COUNT AND NONCOUNT

NOUNS
NOUNS : COUNT & NONCOUNT
SINGULAR PLURAL
COUNT NOUN A book Books SINGULAR
One book Two books a + noun
Some books one + noun
A lot of books
PLURAL
noun+ -s, -es
advice (no plural form) SINGULAR
NONCOUNT NOUN Some advice Do not use a
A lot of advice Do not use one

PLURAL
a noncount noun does not
have a plural form.
COMMON NONCOUNT NOUNS
advice mail bread pepper
furniture money cheese rice
help music coffee salt
homework traffic food soup
information vocabulary fruit sugar
jewelry weather meat tea
luck work milk water
USING AN & A
(a) A dog is an animal
(b) I work in an office
(c) Mr. Lee is an old man
(d) I have an uncle
(e) He works at a university
(f) I need an hour to finish my work.
(g) I live in a house. He lives in a hotel.
An and an are used in front of singular count nouns.
In (a): dog and animal are singular count nouns.
Use an in front of words that begin with the vowels a,
e, i, o: an apartment, an elephant, an idea, an ocean.
In (c): Notice that an is used because the adjective
(old) begins with a vowel and comes in front of a
singular count noun (man).
Use an if a word that begins with “u” has a vowel
sound: an uncle, an ugly picture.
Use a if a word that begins with “u” has a /yu/ sound:
a university, a usual event.
In some words that begin with “h” the “h” is not
pronounced. Instead, the word begins with a vowel
sound and an is used: an hour, an honor.
In most words that begin with “h” the “h” is
pronounced. Use a if the “h” is pronounced.
MEASUREMENTS WITH NONCOUNT NOUNS

(a) I would like some water Units of measure are used with noncount nouns to
(b) I would like a glass of water express a specific quantity. For example: a glass of, a
(c) I would like a cup of coffee cup of, a piece of.
(d) I would like a piece of fruit
In (a): some water = an unspecific quantity
In (b): a glass of water = a specific quantity
COMMON EXPRESSIONS OF MEASURE
a bag of rice a bunch of bananas a jar of pickles
a bar of soap a can of corn/a tin of corn a loaf of bread
a bottle of olive oil a carton of milk a piece of cheese
a bowl of cereal a glass of water a sheet of paper
a box of candy a head of lettuce a tube of toothpaste
USING MANY, MUCH, A LOT OF, A FEW, A LITTLE, SOME, ANY
(a) I don’t get many letters
(b) I don’t get much mail
(c) I don’t get a lot of letters/mail
(d) Ann gets a few letters
(e) Tom gets a little mail
(f) I have some letters/mail
(g) I don’t have any letters/mail
(h) Do you have any letters/mail?
In (a) many is used with PLURAL COUNT nouns.
In (b) much is used with NONCOUNT nouns.
In (c) a lot of is used with both PLURAL COUNT and
NONCOUNT nouns.
In (d) a few is used with PLURAL COUNT nouns.
In (e) a little is used with NONCOUNT nouns.
(+)
(-)
(?)
EXERCISE 1
1. He sits on a chair
2. He sits on furniture
3. She has a coin
4. She has some money
5. The street is full of traffic
6. There are a lot of cars in the street
7. I know a fact about bees
8. The teacher gives us homework
9. We have an assignment
10. I like music
11. Would you like some coffee?
12. Our school has a library.
EXERCISE 2
1. Bob is eating ……… apple
2. Tom is eating …….. Banana
3. Alice works in ……….. office
4. I have ………… idea
5. I have ……….. good idea
6. Sue is taking ……… class
7. Sue is taking ………..easy class
8. Cuba is ……. Island near the United States
9. ……….. hour has sixty minutes
10. ……….. healthy person gets regular exercise
11. ……….. horse has a long nose
12. Maria is …………. honest worker
13. Mark needs ………… math tutor
14. …………… university is …………… educational institution
15. Ann has ……… unusual job
FINAL EXERCISE
1. There is a chair in this room = there are some chairs in this room
2. There is some furniture in this room = (NONE)
3. I have a coin in my pocket
4. I have some money in my wallet
5. There’s a lot of traffic on Main Street
6. There’s a car on Main Street
7. Our teacher assign a lot of homework.
8. I like rock music.
9. Hong Kong has a lot of hot weather
10. I need some information and some advice from you.