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Countable / Uncountable Nouns

The document discusses countable and uncountable nouns. Countable nouns can be pluralized with an 's' and take quantifiers like "a" or "three". Uncountable nouns do not pluralize and are general concepts without separate objects. Some nouns can be either countable or uncountable depending on their meaning. Making uncountable nouns countable involves adding a unit of measurement or type. The distinction can be confusing as some nouns behave as countable when referring to containers or types.

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32 views3 pages

Countable / Uncountable Nouns

The document discusses countable and uncountable nouns. Countable nouns can be pluralized with an 's' and take quantifiers like "a" or "three". Uncountable nouns do not pluralize and are general concepts without separate objects. Some nouns can be either countable or uncountable depending on their meaning. Making uncountable nouns countable involves adding a unit of measurement or type. The distinction can be confusing as some nouns behave as countable when referring to containers or types.

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Zevallos Falcon Hugo
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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COUNTABLE / UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

A noun can be countable or uncountable. Countable nouns can be "counted",


they have a singular and plural form .
For example:
A book, two books, three books .....
An apple, two apples, three apples ....
Uncountable nouns (also called mass nouns or noncount nouns) cannot be
counted, they are not seperate objects. This means you cannot make them
plural by adding -s, because they only have a singular form. It also means that
they do not take a/an or a number in front of them.
For example:
Water
Work
Information
Coffee
Sand

Countable
(use a/an or a number in
front of countable nouns)
An Apple / 1 Apple

I eat an apple every day.

Add (s) to make a


countable noun plural
apples
I eat an apple every
day. Apples are good for
you.

Uncountable
(there is no a/an or number with
uncountable nouns)
Rice
I eat rice every day. (not I eat a rice
every day.)
There is no plural form for an
uncountable noun
rice

I eat rice every day. Rice is good


for you.

To make uncountable nouns


countable add a counting word,
such as a unit of measurement, or
the general word piece. We use the
form "a ....... of ......."

Rice=a grain of rice

Water=a glass of water


Rain=a drop of rain
Music=a piece of music
You can use some and any with
uncountable nouns.
I usually drink some wine with my
meal.
I don't usually drink any water with
my wine.

A computer= Computers are


fun.

An elephant=Elephants are
large.

You can use some and any


with countable nouns.
Some dogs can be dangerous.
I don't use any computers at
work.

You only use many and


few with plural countable
nouns.
So many elephants have
been hunted that they are an
endangered species.
There are few elephants in
England.
You can use a lot of and no
with plural countable
nouns.
No computers were bought
last week.
A lot of computers were
reported broken the week
before.

You only use much and little


with uncountable nouns.
I don't usually drink much coffee.
Little wine is undrinkable though.

You can use a lot of and no with


uncountable nouns.
A lot of wine is drunk in France.
No wine is drunk in Iran.

Some mass nouns refer to groups of specific things.


For example:Tables, chairs, cupboards etc. are grouped under the mass
noun furniture.
Plates, saucers, cups and bowls are grouped under the mass
noun crockery.
Knives, forks, spoons etc. are grouped under the collective noun cutlery.
When you are travelling suitcases, bags etc. are grouped under the mass
noun luggage / baggage.
Making uncountable nouns countable
You can make most uncountable noun countable by putting a countable
expression in front of the noun.
For example:A piece of information.
2 glasses of water.
10 litres of coffee.
Three grains of sand.
A pane of glass.
Sources of confusion with countable and uncountable nouns
The notion of countable and uncountable can be confusing.
Some nouns can be countable or uncountable depending on their
meaning. Usually a noun is uncountable when used in a general, abstract
meaning (when you don't think of it as a separate object) and countable
when used in a particular meaning (when you can think of it as a
separate object).
For example:glass - Two glasses of water. (Countable) | A window made of glass.
(Uncountable) | glasses - I wear glasses. (Always plural)
Some supposedly uncountable nouns can behave like countable nouns if
we think of them as being in containers, or one of several types.
This is because 'containers' and 'types' can be counted.
Believe it or not each of these sentences is correct:Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two coffees a day.
(Here coffees refers to the number of cups of coffee)
You could write; "Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two cups
of coffee a day."
The coffees I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian.
(Here coffees refers to different types of coffee)
You could write; "The types of coffee I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian."
!Note - In good monolingual dictionaries, uncountable nouns are
identified by [U] and countable nouns b
- See more at:
http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/noununcount.html#sthash.A8tJtFsh.
dpuf

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