Countable nouns

Countable nouns are the names of separate items which can be counted. They
can normally be used with the indefinite article a / an and in the plural with
numbers, many, few, some, any:
Did you buy a newspaper today? ~ I bought two newspapers, 'The
irror' and 'The !un'.
"a#e we got any oranges in the house? ~ $e'#e got some apples but we
don't ha#e a single orange.
uncountable nouns
Uncountable nouns are the names of materials or collections of other things
which in %nglish we regard as masses and not as separate items. Uncountable
nouns are not normally used with the indefinite article a / an or in the plural. &or
e'ample, we cannot say an accommodation or many accommodations. Instead
we ha#e to say:
Is there #ery much accommodation for students in this part of town? ~
There is some on the other side of the ri#er, but there's #ery little around
here, I'm afraid.
(ote that we need to use much / little with uncountable nouns, many / few
with countable nouns and that we use some / any with both countable and
uncountable nouns.
uncountable nouns: word families
$hat is a countable noun in your language may be an uncountable noun in
%nglish. It may therefore be a good idea to try to learn uncountable nouns in
groups connected with the same sub)ect area, e.g.:
TRAVEL: information, travel, traffic, accommodation, money, euipment,
luggage, clothes, py!amas, !eans, trousers, shorts, tights, "nic"ers, pants.
(ote that all the uncountable nouns associated with clothes are plural
uncountables. They cannot be used in the singular form or with numbers. $e
cannot say for e'ample a shorts or two shorts# Instead we ha#e to say:
*an you lend me a pair of shorts? I'#e forgotten mine ~ I'#e got two
pairs. $hich ones would you li+e? Those ones or these ones? ~ I'll ha#e
those ones.
%&U'E%&L( )TE*': furniture, bedding, flooring, washing,up liuid,
washing powder:
$hat sort of flooring are you going to ha#e in your new house? ~ $e
thought we'd ha#e vinyl in the +itchen and
hall and carpet on the stairs and landing.
$EAT%ER: weather, lightning, thunder, rain, snow, wind, sunshine:
Did you ha#e #ery much snow last winter? ~ There was -uite a bit .of
snow/ higher up in the hills, but down here in the #alley we didn't get #ery
much, no.
*ATER)AL' A+( RE'&URCE': cotton, wool, fabric, leather, plastic, wood,
stone, concrete, oil, gas, coal:
Is this shirt made of cotton or nylon? ~ It's 012 cotton and 312 acrylic
fabric.
,&&(: sugar, salt, pepper, rice, pasta, spaghetti, flour, butter, bread,
soup:
$ould you li+e some bread with the soup? ~ Do you ha#e any bread
rolls? ~ (o. ~ 4h well, I'll ha#e a slice of toast, then.
-R&,E'')&+AL E+(EAV&UR: wor", research, "nowledge, intelligence,
training, progress, stamina, patience, determination, commitment,
reliability, loyalty:
"a#e you done any research on this? ~ (o, I ha#en't, but there was a
piece of research that 5ames did last year that might be rele#ant.
uncountable . countable
(ote that when we want to transform an uncountable noun into a countable
e/pression, we normally use a partitive structure. $e ha#e already had: bread
. a slice of bread, snow . a bit of snow, shorts . a pair of shorts, research
. a piece of research. "ere are some of the most common associated with
weather
wind . a gust of wind
rain . a shower of rain 0 a drop of rain
lightning . a flash of lightning
thunder . a clap 0 a rumble of thunder
frost . a touch of frost
fog . a patch of fog
snow . a flurry of snow 0 a fla"e of snow
sunshine . a burst of sunshine
11C weather forecast: There will be a touch of frost in %ast 6nglia and the %ast
idlands might get a shower or two of rain before the night is out.
uncountable or countable
!ome nouns, as in your e'ample of ca"e, 7ella, ha#e both countable and
uncountable uses with some difference in meaning. "ere are some common
e'amples with their respecti#e uses and meanings illustrated. a+e sure you +now
the difference between the uncountable and countable meaning.
Ca"e
$ould you li+e some of my birthday ca"e? ~ I'll ha#e )ust a small piece,
please.
*ould you get some ca"es for tea? ~ %ow many shall I get? ~ $ell, there
are si' of us so get about a do2en.
Do you also +now the e'pression a piece of ca"e? This e'pression describes
something that is #ery easy to do, e#en though you might be worried that it will be
difficult:
If you'#e been playing the piano for fi#e years, learning to play the organ
will be a piece of ca"e8
Chocolate
There were at least ten chocolates in this bo' last night and now there is
only one. $ho has eaten them all?
"ere, ha#e some chocolate. ~ That's a huge bar. I couldn't eat all of it. I'll
)ust brea+ off two pieces.
-epper
&or this dish you need two red peppers and a green pepper and a
yellow pepper.
$ould you li+e some blac" pepper and some grated cheese on your pasta,
sir?
-aper
"a#e you got any paper? I'#e run out. ~ %ow much would you li+e? ~
*ould I ha#e three sheets, please?
*ould you get me an evening paper on your way bac+ from wor+ please?
3lass
There's bro"en glass all o#er the place. 7e careful.
A glass of wine, Terry? ~ I'#e had two glasses already, (orman. I'm
dri#ing so not a drop more8
E/perience
&or this )ob, you need e/perience of wor+ing with animals. !he doesn't
ha#e this "ind of e/perience.
6ccompanying Dora on her #isits last wee+ was a really useful
e/perience. 6 useful training opportunity.
Trade
Trade with *hina has increased dramatically o#er the last fi#e years.
"e's not cle#er enough for college so he's going to pursue a trade such as
carpentry.
Time
$e'#e still got a lot of time. The train doesn't lea#e for another two hours.
"a#e you had a good time, "enry? ~ I'#e had a wonderful time, ary,
than+s.
Countable Nouns
Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example:
"pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some
more countable nouns:
og, cat, animal, man, person
bottle, box, litre
coin, note, ollar
cup, plate, !or"
table, chair, suitcase, bag
Countable nouns can be singular or plural:
#y dog is playing.
#y dogs are hungry.
We can use the ine!inite article a/an with countable nouns:
A og is an animal.
When a countable noun is singular, we must use a wor li"e a/the/my/this with it:
$ want an orange. %not $ want orange.&
Where is my bottle' %not Where is bottle'&
When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:
$ li"e oranges.
(ottles can brea".
We can use some an any with countable nouns:
$)ve got some ollars.
Have you got any pens'
We can use a few an many with countable nouns:
$)ve got a few ollars.
$ haven)t got many pens.
Uncountable Nouns
*ncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot ivie into separate
elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "mil"". We can count
"bottles o! mil"" or "litres o! mil"", but we cannot count "mil"" itsel!. Here are some
more uncountable nouns:
music, art, love, happiness
avice, in!ormation, news
!urniture, luggage
rice, sugar, butter, water
electricity, gas, power
money, currency
We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:
This news is very important.
+our luggage looks heavy.
We o not usually use the ine!inite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot
say "an in!ormation" or "a music". (ut we can say a something of:
a piece of news
a bottle of water
a grain of rice
We can use some an any with uncountable nouns:
$)ve got some money.
Have you got any rice'
We can use a little an much with uncountable nouns:
$)ve got a little money.
$ haven)t got much rice.
Nouns that can be Countable and
Uncountable
,ometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, o!ten with a
change o! meaning.
Countable Uncountable
There are two hairs in my co!!ee- hair $ on)t have much hair.
There are two lights in our beroom. light
Close the curtain. There)s too much
light-
,hhhhh- $ thought $ hear a noise. noise
$t)s i!!icult to wor" when there is too
much noise.
Have you got a paper to rea' %.
newspaper&
paper
$ want to raw a picture. Have you got
some paper'
/ur house has seven rooms. room $s there room !or me to sit here'
We ha a great time at the party. time Have you got time !or a co!!ee'
Macbeth is one o! ,ha"espeare)s
greatest wor"s.
work $ have no money. $ nee wor"-