To make your writing clear, to make it touch the heart as well as the understanding, to make it beautiful, you must use great care in selecting your nouns. Thus, we may talk of the cry of a bird, the chirp of a bird, the song, the twitter, the call, the note, the peep of a bird. Each noun has a different meaning; we must choose the one that means exactly what we wish to say. Supply as many nouns as you can in the following:

Copy the following paragraph, filling each blank with the noun that best expresses your

In the story about Mark Twain (page 221), the man who preached the sermon is called

SELECTING NOUNS TO AVOID REPETITION 227

"preacher," "parson," and 'parson," and "minister." In the same way, had the story been longer, instead of repeating the name "Mark Twain" over and over again, the writer might have referred to Mark Twain as the "humorist," the "joker," the "author," and the "speaker."

Read the following paragraph:

It was the fiercest battle in the war, as well as one of the fiercest battles in history. Only 1500 men were engaged in the battle, but each entered the battle with the determination to make it a decisive battle.

Do you like the repetition of the word "battle" in this paragraph?

Now read this paragraph:

It was the fiercest fight in the war, as well as one of the fiercest combats in history. Only 1500 men were engaged in the conflict, but each one entered the contest with the determination to make it a decisive battle.

Does not the second paragraph sound better than the first? Why?

What words have been used in place of "battle"?

It is seldom necessary to repeat a noun many times. For example, for "end" I may use :

The close of the day

The last of the Indians

The goal of the race

The destination of the journey

The limit of time

The finish of the task

The terminus of the railroad

The conclusion of the speech

The completion of work

In your work, try to use a variety of nouns instead of repeating one or a very few.

Write under each of these nouns,

anger

behavior

noise gladness

news

all the nouns that mean nearly the same in the

VIII. SINGULAR AND PLURAL NOUNS

Compare the nouns in the first line with those

Each noun in the first line means how many?

Each noun in the second line means how many? What letter is added to the nouns in the first line to make those in the second?

SINGULAR AND PLURAL NOUNS

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A noun that denotes one thing is said to be singular, or in the singular number.

A noun that denotes more than one thing is said to be plural, or in the plural number.

1. The plural of most nouns is formed by adding s to the singular.

2. Some nouns form their plurals by adding -es to the singular. These are nouns whose singular forms end in sounds that cannot easily be united with s; that is, words ending in the sound of s, ch, sh, or z.

Try to say the plurals of the following nouns by adding the s sound only:

Note how much easier it is to read the plurals

formed by adding -es, as below:

3. Some nouns ending in f or fe form their plurals by changing the ƒ or -fe to v and adding -es. Read the list below and note the spelling:

4. Some nouns ending in o form their plurals by adding -es to the singular. Read and note the spelling in this list:

5. Nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant change the y to i and add -es. Read these nouns and note the spelling:

6. The following nouns form their plurals by changing a vowel or vowels in the word. Tell what letter or letters are changed in each.