1. Countable/ uncountable nouns

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

3. 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

4. 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.

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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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.

9. 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…

10. 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…

11. 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.

12. 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.

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

14. a/an / some/ any

15. 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

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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

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

21. 7-8 Let’s Practice
some any
There is _____ cheese.
some

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

23. 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

24. 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.

26. How Much? How Many?

27. How Much or
How Many

28. 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

29. How Much
Uncountable Nouns
How Many
Countable Nouns

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

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

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

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

34. Quantifiers

35. 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

36. 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

37. 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

38. 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.

39. 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

40. 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
uns.ppt (has been downloaded in November 2014)
egitim.erciyes.edu.tr/.../2.../50Countable-uncount.PPT (has been downloaded in November 2014)
%20noun. (has been downloaded in November 2014)