When these words refer to LOCATION:

"on" = "on top of", "on the front surface of" or "traveling for"

Ex. 1: "The cat is on the chair."Ex. 2: "I watched the movie on TV."Ex. 3: "He is on a business trip to Mexico."

"in" = "inside of" or "attending"

Ex. 1: "The dirty dishes are in the dishwasher."Ex. 2: "Mr. Jones is in a meeting right now."

"at" = "near", "visiting", or it is used for events / entertainment (indoors or outdoors), or for locations where the purpose is more important than the building

Ex. 1: "The horses were at the trough, eating."Ex. 2: "We had dinner at my friend's house."Ex. 3: "John is at the movies right now."Ex. 4: "I saw Mary at the post office."

With locations that have a specific purpose, you use "at" when you are talking about the purpose and "inside" when you need to talk about the building itself:

Ex. 1: "The children are at school right now." (purpose, i.e., education)Ex. 2: "There was a fire inside the school today." (the building structure)

In English, there are always exceptions to the rule. But these are good, general guidelines that should help with many of your problems of usage.

By Erik 6 month(s) ago 0   comment(s)  - Add a comment

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It is advisable to use IN when you are indicating a position for spaces with limitations. IN

is used to convey that something is contained or inside. For example,

- The bee is in the beehive.

- The mail in the mailbox.

- The file is in the disk.

Alternatively, ON is used to denote a position for surfaces or a position just above or

outside an area. Example,

- The book is placed on the table.

- Charlie sat on the stool.

- Jane had a tattoo on his arm.

IN is used to denote a moment enclosed in time. It is therefore used with other parts of

the day, with months, with years, with seasons. Some examples of these are,

- I like to drink coffee in the morning.

- AndreaÃs wedding is on October.

- A lot of terrorist activities happened in 2001.

- The flowers will bloom in spring.

ON is used with days and dates. Also, it may be used in special parts of the day and

special holidays. Distinctively, ON is used when you do not enclose something — time

included ñ it is with relative specificity.

- I’ll see you on Friday!

- My retirement is effective on June 23.

- The event happened on the morning of January 14.

- We look for colourful eggs on Easter Sunday.

ON is used with street names. Conversely, IN is used with names of cities, towns,

provinces, states, and countries.

- I’m on Elm street, meet me here Freddie.

- Jiu-jitsu is big in Brazil.

- There are so many celebrities in California!

There are some special considerations of using these two prepositions and it would be

best to learn them from experience.

Summary:

1. IN is used when you are referring something enclosed by limitations while using IN is

relatively specific and does not denote anything enclosed.

2. IN is used to denote a location of something inside a space while on generally,

denotes something above a surface or within proximity.

3. Whether it is used with place or time, normally, IN is general as compared to the

specific implications of ON.

T h e I n t r a n s i t i v e V e r b

Recognize an intransitive verb when you see one.

An intransitive verb has two characteristics. First, it is an action verb, expressing a doable activity like arrive, go, lie, sneeze, sit, die, etc. Second, unlike a transitive verb, it will not have adirect object receiving the action.

Here are some examples of intransitive verbs:

Huffing and puffing, we arrived at the classroom door with only seven

seconds to spare.

Arrived = intransitive verb.

James went to the campus cafe for a steaming bowl of squid eyeball stew.

Went = intransitive verb.

To escape the midday sun, the cats lie in the shade under our cars.

Lie = intransitive verb.

Around fresh ground pepper, Sheryl sneezes with violence.

Sneezes = intransitive verb.

In the evenings, Glenda sits on the front porch to admire her immaculate

lawn.

Sits = intransitive verb.

Flipped on its back, the beetle that Clara soaked with insecticide  dies under

the refrigerator.

Dies = intransitive verb.

Realize that many verbs can be both transitive and intransitive.

An action verb with a direct object is transitive while an action verb with no direct object is intransitive. Some verbs, such as arrive, go, lie, sneeze, sit, and die, are always intransitive; it is impossible for a direct object to follow.

Other action verbs, however, can be transitive or intransitive, depending on what follows in the sentence. Compare these examples:

Because of blood sugar problems, Rosa always eats before leaving for

school.

Eats = intransitive verb.

If there is no leftover pizza, Rosa usually eats whole-grain cereal.

Eats = transitive verb; cereal = direct object.

During cross-country practice, Damien runs over hills, through fields, across

the river, and along the highway.

Runs = intransitive verb.

In the spring, Damien will run his first marathon.

Will run = transitive verb; marathon = direct object.

Main verbs have meaning on their own (unlike helping verbs). There are thousands of main verbs, and we can classify them in several ways:

Transitive and intransitive verbs

A transitive verb takes a direct object: Somebody killed the President. An intransitive verb does not have a direct object:verbs, like speak, can be transitive or intransitive. Look at these examples:

transitive:

I saw an elephant. We are watching TV.

He speaks English.

intransitive:

He has arrived. John goes to school.

She speaks fast.

Transitive Verbs

My sister broke the window.

In the first sentence, the word that comes after the verb, window, is the object of the verb. We say that window is the object because it receives the action of the verb. All objects of verbs receive the action of the verb.

Here are some more examples of transitive verbs with their objects:

o I sold some books.o I took the bus.o I bought a radio.o I understood her question.o I wrote a letter.

When a verb has an object that receives the action of the verb, we say that the verb is transitive. Transitive verbs are more common on the TOEFL than intransitive verbs, but many students get confused about intransitive verbs.

I baked some cookies.I rode the bicycle.I moved the chair.I stitched a quilt.

Let's look at the other kind of verb now.

Intransitive Verbs

My father cried.

We can see in this sentence that there is no word after cried. In other words, there is no object for the word, so there isthe action of the word. Think about it--what could we say? My father cried something. Is there a noun that we could use after

could probably think of one or two nouns, like tears, or even, good-bye, but normally, we do not use the verb

In this case we say that this verb is intransitive because it does not have an object after it.

Here are some more examples of intransitive verbs:

o I slept.o I coughed.o The glass fell.o My cat ran.o The sun rose.

We should notice that in each case, the subject is doing the action of the verb and nothing receives the action.

The batter hit the ball.The bird sang.I walked to the park today.Is walked transitive or intransitive? Think about the rules. Since walked has words coming after it, the verb must be transitive, right? WRONG! The phrase to the park is a prepositional phrase and today is an adverb. There is no object receiving the action of the verb walked so the verb is intransitive.

I laughed.I cried.The book fell.The horse galloped.The sun set.

Linking verbs

A linking verb does not have much meaning in itself. It "links" the subject to what is said about the subject. Usually, a linking verb shows equality (=) or a change to a different state or place (>). Linking verbs are always intransitive (but not all intransitive verbs are linking verbs).

Mary is a teacher. (mary = teacher) Tara is beautiful. (tara = beautiful)

That sounds interesting. (that = interesting)

The sky became dark. (the sky > dark)

The bread has gone bad. (bread > bad)

Dynamic and stative verbs

Some verbs describe action. They are called "dynamic", and can be used with continuous tenses. Other verbs describe state (non-action, a situation). They are called "stative", and cannot normally be used with continuous tenses (though some of them can be used with continuous tenses with a change in meaning).

dynamic verbs (examples):

hit, explode, fight, run, go

stative verbs (examples):

be like, love, prefer, wish

impress, please, surprise

hear, see, sound

belong to, consist of, contain, include, need

appear, resemble, seem

Regular and irregular verbs

This is more a question of vocabulary than of grammar. The only real difference between regular and irregular verbs is that they have different endings for their past tense and past participle forms. For regular verbs, the past tense ending and past participle ending is always the same: -ed. For irregular verbs, the past tense ending and the past participle ending is variable, so it is necessary to learn them by heart.

regular verbs: base, past tense, past participle

look, looked, looked work, worked, worked

irregular verbs: base, past tense, past participle

buy, bought, bought

cut, cut, cut

do, did, done

Here are lists of regular verbs and irregular verbs.

One way to think of regular and irregular verbs is like this: all verbs are irregular and the so-called regular verbs are simply one very large group of irregular verbs.

Often the above divisions can be mixed. For example, one verb could be irregular, transitive and dynamic; another verb could be regular, transitive and stative.

Now check your understanding »

Regular Verbs

English regular verbs change their form very little (unlike irregular verbs). The past tense and past participle of regular verbs end inexample:

work, worked, worked

But you should note the following points:

1. Some verbs can be both regular and irregular, for example:

learn, learned, learnedlearn, learnt, learnt

2. Some verbs change their meaning depending on whether they are regular or irregular, for example "to hang":

Regular hang, hanged, hanged to kill or die, by dropping with a rope around the neck

Irregular hang, hung, hung to fix something (for example, a picture) at the top so that the lower part is free

3. The present tense of some regular verbs is the same as the past tense of some irregular verbs:

Regular found, founded, founded

Irregular find, found, found

Regular Verbs List

Irregular verbs list

Regular Verbs List

There are thousands of regular verbs in English. This is a list of 600 of the more common regular verbs. Note that there are some spelling variations in American English (for example, "practise" becomes "practice" in American English).

Accept allow applaud attach

add

admire

admit

advise

afford

agree

alert

amuse

analyse

announce

annoy

answer

apologise

appear

appreciate

approve

argue

arrange

arrest

arrive

ask

attack

attempt

attend

attract

avoid

 

back

bake

balance

ban

bang

bare

bat

bathe

battle

beam

beg

behave

belong

bleach

bless

blind

blink

blot

blush

boast

boil

bolt

bomb

book

bore

borrow

bounce

bow

box

brake

branch

breathe

bruise

brush

bubble

bump

burn

bury

buzz

 

calculate

call

camp

care

carry

carve

cause

challenge

choke

chop

claim

clap

clean

clear

clip

close

compare

compete

complain

complete

concentrate

concern

confess

confuse

cough

count

cover

crack

crash

crawl

cross

crush

change

charge

chase

cheat

check

cheer

chew

coach

coil

collect

colour

comb

command

communicate

connect

consider

consist

contain

continue

copy

correct

cry

cure

curl

curve

cycle

 

dam

damage

dance

dare

decay

deceive

decide

decorate

delay

delight

deliver

depend

describe

desert

deserve

destroy

detect

develop

disagree

disappear

disapprove

disarm

discover

dislike

divide

double

doubt

drag

drain

dream

dress

drip

drop

drown

drum

dry

dust

 

earn

educate

embarrass

employ

empty

encourage

end

enjoy

enter

entertain

escape

examine

excite

excuse

exercise

exist

expand

expect

explain

explode

extend

 

face fetch flash force

fade

fail

fancy

fasten

fax

fear

fence

file

fill

film

fire

fit

fix

flap

float

flood

flow

flower

fold

follow

fool

form

found

frame

frighten

fry

 

gather

gaze

glow

glue

grab

grate

grease

greet

grin

grip

groan

guarantee

guard

guess

guide

 

hammer

hand

handle

hang

happen

harass

harm

hate

haunt

head

heal

heap

heat

help

hook

hop

hope

hover

hug

hum

hunt

hurry

 

identify

ignore

imagine

impress

improve

include

increase

influence

inform

inject

injure

instruct

intend

interest

interfere

interrupt

introduce

invent

invite

irritate

itch

 

jail

jam

jog

join

joke

judge

juggle

jump 

kick

kill

kiss

kneel

knit

knock

knot

 

label

land

last

laugh

launch

learn

level

license

lick

lie

lighten

like

list

listen

live

load

lock

long

look

love 

man

manage

march

mark

marry

match

mate

matter

measure

meddle

melt

memorise

mend

mess up

milk

mine

miss

mix

moan

moor

mourn

move

muddle

mug

multiply

murder

 

nail

name

need

nest

nod

note

notice

number 

obey

object

observe

obtain

occur

offend

offer

open

order

overflow

owe

own 

pack permit pop prevent

paddle

paint

park

part

pass

paste

pat

pause

peck

pedal

peel

peep

perform

phone

pick

pinch

pine

place

plan

plant

play

please

plug

point

poke

polish

possess

post

pour

practise

pray

preach

precede

prefer

prepare

present

preserve

press

pretend

prick

print

produce

program

promise

protect

provide

pull

pump

punch

puncture

punish

push 

question queue

 

race

radiate

rain

raise

reach

realise

receive

recognise

record

refuse

regret

reign

reject

rejoice

relax

release

rely

remain

remove

repair

repeat

replace

reply

report

reproduce

request

rescue

rhyme

rinse

risk

rob

rock

roll

rot

rub

ruin

reduce

reflect

remember

remind

retire

return

rule

rush 

sack

sail

satisfy

save

saw

scare

scatter

scold

scorch

scrape

scratch

scream

screw

scribble

scrub

seal

search

separate

serve

settle

shade

share

shave

shelter

shiver

shock

shop

shrug

sigh

sign

signal

sin

sip

ski

skip

slap

slip

slow

smash

smell

smile

smoke

snatch

sneeze

sniff

snore

snow

soak

soothe

sound

spare

spark

sparkle

spell

spill

spoil

spot

spray

sprout

squash

squeak

squeal

squeeze

stain

stamp

stare

start

stay

steer

step

stir

stitch

stop

store

strap

strengthen

stretch

strip

stroke

stuff

subtract

succeed

suck

suffer

suggest

suit

supply

support

suppose

surprise

surround

suspect

suspend

switch

 

talk

tame

tap

taste

tease

telephone

tempt

terrify

test

thank

thaw

tick

tickle

tie

time

tip

tire

touch

tour

tow

trace

trade

train

transport

trap

travel

treat

tremble

trick

trip

trot

trouble

trust

try

tug

tumble

turn

twist

type

 

undress

unfasten

unite

unlock

unpack

untidy

use

 

vanish visit

 

wail

wait

walk

wander

want

warm

warn

wash

waste

watch

water

wave

weigh

welcome

whine

whip

whirl

whisper

whistle

wink

wipe

wish

wobble

wonder

work

worry

wrap

wreck

wrestle

wriggle

 

x-ray

 

yawn yell

 

zip zoom

Irregular ve

Irregular Verbs List

This is a list of some irregular verbs in English. Of course, there are many others, but these are the more common irregular verbs.

V1Base Form

V2Past Simple

V3Past Participle

Awake Awoke Awoken

Be was, were Been

Beat Beat Beaten

Become Became Become

Begin Began Begun

Bend Bent Bent

Bet Bet Bet

Bid Bid bid

Bite Bit bitten

Blow Blew blown

Break Broke broken

Bring Brought brought

broadcast Broadcast broadcast

Build Built built

Burn burned/burnt burned/burnt

Buy Bought bought

Catch Caught caught

choose Chose chosen

Come Came come

Cost Cost cost

Cut Cut cut

Dig Dug dug

Do Did done

Draw Drew drawn

dream dreamed/dreamt dreamed/dreamt

Drive Drove driven

Drink Drank drunk

Eat Ate eaten

Fall Fell fallen

Feel Felt felt

Fight Fought fought

Find Found found

Fly Flew flown

forget Forgot forgotten

forgive Forgave forgiven

freeze Froze frozen

Get Got got (sometimes gotten)

Give Gave given

Go Went gone

Grow Grew grown

Hang Hung hung

Have Had had

Hear Heard heard

Hide Hid hidden

Hit Hit hit

Hold Held held

Hurt Hurt hurt

Keep Kept kept

Know Knew known

Lay Laid laid

Lead Led led

Learn learned/learnt learned/learnt

Leave Left left

Lend Lent lent

Let Let let

Lie Lay lain

Lose Lost lost

Make Made made

Mean Meant meant

Meet Met met

Pay Paid paid

Put Put Put

Read Read read

Ride Rode ridden

Ring Rang rung

Rise Rose risen

Run Ran Run

Say Said said

See Saw seen

Sell Sold sold

Send Sent sent

Show Showed showed/shown

Shut Shut shut

Sing Sang sung

Sit Sat Sat

Sleep Slept slept

speak Spoke spoken

spend Spent spent

Stand Stood stood

Swim Swam swum

Take Took taken

Teach Taught taught

Tear Tore torn

Tell Told told

Think Thought thought

Throw Threw thrown

understand understood Understood

Wake Woke Woken

Wear Wore Worn

Win Won Won

Write Wrote Written

You may also like to see this list of common   regular   verbs in English .

Transitive and intransitive verbs worksheet

Verbs that are followed by objects are called transitive verbs. Verbs that are not normally followed by objects are called intransitive verbs.

Name the verbs in the following sentences and state whether they are used transitively or intransitively.

1. Some ants fight fiercely.

2. The explosion sank the ship.

3. He spoke the truth.

4. He spoke loudly.

5. Boil the water.

6. The motorman stopped the train.

7. The horse kicked the boy.

8. The sun rises in the morning.

9. The watchman blew his whistle.

10. The poor widow killed herself.

11. He took shelter under a tree.

12. The birds sang sweetly.

13. The fire burns brightly.

14. Birds fly in the sky.

15. Time heals all wounds.

Answers

1. Intransitive verb – fight; no object

2. Transitive verb – sank; object – the ship

3. Transitive verb – spoke; object – the truth

4. Intransitive verb – spoke; no object

5. Transitive verb – boil; object – the water

6. Transitive verb – stopped; object – the train

7. Transitive verb – kicked; object – the boy

8. Intransitive verb – rises; no object

9. Transitive verb – blew; object – his whistle

10. Transitive verb – killed; object – herself

11. Transitive verb – took; object – shelter

12. Intransitive verb – sang; no object

13. Intransitive verb – burns; no object

14. Intransitive verb – fly; no object

15. Transitive verb – heals; object – all wounds

Teachers and parents may print these worksheets for their students. Click here for a printer-friendly version of this page.

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Preposition Exercises 1

Test your knowledge of the prepositions in / at / to / nothing - showing place and movement. Choose either in, at, to, or nothing and click on the arrow to see you have

answered correctly.

1. He lives          Zielona Gora.

2. She went          home.

3. Piotrek works          Gorzów Wlkp.

4. He went          his friend's house.

5. She arrived          Manchester for the celebrations.

6. I'm going to stay          home this weekend.

7. Joanna works          the hospital.

8. Why don't we go          the movies tonight?

9. I'm going to see Hania          France this summer.

10. I arrived          work early this morning.

11.She came home          early.

12.We stayed          the Mieszko Hotel.

13.They visited          England last summer.

14.She's going to travel          Finland this summer.

15. I'll be          school later today.

 

Preposition Exercises 2

Test you knowledge of the prepositions for / while / during. Choose either for, while or during and click on the arrow to see you have answered correctly.

1. He's been working          three weeks.

2. I fell asleep          the film.

3. Did you see Donata          your holiday?

4. We talked          an hour.

5. He watched TV          I cooked.

Preposition Exercises 3

Test you knowledge of the prepositions in / at / on - showing time and date. Choose either in, at or on and click on the arrow to see you have answered correctly.

1. Let's meet          seven o'clock.

2. He was born          July.

3. I went there          1998.

4. She'll be at work          Thursday.

5. We met          Christmas day.

6. They drove to Barlinek          September 15th.

7. We arrived in this country          September.

8. I love to go shopping          Christmas time.

9. We get up early          the morning.

10.Do you dream          night?

11.What do you like doing          weekends?

12.He's working on his homework          the moment.

13. I lived in Holland          the 1990s.

14. I'll see you          a few weeks.

15.We like going to the cinema          Fridays.

 

Preposition Exercises 4

1 - She wasn't short, she wasn't tall; she was   average height.

2 - What are you going to buy Hania   her birthday?

3 - The police are looking   a tall, black man who was seen standing outside the bank just before the robbery took place.

4 - The teacher asked the class to do the exercise   the bottom of page 12.

5 - As a child I was always ashamed   my parents because they were uneducated.

6 - I was always very good   Geography when I was at school.

7 - My uncle specializes in  .

8 - We arrived   Gorzów at 3.30 in the morning.

9 - I didn't see you   the party on Saturday.

10 - There was a lot of coughing   the performance of Moniusko's 'Fairy Tale' symphony.

11 - He saw her as the most attractive woman the world.

12 - Simon is completely useless  sports.

6.          our stay in London, we visited a lot of museums.

7. What did you do          you were in London?

8. I think I need to study Polish          a few months before I go there.

9. I came up with a great idea          I was thinking about my class.

10.They drove through the countryside          they were staying in France.

11.He was out of work          six months before he found a new job.

12. I broke my finger          I was playing squash.

13.Please, don't interrupt the teacher          he is speaking.

14.Magda broke into tears          the film.

15.Could you hold on          a few moments?

 

Prepositions: In, On, and At (with specific times and places)

The prepositions in, on, and at can be used to indicate time and place. Notice how they are used in the following situations:Preposition Time Place

In Year, Month, In 1999, In December Country, State, City In Japan, In Utah, InTaipei

On Day, Date On Saturday, On May 1 Street On Main Street, On 1st Ave.

At Time At 8:00, At 7:30 Address At 815 East Main Street

In many languages, there is only one preposition for the above situations. In English there are three. Just remember that

indicates the "largest" time or place, and at usually indicates the "smallest" time or place.

Examples:A: Where's your office?

B: In Taipei, Taiwan.

A: Really? What part of Taipei?

B: It's on Chung Shan North Road.

A: I know that area. Where exactly is it?

B: It's at 105 Chung Shan North Road, next to the bookstore.

C: When is the wedding?

D: It's in June.

C: What day?

D: It's on Saturday, the 25th.

C: What time?

D: It starts at 6:00.

Prepositions with articles and locations

When talking about locations, use at to indicate the general vicinity or area, and in to indicate inside the building, enclosed area, etc. For

example:

at the swimming pool (on site) in the swimming pool (in the pool itself i.e. in the water)

at the post office/bank (general) in the post office/bank (inside the building)

at the zoo (visitors, general area) in the zoo (animals in their cages)

at school in the classroom

Sample sentences:

I met my wife at the theater. (while watching a movie)

I spilled my drink in the theater (on the floor of the building)

She works at the library on Wednesdays.

She found a rare coin in the library (building).

Dr. Jones works at the hospital every day.

John was in the hospital for a week with a broken leg.

For school, prison, and church, the is used to indicate the building. No article indicates the general situation. Note the following:

"practice"/situation building

in school (studying, listening to teacher, etc.) in the school (building)

in jail/prison (staying there as a criminal) in the jail/prison (temporary)

in church (praying, listening to a sermon, etc.) in the church (building)

Where's Dad?

in church (attending services) in the church (fixing the windows)

at church at the church

in prison (He committed a crime.) at the prison (visiting his friend)

For Practice: See

At-On-In Used in Time and Dates (from The Internet TESL Journal) Prepositions: At, In and On (from The Internet TESL Journal)

See also:

Grammar: Prepositions and Time Words;Prepositions of Location

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Activities for ESL Students

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a4esl.org

In, At or OnClick the answer button to see the answer.

1. It gets very cold ___ winter.

2. Betty doesn't have a job ___ the moment.

3. The telephone and the doorbell rang ___ the same time.

4. He flew from Japan. He's probably ___ Perth now.

5. Would you like to go out to dinner ___ Friday night?

6. She was tired. She's ___ bed now.

7. Goodbye! I'll see you ___ the morning.

8. Were you ___ Tom's party last night?

9. I'll see you ___ two weeks time.

10.She was born ___ 1961.

11.The doctor will see you ___ 10:00.

12.___ the age of ten I wanted to be a firefighter.

13.My wife gave me a wonderful present ___ my birthday.

14.The coffee is ___ the shelf.

15.My pen is ___ my pencil case.

16.He's gone to work. He's probably ___ work now.

17.He lives ___ Australia.

18.___ my opinion you should buy the blue shirt.

19.___ second thought, the green shirt is nicer.

20. I'll see you ___ Monday.

21. I'll be taking my holiday ___ Christmas this year.

22.Buy some bread and milk ___ your way home.

23.What will you be doing ___ New Year's Eve?

24.___ the end of a course, students usually have a party.

25.The flowers ___ your garden are very beautiful.

26.There were many cars ___ the road today.

27.Tom and Betty always go out to dinner ___ their wedding aniversary.

28.We got up ___ dawn today.

29.Are you doing anything ___ the weekend?

30.We live ___ this address.

Copyright (C) 1997 Douglas Gilbert (dougal@ms15.hinet.net) This quiz is part of the HTML-Only Self-Study Quizzes which is part of Activities for ESL

Students, a project by The Internet TESL Journal.

aha, ahem, ahh, ahoy, alas, arg, aw

B: bam, bingo, blah, boo, bravo, brrr

C: cheers, congratulations

D: dang, drat, darn, duh

E: eek, eh, encore, eureka

F: fiddlesticks

G: gadzooks, gee, gee whiz, golly, goodbye, goodness, good grief, gosh

H: ha-ha, hallelujah, hello, hey, hmm, holy buckets, holy cow, 

holy smokes, hot dog, huh?, humph, hurray

O: oh, oh dear, oh my, oh well, oops, ouch, ow

P: phew, phooey, pooh, pow

R: rats

S: shh, shoo

T: thanks, there, tut-tut

U: uh-huh, uh-oh, ugh

W: wahoo, well, whoa, whoops, wow

Y: yeah, yes, yikes, yippee, yo, yuck

after How till ( or 'til)

although If Unless

as inasmuch   Until

as if in order that When

as long as Lest Whenever

as much as now that Where

as soon as provided (that)   Wherever

as though Since While

because so that

before than

even if that

even though    Though

1. Music soothe me.

2. Billy bake brownies every Halloween.

3. Peggy and Grace is arguing again.

4. Elsie never takes the bus to work.

5. The people who own that house has no insurance.

6. One of these mechanics have a set of jumper cables.

7. Felix and his brother is mending the wings of butterflies.

8. Both of my essays is brilliant.

9. The pulses emitted by a neutron star recurs at precise intervals.

10. One of my uncles dances at the Rainbow Cafe.

11. Phil and Jeremy has gone to the concert.

12. Both of my daughters are professional dancers.

13. Every one of the workers receive the same benefits.

14. There is two gerbils in my bathroom.

15. This box of toys belong in the attic.

16. Music soothes me.

17. Billy bakes brownies every Halloween.

18. Peggy and Grace are arguing again.

19. Correct

20. The people who own that house have no insurance.

21. One of these mechanics has a set of jumper cables.

22. Felix and his brother are mending the wings of butterflies.

23. Both of my essays are brilliant.

24. The pulses emitted by a neutron star recur at precise intervals.

25. Correct

26. Phil and Jeremy have gone to the concert.

27. Correct

28. Every one of the workers receives the same benefits.

29. There are two gerbils in my bathroom.

30. This box of toys belongs in the attic.

 By adding "ss" to the noun for a male (sometimes with other slight changes):

MALE, FEMALE

actor, actress

Baron, Baroness

Count, Countess

Duke, Duchess

Emperor, Empress

giant, giantess

heir, heiress

host, hostess

lion, lioness

manager, manageress

master, mistress

murderer, murderess

priest, priestess

Prince, Princess

poet, poetess

shepherd, shepherdess

steward, stewardess

tiger, tigress

waiter, waitress

2. By use of different words:

MALE, FEMALE

bachelor, spinster

boy, girl

brother, sister

bull, cow

cock, hen

dog, bitch

drake, hen (duck)

father, mother

dog, vixen (fox)

friar, nun

gander, goose

gentleman, lady

stallion, mare

husband, wife

King, Queen

lad, lass

lord, lady

man, woman

monk, nun

nephew, niece

sir, madam

son, daughter

uncle, aunt

3. By prefixing or suffixing a word:

MALE, FEMALE

boy-friend, girl-friend

grandfather, grandmother

great grandfather, great grandmother

grandson, granddaughter

great grandson

great granddaughter

father-in-law, mother-in-law

brother-in-law, sister-in-law

son-in-law, daughter-in-law

landlord, landlady

manservant, maidservant

step-father, step-mother

step-son, step-daughter

Godfather, Godmother

Godson, Goddaughter

ANIMALS

MALE, FEMALE

he, she

tom, tib (cat)

tom, tib (elephant)

bull, cow

boar, sow

buck, roe

ram, ewe

BIRDS

cock, hen

peacock, peahen

4. Foreign feminines:

MALE, FEMALE

fiancé, fiancée

hero, heroine

5. The only cases in which the noun for a male is formed from the noun for a female are:

MALE, FEMALE

bridegroom, bride

widower, widow

MASCULINE FAMININEactorauthorbachelorboyBoy Scoutbravebridegroombrotherconductorcountczardaddaddydukeemperorfatherfather-in-lawfiancegentlemangiantgodgovernorgrandfatherheadmasterheir

ActressauthoressspinstergirlGirl GuideSquawbridesistercomductresscountessczarinamummummyduchessempressmothermother-in-lawfianceeladygiantessgoddessmatrongrandmotherheadmistressheiress

herohosthunterhusbandkingladlandlordlordmanmanagermanservantmastermayormilkmanmillionairemonitormonkMr.murdererNegronephewpapapoetpostmanpostmasterpriestprinceprophetproprietorprotectorshepherdsirsonson-in-lawstep-fatherstep-sonstewardsultantailorunclewaiterwashermanwidowerwizard

heroinehostesshuntresswifequeenlasslandladyladywomanmanageressmaidservantmistressmayoressmilkmaidmillionairessmonitressnunMrs.murderessNegressniecemamapoetesspostwomanpostmistressprietessprincessprophetessproprietressprotectressshepherdessmadamdaughterdaughter-in-lawstep-motherstep-daughterstewardesssultanatailoressauntwaitresswasherwomanwidowwitch

  

CREATURES

MASCULINE FAMININEbilly-goatboarbuck (deer, hare)buck-rabbitbullbull-elephantbull-sealbullockbull-whalecob (swan)cockcockerelcock-pigeoncolt (young horse)dogdrakedronefoxganderhawkhe-bearhe-goathe-wolfjack-assleopardlionpeacockram (sheep)stagstalliontigertom-catturkey-cock

nanny-goatsowdoedoe-rabbitcowcow-elephantcow-sealheifercow-whalepenhenpullethen-pigeonfillybitchduckbeevixengoosebowessshe-bearshe-goatshe-wolfjenny-ass, she-assleopardesslionesspeahenewehindmaretigresstabby-catturkey-hen

 

By adding –s

Singular Plural Singular Plural

ant ants lock locks

bicycle bicycles magazine magazines

cow cows nose noses

daughter daughters orange oranges

egg eggs picture pictures

flower flowers rose roses

grape grapes spoonful spoonfuls

house houses toy toys

jug jugs vase vases

king kings well wells

 

 

By adding -es to nouns ending in –ch, -s, -sh, -ss, and –x

Singular Plural Singular Plural

beach beaches dish dishes

inch inches thrush thrushes

match matches boss bosses

watch watches dress dresses

bus buses glass glasses

octopus octopuses kiss kisses

syllabus syllabuses box boxes

virus viruses fox foxes

brush brushes six sixes

bush bushes tax taxes

 

 

By adding –s to nouns ending in –o

Singular Plural Singular Plural

dynamo dynamos studio studios

photo photos tattoo tattoos

piano pianos torso torsos

radio radios trio trios

solo solos zero zeros

 

 

By adding -–es to nouns ending in –o

Singular Plural Singular Plural

Buffalo buffaloes potato potatoes

Echo echoes tomato tomatoes

Hero heroes tornado tornadoes

mosquito mosquitoes veto vetoes

Negro negroes    

 

 

By adding –s or –es to nouns ending in -o

Singular Plural Singular Plural

Banjo banjos/banjoes memento mementos/mementoes

Archipelago archipelagos/es peccadillo peccadillos/es

Cargo cargos/cargoes lasso lassos/lassoes

Mango mango/mangoes indigo Indigos/indigoes

Motto mottos/mottoes volcano volcanos/volcanoes

 

 

By changing –y into –ies if a noun ends in a consonant before the -y

Singular Plural Singular Plural

Beauty beauties fairy fairies

cherry cherries family families

curry curries nappy nappies

diary diaries spy spies

duty duties theory theories

 

 

By adding –s if there is a vowel before the -y

Singular Plural Singular Plural

chimney chimneys kidney kidneys

donkey donkeys monkey monkeys

guy guys toy toys

jersey jerseys trolley trolleys

key keys valley valleys

 

 

By changing –f or –fe into –ves

Singular Plural Singular Plural

calf calves life lives

elf elves loaf loaves

half halves sheaf sheaves

knife knives thief thieves

leaf leaves wife wives

 

 

By adding –s to nouns ending in –f or –fe

Singular Plural Singular Plural

chef chef handcuff handcuffs

chief chiefs reef reefs

cliff cliffs roof roofs

giraffe Giraffes safe safes

gulf Gulfs sheriff sheriffs

 

 

By adding –s or changing –f into –ves

Singular Plural

dwarf dwarf/dwarves

handkerchief Handkerchiefs/ves

hoof hoof/hooves

scarf scarfs/scarves

turf turfs/turves

wharf wharfs/wharves

 

 

By changing the vowels

Singular Plural Singular Plural

axis Axes goose geese

cactus Cacti louse lice

crisis Crises mouse mice

emporium emporia/emporiums oasis oases

fungus fungus/funguses tooth teeth

 

 

By adding –en or –ren

Singular Plural Singular Plural

ox Oxen child children

 

 

By changing the vowels

Singular Plural Singular Plural

Axis Axes goose geese

Cactus Cacti louse lice

Crisis Crises mouse mice*

Emporium emporia/emporiums oasis oases

Fungus fungi/funguses tooth teeth

* For computer mouse, the plural is mice or mouses.

 

 

The plural and singular forms of some nouns are the same

Advice Advice knowledge knowledge

Aircraft Aircraft music music

Baggage Baggage news News

Cattle Cattle offspring Offspring

Cod Cod scenery Scenery

Deer Deer series Series

Fish fish** sheep Sheep

Furniture Furniture species Species

Information information    

** More than one fish of the same species. Fishes are the plural of more than one species of fish.

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