🌱Basic·Lesson 2· 20 min

Your First 49 Words (Singular, Plural, and Verbs)

The 49 nouns and verbs that unlock 80% of basic English. Singular vs plural. He drives, they drive. Mr. Gee tells the story of a small village and uses every single one.

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👋 Mr. Gee says

If you remember nothing else from this course, remember these 49 words. They are the bricks. Every English sentence you will ever say uses bricks like these. Today we will meet them inside one short story, then we will look at each one carefully.

The story

A small village wakes up

Before the sun rises in our village, the dogs start barking. One dog wakes the other dogs. Soon, all the cats wake up too. A bird sings in a tree. More birds join the singing.

The first person to leave home is the milkman. He has a son. His son is a small boy. The boy goes to school. The milkman's wife is a woman with a kind face. They have a daughter too. The girl is small. She helps her mother in the kitchen.

On the road, a driver drives the bus. He stops at every house. A conductor conducts the tickets inside the bus. Children climb in. They sit on chairs. Some sit on the floor. The bus drives to the school. The teacher waits at the school. She teaches the children. The men outside go to work. The women go to the market. They buy rice, bread, milk, eggs, and apples.

In the evening, all of them come home. Each father reads a book. Each mother makes food. The boys and girls play with the dogs and cats. The cow is in the field. The horses are sleeping. The moon rises. One star, then many stars. God watches over the village. Adam, the first man, and Eve, the first woman, watched the same moon long ago. Tonight the same moon watches us.

1

What you just learned, without realising it

Look at the story again. You met 49 different words. Many of them appeared twice: once for one person or thing, and once for more than one. That is called singular and plural. In English, when we have more than one of something, we usually add an 's' to the end.

One dog, two dogs. One cat, two cats. One child, three children (this one is irregular, we will see more of these). One man, many men. One woman, many women. These three are special. Most other nouns just add 's'.

2

He, She, It + Verb + s

Did you notice this pattern in the story? 'A driver drives.' 'A conductor conducts.' 'The teacher teaches.' 'The mother makes.'

When we say 'he, she, or it' as the subject, we add 's' to the verb. This is the most common rule in English. Memorise this small song: He drives. She drives. It drives. They drive (no s). I drive. You drive (no s).

So if one person does it, the verb gets the 's'. If many people do it, no 's'. The bus driver drives. The bus drivers drive. The child sleeps. The children sleep.

Vocabulary list

The 49 words from this lesson

Click “Translate” below if you need any word in your own language.

godnounplural: gods

A divine being or higher power.

Many people believe in one god.

Adamnoun

The first man in the Bible. A proper noun, no plural.

Adam was the first man.

Evenoun

The first woman in the Bible. A proper noun, no plural.

Eve and Adam lived together.

drivernounplural: drivershe/she/it form: drives

A person who drives a vehicle.

The driver drives the bus.

All the drivers drive carefully.

conductornounplural: conductorshe/she/it form: conducts

A person who collects tickets on a bus or train, or who leads music.

The conductor conducts the tickets.

The two conductors conduct the music together.

teachernounplural: teachershe/she/it form: teaches

A person who teaches.

The teacher teaches English.

The teachers teach many subjects.

studentnounplural: students

A person who learns.

The student listens carefully.

The students sit in the classroom.

doctornounplural: doctors

A medical professional.

The doctor sees patients.

Two doctors talk together.

nursenounplural: nurses

A medical helper.

The nurse helps the doctor.

mothernounplural: mothers

A female parent.

My mother cooks dinner.

fathernounplural: fathers

A male parent.

My father works hard.

brothernounplural: brothers

A male sibling.

My brother plays football.

sisternounplural: sisters

A female sibling.

My sister reads books.

friendnounplural: friends

A person you like and trust.

My friend lives nearby.

boynounplural: boys

A young male.

The boy plays with a ball.

Three boys are running.

girlnounplural: girls

A young female.

The girl sings a song.

Some girls are dancing.

mannounplural: men

An adult male. Irregular plural.

One man, two men.

womannounplural: women

An adult female. Irregular plural.

One woman, two women.

childnounplural: children

A young person. Irregular plural.

One child, three children.

personnounplural: people

A human being. Irregular plural.

One person, many people.

dognounplural: dogs

A common pet animal.

The dog barks loudly.

catnounplural: cats

A common pet animal.

The cat sleeps on the chair.

cownounplural: cows

A farm animal that gives milk.

The cow eats grass.

horsenounplural: horses

A large animal that people ride.

The horse runs fast.

birdnounplural: birds

An animal that flies.

The bird sings in the morning.

fishnoun

An animal that lives in water. Same singular and plural.

One fish, many fish.

treenounplural: trees

A tall plant with a wooden trunk.

The tree gives shade.

flowernounplural: flowers

The colourful part of a plant.

The flower smells sweet.

sunnoun

The star that gives Earth light. Usually no plural.

The sun rises in the east.

moonnoun

Earth's natural satellite. Usually no plural.

The moon is bright tonight.

starnounplural: stars

A bright object in the night sky.

I can see one star.

Tonight there are many stars.

housenounplural: houses

A building where people live.

My house has three rooms.

carnounplural: cars

A four-wheeled vehicle.

The car is parked outside.

busnounplural: buses

A large vehicle for many people.

The bus comes every hour.

trainnounplural: trains

A vehicle that runs on rails.

The train arrives at 9 am.

planenounplural: planes

A vehicle that flies.

The plane lands smoothly.

booknounplural: books

A written or printed work.

I read a book every week.

pennounplural: pens

A tool for writing.

I write with a blue pen.

tablenounplural: tables

A flat surface with legs.

We eat at the table.

chairnounplural: chairs

A seat for one person.

I sit on a chair.

cupnounplural: cups

A small container for drinks.

I drink tea from a cup.

platenounplural: plates

A flat dish for food.

My plate is full.

waternoun

A clear drink. Uncountable, no plural.

I drink water every day.

ricenoun

A common food grain. Uncountable, no plural.

I eat rice for lunch.

breadnoun

Food made from flour. Uncountable, no plural.

I buy bread from the shop.

milknoun

A drink from cows. Uncountable, no plural.

Children drink milk.

eggnounplural: eggs

An oval food from chickens.

I eat one egg for breakfast.

She buys six eggs.

applenounplural: apples

A round red or green fruit.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

foodnounplural: foods

What we eat. Usually uncountable.

The food smells good.

Translation tip

Click 'Translate this lesson' below and select your own language. Read each word side by side with its translation in your language. Then come back and read the English aloud. This is the fastest way to make these 49 words stick.

Your turn

Practice prompts

Try these on paper or out loud. Mr. Gee's rule: practice today, do not save it for tomorrow.

  1. Write 5 sentences using 'he/she/it + verb + s' (e.g. The driver drives, The teacher teaches).
  2. Pick 10 nouns from the list. Write each one in singular form, then in plural form (e.g. dog, dogs).
  3. Find 3 irregular plurals from the list (man-men, woman-women, child-children, person-people). Write a sentence with each one.
  4. Tell a short story (3 to 5 sentences) about your own family using at least 8 of these words.
Take this with you

These 49 words are the bricks of basic English. Add 's' for plural (driver, drivers). Add 's' to the verb when the subject is he/she/it (he drives, she teaches). Three irregular ones to remember: man-men, woman-women, child-children, person-people.

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Mr. Gee's tip of the day

Read aloud every day. Even if it sounds funny. Your tongue needs practice.

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