1. Shorthand probably began in ancient greece and rome.

2. The historian xenophon used shorthand to write the memoirs of the philosopher socrutus.

3. Later, a roman, marcus tullius tiro, invented a system to record the speeches made by the great orator cicero.

4. Many people in this period learned shorthand, including julius caesor.

5. In the eighteenth century, because of the industrial revolution, the use of shorthand grew in popularity in business administration.

6. The popularity of shorthand continued to grow in europe with the result that over 400 systems exist for the english language alone.

Countable Nouns and Their Plurals

Countable nouns form one of the two classes of common nouns.

1. A countable noun is a noun that you can count. You can talk about one, two, more, several, many, seventeen, and so on. Countable nouns have a plural form,

A few countable nouns occur in the plural form only and cannot be counted, examples are clothes, pants, Jeans, shorts, and pajamas.

2. The most common way to form a plural countable noun is to add -s or – es, it even when there is a numeral included to signify more than one.

Never add a plural – s ending to an adjective:

"They bought some specials gifts.

3. For countable nouns ending in a consonant + -y, change the -v to -ies.

However, when a vowel precedes -y just add -s for the plural form:

4. Add -es to countable nouns ending in a consonant + -o. For countable nouns ending in -f or -fe, change the ~f to a -v and add -es.

5. Some countable nouns have highly irregular plural forms and do not end in -s.

Use your dictionary to check any plural forms that you are not sure of.

6. Very rarely, you need an apostrophe before the -s to form the plural. You do this only when you form the plural of a letter of the alphabet or the plural of a word referred to as a word rather than the concept it represents.

I like to get Q’s in Scrabble.

This paragraph has too many and's in it.

In all other cases, an apostrophe with a noun signals possession, not number.

Task 2. Give the plural form of the following nouns. Use a dictionary to check your answers. Do not rely on general patterns; these often have exceptions.

Foot, house, mouse, woman, goose.

Belief, comedy, donkey, radio, hoof, thief, tomato.

Plurals of the nouns of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew origin are often used in English scientific writing even though their English plurals may exist in general use.

D Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns form the second of the two classes of common nouns.

1. Uncountable nouns are used for nouns describing a mass, a natural substance, food, an abstract concept, a game, a disease, or a subject of study. Some examples follow.

A mass: clothing, equipment, furniture, garbage, homework, jewelry', luggage, machinery, money, scenery, traffic, transportation

A natural substance: air, blood, coal, copper, cotton, hair, heat, ice, iron, silver; water, wood, wool

Food; bacon, beef, bread, coffee, milk, rice, sugar