Fries countable or uncountable. Countable and uncountable nouns

We figured out that nouns are countable and uncountable - and how to determine whether a particular noun is countable or not. Since we can count apples and stars, they are countable. Water and joy cannot be counted - they are incalculable.
There are two difficult points that need to be mentioned. First, many nouns can be both countable and uncountable, depending on the meaning. Secondly, there are two nouns that we don't expect to be uncountable. Let's start with them.

Countable in Russian, uncountable in English

These two words cause the most problems for students up to the highest levels. It's about advice and news. In Russian, we are used to “five tips” and “three news”, but for English speakers, news and tips are something that cannot be counted.

Advice

It would seem “button up, put on a hat” - these are already two pieces of advice that can be easily calculated. But if you suddenly say two advices", this will cut the American or British ear severely. You just need to remember: advice- uncountable. If it is so fundamental to divide it into countable pieces, then, you will be surprised, but tips are considered precisely “pieces”, i.e. pieces of advice. Or "words" word of advice.

Wise men don't need advice. Fools won't take it. Wise people don't need advice, but stupid people won't take it anyway.
Let me give you a piece of advice. Let me give you one piece of advice.

News

It is clear why this word is so desirable to use in the plural - at the end -s, and in Russian "news" is "they". Once again, you just have to break yourself and remember that news is always it, and never “a news”. If you need to count them, then count again pieces of news or bits of news.

What's the news (what is the news)? What's the news?
Good news or bad news first? Which news comes first, the good news or the bad news?

Countable or not depending on the value

Some of the nouns can be either countable or uncountable. Immediately make a reservation that there are many such words. Here are three of them as an example: chocolate, wine, sand. All three are uncountable in the sense of "substance", but are countable if:

• they are indeed objects that can be counted. I ate a box of chocolates. Now I'm happy. I ate a box of chocolates and now I'm happy.
• There are different kinds: There are many delicious wines in France. France has many delicious wines. Note that " There is much wine ” will mean not many varieties, but that there is simply a lot of it.
• in some special terms: Sands of Sahara are one of the hottest places on Earth. The sands of the Sahara are one of the hottest places on the planet. In this case, sands, "sands" is a literary word that can be called a desert or a beach.

And here are some of the most common, and most interesting words that can be both countable and uncountable, depending on the meaning.

Tea, Coffee and other drinks

Like other liquids, tea and coffee are innumerable. But if you order tea or coffee in a cafe, it is not necessary to mention that you mean "cup". “You can have two teas” - can we have two teas, please - drinks, as in Russian, become countable. The same applies to all drinks ordered at the bar, except, perhaps, water - it will still be some water.

two coffees for me and two tequilas for that pretty lady at the bar. Two coffees for me and two tequilas for that pretty girl at the bar.

Hair

Theoretically, hair can be counted - there are about 150 thousand of them on the average head. But in English hair, hair is an uncountable noun. Those. wanting to say "my hair is dark", refrain from both hairs and are are correct my hair is dark or I have dark hair.

But if there are few hairs and they can really be counted - for example, they float in the tea that you just ordered - they become countable. In this sense, hair corresponds to our word "hair".

There's a hair in my coffee! Hair in my coffee!
There are two hairs growing in the middle of my nose. That's disgusting. I have two hairs growing on my nose, what an abomination.

Time

Time is measured in hours, minutes, centuries - therefore hours, minutes and centuries are countable nouns, but time itself is not.
In the case when the word time means "once", "once", "three times", etc. This is a completely different meaning - and in this case, time is a countable noun.
And one more example - to have a great time', have a great time. Or " A long time ago". The indefinite article with time indicates that time in this case is countable. Just because it's a stable expression.

Time is money. Time is money.
In the meaning of "time" - uncountable.

It's okay to make mistakes. It's not okay to repeat each mistake several times. To err is normal. Making mistakes multiple times is not. In the meaning of "times" - countable.

It's a long time since we had a good time. We haven't had a good time in a while.
Two set expressions in which time, although it means "time", is used with the indefinite article.

Paper

With the word paper, everything is the same as in Russian: paper as a material is an uncountable noun, you can only count pieces (pieces) or sheets (sheets). But if we are talking about documents: contracts, scientific articles, essays, etc. - all this can be called paper, newspapers, in the end - also paper - they can already be counted.

I want to draw a picture. Have you got some paper? I want to draw a picture. Got paper?
Have you got a paper to read? Do you have a newspaper to read?
Sometimes I laugh when I read students' papers. Sometimes I laugh when I read student essays.

room

Room - a room in English, obviously, a countable word - everyone living in two-, three- or more-room apartments will not argue with this. This word will also come in handy for tourists when booking a room in a hotel. But besides this, the word room has one more meaning - “free space, space”, and in this meaning it becomes uncountable.

Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms.These include 240 bedrooms and 78 bathrooms. Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms, including 240 bedrooms and 78 toilets.
There's no room for personal life in my schedule. My schedule has no place for personal life.
Come sit on the sofa with us, we can make some room for you. Sit on the couch with us, we'll move in.

work

If you work two jobs, then “you have two jobs” (in general, the difference between job and work is a topic for another discussion). And work itself is an uncountable noun. It becomes quantifiable only in the world of painting, literature and other forms of art - in the meaning of "work, work."

I seem like I'm not leaving office anytime soon, I have some work to finish. Looks like I won't be leaving the office soon, I have some work to finish.
Familiar situation, right? I hope not. But the work, whether it is for 5 minutes or until late in the evening, remains incalculable.

There are 130 thousand works of art in Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. The Tretyakov Gallery has 130,000 works of art.
In this context, work - a countable noun - is counted in pictures, from "Morning in a pine forest" to "Black Square".

In case you are still at a loss whether this or that noun is countable or not, the solution is to look in the dictionary. Countable nouns are marked as , uncountable nouns as . Moreover, if it depends on the meaning, it is indicated for which of them the noun is countable, for which it is not.

Therefore, in English, all objects are divided into countable (those that can be counted) and uncountable (those that cannot be counted).

This topic is basic and very important. Therefore, if you do not deal with it from the very beginning, with further study of the language, you will make mistakes.

In this article I will tell you about countable and uncountable nouns and the features of their use.

From the article you will learn:

• General comparison table for countable and uncountable nouns

How to determine if a noun is countable or not?

Noun- part of speech denoting an object or person and answering the question "who?", "What?".

How to understand what subject is in front of us: countable or not?

It seems that everything is simple. However, there is a little trick here.

Let's take the floor money (money). Can we count money? Of course we can, you say. However, in English, money refers to uncountable nouns.

Can we say: “one money, second money, third money”? No, we count rubles/dollars/euro: one ruble, two rubles, etc. But we cannot count the word money, so it will be uncountable.

The same goes for water, milk, lemonade and other drinks. We cannot count these concepts ourselves: one water, the second water.

Therefore, liters and containers will be countable, but the liquid itself will be uncountable.

Let's look at each concept separately.

Countable nouns in English

countable nouns(count nouns) are those items that we can count.

For example:

One apple, two apples, three apples.
One apple, two apples, three apples.

Such words have their own characteristics, let's look at them.

1. Countable nouns are plural

• in the singular (one item)
• plural (several items)

In English, the plural is formed by adding the ending -s to a word.

For example:

cat - cats
cat - cats

cup - cups
cup - cups

bags
bag - bags

pen-pens
pen - pens

I talked in detail about the formation of the plural in this article.

2. With countable nouns, we use the article a/an

An article is a small label that is placed before certain words to help us catch information about them.

The article a / an comes from the word one and means “one thing”, “some, some”.

We use this article when we say about one subject. Therefore, we can only use it with items that we can count.

For example:

a cat
(one) cat

a bag
(one) bag

a phone
(one) telephone

a pen
(one) pen

You can read more about articles in English.

In addition to the article, we can use other words, depending on the meaning we want to convey.

Let's look at all the words that can come before the subject.

• The article a / an (when we are not talking about something specific, but about a general concept)

She bought a dress.
She bought a dress (some dress, we don't know which one exactly)

• The article the (if we are talking about something specific)

She bought the dress.
She bought a dress (we are talking about a specific dress that we know about)

• Possessive pronouns my, your, his, her, their, our (my, yours, his, her, them, ours). They show who owns the item.

She bought my dress.
She bought my dress.

• Words this (this), that (that)

She bought this dress.
She bought this dress.

3. With plural countables, we use the words many and few /afew

There is words that we can only use with things that we can count:

• many - a lot
• few - little
• a few - a few

For example:

We dealt with countable nouns, and now let's move on to uncountable ones.

Uncountable nouns in English

(uncount nouns) - something that we cannot count.

Uncountable nouns include:

• Food(usually something small, like a grain or shapeless)

Butter (butter), cheese (cheese), meat (meat), salt (salt), pepper (pepper), bacon (bacon), bread (bread), chocolate (chocolate), ice (ice), etc.

• Liquid

Water (water), lemonade (lemonade), coffee (coffee), milk (milk), tea (tea), wine (wine), petrol (gasoline), oil (oil), etc.

• materials

Gold (gold), iron (iron), wood (wood), plastic (plastic), paper (paper), etc.

• abstract concepts

Luck (luck), music (music), news (news), progress (progress), information (information), knowledge (knowledge), etc.

• gases

Air (air), oxygen (oxygen), smoke (smoke), etc.

• Diseases

Measles (measles), flu (cold), cancer (cancer)

• Kinds of sports

Chess (chess), baseball (baseball), football (soccer), poker (poker), golf (golf), etc.

• weather phenomena

Weather (weather), heat (heat), wind (wind), rain (rain), snow (snow), etc.

Uncountable nouns also have their own characteristics.

1. They don't change in numbers

Such words have only one form - singular.

2. With such words, we never use the article a / an

We cannot use the article a/an with something we cannot count. Usually with these words we use:

• Article the

For example:

I will take the chocolate.
I will take chocolate

• The word some - a little, a few
  

For example:

I will take some chocolate.
I'll take some chocolate.

3. With uncountable items, we use the words much,little/ alittle

There are words that we can only use with uncountable items:

• much (many)
• Little (little)
• A little

For example:

You drink so much coffee!
You drink so much coffee!

They have little money.
They don't have much money.

4. These concepts become countable when we talk about a piece / glass / liter / kilogram of something.

Uncountable:

Can you give me some bread?
Can you give me some bread?

Bring me some water.
Bring me some Water.

Countable:

Can you give me a piece of bread?
Can you give me a piece of bread?

Bring me a glass of water.
Bring me a glass of water.

To consolidate the difference between countable and uncountable nouns, let's look at the general table

Let's take a look at the general table and once again trace the difference between these concepts.

So, we dealt with this topic. Now let's put it into practice.

Reinforcement task

Exercise 1: Choose which of the following words are countable and which are uncountable:

Pear, football, milk, dress, water, lemon, sugar, car, ball, money, coffee, house, butter, bread, candy.

Task 2: Translate the following sentences into English:

1. I have a few oranges.
2. Has she made a lot of money?
3. Does she have many books?
4. Bring me a glass of wine.
5. I need sugar.

After all, you have to agree with. In other words, more than one grammatical topic concerns this category, because many points depend on exactly what kind of noun we are working with - with a countable ( countable noun) or uncountable ( uncountable noun). How do they differ from each other? This can be understood just by looking at their name.

Countable nouns

Countable nouns (“to be counted”) are words denoting the names of specific objects and abstract concepts that can be counted. And since they can be counted, they are used both in the singular and in the plural. Here are examples of countable nouns: table, picture, hours, holiday, offer, boy, decision, way out etc.

When using such words in the singular, you can put before them a / an: a table, a picture, an hour, an offer, a boy, a decision, a way-out. Moreover, a countable noun in the singular must always be accompanied by some determiner. If there is no indefinite article, you need or ( the), or ( my, his, our etc.), ( that, this). Let me remind you that a determinative is a linguistic indicator with a noun, expressing the meaning of certainty. For example:

• I saw a boy .
• This picture is a masterpiece.
• I approve of the decision you've made.
• I brokemy leg.

With plural countable nouns, we can use some (any, many, few):

some friends of mine will come to this party. Several of my friends will come to the party. (Some of my friends will come to the party).

Uncountable nouns

In contrast to the previous ones, uncountable nouns (“not subject to calculation”) are the names of substances, abstract concepts that cannot be counted. And, therefore, they are used only in the singular. Examples: knowledge, silver, music, milk, water, happiness, furniture, advice etc. These nouns cannot be used with indefinite articles a / an, but with the other determinants mentioned above (definite article, possessive, demonstrative pronoun) they can be combined.

They are also used with some indefinite pronouns: some, any, much, little. For example:

• These earrings are made of silver .
• I have some news for you.
• I don't like the music you are listening to now.
• Her beauty attracts me.

However, there are cases in which the use of an uncountable noun with an indefinite article is allowed. a / an, as well as with numerals ( one / two, etc.). This can be done when ordering food in a restaurant, cafe:

We'll have four coffees, please. We have four coffees.

Uncountable nouns include various edible products ( meat, flour, milk, salt, etc.), liquids ( petrol, coffee, etc.), substances and materials ( gold, wood, glass, etc.), abstract concepts ( help, education, etc.) and many other words ( advice, weather, hair, etc.). What if we need to use such a word in speech? How to transfer any amount? For this purpose, certain words are used: a piece of advice(advice), a bowl of fruit(bowl of fruit) a carton of milk(a carton of milk), a bar of chocolate(chocolate bar), a glass of wine(a glass of wine), a can of Coke(can of Coca-Cola) a tube of paint(tube of paint) a kilo of meat(kg of meat) a cup of tea(Cup of tea), a loaf of bread(a loaf of bread), a rasher of bacon(rasher).

If we are talking about material nouns, then we remember that there are nouns that denote not the substance itself, but the object that consists of this substance. Such a noun will already be countable. For example:

Their house is built of local stone. Their house is built from local stone. (uncountable noun)

I have a stone in my shoe. - I have a stone in my shoe. (countable noun)

In yet another way, real nouns can become countable: when they convey different sorts or kinds of a substance.

There is a live coal in the fire-place. - There is a burning coal in the fireplace.

You can read about four tips in choosing and using various body oils. - You can read four tips on how to choose and use different body oils.

What is the difficulty in understanding the principle of "computability-incomputability"? But the fact is that some nouns in English are uncountable, and in Russian or other languages, on the contrary, they are countable. Among them are the following words: baggage, bread, information, furniture, traffic, work, progress, accommodation, cash, clothes, cutlery, equipment, health, luck, money, photography, research, safety, sunshine, underwear, violence, etc.

That is great news! - What wonderful news!

May I give you two pieces of advice? May I give you two pieces of advice?

And there are nouns that can be used both as countable and as uncountable. But in this case, we will observe a difference in meaning. For example:

I ate three apples. - I ate three apples. (countable)

Is there apple in this salad? Is there an apple in this salad? (uncountable)

Would you like a glass of lemonade? How about a glass of lemonade? (countable)

This sculpture was made of glass. This sculpture is made of glass. (uncountable)

I'm pressed for time. “I don't have time at all.

How many times did you read this article? How many times have you read this article?

Countable and uncountable nouns is not the most difficult topic in English. And if you perceive every noun in English from the point of view of this language, and not your native one, you will master this topic without any problems.

Now test your knowledge by taking the following quiz:

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Test

Countable and uncountable nouns in English

One of the most basic parts of speech in English is The Noun or noun. English nouns can be divided into types depending on their meaning, composition, method of formation, number, gender or case. Today we will look at one such pair of groups and talk about what they are and how countable and uncountable nouns are used in English.

countable nouns

Countable nouns or countable nouns are nouns that can be counted, that is, counted. In simple terms, such nouns can be used in the plural.

Usually these include objects that we can feel with some sense organ, as well as collective nouns that characterize a group or class of people and animals. In addition to being used in the singular and plural, countable nouns can be used with both indefinite and definite articles. Some examples of countable nouns in English:

Generally, countable nouns are pluralized with the ending -s:

But some words are pluralized with -es:

There are also words that can have both -s and -es endings:

Note that not all words that are countable in English , can be counted in Russian.

1. If a word ends in -y, -es is added to it, and -y becomes -i:

True, if there is a vowel before -y, then the standard rule is used:

1. -ch, -tch, -sh, -s, -ss, -x, -z are also followed by -es:

1. Nouns that end in -f or -fe are pluralized into -v with the addition of -es:

1. However, there are such exception words, the plural of which is not formed using the above rules. These words just need to be remembered. Exception table:

Uncountable nouns in English

With uncountable nouns, things are a little more complicated. Uncountable nouns or uncountable nouns are nouns that cannot be counted. Such a noun is used only in the singular, but it does not have a plural. It also never carries the indefinite article a / an. Let's take a look at the list of uncountable nouns. These include:

• Abstract concepts:

• Natural phenomena:

• Liquids:

• Gaseous substances:

• Substances consisting of grains:

• Construction Materials:

• Diseases:

• Academic disciplines:

• Languages:

• Food:

• Games:

• Nouns formed from a verb with the suffix –ing (or gerund):

• a lot of - a lot. This pronoun is universal. It makes no difference whether it is followed by a countable or uncountable noun. Therefore, when in doubt, you can use it:

• little - little:

• a little - a little:

• some - a certain amount:

• any - some, some:

• a piece

• a loaf - loaf:

• a slice - a slice, a thin layer:

• a bottle - bottle:

• a glass - glass:

• a cup - mug / cup:

• a can - tin can:

• a bowl - bowl:

• a carton - carton packaging:

• a tube - tube:

Countable and uncountable nouns in English: turning countable into uncountable

Even though uncountable nouns cannot be counted, there are certain cases where they can become countable. This is possible in the following situations:

1. When a word has a different meaning, it can become countable:

Note that in these cases the countable nouns are made up of the materials that are listed in the uncountable ones.

1. Some nouns can be used with countables by adding the definite article a / an or -s / -es for the plural:

1. When the uncountable is implied in the meaning of a portion, it can also become countable:

We hope that after reading this article you will not have any questions regarding (un)countable nouns. To consolidate the material, sometimes return to this text, do the exercises and make up your own sentences.

√ Countable or uncountable.
√ Uncountable nouns.
√ Countable or uncountable in other languages.
√ When an uncountable noun is used as a countable.
√ Uncountable noun as countable in the singular.

Countable or uncountable.

Nouns can be either countable or uncountable. Countable nouns are those that can be counted, preceded by the article a/an, or used in the plural.

When an uncountable noun is used as countable.

a) Sometimes an uncountable noun is used when we talk about a substance or an idea, but a countable noun when we talk about containers for things. Compare:
She prefers coffee to tea. And
Four coffees (= cups of coffee), please.

About the kind / type of something, the brand or what the thing is made of. Compare:
There"s butter in the fridge. and There are a lot of butters (= brands of butter) to choose from..

About a specific example of a physical or some specific thing. Compare:
Karina has got black hair. and There's a hair in my soup!

About a specific example of a substance or idea. Compare:
The steps were made of stone. and She has got a stone in her sandal.
We were always bad at sport. and Badminton is mainly a summer sport in Belarus.

B) The same noun can be used both countable and uncountable. Compare:
- There is a lot of iron in Russia. (Metal)
- There was an iron on the table. (a device for clothes to make them smooth)

Other similar nouns like these include:

Weather- in all weathers.

A transport- impulse (emotions) I was in a transport of delight - I was in a fit of delight

Time- time, case. That has been the only time my parents disagreed.

Speech- give/make/deliver a speech - Each pupil had to delivered a short speech to the class.

Sight- sight, view, As they opened the front door they saw a strange sight. When they opened the front door, they saw a strange sight.

- the sights and sounds of the forest the sights and sounds of the forest

room- room. There are a lot of rooms at my place.

property- physical/chemical properties. physical / chemical properties

Paper- newspaper. Have you read today's paper yet? Have you already read today's newspaper?

Education lesson, experience. Having Jimmie to stay has been quite an education! Jimmy taught us a good lesson when we left him!

The noun damage can only be used as a countable plural:
David and Max had damage to the car.