Countable Nouns
Things which can be counted. That means that there can be more than one of them.
Examples:
1. There is a beach near here.
2. Ann was singing a song.
3. Have you got a ten-pound note?
4. We haven’t got enough cups.
Uncountable Nouns
things which cannot be counted. uncountable nouns have singular form. Most uncountable nouns refer to a “whole” that is made up of different parts, such as: furniture, sugar, coffee, equipment.
Examples:
1. I eat rice every day
2. There’s sand in my shoes 3. Ann was listening to music 4. Have you got any money?
5. We haven’t got enough water.
Con’t
The following are typical of nouns that are
commonly used as uncountable nouns. Many other nouns can be used as uncountable nouns. This list
serves only as a sample.
1. WHOLE GROUPS MADE UP OF SIMILAR ITEMS:
baggage, clothing, equipment, food, fruit, furniture, garbage, hardware, jewelry, junk, luggage,
machinery, mail, makeup, money/cash/change, postage, scenery, traffic.
2. FLUIDS: water, coffee, tea, milk, oil,soup,gasoline, blood etc
Con’t
3. SOLIDS: ice, bread, butter, gold, iron, glass, paper, wood,cotton, wool, etc.
4. GASES: steam, air, oxygen, smoke, smog, pollution, etc.
5. PARTICLES: rice, chalk, corn, dirt, dust, flour, grass, hair, pepper, salt, sand, sugar, wheat, etc.
6. ABSTACRATIONS: beauty, confidence, sleep, knowledge, luck, music, health, happiness,
patience, pride, progress, recreation, truth, advice, information, news, proof, evidence, time, space, energy, work, homework, grammar, vocabulary.
7. LANGUAGE: Arabic, English, Chinese, etc.
Con’t
8. FIELDS OF STUDE: Chemistry, mathematics, physics,etc.
9. RECREATION: Baseball, tennis, soccer, bridge, poker, etc.
10. GENERAL ACTIVITIES: studying, driving,
swimming (and other gerunds) 11. NATURAL PHENOMENA:
Weather, dew, fog, hail, heat, humidity, lightning, rain, sleet, snow, thunder, wind, darkness, light, sunshine, electricity, fire, gravity.
Plural nouns are formed from singular nouns by adding-s/es. (Only for countable nouns)
Sometimes a plural noun is used for one thing that has two parts and it takes a plural verb.
For example: Trousers, pyjamas, glasses, scissors, trousers, shorts, jeans, etc.
Some words ending in –s can be singular or plural. For example:
means: - a means of transport
- many means of transport
Con’t
Series: - a television series - two television series
Species: - a species of bird - 200 species of bird
Some singular nouns are often used with a plural verb. For example: government, staff, team,
family, audience, committee, company, firm.
We always use a plural verb with police, - The police have arrested the culprit.
- Do you think the polce are well-paid?
Note: singular= a policeman/a policewoman
Con’t
We think of a sum of money, a period of time, a distance etc as one thing. So we use a singular verb:
- Twenty thousand pounds was stolen in the robbery.
- Three years is along time to be without a job.
- Six miles is a long way to walk every day.
An expression of quantity may precede a noun. Some expressions of quantity are
used only with count nouns; some only with
noncount nouns; some with either count or
noncount nouns.
Here are the following details:
Exp. Of Quantity Used with count
Nouns Used with
noncount Nouns 1. one
2. each 3. every 4. both
5. a couple of 6. two, three, etc 7. a few
8. several 9. many
10. a number of
One apple each apple Every apple Both apples
a couple of apples Two apples
a few apples Several apples Many apples
a number of apples
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Con’t
Exp. Of Quantity Used with count
Nouns Used with noncount Nouns
1. a little 2. much
3. a great deal of 4. not any/no
5. some 6. a lot of 7. lots of 8. plenty of 9. most
10.all
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not any/no apples some apples
a lot of apples lots of apples plenty of apples most apples
all apples
a little rice much rice
a great deal of rice not any/no rice
some rice a lot of rice lots of rice plenty of rice most rice
all rice
