3 However, Cuba responded to the situation in a ***** immature way

4 The whole experience seemed ***** humiliating to her.

5 The roast meat had some ***** strong side effects – everybody fell fast asleep.

6 They were ***** convinced that in the cave they were ***** safe.

7 Everybody was so exhausted that it was ***** impossible to move anywhere.

8 The lynx’s suggestion of spending the night in the cave sounded ***** clever.

9 Only Luna was ***** certain that something was wrong.

REGULAR COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE FORMS

Adjectives of one syllable add – (e) r/– (e) st to form their comparative and superlative forms: fast-faster-the fastest

Adjectives of two syllables ending in -Iy, -y, -w also add -er/-est: rainy-rainier-the rainiest

Adjectives of two or more syllables take more/most: dangerous-more dangerous – the most dangerous

There are a few exceptions to these rules:

often – more/most often

fun – more/most fun

real – more/most real

bored – more/most bored

pleased – more/most pleased

worn- more/most worn

Certain adjectives form their comparative and superlative in both ways, either by adding -er/-est to the positive form or with more/most: clever, common, cruel, friendly, gentle, narrow, pleasant, polite, shallow, simple, stupid, quiet.

For example, simple – simpler – simplest or simple – more simple – the most simple

A few common adjectives have irregular forms:

good – better – best

bad – worse – worst

far – further – furthest

When we compare two things in a sentence, we use the word than: The lynx is stronger than Luna.

Before comparatives, we can use these words to express the degree of difference:

small difference — a bit / a little / slightly

great difference — a lot / much / far

The lynx is far bigger than Kit.

We can use the structure The (comparative), the (comparative) when one quality depends on another: The more the dogs talked to the lynx, the friendlier they became.

We use superlatives when comparing three or more things, or when comparing one thing to all other things.

Remember that you must always use the with superlatives: The lynx is the biggest animal they have ever communicated with.

Before superlatives, we can use these words to express the degree of difference: easily, by far, altogether, simply, by a long way:

The dogs ate what was altogether the yummiest supper they had ever had.

If two things are equal, then we use as… as or just as… as with a positive form of the adjective:

The lynx is just as friendly as a home cat.

And for multiples of a quantity, we can say twice (the number of times) as… as…

But she is three times as big as a home cat.

EXERCISE 7

Put the adjectives in brackets into the correct form and add any necessary words:

It is what the lynx thinks of her new friends:

1 Kit is ten times /small/ me, but he is /brave/ a lion.

2 Chilly seems to be /courageous/ all of us.

3 I wonder why /long/ I communicate with Chilly, /jealous/ Luna becomes.

4 Cuba is far /modest/ Luna. I’d rather say, she is simply /shrinking/ in her ways.

5 Chilly is by far /clever/ dog I’ve ever met. He is even /clever/ me!

6 Kit is altogether /funny/ ha-ha. He is /fun/ to have around!

7 I wish I could be /beautiful/ Luna. On the other hand, I am a lot /graceful/ her.

8 I know nothing about Kudjo but everybody says he is by far /good/of /good/.

9 They say he is /bold/ a lion, /strong/ an ox, /smart/ paint and /handsome/ a young Greek god.

EXERCISE 8

Fill the gaps in the story with missing words:

As far as you have already *****, the friends were able to get the lynx out of the ***** and she led them to a scary huge *****, where she lived. The lynx behaved so ***** and hospitable that Kit and the dogs stopped feeling ***** and relaxed next to this big wild *****. ***** more ***** they spent together, ***** matier they *****. Chilly narrated their ***** in search of Kudjo. The lynx told them everything she ***** about a crazy ***** who had made such ***** all around the forest to catch wild animals for his weird *****. At this point Chilly remembered about Kudjo’s *****, which they had found near the pit, and he shuddered at the thought that Kudjo could have been ***** by that insane scientist. The friends were ***** exhausted to think about further steps ***** make and fell asleep immediately after ***** by far ***** yummiest supper they had ***** had.

EXERCISE 9

Find and correct 12 mistakes in the sentences:

1 After waking up at dawn, the dogs and Kit couldn’t recognize the cave. It looked a lot more lighter and cosier than during the night.

2 The lynx herself looked by far prettier, weaker and smaller than before. Fear takes molehills for mountains.

3 They thanked the lynx for her hospitality and most delicious meat they had ever eaten.

4 The lynx laughed and explained it by the fact that they were very starving, which made even the most simple dish taste absolutely moreish.

5 Kit woke up last and when he joined the dogs, everybody noticed him wearing Kudjo’s leather brick red massive collar on his body.

6 On the one hand, it was an absolutely good sign that they had been going in the right direction, but on the other hand, it made them worry more about Kudjo, who might have been trapped by a scientist so mad as a hatter.

7 They were thinking of taking farer action when suddenly the lynx offered her help.

8 She insisted on going with the friends because she knew the place far gooder than them and could lead them to the underground laboratory.

9 Everybody except Luna was absolutely happy to have such a large fearless companion.

EXERCISE 10

Choose the correct option:

1 The kitten is ***** the lynx but they became very good friends, which made Luna feel jealous.

a a few times smaller than

b few times smaller

c a few times as small as

2 ***** friends the lynx and Kit became, ***** Luna looked.

a The closer / the gloomier

b The more close / the more gloomy

c Than closer / than gloomier

3 Chilly has tried to convince Luna that the lynx is ***** animal they have ever met.

a the wild most gracious

b the most gracious wild

c most gracious wild

4 ***** Chilly was, *****Luna sounded.

a Than more convincing / more angrily

b More convincing / more angry

c The more convincing / the angrier

5 Cuba wasn’t ***** to have such a new member of their team, but she didn’t show it.

a very fascinated

b absolutely fascinated

c extremely fascinated

6 She found ***** piece of puzzle in the lynx’s cave but has had no chance to tell her friends about it yet.

a an old little dirty

b a dirty little old

c a dirty old little

7 The group of friends left the cave at dawn and headed for a ***** mountain, at whose foot the laboratory was hidden.

a huge dark grey and brown

b dark huge grey and brown

c huge dark grey brown

8 It took them several hours to get to the mountain and everybody was *****.

a very tired and hungry

b absolutely tired and hungry

c very exhausted and starving

9 Cuba’s feet were killing her and she lay down on ***** grass and refused to move *****.

a cool emerald green / further

b cool green emerald / farer

c emerald green cool / farther

EXERCISE 11

Translate the story:

Все настолько выдохлись, что никто не возражал, когда Рысь предложила немного отдохнуть, прежде чем пытаться проникнуть в лабораторию.

Чилли и Кит (как настоящие мужчины) отправились на поиски воды и какой-нибудь еды, а Луна, Куба и Рысь остались на лужайке возле подножья горы.

Вблизи гора казалась абсолютно невероятной – совершенно гладкая, без какой-либо растительности, похожая больше на башню, чем на скалу. Она была нереально красива, переливалась всеми оттенками серого и притягивала к себе своей прохладой. Трудно было представить, что где-то внутри пряталось настоящее зло в лице безумного ученого.

Это было странно еще и потому, что рядом с горой собаки совсем не ощущали никакую угрозу, наоборот, от нее исходило какое-то спокойствие и безмятежность.

Когда Чилли и Кит вернулись с рюкзаком полным грибов и орехов, собаки уже крепко спали, спрятавшись в высокой траве. Рыси нигде не было видно…

(продолжение следует)

Unit 6
Adverbs

The main difference between adverbs and adjectives is that adjectives are used to describe nouns while adverbs are used to describe verbs, participles, adjectives, other adverbs or whole sentences: The view was incredible. It was incredibly picturesque.

We can say adjectives answer the question what kind? and adverbs answer the questions how? or in what way? (adverbs of manner) where? (adverbs of place), when? (adverbs of time), how much/to what extent? (adverbs of degree) or how often (adverbs of frequency). There are also sentence adverbs (probably, maybe, etc.) and relative adverbs (where, why, when).

A lynx is a (what kind?) graceful animal. adjective

It moves (how?) gracefully. Adverb

Remember that we use adjectives (NOT ADVERBS) after some verbs, especially be, become, appear, look, feel, seem, smell, sound, taste etc.

EXERCISE 1

Complete each sentence using a word from the box. Sometimes you need the adjective and sometimes the adverb:

1 When the dogs weren’t able to find the lynx anywhere around, they found her behaviour strangely / strange.

2 They were really / real fed up with all the recent / recently mysteries and decided not to look for the lynx.

3 Kit didn’t look happy / happily about it but he didn’t say anything.

4 Their lunch break was unexpectedly / unexpected long and it was getting dark / darkly so quick / quickly that the team moved to the mountain.

5 In the evening sun the mount looked even more mysterious / mysteriously and magnificent / magnificently.

6 When Luna touched it carefully / careful, she yelped with surprise – it felt freezing / freezingly cold.

7 The dogs went around the mountain cautiously / cautious but didn’t find any slit or crack to get into.

8 Feeling confused / confusedly, the friends sat at the foot of this mount-tower to give it a good / well think.

9 At this moment the lynx suddenly / sudden popped up out of nowhere.

10 She looked calm / calmly as if she hadn’t disappeared at all.

FORMING ADVERBS

A lot of adjectives can be turned into adverbs by adding the ending —LY: bad – badly, perfect – perfectly, sudden – suddenly

For adjectives that already end in —Y, we change the y to i: angry – angrily, happy – happily

For adjectives ending in -IC, we add -ally: drastic – drastically, frantic – frantically

For adjectives that end in —LE, we change the e to y: subtle – subtly, terrible – terribly

But for other adjectives ending in —E, we keep the e: rude – rudely, brave – bravely

If an adjective already ends in -LY ((elderly, fatherly, friendly, lively, lonely, lovely, motherly, silly, ugly, etc) we don’t double -LY, we usually say in a ***** way/manner/fashion:

The lynx behaved in a friendly way. She spoke in a lively manner.

If adjectives end in —ED, we usually can’t add —LY, so again we use either the structure in a ***** way or a preposition (mostly in or from) and a related noun: Luna and Cuba lay down in an exhausted way. They lay down from exhaustion.

Some adjectives ending in —ED can become adverbs with —LY: excitedly, hurriedly, repeatedly, unexpectedly, supposedly, confusedly

As for adjectives ending in —ING, many of these can be turned into adverbs: The lynx was charmingly graceful.

Some adverbs have the same form as adjectives: big, cheap*, clean*, clear*, close*, cold, daily, dead, dear*, deep, direct, dirty, early, easy, extra, far, fast, fine*, free, hard, high, hourly, inside, kindly, last, late, long, loud*, low, monthly, past, quick*, quiet*, right, slow*, straight, sure, thin*, thick, tight, weekly, wide, wrong, yearly etc.

The adverbs with an asterisk (*) can be found with -Iy without a difference in meaning, but then they are more formal:

The dogs walked slow (informal) Kit walked slowly. (formal)

EXERCISE 2

Form adverbs from the following adjectives:

1 delicate —

2 logical —

3 serious —

4 cosy —

5 dramatic —

6 horrible —

7 scarce —

8 lovely —

9 quiet —

10 ugly —

ADVERBS WITH TWO FORMS

Some adverbs have two forms – one with -LY and one without – which actually have different meanings.

deep — a long way down

deeply — greatly

easy — gently and slowly

easily — without difficulty

free — without cost

freely — willingly

hard — intently / with effort

hardly — scarcely

high — at / to a high level

highly — very much

last – after all other

lastly — finally

late — not early

lately — recently

near — close

nearly — almost

short — suddenly / off target

shortly — soon

wide — fully / off target

widely — to a large extent

EXERCISE 3

Underline the correct form of the adverb:

1 Seeing the lynx, the friends could hardly/hard believe their eyes – they thought they would never meet her again.

2 They’d kept looking at her widely/wide-eyed until Kit jumped up and gave her a hug.

3 Everyone felt more relaxed after that and the talk flowed freely/free.

4 The lynx tried to explain where she had been and, lastly/last, she claimed to have found the way to the laboratory.

5 The dogs near/nearly believed the lynx as she was speaking very convincingly.

6 Shortly/short after her story the friends decided to rely on the lynx and followed her to the laboratory.

7 Surprisingly, the tunnel leading to the laboratory was nearly/near the place where they were.

8 It went deep/deeply down under the mountain and seemed to be very long and rather narrow.

9 The dogs had to try very hard/hardly to crawl through the tunnel.

10 It was only the kitten who did it quite easily/easy and very fast/fastly.

WORD ORDER OF ADVERBS

Adverbs usually go after verbs but before adjectives, other adverbs and participles. They can be used in front, mid or end position in a sentence. The position of adverbs in the sentence depends on what type of adverb it is. Remember – never place an adverb between a verb and its object:

The lynx carefully looked around and followed the dogs slowly.

The lynx carefully looked around and followed slowly the dogs.

Adverbs of manner go before the main verb, after the auxiliary verb or at the end of a sentence:

Kit easily went through the tunnel. He was eagerly waiting for the dogs when he heard a noise and mewed loudly.

Mid-position gives less emphasis to the adverb while end-position gives more emphasis to it.

Adverbs of manner not ending in —ly (like well, hard, and fast) can only be used in the end position: Hearing him mew, the dogs crawled fast.

ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY

Adverbs of definite frequency include words like daily, weekly, every year, last week, etc. These can go in the front-position or end-position (more common): The lynx told them the tunnel had appeared last month.

The single-word adverbs of frequency cannot go in the front-position.

Adverbs of indefinite frequency include words like often, usually, frequently, occasionally, sometimes, rarely, always, never, finally, eventually, and soon. Always and never go in the mid-position, before the verb: She never went there alone. The others can go in various positions: Occasionally she heard some noises coming from that place. She occasionally heard some noises coming from that place. She heard some noises coming from that place occasionally.

Adverbs of place (downstairs, outside, nearby, south/southward, towards, backwards, and everywhere) usually go in end-position or mid-position immediately after the verb:

Once the lynx saw the glass shatter and the pieces fly everywhere.

When there is more than one adverb in the sentence, their usual order is manner – place – time.

She observed the tunnel carefully from the tree every night.

When there is a verb of movement such as go, come or leave in the sentence, then the adverbs come in the following order:

place – manner – time: Once the lynx saw a scientist with a red dog rush to the tunnel suddenly at midnight.

Adverbs of time usually go at the end of the sentence, however, they can go in the front position to emphasise the time. When there is more than one time adverb, we usually put the more specific ones before the more general ones (time – day – date – year).

Kudjo was born at 5 am on Monday, January 28, 2015.

CONNECTING AND COMMENTING ADVERBS

Connecting adverbs show the relationship between events or ideas: however, anyway, then, next, similarly, additionally, furthermore, otherwise, etc.

Commenting adverbs show us the speaker’s attitude or opinion about the sentence: fortunately, surprisingly, stupidly, personally, honestly, etc.

Both of these usually go in any position but the front-position is the most common: The lynx was sure that the red dog was Kudjo. Honestly, not everybody believed her. However, Kit found Kudjo’s collar nearby.

ADVERBS OF CERTAINTY

These are adverbs like definitely, certainly, clearly, obviously, probably, maybe, and perhaps.

Maybe and perhaps usually go in the front-position: Perhaps, Kudjo is still in the laboratory.

Other adverbs of certainty usually go in the mid-position – before the verb, except in the case of the verb «to be,» when they are placed afterwards. The dogs should definitely get there to check it.

EXERCISE 4

Put each adverb in the right position in the sentence. Occasionally, more than one correct answer is possible:

1 Luna didn’t want to follow the lynx, but she couldn’t imagine Kit being without her. (frankly, anywhere, in the tunnel)

2 the dogs must have made a mistake when they got so (obviously, into the tunnel, carelessly)

3 Everybody had been silent while crawling until they heard Kit mew. (totally, aloud, way ahead)

4 They were certain that Kit had met somebody. (absolutely, definitely, on his way)

5 Chilly barked to warn this somebody against doing any harm to the kitten. (immediately, rather, aggressively)

6 Luna and Cuba roared to support Chilly. (at the same moment, really, threateningly)

7 the lynx didn’t make any sound and turned to silence Chilly. (surprisingly, moreover, short)

8 the dogs got to the final point of their tiresome tunnel journey. (at last, nearly, rather)

9 had the dogs taken the last turn when they found themselves in a big room. (hardly, finally, quite)

10 There was Kit trying to open a metal door, which looked as if it had been used. (hard, hardly, for ages)

COMPARISONS

The Comparative and Superlative forms of adverbs are formed in the same way as those of adjectives:

adverbs having the same forms as their adjectives add -er/-est: fast – faster – fastest

early drops -y and adds -ier/-iest: earlier – earliest

two syllable or compound adverbs (adjectives + -ly) take more/most adjectives + -ly: patiently – more patiently – most patiently

Irregular forms are:

well – better – best

badly – worse – worst

many, much, a lot – more – most

little – less – least

far – further – furthest

With superlative adverbs, we can use the or zero article if we compare one person or thing with other people or things.

Kit ran (the) fastest.

However, sometimes we compare a person or thing in one situation with the same person or thing in a different situation. In this case, when the superlative adjective or adverb is later in the sentence, we usually don’t use the: Chilly runs fastest in emergencies.

Note that it is impossible to have comparatives or superlatives of certain adverbs, especially those of time (e.g. daily, yesterday, then), place (e.g. there, up, down), and degree (e.g. very, just, too).

EXERCISE 5

Put the adverb in the correct form and guess who it is: Kudjo, Chilly, Cuba, Luna, Kit or the lynx

1 This animal has read by far /many/ books.

2 This animal moves /gracefully/ of all the friends.

3 This animal gets into trouble /often/.

4 This animal acts /bravely/ when Kudjo is nowhere nearby.

5 This animal takes care of Kit /affectionately/ of all the dogs.

6 This animal speaks /little/ of all the friends.

7 This animal behaves /oddly/.

8 This animal takes decisions by far /resourcefully/ of all the dogs.

9 This animal thinks /quickly/ when there is no Kudjo nearby.

10 This animal behaves by far /courageously/.

EXERCISE 6

Put the adverb in brackets in comparative or superlative degree and explain what the proverbs mean:

1 Action speaks (loud) than words.

2 If you buy (cheaply), you pay (dearly).

3 If you want to go (quickly), go alone. If you want to go (far), go together.

4 (little) said, (soon) mended.

5 The (hard) you work, the luckier you get.

6 He laughs (well) who laughs (late).

7 Honey catches (many) flies than vinegar.

8 The (much) things change, the (much) they stay the same.

9 Absence makes the heart grow (fond).

10 If you cannot live (long), live (deep).

TOO AND ENOUGH

The word too implies excess – more of a certain quality than necessary. Too comes before an adjective or an adverb in a sentence: too + adjective/adverb + to infinitive

The dogs thought they’d arrived too late to help Kudjo.

The word enough means sufficient. Enough comes after an adjective or adverb but before a noun.

adjective/adverb + enough} + to-infinitive

enough + noun

This place was big enough to let the dogs get together.

There was enough room for everyone.

EXERCISE 7

Choose the correct adjective/adverb for each sentence and add too or enough either before or after the word to complete the sentence: strong, brave, exhausted, long, spacious, hard, shocked, agitated, sophisticated, strong and sharp

1 The place where the friends found themselves was ***** to get together and discuss further steps.

2 Kit tried to say something about the strange noise he had heard, but the dogs were ***** to listen to him.

3 At first, the friends tried to open the metal door all together, but it was ***** for them to open it.

4 The door was solid as a rock and the dogs were not ***** to bash it open.

5 The only possible way to get out was to unlock it. But the padlock was ***** for the dogs to slip it.

6 Having tried for several hours to open the door, the dogs were ***** to do anything and just fell asleep.

7 Everybody was sleeping like a log when Kit woke up and tried to undo the lock on his own. His claws were ***** to get inside the lock.

8 The kitten’s claws turned out to be ***** to slinky the lock.

9 When everybody woke up, they were ***** to say anything. The door was wide open. There was no Kit anywhere.

10 He was ***** to go further alone.

QUITE – FAIRLY – RATHER – PRETTY

Quite (= fairly, to some degree) is used in favourable comments: Kit is quite clever for his age.

Quite also means completely. It is used with adverbs, verbs and certain adjectives such as: alone, amazing, brilliant, certain, dead, dreadful, different, exhausted, extraordinary, false, good, horrible, impossible, perfect, ridiculous, right, sure, true, useless, etc.

The dogs were quite exhausted. (completely exhausted).

Rather is used in unfavourable comments: It was a rather tough day. It is also used in favourable comments when it means “to an unusual degree’: The end of the trip was rather successful. (It was more successful than the dogs expected.)

Rather is also used with comparative degree: The dogs were rather more relaxed after sleep.

Fairly and pretty are synonymous with quite and rather.

Quite is used before a/an.: Kit is quite a smart kitten.

Rather is used before or after a/an: It was a rather tough experience. It was rather a tough experience.

Fairly and pretty are used after a: The lynx seemed to be a fairly/pretty good friend.

EXERCISE 8

Underline the correct item (sometimes both options are possible):

1 Luna was rather/quite angry with Kit because he had run away quite/pretty alone again.

2 Moreover, Luna is quite/rather more bad-tempered in the mornings.

3 While all the dogs were quite/rather happy with the opportunity of going further, Luna was rather/fairly gloomy worrying about her pet.

4 Chilly was quite/fairly certain that everything would be fine with Kit, as usual.

5 He tried to calm Luna down by saying that Kit is quite a/a quite clever kitten, who knows quite/rather perfectly what to do in emergencies.

6 Finally, the friends managed rather/pretty hard to persuade Luna to continue going and got through the door.

7 The door was rather/a rather small and the lynx had to duck to get through it.

8 Surprisingly, the corridor turned out to be rather/fairly wide and high, so the friends could go quite/rather comfortably.

9 The only problem was that the corridor was rather/quite dark, which made it quite/pretty impossible to go fast.

10 After a couple of hours the dogs were quite/pretty sure that they had been going around the mountain all the time.

EXERCISE 9

Fill the gaps in the story with missing words:

At the point the dogs realised they had ***** going round in a circle, they bumped into Kit, who was ***** and speaking to somebody excitedly. The dogs could ***** believe their ears and eyes – there was ***** lying in a kind of wooden cage. He looked ***** but happy at the same time. Of course, everybody was flurried and couldn’t help ***** interrupting each other.

After calming down the friends tried ***** to break the cage and at this moment Kudjo suddenly saw the ***** hiding cowardly behind the dogs. Never before had the friends ***** Kudjo so furious! He roared absolutely ***** at the lynx and made such an incredibly ***** effort to attack her that broke the *****. The lynx was rather ***** than the dogs, who seemed deeply ***** by Kudjo’s behaviour, so she was able to make a quick get-away. After ***** the cage Kudjo was quite exhausted to follow her and lay down ***** to his friends and closed his eyes. He looked ***** worn-out. Luna immediately took out a bottle with ***** and poured it right into his *****. Everybody could hardly breathe with ***** anxiety. Kudjo opened his eyes very ***** and said that a piece of meat would make a miracle as well. After such words the friends sighed with ***** relief and gave him a ***** hug.

EXERCISE 10

Find and correct 15 mistakes in the sentences:

1 The story that Kudjo told his friends sounded absolutely unbelievably.

2 Everything started that night when last Chilly saw Kudjo following the blue glowing ball into the middle of nowhere.

3 Actually, at that time Kudjo hadn’t got very far, not farer than a kilometre from the car until he tripped over something and fell down into a very huge pit.

4 Having tried quiet hard to get out of the trap, Kudjo started barking as loud as he could, but nobody seemed to hear him.

5 Feeling very helpless, Kudjo lay down to sleep on a very enormous pile of leaves, which, actually, had helped cushion his fall.

6 The morning came with somebody’s loudly purring above. He looked up and saw a pretty huge wild cat watching him close.

7 The lynx looked nicely and friendly and helped him get out of the trap.

8 She told him the story about a crazy scientist and promised to take him to his underground secret laboratory.

9 Before going there, she suggested having breakfast in her cave near and Kudjo agreed wholehearted to follow her.

10 In the cave while having a hearty breakfast, openly Kudjo told her everything about the curse attached to Luna’s family, the ghost of Luna’s great-great-great-great-great grandmother and his plan to break that curse.

EXERCISE 11

Choose the correct option:

1 Leaving the cave, the lynx wanted Kudjo to follow her *****, but he stopped to look around, feeling something *****.

a immediate / suspicious

b immediately / suspicious

c immediately / suspiciously

2 He couldn’t help feeling *****.

a quitely strange

b quite strange

c quite strangely

3 Kudjo had ***** feeling that he knew this place very well.

a quite a fun

b a quite funny

c quite a funny

4 He kept looking around *****, but couldn’t understand what the place was.

a very carefully

b rather carefully

c very careful

5 Finally, he realised it was the smell that made him feel *****.

a rather weird

b very weird

c rather weirdly

6 Everything around smelt ***** as if he were in his own garden with his friends.

a extremely nicely and pleasantly

b absolutely nice and pleasant

c extremely nice and pleasant

7 ***** he smelt everything, ***** he wanted to be with his friends.

a Longer / more desperately

b The longer / the more desperate

c The longer / the more desperately

8 When Kudjo told the lynx about his feelings, she said she was ***** his friends must have been caught by the insane scientist.

a quite certainly

b very certain

c quite certain

9 After such words Kudjo became ***** to find that lab.

a far more determinedly

b far more determined

c by far more determined

10 He thought ***** about himself at that moment.

a most little

b leastest

c least

EXERCISE 12

Translate the story:

Теперь уже Куджо торопил рысь. Ему очень хотелось как можно быстрее попасть в эту самую лабораторию и убедиться, что ни одни из его друзей не попал туда. Куджо шел за рысью и думал откуда появляются безумцы, готовые ставить самые ужасные опыты на животных и почему их никто не останавливает. Он размышлял о том, как сразу после того, как он уничтожит лабораторию и выпустит животных на свободу, он еще раз попытается найти приведение пра-пра-пра-пра-пра-пра бабушки Луны, чтобы отдать ей недостающий кусочек пазла. Он был почти уверен, что это положит конец семейному проклятию и все опять будут жить беззаботно и весело. Стоп! А где же кусочек пазла? Куджо был абсолютно уверен, что он был все время с ним. Он выглядел настолько потрясенным и расстроенным, что рысь тоже разволновалась. Она постаралась успокоить Куджо, уверяя его, что он скорее всего оставил этот кусочек в пещере или в яме и они непременно его найдут, сразу же после разгрома лаборатории. Рысь звучала убедительно и Куджо немного успокоился. Тем более, что они уже подошли к горе, под которой скрывалась лаборатория. Гора выглядела не очень естественно, казалось даже, что она сделана из какого-то сплава камня с металлом. Они вползли через какой-то ход, который привел их в небольшую комнату с огромной клеткой….

(продолжение следует)

Unit 7
Nouns

COUNTABLE – UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

Countable nouns are things that can be counted. Most nouns in English are countable: three dogs, two ghosts, etc.

These nouns can have plural forms and be used with a, an, some, any, every, each, all, several, many, plenty of, a (large, great, good) number of, a couple of, a lot of, lots of, few, a few, fewer, the fewest, both, either, neither, none of.

Uncountable (or mass) nouns are things we typically view as a single entity. We cannot count them or divide them into separate elements: air, information, etc.

They cannot be plural. informations, advices, happinesses,

There are some exceptions. Sometimes you can hear: I’ve had two coffees. It is just a short way of saying two cups of coffee.

Another exception is to make the uncountable noun plural while talking about several different types of an uncountable noun:

Luna loves all the meats. (meats = types of meat)

Other nouns that can be used this way include cheese, oil, metal, wine, food, bread, and fruit.

You can’t use a/an with uncountable nouns but you can use some, any, plenty of, this, that, all, much, a great/good deal of, an amount of, a lot of, lots of, little, a little, less, the least, none of.

The most common uncountable nouns are:

Mass nouns: fluids: blood, milk, water, etc., solids: bread, ice, iron, etc., gases: air, smoke, steam, etc., particles: dust, hair, salt, etc..

Subjects of study: History, Literature, Psychology, etc.

Languages: English, German, Spanish, etc.

Games: chess, football, tennis, etc.

Diseases: flu, measles, mumps, etc.

Natural phenomena: fog, sunshine, thunder, etc.

Some abstract nouns: accommodation, advice, housework, etc.

Collective nouns: baggage, furniture, money, etc.

EXERCISE 1

Write (C) if the noun is countable or (U) if it is uncountable:

1 mineral water

2 toast

3 silver

4 Geography

5 weather

6 coin

7 advice

8 backpack

9 knowledge

10 traffic

11 tunnel

QUANTIFYING UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

Many uncountable nouns can be made countable by adding a partitive: a slice of bread, a strand of hair, a drop of water, a bar of soap, an ear of corn, a blade of grass, a ray of light, a coat of paint, a glass/bottle of water/lemonade/iced tea, a jar of jam, a can of Coke, a tin of salmon, a sheet of paper, a box of chocolates, a packet of cookies, a slice/loaf of bread, a pot of yoghurt, a pot/cup of tea, a kilo/pound of meat, a rasher of bacon, a tube of toothpaste, a bit/piece of chalk, a bag of rice, a pair of trousers, a game of football, a (n) item /piece of news, a carton of milk, a block of wood, a flash/bolt of lightning, a clap/peal of thunder, etc. With most nouns like information, advice, equipment, and furniture, we can use the word piece: Kudjo is wise enough to give a lot of pieces of advice.

EXERCISE 2

Make the following uncountable nouns plural in all possible ways, as in the example:

luck – two strokes/pieces/bits of luck

1 information – a couple of

2 beef – three

3 thunder – several

4 buckwheat – a few

5 toast – four

6 blood – a few

7 honey- many

8 luggage – five

9 bacon – ten

10 soda – plenty of

11 soup – a good number of

There are some nouns that can be either countable or uncountable depending on the situation. Here are some common nouns of this kind:

1. paper

countable – a document or a newspaper

uncountable — paper in general

2. time

countable — an occasion

uncountable — the general concept of time

3. experience

countable — an event

uncountable — experience in general

4. room

countable – a part of a flat or a house

uncountable — space in general

5. light

countable — a source of light

uncountable — light in general

6. glass

countable — a container for drinking

uncountable — material

7. hair

countable – a strand of hair

uncountable – all the hair on someone’s head

8. iron

countable — an appliance for ironing clothes

uncountable — material

9. wood

countable – a forest

uncountable – material

10. work

countable — a creation

uncountable – process

11. chicken

countable – an animal

uncountable – food

12. memory

countable – a specific memory of a past event

uncountable — the ability to remember

13. beauty

countable — a beautiful woman

uncountable — the quality that makes someone or something attractive

14. business

countable — a company

uncountable — the activity of making, buying or selling things

15. danger

countable – a person or thing that can harm or kill

uncountable — the possibility of something very bad happening

16. failure

countable — a person or thing that is not successful

uncountable — lack of success

17. freedom

countable — the right to do what you want to do

uncountable — the state of being free

18. gossip

countable — a person who likes telling and hearing gossip

uncountable — untrue stories about other people’s private lives

19. jam

сountable — many vehicles stuck together in traffic, or a difficult situation

uncountable – sweet food that’s made from fruit

20. land

countable — a country or region

uncountable – the earth’s surface

21. nature

countable – the basic character of a person or an animal

uncountable – all living things and their habitats

22. noise

countable — a particular sound

uncountable — loud or unpleasant sound

23. toast

countable — the act of drinking to someone’s happiness

uncountable — sliced bread browned in a toaster

24. youth

countable — a young man

uncountable — the time in someone’s life when they’re young

EXERCISE 3

Complete the sentences using the noun in bold in the form of a countable (in plural or with the article a) or an uncountable noun:

1 experience

a Kudjo had never had such ***** before he got to the hidden lab.

b Kudjo had no ***** in communicating with scientists, needless to say, with insane ones.

2 danger

a Frankly speaking, he was smelling ***** there, but he couldn’t turn back.

b If only he had known that real ***** was next to him!

3 light

a There was no ***** underground, which was going to make the walk scarier.

b Fortunately, the lynx had little *****, which was enough to let them see where to go.

4 noise

a The most striking was ***** because even the noise of the forest couldn’t be heard underground.

b Suddenly Kudjo heard strange ***** as if a metal object clattered on the stone floor.

5 gossip

a The lynx pretended not to hear anything and started telling Kudjo some ***** about the scientist quite loudly.

b Kudjo didn’t expect her to be such *****.

6 room

a Listening to her rumours, Kudjo didn’t notice that their journey had ended up in spacious *****.

b There was enough ***** for more than ten Kudjos.

7 wood

a The only object in this room was a large cage made of *****.

b It reminded Kudjo about the trap in ***** and made him a bit suspicious.

8 freedom

a No sooner had he thought it was a right place to deprive animals of ***** than the lynx pushed him into the cage and locked it.

b Who gave her such ***** to do what she likes?

9 time

a Kudjo tried to get out of the cage dozens of *****, in vain.

b To his horror he realised that he didn’t know how much ***** he would have to spend locked in.

10 failure

a He cursed himself for his stupid gullibility, which brought his plans to *****.

b He couldn’t help admitting being complete *****.

11 memory

a He tried to evoke recent ***** so as to understand where he had made a mistake but he couldn’t.

b He blamed his poor ***** and fell asleep in despair.

PLURAL NOUNS

Some nouns are always plural and take a plural verb: archives, belongings, movables, clothes, congratulations, thanks, brains (intellect), nuptials, tidings, contents, earnings, goods, outskirts, premises, remains, surroundings, arms, ashes (of a dead cremated body), barracks, headquarters, (good) looks, riches, stairs, wages, breadcrumbs, leftovers, dregs, eatables, (dis) likes, blues, hysterics, condolences, creeps, jim-jams, shenanigans, guts (bowels, courage), pains (take pains), mores, odds, whereabouts, smithereens etc.

Some nouns for things with two parts (often clothes, tools or equipment) also end in -s and are always plural. They include: pyjamas, trousers, jeans, dungarees, overalls, pants, shorts, tights, scissors, pliers, tongs, nippers, tweezers, binoculars, glasses, spectacles, goggles, headphones, earphones, scales, compasses, braces, handcuffs, etc.

Some nouns can have a different meaning when they are in the plural:

air — atmosphere

airs – arrogance, self-importance

custom — a habit, tradition

customs – the place at a port, airport, or border where travellers’ bags are looked at to find out if any goods are being carried illegally

force – strength or energy

forces — an organised military force

spectacle – an unusual or unexpected event or situation that attracts attention

spectacles – glasses

Kudjo’s spectacles make him look serious and clever.

manner – a way or method

manners – polite or well-bred social behaviour

compass — a device for finding direction

compasses – a V-shaped device that is used for drawing circles

scale — a set of numbers, amounts, etc., used to measure or compare the level of something

scales – a device for weighing things or people

people — men, women, and children

peoples — nations

EXERCISE 4

Find the proper noun and put it into the correct gap: blues, eatables, guts, surroundings, smithereens, brains, pliers, belongings, nippers, odds, pains, creeps

1 Kudjo didn’t sleep well because he felt nervous in unfamiliar *****.

2 He wished he could be slugging now in his bed in his room with all his favourite ***** around.

3 He regretted not having any tools with him, especially, the*****or *****to break the lock on the cage.

4 His own helplessness gave him the***** and he even started whining.

5 Suddenly he heard a kind of hissing and immediately imagined a big snake slithering towards him. It gave him such ***** that he couldn’t help roaring at the darkness.

6 The hissing stopped but the dead silence was now far scarier than any sound and Kudjo didn’t have the ***** to keep his eyes open.

7 Suddenly he felt something soft touching him. He took great *****to look through his half-closed eyes.

8 What he saw made him think that the fear had scrambled his *****and he had hallucinations.

9 There was Kit sitting in front of him and smiling happily. The next moment the kitten jumped onto the cage hoping to smash it to *****.

10 Having realised that it was no use doing it, Kit sighed heavily, sat down next to the cage and offered some ***** to Kudjo.

11 At this very moment Chilly, Luna and Cuba turned up. Against all the *****, the friends were together.

THE PLURAL OF NOUNS

Nouns are made plural by adding:

– s to the noun: a pit – pits

– es to nouns ending in -s, -ss, -x, -ch, -sh, -z or -zz: a bush – bushes

– ies to nouns ending in consonant + y: an enemy – enemies

but -s to nouns ending in vowel + y: day – days

– es to nouns ending in consonant + o: a hero – heroes

but -s to nouns ending in vowel + o: a boy – boys, abbreviations:

photograph /a photo – photos, musical instruments: a piano – pianos and proper nouns: Filipino – Filipinos.

Some nouns ending in -o can take either -es or -s: a buffalo – buffaloes / buffalos, a mosquito – mosquitoes / mosquitos, a volcano – volcanoes / volcanos, a zero – zeroes / zeros, a flamingo – flamingoes / flamingos, a tornado – tornadoes / tornados, etc.

– ves to some nouns ending in -f/-fe: wolf – wolves, life – lives

There are some exceptions: a belief – beliefs, a chief – chiefs, a cliff – cliffs, a dwarf – dwarfs, a handkerchief – handkerchiefs, a hoof – hoofs/hooves, a roof – roofs, a safe – safes, a giraffe – giraffes

Some nouns of Greek or Latin origin form their plural by adding Greek or Latin suffixes.

– us to -i: an alumnus – alumni, a syllabus – syllabi, a cactus – cacti, a fungus – fungi, a nucleus – nuclei

– is to -es: a crisis – crises, an analysis – analyses, a diagnosis – diagnoses, a thesis – theses

– on to -a: a criterion – criteria, a phenomenon – phenomena

Compound nouns form their plural by adding -s/es:

to the second noun if the compound consists of two nouns: a backpack – backpacks

but with man or woman both parts take plural: a woman-doctor – women-doctors

to the noun if the compound consists of an adjective and a noun: a swimming pool – swimming pools

to the first noun if the compound consists of two nouns connected by a preposition or to the noun if the compound has only one noun: a brother-at-arms – brothers-at-arms

at the end of the compound if it does not include any nouns: a breakthrough – breakthroughs

There are nouns (mostly game-birds, wild animals and most kinds of fish) with a common singular and plural form: a deer – deer, a fish – fish, a sheep – sheep, a trout – trout, a salmon – salmon, a spacecraft – spacecraft, an aircraft – aircraft, a hovercraft – hovercraft, a means – means, a species – species

There are irregular nouns: a man – men, a woman – women, an ox – oxen, a goose – geese, a child – children, a tooth – teeth, a foot – feet, a mouse – mice, a louse – lice

EXERCISE 5

Change the nouns in brackets into the plural where possible:

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