Tag: first grade

Level 1 is the first workbook in the elementary series. Lessons 13 and 14 teach about the present tense of the verbs do, go, have, and be.

Transcript

A Form-Function English Grammar

Level 1

Lessons 13 and 14

Present Tense Verbs: Do, Go, Have, Be

How do the verbs do, go, have, and be differ from other verbs in the present tense?

Remember again that notional grammars define the verb as a word that names an action or state. Most verbs can show tense, which means most verbs have present tense and past tense forms.

Tense tells when an action or state happened. The present tense can tell what is happening now in the present moment.

In the present tense, most verbs have two forms. The form depends on person and number. English has three persons: first person, second person, and third person. English has two numbers: singular and plural. (See Lesson 9 for a review of grammatical person and Lesson 2 for a review of grammatical number.)

Also remember that most verbs are unmarked in the present tense. Unmarked means that the verb is the same as the verb found in the dictionary. In the present tense, verbs for the first person, second person, and third person plural are unmarked. In the third person singular, most verbs take an -s or ­­-es­ suffix in the present tense.

The verbs do, go, have, and be are among the most common English verbs. All four verbs follow different rules in the third person singular of the present tense.

The verbs do, go, and have can be action verbs.

The verbs do and go take the -es suffix to form the third person singular. Do plus es is does. Go plus es is goes.

For example: I do the dishes. He does his homework. You go home. She goes to school. Notice the does and goes in the third person singular.

The third person singular of the verb have is has. For example: I have a cold. The teacher has a headache. Notice the has in the third person singular.

Remember that most verbs are action verbs. Action verbs tell what someone or something does. Also remember that be is one of the most common verbs in English. But be is not an action verb. Be can be a state of being verb. Be tells what someone or something is. The linguistic term for state of being verb is copular verb. Copular verbs are also referred to as linking verbs. The terms copular verb, state of being verb, and linking verb all mean the same thing.

The verb be is irregular in all persons and numbers in the present tense.

The first person singular of be is am: I am.

The first person plural, second person, and third person plural of be is are: We are, you are, they are.

The third person singular of be is is: He is, she is, it is.

So, how do the verbs do, go, have, and be differ from other verbs in the present tense?

The present tense form of most verbs is unmarked. Most verbs take an -s or ­-es suffix in the third person singular. In the third person singular, the verbs do and go take an -es suffix: does and goes. The third person singular of the verb have is has. The verb be is irregular in all persons and numbers in the present tense: am, is, are.

Now practice your knowledge of the present tense of the verbs do, go, have, and be by completing the exercises in Lessons 13 and 14 of A Form-Function English Grammar: Level 1, pages 52 through 59.

Level 1 is the first workbook in the elementary series. Lessons 11 and 12 teach about the third person singular of the present tense of verbs.

Transcript

A Form-Function English Grammar

Level 1

Lessons 11 and 12

Verbs: Third Person Singular

What is the third person singular of verbs?

Remember again that notional grammars define the verb as a word that names an action or state. Most verbs can show tense, which means most verbs have present tense and past tense forms.

Tense tells when an action or state happened.

English has two tenses: the present tense and the past tense. The present tense can tell what is happening now. The past tense tells what happened before now.

For example, look at the sentences I giggle now and I giggled earlier. In the first sentence, the verb giggle is in the present tense. When do I giggle? I giggle now. In the second sentence, the verb giggled is in the past tense. When did I giggle? I giggled earlier.

The present tense again can tell what is happening now. In the present tense, most verbs have two forms. The form depends on person and number.

Remember that person, or grammatical person, is a grammatical category that distinguishes between participants in a conversation. English has three persons: first person, second person, and third person. (Go back to Lesson 9 for a review of grammatical person.)

Most verbs are unmarked in the present tense. Unmarked means that the verb is the same as the verb found in the dictionary. For example, the verbs jump, play, teach, and cry are unmarked. All these forms are the forms that you look up in the dictionary.

For most persons and numbers in the present tense, the verb is the unmarked form. I jump. You play. We teach. They cry. Notice that the verbs jump, play, teach, and cry do not change in the first person, second person, and third person plural.

In the third person singular, however, verbs take an -s or ­­-es­ suffix. Remember that the third person is not me or you and that singular means “one.” So, the third person singular is one other person or thing that is not me or you.

For example: It jumps. She plays. He teaches. The baby cries. Notice that the verbs jump, play, teach, and cry take an -s or ­­-es­ suffix in the third person singular. Jumps, plays, teaches, cries.

If you know the rules for forming strong plural nouns (go back to lesson 3 for a review), then you already know the rules for forming the third person singular of verbs.

Put an -s suffix on the end of most verbs to form the third person singular of the present tense. For example, the verbs read, sit, throw, and walk all take the -s suffix in the third person singular. I read. He reads. You sit. She sits. We throw. It throws. They walk. The child walks.

Verbs that need an extra syllable in the third person singular of the present tense take the -es suffix. For example, the verbs buzz, kiss, mix, and wash each have one syllable in the singular. Flies buzz. We kiss. I mix. You wash. All four verbs need an extra syllable in the third person singular. The fly buzzes. She kisses. He mixes. She washes.

For verbs that end in the grapheme <y> (not a diagraph that contains <y>), the <y> toggles with <i> and then the -es suffix affixes to the end of the verb. For example, the verbs carry, study, try, and worry all end in the grapheme <y>. The <y> toggles with <i> and then the verb takes the -es suffix. It carries. He studies. She tries. The kid worries.

So, what is the third person singular in the present tense of verbs?

Verbs take an -s or -es suffix to form the third person singular. Put an -s suffix on the end of most verbs to form the third person singular. Put an -es suffix on the end of a verb that needs an extra syllable in the third person singular. For a verb that ends in a consonant and then <y> (the grapheme <y>), change the <y> to an <i> and add the -es suffix.

Now practice your knowledge of the third person singular of present tense verbs by completing the exercises in Lessons 11 and 12 of A Form-Function English Grammar: Level 1, pages 44 through 51.

Level 1 is the first workbook in the elementary series. Lesson 10 teaches about verbs. Verbs are words that name actions and states. Most verbs are action verbs.

Transcript

A Form-Function English Grammar

Level 1

Lesson 10

Verbs

What is a verb?

Notional grammars define the verb as a word that names an action or state.

Eat, read, run, shout, and write are verbs that name actions. You can eat. You can read. You can run. You can shout. You can write. Most verbs are action verbs. Action verbs tell what someone or something does. Be, become, and seem are verbs that name states. State of being verbs tell what someone or something is rather than what something or someone does.

What makes a verb a verb? First, verbs are open class words, which is a fancy way of saying you can easily create a new verb in the language. For example, drink has been in the language since the Old English period. Chillax, which is a blend of chill and relax, was first recorded as a new English verb in the 1990s.

Verbs are also lexical class words, which is a fancy way of saying most verbs are easy to define. For example, drink means to consume a liquid. Chillax means to calm down and hang out.

Most verbs are also easy to picture or act out, which indicates that verbs are lexical words. For example, these images show dance, sleep, think, and touch, all of which are verbs. Dance, sleep, think, and touch are also all action verbs. Action verbs answer the question, “What does someone or something do?”

Look at the sentence The girls dance on the stage. The word dance is a verb. You can ask, “What do the girls do?” The answer is dance. Dance is an action verb that tells what the girls do.

Now look at the sentence A boy sleeps on a chair. The word sleeps is a verb. You can ask, “What does the boy do?” The answer is sleeps. Sleeps is an action verb that tells what the boy does.

Now look at the sentences Those kittens seem friendly and My grandma is a nurse. The words seem and is are verbs. You can ask, “What are those kittens? What is my grandma?” The answers are seem friendly and is a nurse. The state of being verbs seem and is tell what those kittens and my grandma are. Be is a very common verb. Be (and its forms am, is, are, was, and were) is a state of being verb.

In addition to naming actions and states, verbs can also show tense. Tense tells when an action or state happened. English has two tenses: the present tense and the past tense. The present tense can tell what is happening now. The past tense tells what happened before now.

One test for finding verbs is that most verbs have present and past forms. For example, look at the sentences Now the chef cooks some food and Yesterday the chef cooked some food. The words cooks and cooked are verbs. In the first sentence, the verb cooks is in the present tense. What is the chef doing now? The chef cooks some food. In the second sentence, the verb cooked is in the past tense. What did the chef do before now? The chef cooked some food.

Now look at the following list of words. Apple, ride, pick, the, marker, paint. Which words can be verbs?

Put each word in the following sentences as a test: Now I (present tense). Yesterday I (past tense).

Now I apple. Yesterday I appled. No. Now I ride. Yesterday I rode. Yes. Now I pick. Yesterday I picked. Yes. Now I the. Yesterday I theed. No. Now I marker. Yesterday I markered. No. Now I paint. Yesterday I painted. Yes.

The words ride, pick, and paint can be verbs. Ride, pick, and paint have present and past tense forms. All three words also tell what someone or something does, so ride, pick, and paint are also action verbs.

So, what is a verb?

Verbs are words that name actions and states. Most verbs have present and past forms.

Now practice your knowledge of verbs by completing the exercises in Lesson 10 of A Form-Function English Grammar: Level 1, pages 40 through 43.

Level 1 is the first workbook in the elementary series. Lesson 9 teaches about pronouns, specifically personal pronouns. Personal pronouns are pronouns that show person and number.

Transcript

A Form-Function English Grammar

Level 1

Lesson 9

Personal Pronouns

What is a pronoun? What is a personal pronoun?

A pronoun is a word that can replace a noun or noun phrase.

Personal pronouns are one kind of pronoun. Personal pronouns show person and number in addition to taking the place of a noun or noun phrase.

Person, or grammatical person, is a grammatical category that distinguishes between participants in a conversation. English has three persons: first person, second person, and third person.

First person is the speaker or writer. Second person is whoever is being spoken or written to. Third person is everyone else.

The first person personal pronouns are I, me, we, and us. The second person personal pronoun is you. The third person personal pronouns are he, him, she, her, it, they, and them.

Personal pronouns also show number. Remember that singular means “one” and plural means “not one.” I, me, you, he, him, she, her, and it are singular personal pronouns. We, us, you, they, and them are plural personal pronouns. I, me, you, he, him, she, her, and it refer to one person or thing. We, us, you, they, and them refer to “not one,” usually more than one, people or things.

Notice that you can be singular or plural. For example, in the sentence Polly, you are my friend, you refers to one person, Polly, and is singular. In the sentence Polly and Ted, you are my friends, you refers to two people, Polly and Ted, and is plural.

As pronouns, personal pronouns take the place of nouns and noun phrases. For example, look at the sentences My name is Heather and I am a linguist. In the first sentence, I call myself Heather. Heather is my name. But I do not refer to myself as Heather all the time. Instead, I use the personal pronoun I to refer to myself. I takes the place of the noun Heather.

Now look at the sentences The dogs are barking and They are loud. The first sentence contains the noun phrase the dogs. In the second sentence, the personal pronoun they takes the place of the dogs. Instead of repeating the dogs in the second sentence, we can use the pronoun they.

Finally, do not confuse personal pronouns with possessive determiners. The personal pronouns are I, me, you, he, him, she, her, it, we, us, they, and them. The possessive determiners are my, our, your, his, her, its, and their. Although personal pronouns and possessive determiners are related, the two word forms are different. The pronouns I and me are related to the determiner my, but pronouns are not determiners and determiners are not pronouns. Determiners are words that go with nouns. Pronouns take the place of nouns and noun phrases.

So, what is a pronoun? What is a personal pronoun?

Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns and noun phrases.

Personal pronouns are one type of pronoun. Personal pronouns show both number and person. Personal pronouns are singular or plural. Grammatical person is a category that distinguishes between participants in a conversation. Personal pronouns are first person (the speaker or writer), second person (the addressee), or third person (all others). The personal pronouns in English are I, me, you, he, him, she, her, it, we, us, they, and them.

Now practice your knowledge of personal pronouns by completing the exercises in Lesson 9 of A Form-Function English Grammar: Level 1, pages 36 through 39.

Level 1 is the first workbook in the elementary series. Lesson 8 teaches about determiners, specifically numerals and quantifiers. Numerals are determiners that tell exactly how many of a noun there is. Quantifiers are determiners that tell roughly how many of a noun there is.

Transcript

A Form-Function English Grammar

Level 1

Lesson 8

Determiners: Numerals and Quantifiers

What is a numeral? What is a quantifier?

Remember that determiners are words that go with nouns. But determiners do not describe nouns. Instead, determiners provide other information about nouns such as which one, whose, where, and how many.

Numerals are one kind of determiner. Numerals tell exactly how many of a noun there is. Counting numbers like zero, one, two, and three are numerals. The numeral one goes with singular nouns. Other numerals including zero and negative numbers go with plural nouns.

Look at the sentences One student wrote ten pages and Three thermometers says zero degrees. Both sentences contain two numerals. The first sentence has one and ten. The second has three and zero. One goes with the noun student. Ten goes with the noun pages. Three goes with the noun thermometers. Zero goes with the noun degrees.

Quantifiers are another kind of determiner. Quantifiers tell roughly how many of a noun there is. Quantifiers are not exact numbers.

Some examples of quantifiers include a lot, all, any, both, each, few, fewer, less, many, more, none, and some.

The word of can go after a quantifier. For example, a lot of, all of, and none of.

Some quantifiers take singular nouns. Other quantifiers take plural nouns. For example, each takes a singular noun as in each child. Both takes a plural noun as in both children.

Look at the sentences Many packages have arrived and The students finished none of their work. Both sentences each contain a quantifier. The first sentence has many. The second has none of. Many goes with the noun packages. None of goes with the noun work.

So, what are numerals? What are quantifiers?

Determiners are words that go with nouns. But determiners do not describe nouns. Instead, determiners give information about nouns such as which one, whose, where, and how many.

Numerals are one type of determiner. Numerals tell exactly how many of a noun there is. Counting numbers are numerals. Singular nouns follow the numeral one. Plural nouns follow other numerals.

Quantifiers are another type of determiner. Quantifiers tell how many of a noun there is. Quantifiers are not exact numbers. Examples of quantifiers include all, many, and some. The word of can go after some quantifiers.

Now practice your knowledge of numerals and quantifiers by completing the exercises in Lesson 8 of A Form-Function English Grammar: Level 1, pages 32 through 35.

Level 1 is the first workbook in the elementary series. Lesson 7 teaches about determiners, specifically possessive determiners and demonstrative determiners. Determiners are words that go with nouns. Possessive determiners are determiners that tell if a noun belongs to someone or has some other relationship with someone. Demonstrative determiners are determiners that tell about the distance of a noun.

Transcript

A Form-Function English Grammar

Level 1

Lesson 7

Determiners: Possessive and Demonstrative Determiners

What is a possessive determiner? What is a demonstrative determiner?

Remember that determiners are words that go with nouns. But determiners do not describe nouns. Instead, determiners provide other information about nouns such as which one, whose, where, and how many.

Possessive determiners are one kind of determiner. Possessive determiners tell if a noun belongs to someone or has some other relationship with someone. Seven possessive determiners in English are my, your, his, her, its, our, and their. Possessive determiners go with singular and plural nouns.

Look at the sentences I am washing my hands and We put away our toys. Both sentences contain a possessive determiner. The first sentence has my. The second sentence has our. My goes with the noun hands. Our goes with the noun toys.

The possessive determiner my shows a relationship between I and hands. The hands belong to me, the speaker. The possessive determiner our shows a relationship between we and toys. The toys belong to us.

Now look at the sentences The big fluffy dog ate its treat and Some of the children did their work. Both sentences also contain a possessive determiner. The first sentence has its. The second sentence has their. Its goes with the noun treat. Their goes with the noun work.

The possessive determiner its shows a relationship between the big fluffy dog and treat. The treat belongs to the big fluffy dog. The possessive determiner their shows a relationship between some of the children and work. The work belongs to some of the children.

Demonstrative determiners are another kind of determiner. Demonstrative determiners tell about the distance, either physical or emotional, of a noun. The four demonstrative determiners in English are this, that, these, and those.

Remember that singular means “one” and plural means “not one.” This and that are singular and go with singular nouns. These and those are plural and go with plural nouns.

For example, this cat and that cat. This, that, and cat are singular. These cats and those cats. These, those, and cats are plural.

Demonstrative determiners tell about the distance of a noun. The distance can be physical or emotional. This and these show nearness. That and those show farness.

For example, this problem and these problems. The problem and problems are near. That problem and those problems. The problem and problems are far.

Now look at the sentence That kitten played with those strings. The sentence contains two demonstrative determiners: that and those. That goes with the noun kitten. Those goes with the noun strings.

So, what are possessive determiners? What are demonstrative determiners?

Determiners are words that go with nouns. But determiners do not describe nouns. Instead, determiners give information about nouns such as which one, whose, where, and how many.

Possessive determiners are one type of determiner. Possessive determiners tell if a noun belongs to someone or has some other relationship with someone. Seven possessive determiners in English are my, your, his, her, its, our, and their. Possessive determiners go with singular and plural nouns.

Demonstrative determiners are another type of determiner. The four demonstrative determiners in English are this, that, these, and those. This and that are singular; these and those are plural. This and these show nearness. That and those show farness.

Now practice your knowledge of possessive and demonstrative determiners by completing the exercises in Lesson 7 of A Form-Function English Grammar: Level 1, pages 28 through 31.

Level 1 is the first workbook in the elementary series. Lesson 6 teaches about determiners, specifically articles. Determiners are words that go with nouns. Articles are determiners that indicate the specificity of a noun.

Transcript

A Form-Function English Grammar

Level 1

Lesson 6

Determiners: Articles

What is a determiner? What is an article?

Determiners are words that go with nouns. But determiners do not describe nouns. Instead, determiners provide other information about nouns such as which one, whose, where, and how many.

Articles are one kind of determiner. Articles tell if a noun is specific or general. Three articles in English are the, a, and an.

Look at the sentence A child is eating an apple in the backyard. This sentence has three articles: a, an, and the. A goes with the noun child. An goes with the noun apple. The goes with the noun backyard.

A and an are indefinite articles. The articles a and an go with singular nouns that are general and nonspecific.

For example, if I say, “Hand me a spoon please,” I am asking for any spoon in general, not a specific spoon. I am also asking for one spoon because the article a goes with singular nouns.

The difference between a and an is that a goes before a consonant sound and an goes before a vowel sound. For example, the noun book starts with the consonant sound [b] and thus takes the article a. The noun eraser starts with the vowel sound [i] and thus takes the article an.

Also notice that the spelling does not affect whether a noun takes a or an, only sound. The noun ukulele starts with the vowel letter <u> but the consonant sound [ju] and thus takes the article a. The noun hour starts with the consonant letter <h> but the vowel sound [ɑʊ] and thus takes the article an.

The (or the) is a definite article. The article the goes with singular or plural nouns that are specific.

For example, if I say, “Hand me the spoon please,” I am asking for a specific spoon. I know that you know which spoon I want.

The article the can go with singular or plural nouns. For example, the leaf and the leaves. The band and the bands.

So, what are determiners? What are articles?

Determiners are words that go with nouns. But determiners do not describe nouns. Instead, determiners give information about nouns such as which one, whose, where, and how many.

Articles are one type of determiner. Three articles in English are the, a, and an. The (or the) is a definite article. A and an are indefinite articles.

The definite article the tells that a noun is specific. The can go with singular or plural nouns.

The indefinite articles a and an tell that a noun is general or nonspecific. A and an go with singular nouns only. A goes with nouns that start with consonant sounds. An goes with nouns that start with vowel sounds.

Now practice your knowledge of articles by completing the exercises in Lesson 6 of A Form-Function English Grammar: Level 1, pages 24 through 27.

Level 1 is the first workbook in the elementary series. Lesson 5 teaches about common and proper nouns. Common nouns name general, generic persons, places, things, and ideas. Proper nouns name specific persons, places, things, and ideas.

Transcript

A Form-Function English Grammar

Level 1

Lesson 5

Common Nouns and Proper Nouns

What are common and proper nouns?

Remember that notional grammars define the noun as a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. Most nouns have singular and plural forms. The determiner the can go with most nouns.

Nouns can also be sorted into two groups: common nouns and proper nouns.

A common noun names a general, generic person, place, thing, or idea.

A proper noun names a specific person, place, thing, or idea.

For example, the noun jam is a common noun. Jam is a general, generic thing, a food made from fruit and sugar. The noun Smucker’s is a proper noun. Smucker’s is a specific brand of jam.

Common nouns are usually not capitalized except at the beginning of a sentence or within a title. Proper nouns are always capitalized.

Look at the sentences The child used a camera and Daniel used a Nikon. The words child, camera, Daniel, and Nikon are nouns. Child and camera are common nouns that name a general, generic person and thing. Daniel and Nikon are proper nouns that name a specific person and thing. Notice that both Daniel and Nikon are capitalized.

Many proper nouns are made of more than one word. For example, the nouns mountain and mountains are common nouns. The nouns Pikes Peak and Rocky Mountains are proper nouns. Notice that both Pikes Peak and Rocky Mountains consist of two words.

Similarly, city is a common noun. New York City is a proper noun. New York City names a specific city. Notice that New York City consists of three words. All three words are capitalized.

So, what is the difference between common nouns and proper nouns?

A common noun names a general, generic person, place, thing, or idea. A proper noun names a specific person, place, thing, or idea. Now practice your knowledge of common and proper nouns by completing the exercises in Lesson 5 of A Form-Function English Grammar: Level 1, pages 20 through 23.

Level 1 is the first workbook in the elementary series. Lesson 4 teaches about other plural nouns. Not all nouns use the -s or -es suffix to form the plural.

Transcript

A Form-Function English Grammar

Level 1

Lesson 4

Other Plural Nouns

Remember that notional grammars define the noun as a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. Most nouns can be counted, which means most nouns have singular and plural forms. Singular means “one.” Plural means “not one.”

Strong nouns are nouns that take an -s or -es suffix to form the plural. For example, flower, couch, and baby are strong nouns. One flower, two flowers. One couch, two couches. One baby, two babies.

But not all nouns use the ­-s­ or -es­ suffix to form the plural. Some nouns have other plural forms in English.

Two nouns take an –en suffix to form the plural. One ox, two oxen. One child, two children. (Also notice the other spelling and pronunciation changes from child to children.)

The vowel changes in some nouns to form the plural. Sometimes there is also a slight spelling change. One foot, two feet. One goose, two geese. One tooth, two teeth. One man, two men. One woman, two women. One mouse, two mice.

Some nouns have the same singular and plural form. One bison, two bison. One deer, two deer. One fish, two fish. One kin, two kin. One offspring, two offspring. One sheep, two sheep.

A few nouns have irregular plural forms that do not follow any other plural rule. One person, two people. One die, two dice.

Although most nouns take an -s or -es suffix to form the plural, not all nouns do. Two nouns take the -en suffix: oxen and children. Some nouns experience vowel and sometimes other slight spelling changes in the plural. For example, feet and mice. Some nouns have the same form in the singular and plural: fish and sheep. A few nouns have irregular plural forms: people and dice.

Now practice your knowledge of other plural nouns by completing the exercises in Lesson 4 of A Form-Function English Grammar: Level 1, pages 16 through 19.

Level 1 is the first workbook in the elementary series. Lesson 3 teaches about strong plural nouns. Strong nouns take an -s or -es suffix to form the plural.

Transcript

A Form-Function English Grammar

Level 1

Lesson 3

Strong Plural Nouns

What is a strong plural noun?

Remember again that notional grammars define the noun as a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. Most nouns can be counted, which means most nouns have singular and plural forms.

Singular means “one.” Plural means “not one.”

For example, the word watch is a noun. You can count watches. One watch, two watches, three watches, ten watches, zero watches.

Remember that plural means “not one” because you use the plural form with zero and numbers more than one. Zero degrees. Fifty degrees. One hundred degrees. The noun degrees is plural and takes the numbers zero, fifty, and one hundred, all of which are not one.

Strong nouns are nouns that take an -s or -es suffix to form the plural.

Put an -s suffix on the end of most strong nouns to form the plural.

For example, the nouns tree, pillow, fan, and lamp all take the -s suffix in the plural. One tree, two trees. One pillow, two pillows. One fan, two fans. One lamp, two lamps.

Nouns that need an extra syllable in the plural take the -es suffix. For example, the nouns dish, beach, kiss, and tax each have one syllable in the singular. One dish, one beach, one kiss, one tax. All four nouns need an extra syllable in the plural. Two dishes, two beaches, two kisses, two taxes.

For nouns that end in the grapheme <y> (not a diagraph that contains <y>), the <y> toggles with <i> and then the -es suffix affixes to the end of the noun. For example, the nouns cherry, lily, country, and family all end in the grapheme <y>. The <y> toggles with <i> and then the noun takes the -es suffix. One cherry, two cherries. One lily, two lilies. One country, two countries. One family, two families.

So, what is a strong plural noun?

Most nouns have singular and plural forms, which means most nouns can be counted. Plural means “not one.” Strong plural nouns are nouns that take an -s or -es suffix. Now practice your knowledge of strong plural nouns by completing the exercises in Lesson 3 of A Form-Function English Grammar: Level 1, pages 12 through 15.