Rules in Grammar Rule # 7 and Rule # 8

1. Rules
in Grammar
Group 4
Lara, Fatima
Lebumfacil, Vincent
Lerasan, Shenelle
Llaban, Darla Kate
Maglente, Leah

2. Objectives
• To analyze the basic structures of
the English language.
• To use the basic structures of the
English language correctly.

3. Introduction
English grammar is a set of rules that describe the structure of the language.
We use grammar all the time when we speak or write. The study of
grammar is necessary for the correct use of the English language; especially,
the written language since the written language is more formal than the
spoken language. The spoken language or literary dialogue puts up with
many grammar mistakes that are part of a person, or cultural group, or
part of the written language of the author of an article or literary work.
Grammar is the structural foundation of our ability to express ourselves. The
more we are aware of how it works, the more we can monitor the meaning
and effectiveness of the way we and others use language. It can help foster
precision, detect ambiguity, and exploit the richness of expression available in
English.

4. Language
• Is the shared knowledge of sounds, words,
meanings and grammatical rules that people use
to send and receive messages.
• Language is source of communication with the
help of which we can communicate.
• Along with our extreme reliance on the social
learning of culture, the ability to communicate
complex and precise information is the main
mental capability that makes humanity distinct
from other animals.

5. Definition of linguistics
• Linguistics can be defined as the
scientific or systematic study of
language. It is a science in the sense
that it scientifically studies the rules,
systems and principles of human
languages.

6. What is noun?
Noun is a word
use to name a
person, animal,
place, thing and
abstract idea.
Nouns are usually
the first word
which small
children learn.

13. Rule # 7
• Some nouns in plural form can be
singular or plural in meaning.
• There is a small group of nouns that
exist only in the plural form, for
example:
clothes, pants, scissors, shorts, thanks,
trousers, barracks, odds, pliers, tongs,
tactics and wages are plural in meaning.

15. Rule # 7
• These nouns do not exist in the singular
form and are usually described as "plural-
only nouns".
• We use them with plural verbs and
plural pronouns,
*for example:
• My trousers are dirty. I need to wash them.
• We cannot use them with numbers.

16. Plural-Only Nouns with Two Parts
• Many plural-only nouns
are tools or items of clothing that have
two parts (like trousers, which have two
legs).
*Clothing
- panties, boxers, briefs, tights,
jeans, pants, shorts, trousers

17. Plural-Only Nouns with Two Parts
* Tools
• headphones
• pliers, scissors, tongs, tweezers
• binoculars, glasses, goggles, sunglasses
• Because the above examples have two parts, we
can refer to them as "pair of" or "pairs of" to
quantify them.

18. Plural-Only Nouns with Two Parts
- To talk about one item we can say a pair of, one
pair of, my pair of, this pair of etc. To specify
more than one item we can say two pairs of,
three pairs of etc.
Examples:
• I need a new pair of sunglasses.
• You can get rid of that old pair of headphones.
• I'd like to buy one pair of boxers and two pairs
of jeans.

19. Some nouns may be plural-only with one meaning
and singular/plural with other meanings.
For example
the plural-only noun glasses means a pair of lenses that we wear to
help us see better.
Do not confuse with the words:
glass, glasses (countable noun): a container for drinking from.
I'd like two glasses of orange juice please.
glass (uncountable noun): transparent material used for windows,
screens etc.
Be careful not to break the glass.

20. Other Plural-Only Nouns
• earnings
• belongings, clothes
• congratulations, thanks
• outskirts, premises, surroundings
- In these example sentences notice the use of plural verbs and plural
pronouns:
• Her thanks were clearly sincere.
• If your clothes are wet you can dry them upstairs.
• The outskirts of Washington are really pretty and they stretch for
miles.

21. Nouns with plural forms and a singular meaning.
• Certain nouns have a plural form (ending in -s) but a
singular meaning: news; linguistics, measles,
Mathematics, Physics, shingles, mumps, rickets;
dominoes, billiards, darts etc.: are singular in
meaning.
Examples:
- What's the news?
- Shingles is caused by the same virus as chicken pox.
- Billiards is a game which connects mathematics and
football.

22. Nouns with plural forms and a singular meaning.
• Nouns ending in -ics can either take a singular (if they are
considered as the name of a science) or a plural verb (if they
express a specific application of the science):
- Mathematics was never easy for Tom.
- The teacher told him that his mathematics were well below the
standard. (his understanding of mathematics or his results)
- Rhetorics was one of the seven free arts.
- His rhetorics were doing more harm to our case than any mistake
we had ever made. (his way of expressing ideas)
- Acoustics is the study of sounds.
- Poor classroom acoustics create a negative learning environment
for many students. (audibility in the classroom)

23. Rule # 8
• The number of some foreign plurals is confusing.
Example
* The media is confused. (Incorrect since media is
plural, medium is the singular form.)
- The media are confused.(Correct)
• The phenomena fascinates people. (In correct since
phenomena is plural; phenomenon is the singular
form.)
- These phenomena fascinate people. (Correct)

24. Rule # 8
• Foreign Plural forms
- These nouns have irregular plural forms. They
often make their plurals according to the rules of
the language they were taken from (e.g. Latin or
Greek). Sometimes there is more than one plural
form possible or these forms have different
meanings. Always use a good dictionary when using
foreign plurals.

25. Foreign Plural Forms
Singular Plural
Appendix appendixes/appendices
axis axes
basis bases
cactus cactuses/cacti
criterion criteria
datum data
diagnosis diagnoses
index indexes/indices
medium mediums/media
oasis oases
octopus octopuses/octopi
phenomenon phenomena
syllabus syllabuses/syllabi
thesis theses