COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

It's important to distinguish between countable and uncountable nouns in English because their usage is different in regards to both determiners and verbs.

COUNTABLE NOUNS
Countable nouns are for things we can count using numbers. They have a singular and a plural form. The singular form can use the determiner "a" or "an". If you want to ask about the quantity of a countable noun, you ask "How many?" combined with the plural countable noun.

Singular Plural
one dog two dogs
one horse two horses
one man two men
one idea two ideas
one shop two shops
EXAMPLES

She has three dogs.
I own a house.
I would like two books please.
How many friends do you have?
UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
Uncountable nouns are for the things that we cannot count with numbers. They may be the names for abstract ideas or qualities or for physical objects that are too small or too amorphous to be counted (liquids, powders, gases, etc.). Uncountable nouns are used with a singular verb. They usually do not have a plural form.

EXAMPLES

tea
sugar
water
air
rice
knowledge
beauty
anger
fear
love
money
research
safety
evidence
We cannot use a/an with these nouns. To express a quantity of an uncountable noun, use a word or expression like some, a lot of, much, a bit of, a great deal of , or else use an exact measurement like a cup of, a bag of, 1kg of, 1L of, a handful of, a pinch of, an hour of, a day of. If you want to ask about the quantity of an uncountable noun, you ask "How much?"

EXAMPLES

There has been a lot of research into the causes of this disease.
He gave me a great deal of advice before my interview.
Can you give me some information about uncountable nouns?
He did not have much sugar left.
Measure 1 cup of water, 300g of flour, and 1 teaspoon of salt.
How much rice do you want?
TRICKY SPOTS
Some nouns are countable in other languages but uncountable in English. They must follow the rules for uncountable nouns. The most common ones are:
accommodation, advice, baggage, behavior, bread, furniture, information, luggage, news, progress, traffic, travel, trouble, weather, work

EXAMPLES

I would like to give you some advice.
How much bread should I bring?
I didn't make much progress today.
This looks like a lot of trouble to me.
We did an hour of work yesterday.
Be careful with the noun hair which is normally uncountable in English, so it is not used in the plural. It can be countable only when referring to individual hairs.

EXAMPLES

She has long blond hair.
The child's hair was curly.
I washed my hair yesterday.
My father is getting a few grey hairs now. (refers to individual hairs)
I found a hair in my soup! (refers to a single strand of hair)

SINGULAR AND PLURAL NOUNS

SINGULAR AND PLURAL NOUNS

REGULAR NOUNS
Most singular nouns form the plural by adding -s.

EXAMPLES

Singular Plural
boat         boats
house houses
cat        cats
river        rivers
A singular noun ending in s, x, z, ch, sh makes the plural by adding-es.

EXAMPLES

Singular Plural
bus        buses
wish       wishes
pitch      pitches
box      boxes
A singular noun ending in a consonant and then y makes the plural by dropping the y and adding-ies.

EXAMPLES

Singular Plural
penny pennies
spy           spies
baby           babies
city         cities
daisy   daisies
IRREGULAR NOUNS
There are some irregular noun plurals. The most common ones are listed below.

EXAMPLES

Singular Plural
woman women
man          men
child  children
tooth         teeth
foot         feet
person people
leaf         leaves
mouse mice
goose geese
half         halves
knife         knives
wife         wives
life         lives
elf        elves
loaf     loaves
potato potatoes
tomato tomatoes
cactus cacti
focus foci
fungus fungi
nucleus nuclei
syllabus syllabi/syllabuses
analysis analyses
diagnosis diagnoses
oasis  oases
thesis theses
crisis  crises
phenomenon phenomena
criterion criteria
datum data
Some nouns have the same form in the singular and the plural.

EXAMPLES

Singular Plural
sheep sheep
fish     fish
deer   deer
species species
aircraft aircraft
IRREGULAR VERB/NOUN AGREEMENT
Some nouns have a plural form but take a singular verb.

Plural nouns used with a singular verb Sentence
news
The news is at 6.30 p.m.
athletics
Athletics is good for young people.
linguistics
Linguistics is the study of language.
darts
Darts is a popular game in England.
billiards
Billiards is played all over the world.
Some nouns have a fixed plural form and take a plural verb. They are not used in the singular, or they have a different meaning in the singular. Nouns like this include: trousers, jeans, glasses, savings, thanks, steps, stairs, customs, congratulations, tropics, wages, spectacles, outskirts, goods, wits

Plural noun with plural verb Sentence
trousers
My trousers are too tight.
jeans
Her jeans are black.
glasses
Those glasses are his.

NOUN GENDER

NOUN GENDER

Nouns answer the questions "What is it?" and "Who is it?" They give names to things, people, and places.

EXAMPLES

dog
bicycle
Mary
girl
beauty
France
world
In general there is no distinction between masculine, feminine in English nouns. However, gender is sometimes shown by different forms or different words when referring to people or animals.

EXAMPLES

Masculine Feminine Gender neutral
man woman person
father mother parent
boy girl child
uncle aunt
husband wife spouse
actor actress
prince princess
waiter waitress server
rooster hen chicken
stallion mare horse
Many nouns that refer to people's roles and jobs can be used for either a masculine or a feminine subject, like for example cousin, teenager, teacher, doctor, student, friend, colleague

EXAMPLES

Mary is my friend. She is a doctor.
Peter is my cousin. He is a doctor.
Arthur is my friend. He is a student.
Jane is my cousin. She is a student.
It is possible to make the distinction for these neutral words by adding the words male or female.

EXAMPLES

Sam is a female doctor.
No, he is not my boyfriend, he is just a male friend.
I have three female cousins and two male cousins.
Infrequently, nouns describing things without a gender are referred to with a gendered pronoun to show familiarity. It is also correct to use the gender-neutral pronoun (it).

EXAMPLES

I love my car. She (the car) is my greatest passion.
France is popular with her (France's) neighbours at the moment.
I travelled from England to New York on the Queen Elizabeth; she (the Queen Elizabeth) is a great ship.

Past Simple-secrets

We use the past simple to talk about actions and states which we see as completed in the past.

We can use it to talk about a specific point in time.

She came back last Friday.

I saw her in the street.

They didn't agree to the deal.

It can also be used to talk about a period of time.

She lived in Tokyo for seven years.

They were in London from Monday to Thursday of last week.

When I was living in New York, I went to all the art exhibitions I could.

You will often find the past simple used with time expressions such as these:

Yesterday

three weeks ago

last year

in 2002

from March to June

for a long time

for 6 weeks

in the 1980s

in the last century

in the past

 

Present Continuous-secrets

The present continuous is used to talk about present situations which we see as short-term or temporary. We use the present simple to talk about present situations which we see as long-term or permanent.

In these examples, the action is taking place at the time of speaking.

It's raining.
Who is Kate talking to on the phone?
Look, somebody is trying to steal that man's wallet.
I'm not looking. My eyes are closed tightly.
In these examples, the action is true at the present time but we don't think it will be true in the long term.

I'm looking for a new apartment.
He's thinking about leaving his job.
They're considering making an appeal against the judgment.
Are you getting enough sleep?
In these examples, the action is at a definite point in the future and it has already been arranged.

I'm meeting her at 6.30.
They aren't arriving until Tuesday.
We are having a special dinner at a top restaurant for all the senior managers.
Isn't he coming to the dinner?

Present Simple-secrets

We use the present simple to talk about actions we see as long term or permanent. It is a very common and very important tense.

Here, we are talking about regular actions or events.

They drive to the office every day.

She doesn't come here very often.

The news usually starts at 6.00 every evening.

Do you usually have bacon and eggs for breakfast?

Here, we are talking about facts.

We have two children.

Water freezes at 0° C or 32° F.

What does this expression mean?

The Thames flows through London.

Here, we are talking about future facts, usually found in a timetable or a chart.

Christmas Day falls on a Monday this year.

The plane leaves at 5.00 tomorrow morning.

Ramadan doesn't start for another 3 weeks.

Does the class begin at 10 or 11 this week?

Here, we are talking about our thoughts and feelings at the time of speaking. Although these feelings can be short-term, we use the present simple and not the present continuous.

They don't ever agree with us.

I think you are right.

She doesn't want you to do it.

Do you understand what I am trying to say.

 

 

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