Countable and Uncountable Noun with a difference in meaning, compiled by Wahju I Jombang.

PART A

COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

A .COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE  1

A noun can be countable or uncountable

Countable

·         Hany eats a banana every day

·         Hany like bananas

Banana is a countable noun

A COUNTABLE NOUN can be singular (banana) or plural (bananas)

We can use numbers with  countable nouns. so we can say one banana, two bananas  etc.

Examples of nouns usually countable

·         Salam was singing a song

·         There’s a nice beach near here

·         Do you have a ten pound note

·         It wasn’t your fault. it was an accident

·         They haven’t got enough cups

UNCOUNTABLE

·         I eat rice every day

·         I like rice

Rice is an uncountable noun

An uncountable noun has only one form (one)

We cannot use numbers with uncountable nouns, we cannot say one rice, two rices etc.

Examples of nouns usually UNCOUNTABLE

·         Maulana was listening to some music

·         There’s sand in my shoes

·         Do you have any money

·         It wasn’t your fault, it was bad luck

·         There is no electricity in this house

·         We haven’t got enough water

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B .You can use a / an with singular countable nouns :

a beach            a student          an umbrella

you cannot use singular countable nouns alone (without a/ the/ my etc.

·         Ela wants a banana (not Ela want banana)

·         There’s been an accident (not there’s been accident)

You can use plural countable nouns alone :

·         I like bananas (=bananas in general)

·         Accidents can be prevented

You cannot normally use a / an with  uncountable nouns. We do not say a sand, a music, a rice

But you can often use a … of for example:

A bowl / a packet a grain of rice

You can use uncountable nouns alone

(without the / my /some etc).

·         I eat rice every day

·         There’s blood on your shirt

·         Can you hear music

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C. You can use some and any with plural countable nouns

·         We sang some songs

·         Did you buy any apples

We use many and few with plural countable nouns :

·         We didn’t take many photographs

·         I have a few things to do

You can use some and any with uncountable nouns:

·         We listened to some music

·         Did you buy any apple juice ?

We use much and little with uncountable nouns

·         We didn’t do much shopping

·         I have a little work to do

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Exercises

Complete the sentences using the following words, use a / an where necessary

       Accident          biscuit                blood          coat             decision             electricity

       Interview          key                     moment      music          question             sugar

1.     It wasn’t your fault. It was ..........................................................................................................

2.     Listen! Can you hear .................................................................................................................

3.     I couldn’t get into the house because I didn’t have.......................................................................

4.     Its very warm today. Why are you wearing...................................................................................

5.     Do you take......................................................................................................... in your coffee

6.     Are you hungry? Would you like......................................................................... with your coffee

7.     Our lives would be very difficult without......................................................................................

8.     I had ....................................................................... for a job yesterday! Did you? How did it go

9.     The heart pumps.............................................................................................. through the body

10.  Excuse me, but can I ask you ...................................................................................................

11.  I am not ready yet, can you wait....................................................................................... please

12.  We cant delay much longer. We have to make..................................................................... soon

 Complete the sentences using the following words. sometimes the word needs to be plural (-s) and sometimes you  need to use a / an

       Air                   day                     friend            language       letter              meat

       Patience           people                photograph   queue            space            umbrella

1.     Satiti had my camera, but she didn’t take any.............................................................................

2.     There are seven........................................................................................................... In a week

3.     A vegetarian is a person who doesn’t eat....................................................................................

4.     Out side the cinema there was ................................................... of people waiting to see the film

5.     I’m not very good at writing........................................................................................................

6.     Last night I went out with some ...................................................................................... of mine

7.     There were very few................................................ in town today. The streets were almost empty

8.     I’m going out for a walk. I need some fresh.................................................................................

9.     YUsuf always wants things quickly. He hasn’t got much..............................................................

10.    I think its going to rain. Do you have .................................................................. I could borrow

11.  Do you speak any foreign..........................................................................................................

12.  Our flat is very small. We haven’t got much.................................................................................

PART B

countable and uncountable 2

A.    Many nouns can be used as countable or uncountable nouns, usually with a difference in meaning. Compare

Countable ·         Did you hear a noise just now = a specific noise ·         I bought a paper to read A newspaper ·         There’s a hair in my soup One single hair ·         You can stay with us. There is a spare room A room in a house ·         I had some interesting experiences while I was traveling Things that happened to me ·         Enjoy your trip. Have a good time

Uncountable ·         I cant work here. There’s too much noise Not to many noises ·         I need some paper to write on Material for writing on ·         You’ve got very long hair All the hair on your head ·         You cant sit here. There isn’t room space ·         They offered me the job because I had a lot of experience ( not experiences ) I cant wait. I haven’t got time

Coffee / tea / juice / beer etc. (drinks) are normally uncountable

·         I don’t like coffee very much

But you can say a coffee (= a cup of coffee), two coffees (=two cups) etc.

·         Two coffees and an orange juice please

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B.    The following nouns are usually uncountable

Accommodation      behavior          damage           luck             permission           traffic

Advice                     bread               furniture          luggage       progress               weather

Baggage                  chaos               information      news           scenery                work

You CANNOT use a / an with these nouns :

·         I’m going to buy some bread or…… a loaf of bread (not a bread)

·         Enjoy your holiday I hope ou have good weather (not a good weather)

These nouns are NOT usually plural (so we do not say breads, furnitures, etc.)

·         Where are you going to put all your furniture (not furnitures)

·         Let me know if you need more information (not informations)

     News in uncountable, not plural

·         The news was very depressing (not the news were)

Travel (noun) means travelling in general (uncountable) we do not say a ravel to mean a trip or a journey

·         They spend a lot of money on travel

·         We had a very good trip or journey (not a good travel)

COMPARE THESE COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

Countable ·         I’m looking for a job ·         What a beautiful view ·         It’s a nice day today ·         We had a lot of bags and cases ·         These chairs are mine ·         That’s a good suggestion

Uncountable ·         I’m looking for work (not a work) ·         What beautiful scenery ·         It’s nice weather today ·         We had a lot of baggage/ luggage ·         This furniture is mine ·         That’s good advice

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EXERCISES

Which if the underlined parts of these sentences is correct

1.     Did you hear noise / a noise just now? No, I didn’t hear anything (a noise is correct).....................

2.     If you want to know the news, you can read paper / a paper........................................................

I want to print some document, but the printers is out of paper /papers........................................

3.     I thought there was somebody in the house because there was light / a light on inside..................

Light / a light comes from the sun .............................................................................................

4.     I was in a hurry this morning. I didn’t  have time / a time for breakfast...........................................

Did you enjoy your holiday? Yes we had wonderful time / a wonderful time..................................

5.     This is nice room / a nice room. Did you decorate it yourself.......................................................

6.     Heru was very helpful. She gave us some very useful advice / advices........................................

7.     Did you have nice weather / a nice weather when you were away..................................................

8.     We were very unfortunate . we had bad luck / a bad luck.............................................................

9.     Is it difficult to find a work / job at the moment?..........................................................................

10.  Our travel / journey from paris to Moscow by train was very tiring................................................

11.  When the fire alarm rang, there was total chaos /a total chaos......................................................

12.  Rizal had to buy a / some bread because he wanted to make some sandwiches...........................

13.  Bad news don’t / doesn’t make people happy.............................................................................

14.  Your hair is / your hairs are too long. You should have it / them cut..............................................

15.  The damage / the damages caused by the storm will cost a lot to repair.......................................

Complete the sentences using the following words. Use the plural (-s) where necessary

Advice                      chair                 experience        experience        furniture            hair

Information               job                   luggage           permission        progress          work

1.     I didn’t have much luggage just two small bags

2.     They’ll tell you all want to know. They’ll give you plenty of...........................................................

3.     There is room for everybody to sit down. There are plenty of ......................................................

4.     We have no........................................................................................ , not even a bed or a table

5.     What does alan look like? He’s got a long beard and very short...................................................

6.     Riati’s English is better than it was, she made.............................................................................

7.     Mike is unemployed, he cant get................................................................................................

8.     Mike is unemployed. He cant get................................................................................................

9.     If you want to leave early. You have to ask for............................................................................

10.  I didn’t know what to do. So I asked chris for..............................................................................

11.  I don’t think dan will get the job. He doesn’t have enough............................................................

12.  Paul has done many interesting things. He could write a book about his.......................................