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San Jose City College

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Edit for Correct Noun Endings
If you can name it, it's a noun!

Noun-ending errors include missing or unnecessary plural markers and incorrectly formed plural and possessive markers.

The sentences below were written by English language learners and contain noun-ending errors. To edit these sentences, find all the nouns with incorrect endings and click to see the correct forms. Then click open the icon for comments. Pay close attention to sentences in which a verb change is necessary to make subject nouns agree with verbs. Click on these verbs as well. [Open Dictionary][Close Dictionary]
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1.	One of the remedyremedies I recommend for handling stress is meditation because it helps to relax the mind and body.	The expression one of the is always followed by a plural noun. In this case, there are many remedies for dealing with stress, and one of these remedies is meditation.
2.	Every day I wait for the mail, looking for an envelop from the universities my daughter applied to. This situations makesituation makes me feel under stress daily.	Waiting for the mail is one situation. The noun must agree with the demonstrative adjective this, and the verb must be third person singular to agree with situation.
3.	I have been fortunate to receive gratitude from my relatives, the satisfaction of seeing my daughterdaughter's family growing up with health and harmony and the great love of my grandchildrensgrandchildren.	The sentence has two noun-ending errors. The first error is a missing possessive form, my daughter's children. The second is an incorrect plural ending on the irregular plural noun, grandchildren. [Child-children; grandchild-grandchildren]
4.	The medical equipments wereequipment was old and inadequate to support patients.	Equipment is a noncount noun and requires a third person singular verb.
5.	One of the most important inventioninventions over the last century has been the computer.	There have been many inventions. ONE of the most important inventions HAS BEEN the computer. Note how the verb agrees with the pronoun one. Remember ONE OF THE + PLURAL NOUN + SINGULAR VERB!
6.	I knew if I didn't learn English I would be a deaf mute in the U.S. I would face a lot of problemproblems.	Problem is a count noun. The quantifier a lot of signals plural meaning. The writer knew he would face A LOT OF PROBLEMS.
7.	My Department of Motor Vehicles exam and the interview for my green card were two stressful experienceexperiences.	The writer mentions two stressful experiences. It's a count noun in this context. However, in other contexts the noun experience is construed as a noncount noun as in "He has had a lot of work experience."
8.	Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Hollywood movie star who had never had any political experience, didn't hesitate to cut CaliforniaCalifornia's limited education budget.	The possessive form is needed. It was the state's budget that Schwarzenegger cut, or California's budget.
9.	Today, many kindkinds of machines have replaced workers.	Many is a plural quantifier and must always be followed by a plural count noun. Many kinds of machines....
10.	Unlike Atticus, I would not have had the courage to take Tom RobinsonRobinson's case because I would not have had a chance of winning in court.	The writer is referring to Atticus Finch, the lawyer in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, who bravely defended a black man in a racist Alabama town in the 1930s. Atticus was courageous enough to take Tom Robinson's case, which means he defended him in court.
11.	I think Bob Ewell was responsible for his daughtersdaughter's injury.	This, too, refers to the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. The writer correctly assumes that Bob Ewell beat up his daughter, but fails to use a possessive form. Ewell was responsible for his daughter's injuries.
12.	These lessonlessons will help us be a better personbetter persons and be a little smarter, too.	Two errors stand out. These must be followed by a plural noun: these lessons. And they will help us be better persons. The plural pronoun us makes the plural noun necessary.
13.	Only bad people tell a lielies to cover up their faults or use the lielies for bad purposes. For instance, con mansmen always tell a lielies to get money from their victims.	The writer is generalizing. Bad people (in general) tell lies. Both nouns must be plural as the sentence refers to more than one person telling a lie or lies (in the generic sense of the word). A con man is a swindler who does, indeed, cheat his victims out of money. The plural form is con men. The term is a shortened form of confidence man, which means swindler.
14.	I told my daughter I loved her better than I loved her brother when I left her in Vietnam to go to the United StateUnited States.	When a writer omits the final -s on such a common word, that writer is clearly not hearing the final -s consonant sound and is, therefore, even more careless about writing plural forms correctly. There are 50 states in the United States. Strategies for improvement: • Read a paragraph and underline all words that end in -s. Then read the paragraph out loud and listen for the sounds of -s. [/s/ as in miss; /z/ as in lies; IZ as in kisses]. • Spend five minutes writing down as many count nouns you can think of. Then write and pronounce their plural form. Both look and listen for the final -s.
15.	Alcohol abuse is one of the biggest reasonreasons why men hit their wifeswives.	The incorrect use of a singular noun after "one of the" is an all-too-common error. [one of the reasons] Wife has an irregular plural form, wives. Note other irregular plurals where -F becomes -VES: leaf - leaves knife - knives loaf - loaves wolf - wolves half - halves shelf - shelves elf - elves self- ourselves, yourselves, themselves
16.	I was an architect. I had designed many buildingbuildings, such as schoolschools, factoryfactories, residential buildingbuildings, and shopping centershopping centers.	Many is a plural marker and must be followed by a plural noun. The examples introduced with such as are indefinite nouns. They must be plural or singular with an indefinite article, depending on the writer's meaning. Did the writer design schools or a school? factories or a factory? shopping centers or a shopping center? A singular indefinite count noun must be preceded by an indefinite article. The plural indefinite noun has no article.
17.	In many countries, people don't have enough money to pay for their childrenchildren's education.	Whose education can't they afford? Their children's. The noun must be possessive.
18.	I will ask my children to think well of other peoplepeople's actions and not to judge them.	Whose actions? Those of other people or other people's actions. Remember that irregular plural nouns form the plural with 's.
19.	If everyone in the family trusttrusts each other, it will lead to success in every areasarea such as business, education, and family life.	Everyone is plural in meaning but singular in form. It must take a singular verb...If everyone trusts each other... Each and every are singular and must be followed by singular nouns, for example, ....every area of life.
20.	Every day every single one of us makemakes decisiondecisions that affect the people around us.	Every single one of us is singular in form. It must take a third person singular verb (makes). The meaning, however, is plural and the noun decision is an indefinite noun--two reasons why decisions must be plural. Note also that the verb in the adjective clause agrees with the plural noun, which gives the relative pronoun that a plural meaning.
21.	Students should be considered more, and financial aid programs should be available for all kindkinds of students, not only U.S. citizencitizens.	All is a plural marker. It must be followed by a plural noun...all kinds of students. Citizens is an indefinite noun with a general meaning. Only the plural form appears without an article.
22.	Education is a basic necessity of human'shuman life.	The word human is an adjective and does not have a possessive form. One could refer to the basic needs of (all) human beings or a human being's basic needs. Note that the following are generic nouns: human life a human being human beings
23.	California has one of the best educational systems. Its community collegescollege system offers many opportunities for a very diverse group of students.	College system is a compound noun. The first noun in a compound noun phrase is never plural and never possessive.
24.	Community college students need at least 12 units each semester to be considered full time students. That adds up to a lot of money for tuitionstuition and fees.	Tuition is a noncount noun. Noncount nouns do not have plural forms.
25.	Most employers are looking for an employeeemployees who hashave a college degree.	Because the subject is plural and because the sentence has a general meaning, the noun must be plural. In general, employers look for EMPLOYEES who HAVE a college degree. A college degree can be singular because it is assumed that these employees each have a degree.
26.	All of these crimes affect each one of us and make our lifelives miserable.	The possessive adjective our is plural and must be followed by a plural noun...our lives.
27.	Students need schoolschools which have high quality instruction and modern facilities.	The sentence is general in meaning and the adjective clause that modifies the noun has a plural verb--two reasons why SCHOOLS must be plural.
29.	Team worksTeamwork areis the best way for people to share their knowledge and gain understanding.	This compound noun is a noncount noun. As such, it's singular and requires a third person singular verb. Teamwork is the best way...
28.	I asked my mom to help me take care of my baby, but she said she had too many worksmuch work to do.	Work is a mass or noncount noun. We count jobs or tasks. Use much with the noncount noun...too much work to do.
30.	My mom used to be a teacher when she was young. She had a very good staffsstaff and co-workers.	Staff is a collective noun. Note the use of the indefinite article with it. Perhaps the writer was trying to use parallel plural nouns. To distinguish staff from co-workers (faculty), it would improve the sentence to say "a very good administrative staff and excellent co-workers (or faculty). "A very good staff and an excellent faculty "would resolve the student's concern with parallelism.
31.	Both typetypes of people become competitive and do well for their country and countrymen.	Both is a plural marker and must be followed by a plural noun...both types of people...

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