Skills Enhancement Seminar

Eastern Visayas State UniversityAugust 14, 2011 Ma. Jessica T. Alalid& Mark Fullmer Skills Enhancement Seminar

Mary Jessica T. Alalid Leyte Normal University Eastern Visayas State University

Singulars & Plurals Workshop Pretest: Complete the following 10 questions in 10 minutes.

1. Which is the correct plural for the word “mouse”? (a) mouses (c) mice (b) mouse (d) mices 2. Which is a correct singular-plural pair? (a) thief--thiefs (c) tomato--tomatos (b) roof--rooves (d) hero--heroes 3. Which has a correctly pluralized noun? (a) The two ladys were late. (c) The two sandwiches were eaten. (b) The two womans were late. (d) The two cupes of water. 4. Which of the following sentences uses an incorrect plural noun? (a) I broke my one pair of glasses and now I cannot see. (b) After the murder, many polices arrived on the scene of the incident. (c) A number of people attended the fiesta in V&G subdivision. (d) There was much furniture at the store.

5. Some words are never pluralized in English. Which of these is always singular? (a) appendix (c) information (b) media (d) data 6. Which sentence is grammatically correct? (a) My scissors is not cutting correctly. (c) Physics is my favorite subject. (b) Economics are a difficult subject. (d) The United States are very influential. 7. Some words have 2 acceptable plurals. Which includes an unacceptable form? (a) appendixes/appendices (c) syllabuses/syllabi (b) indexes/indices (d) criterions/criteria

8. Which incorrectly pluralizes a word that should be singular? (a) Reading will teach many facts. (c) Reading will improve your vocabularies. (b) If you read, you will gain new ideas. (d) Reading will teach you more words. 9. What is the correct plural for the word “phenomenon”? (a) phenomenones (c) phenomena (b) phenomenons (d) phenomenas 10. For words ending in “y”, what is the correct rule? (a) Add “s” after all words ending in “y” (b) Add “ies” after all words ending in “y” (c) Add “s” after words ending in vowel + y, but replace “y” with –ies for words ending in consonant + y (d) Add “s” after words ending in consonant + y, but replace “y” with –ies for words ending in vowel + y

Topic 1: Plural Nouns • There are 4 main ways to construct plural in English. There is a pattern, but there are also exceptions to the rule. • word + s • word + es • Word - y + ies • Word - f + ves

Word + s (*most common*)

Word + es Sibilants include “ch” “ts” “zh” “z” “x” “s” Add “es” after sibilants. (What are sibilants?)

For words ending in “y” Rule 1: After consonant + y, replace with “ies” Rule 2: After vowel + y, add “s”

For words ending “f” or “fe”

For words ending in “o”

Activity: Pluralize these words 1. overlay 2. sanctuary 3. trench 4. trinket 5. reef 6. leaf 7. interruption 8. information overlays sanctuaries trenches trinkets reefs leaves interruptions information

For some words, you never add “s” (Uncountable nouns)

Topic 2: Singular Nouns Some nouns are singular even though they refer to plural things

Some nouns end in “s” but use a singular verb

Activity: is the sentence correct? In the past decade, scientists have made many progresses in the field of genomic research. • In the past decade, scientists have made much progressin the field of genomic research.

Activity: is the sentence correct? The furniture at the stores were very expensive. The furniture at the stores was very expensive. The items of furniture at the stores were very expensive.

Topic 3: Irregular plurals

Topic 4: Foreign Plurals Words in English borrowed from other languages often don’t follow the above rules. You have to memorize them.

Foreign Plurals with “es” ending Singular: Analysis Axis Basis Diagnosis Plural: Analyses Axes Bases Diagnoses

Foreign Plurals with “a” ending Singular: Datum Medium Criterion Phenomenon Plural: Data Media Criteria Phenomena

Foreign Pluralswith 2 forms Plural: Syllabi/Syllabuses Indices/Indexes Appendixes/Appendices Singular: Syllabus Index Appendix

Plurals/Singulars: Post-Test Complete the following 10 questions in 8 minutes

1. Which is the correct plural for the word “goose”? (a) gooses (b) gooves(c)geese (d) geeses 2. Which is the correct singular-plural pair? (a) reef—reeves (b) potato—potatos (c) hoof—hoofs (d) thief—thieves 3. Which of the following sentences uses an incorrect plural noun? (a) The dean approved all the syllabi. (b) The scientist computed much data. (c) Winston had many homeworks from school. (d) I learned many facts today. 4. Which has a correctly pluralized noun? (a) Three childrens (b) Four photoes (c) Two citys (d) Five boxes

5. Which of these is always singular? (a) hair (b) knowledge (c) history (d) metonymy 6. Which sentence is grammatically correct? (a) Every day, the news are depressing. (b) The Philippines are a collection of over 7,000 islands. (c) There are many unexplained phenomena. (d) The book has three appendix. 7. Some words have 2 acceptable plurals. Which includes an unacceptable form? (a) appendixes/appendices (c) syllabuses/syllabi (b) indexes/indices (d) criterions/criteria

8. Which is incorrect? • Economics is a difficult subject • The nightly news was watched by 5.7 million viewers. (c) The informations about the LET were overwhelming. (d) I went to many beaches during the summer. 9. What is the correct way to pluralize “basis”? • bases (b) basises (c) basices (d) basis 10. Which is an incorrect plural? (a) boys (b) convoies (c) quandries (d) appendices

Idiom LET Questions What is an idiom? Cat Rain Dog “It’s raining cats and dogs.” An idiom is a phrase where the words together have a meaning different from the dictionary definition of individual words.

“A penny saved is a penny earned” Explanation: This means we shouldn’t spend or waste money but instead save it. Sample sentence:“I decided to watch a movie at home instead of at the mall. After all, a penny saved is a penny earned.”

Idioms Post-test Complete the following 10 questions in 8 minutes. Tips for LET pronunciation questions 1. The right answer will never be a literal translation. Eliminate answers that are too close to the original idiom. 2. If you are not sure of the meaning of the idiom, make an educated guess. Ask yourself: is the idiom optimistic or pessimistic? Does the idiom sound good or bad? Then match it with an answer that has the same feeling.

What do the following underlined idioms mean? 1. We have waited long enough. It’s time to face the music. • face the speaker (b) strive for excellence (c) listen to music (d) begin a difficult challenge 2. He learned to swim through trial by fire. • a court case (b) learning by doing (c) an easy experience (d) an impossible task 3. The acid test for a good friendship is respect. • difficult exam (b) sign of friendship (c) best way to judge (d) a lie-detector test

4. The banker made some risky investments. Which idiom describes her action? • A dark horse (b) a ballpark figure (c) playing with fire (d) a drop in the bucket 5. The actress had her day in the sun. • moment of fame (b) most popular movie (c) a beautiful tan (d) significant achievement 6. The government made across the board changes. (a) educational (b) systemwide (c) international (d) dangerous 7. I have no preference. The ball is in your court. • your hometown (b) your hobby (c) your choice (d) your possession

8. Don’t move to Manila. You’ll be opening a whole can of worms. • spoiled food (b) a place of opportunity (c) many problems (d) many people 9. Only an act of God can save us from the typhoon now. (a) belief in religion (b) humans are unable to save (c) dramatic action (d) a terrible accident 10. Watch out for changes in the law next year. • be prepared (b) applies to children (c) do not believe (d) be happy

Skills Enhancement Seminar