1. Paco visits interesting places

Icono IDevice Reading activity

Our friend Paco is already in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. He is very excited because he is going to meet his friend Paul again and he has heard that Cardiff is a beautiful city. This young capital has many attractions, ranging from the oldest to the most modern. This is because the city has been redeveloped in the last few years. Nowadays it is also one of the UK's top shopping cities.

Paco is very interested in Cardiff Castle. This is one of the most popular places to visit in the city, together with its gardens and interpretation centre, which tells the story of the castle in his 2000 years of history. It probably started with the building of a Roman fort around AD 55 and, apart from other changes through history, in the 19th century, an eccentric man transformed it into a gothic fantasy. There are gothic fairytale towers with rich breathtaking interiors.

Paco is keen on different sports and, therefore, he has also planned to visit the Millennium Stadium. This place is home of the Wales National Rugby Union Team and the Wales National Football Team but it is also used for many other important events and music concerts. It was built in 1999 so it is a very new and modern site. It is the second largest stadium in the world. Paco is excited about making the stadium tour, which includes a visit to the changing room of the Welsh National Rugby Team and a walk through the players' tunnel to the pitch.

Finally, Cardiff Bay is probably the most important development the city has carried out recently. Paco has heard it is a bit far from the city centre but there are buses every 10 minutes seven days a week. It is located in the old dock area and people say it is unrecognisable from ten years ago. In the Industrial Age, in the 19th century, Cardiff exported coal to the rest of the world from these docks. Nowadays, there is a large lake for sailing and water sports, and there are also restaurants, bars and shops.


By most uncool, C. Commons
 By Welsh Icons (Dom), C. Commons
 By matthewgriff (EmmGee), C. Commons

Identify the singular and the plural nouns that appear in the text:

SINGULAR NOUNS
 PLURAL NOUNS
   


Pregunta Verdadero-Falso
Read the text again and decide if these statements are true or false.


1. There has been a modernization of Cardiff in the last few years.

Verdadero Falso


2. The castle is a new site in the city.

Verdadero Falso


3. Millennium Stadium is mainly used for concerts.

Verdadero Falso


4. Paco wants to visit the changing room and the pitch in the Stadium.

Verdadero Falso


5. You can only find a large lake in Cardiff Bay.

Verdadero Falso
Icono de iDevice Solved exercise
Write either the singular or the plural form of these nouns. Find them in the text.
SINGULAR NOUNS PLURAL NOUNS
  centres
  stories
attraction
  
city
  
  men
change
  
  teams
  sites
bus
  
person
  
  bays
shop
  
  • After observing these plurals, what is the general rule to form the plural in English?
  • What other types of plurals can you find in this table?

Icono IDevice Further knowledge

History vs. story

Have you ever noticed we use the same Spanish word (historia) for these two terms? In English they refer to different things:

'History' refers to the branch of knowledge that studies the past, for example, the subject at school or the degree Paco studies at university.

A story can be true or fictitious, it can be a tale or a novel, for example.

vs.
By Hop-Frog, C. Commons
   By giulia*, C. Commons

 


In the next section, we are going to have a look at the rules for regular plurals in English. You'll find it easy! Let's go!
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