Countable/ uncountable nouns

Resista Vikaliana, 2014 Nouns Proper Nouns Common Nouns Countable Nouns Uncountable Nouns Resista Vikaliana, 2014

There are 2 kinds of noun in English: Countable Things you can count (singular or plural) One apple, two apples, three apples… Uncountable Things you can´t count (they can’t be plural) Butter, meat… Some nouns can be countable or uncountable but the meaning is different. Example: chocolate © Rafael Moreno Esteban 2007

There is a hair in my soup A chicken escaped from the henhouse. There are some nouns we can use in both countable and uncountable form; Countable Meaning There is a hair in my soup A chicken escaped from the henhouse. My favorite works of art are from China. Uncountable Meaning Sandra has black and long hair. We had chicken for dinner. It takes work to prepare a meal.

Countable nouns have a plural form Singular: a car an eggplant Plural Form Three books Some books Many books

We can use countable nouns with certain definition of numbers. For example; two kilograms tomatoes, five dictionaries, seven group of cows, tons of oranges, three kilograms lemons, eighty students

three business magazines nine english books eleven dictionaries COUNTABLE NOUNS SINGULAR FORM PLURAL FORM a mobile phone a computer a business magazine an english book a dictionary five mobile phones seven computers three business magazines nine english books eleven dictionaries

UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk" ( quantifiers) or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself.

Notice the following categories and examples of uncountable nouns; Abstractions: chance, energy, honesty, love… Activities: basketball, dancing, singing, tennis… Diseases: AIDS, cancer, influenza, malaria… Foods: beef, bread, fish, fruit, meat… Gases: air, carbon dioxide, oxygen, smoke… Liquids: coffee, gasoline, milk, tea, water… Natural phenomena: electricity, heat, rain, thunder…

Occupations: dentistry, nursing, teaching… UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS Occupations: dentistry, nursing, teaching… Particles: dust, pepper, salt, sand, sugar… Solid elements: gold, iron, plutonium, silver… Subjects: Chinese, English, physics, science… Others: equipment, furniture, money, news…

Some Examples with Uncountable Nouns I drink a cup of coffee in everyday. There is any sugar in the kitchen. My mother buy seven bottles of milk for a week. She eats a bar of chocolate whenever she wants. He met me with a bunch of flower in his arms. There is so much butter in this meal. Everybody feels the love inside himself.

We have a group of furniture in our house. They wanted some salt for their plumbs. In summer, I like drinking water with a block of ice. I bought a pocket of tea for my guests. There was so much snow that we all were cold when we were outside. The room has little ligth. We nearly can see each other.

Identify the following objects as countable or uncountable. 1. Q: Information 4. Q: Money a) countable a) countable b) uncountable b) uncountable 2. Q: Rules 5. Q: Rice 3. Q: Sheep 6. Q: Bottles Of Syrup a) countable a) countable

a/an / some/ any

A / AN / SOME / ANY Type of sentence Countable Uncountable + We need an apple some apples some butter some milk - We don’t need a tomato any tomatoes any rice any sugar ? Do we need a tomato? any tomatoes? any rice? any sugar? Use a / an with singular countable nouns. Use some with plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns in + sentences. Use any with plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns in – or ? sentences. We can also use some in ? to ask for and offerings: Can I have some coffee? Do you want some biscuits? © Rafael Moreno Esteban 2007

I’d like a glass of juice. I’d like some juice. I’d like a glass of juice. unspecified quantity specified quantity

Some: Affirmative sentences: There is some money Any: Negative and Interrogative sentences: Is there any money? No, there isn’t. There isn’t any money

Other Uses of ‘any’ To mean “all” or “every” Any Sales Managers can sale these products For comparison, we use any This situation is more serious than anyone predicts This case is too complicated than anything happened

a few much all no few most Replace the underlined words with a word or phrase from these italic words below a few much all no few most Not many but some of our clients responded to the survey The majority of them had some positive comments to make Not one of our customers thought our products were unreliable A lot of constructive criticism centred on product distribution and delivery Not many and not enough customers wanted regular news on our new products and services Every one of the respondents said our packaging was good

I need _____ time to study. some 7-8 Let’s Practice some any I need _____ time to study. some

7-8 Let’s Practice some any There is _____ cheese. some

There aren’t _____ horses in the field. any 7-8 Let’s Practice some any There aren’t _____ horses in the field. any

Choose a / an / some some some a some / an an some / a Wine Milk Cars People Homework Ice cream Orange Fruit Fish some a some / a Milk Biscuits Chair Coffee Pasta Money Students Toast © Rafael Moreno Esteban 2007

There isn't _____ sugar in my coffee. Choose Some or Any: There isn't _____ sugar in my coffee. There are ______ oranges in the fridge. There aren't ______ tomatoes on the table. There is ______ oil in the kitchen. There is ______ orange juice.

How Much? How Many?

How Much or How Many

How much / how many…? Possible answers: Use How much…? I drink a lot of water. I drink quite a lot. I don’t drink much water. (not much) I don’t drink any water. None. Not many (students). Use How much…? with uncountable nouns. How much water do you drink? Use How many…? with plural countable nouns. How many students do you have? © Rafael Moreno Esteban 2007

How Much Uncountable Nouns How Many Countable Nouns

How Many or How Much ? How much/ How many cars are there? There are six cars!

There are three spoons of sugar 2. How much/ How many Sugar is there? There are three spoons of sugar

3. How much/ How many pictures are there? There are six pictures.

4. How much/ How many milk is there? There are two boxes of milk

Quantifiers

This news is very important. Your luggage looks heavy. We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular : We use a singular verb. For example: This news is very important. Your luggage looks heavy. You can count uncountable nouns if you use: A piece of… cheese A bowl of… soup A cup of… tea A bottle of…syrup A carton of…milk A bar of… chocolate

advice - a piece of advice baggage - a piece of baggage Here are some of the most common containers / quantity expressions for these uncountable nouns: advice - a piece of advice baggage - a piece of baggage bread - a slice of bread, a loaf of bread equipment - a piece of equipment furniture - a piece of furniture garbage - a piece of garbage information - a piece of information knowledge - a fact

luggage - a piece of luggage, a bag, a suitcase money - a note, a coin musica – a song, a piece news - a piece of news pasta - a plate of pasta, a serving of pasta research - a piece of research, a research project travel - a journey, a trip work - a job, a position

cheese - a slice, a chunk, a piece of cheese Here are some more common uncountable food types with their container / quantity expressions: liquids (water, beer, juice etc.) - a glass, a bottle, a jug of water, etc. cheese - a slice, a chunk, a piece of cheese meat - a piece, a slice, a pound of meat butter - a bar of butter ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard - a bottle of, a tube of ketchup, etc.

All of the All Most (of the) Many (of the) Much of the Most (of the) UNCOUNTABLE COUNTABLE All of the Most (of the) Much of the A lot of the Lots of Several (of the) a little (of the) Little (of the) no All Many (of the) Most (of the) A lot of Lots of Several (of the) A few (of the) Few (of the) no

References: Basic of English Betty Schrampfer A., New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regent, 1989 The Language of Business English (Grammar and Functions). Prentice Hall International Ltd, London, 1994 www.taipolst.edu.hk/.../P2CountableNouns_and_UncountableNo uns.ppt (has been downloaded in November 2014) egitim.erciyes.edu.tr/.../2.../50Countable-uncount.PPT (has been downloaded in November 2014) www.educacional.com.br/.../countable%20and%20uncountable %20noun. (has been downloaded in November 2014)