Cheese is countable. Countable and uncountable nouns in English - countable and uncountable nouns
Hello dear readers! Today I have prepared a very sensitive topic for you. After studying the material, you will become familiar with the main groups of uncountable nouns, learn how to denote the number of uncountable nouns in English, and also learn in which cases an uncountable noun can be used as a countable noun. The topic is not as simple as you might think. The fact is that when translating an uncountable noun from Russian into English, you can easily make a mistake. Very often, a noun that is countable in Russian is uncountable in English, and vice versa. Because of this, confusion arises. As you can see, this topic needs to be treated with special attention.
You could already familiarize yourself with countable nouns in the article: Plurals of nouns in English. Let me remind you that countable nouns in English denote objects and concepts that can be counted. They can be in singular or plural form. You could also familiarize yourself with the rules for forming the plural in the article “Plural nouns in English.” Let's move on to learning about uncountable nouns in English.
Uncountable nouns in English
Uncountable nouns are nouns that denote substances and concepts that cannot be counted. These include both real (liquid, gaseous, solid materials) and abstract nouns (natural phenomena, actions, feelings, etc.). But in English, unlike Russian, many nouns can be used both as countable and uncountable.
So, uncountable nouns are used only in the singular and, accordingly, agree with verbs in the singular. Remember that in English they are not used with the indefinite article a or an. If it is necessary to distinguish an uncountable noun from the general category of substances or concepts, the definite article is used the.
As a subject, they agree with the singular predicate. Can be replaced by singular pronouns. In most cases this is a pronoun it.
Classification of uncountable nouns
There are quite a lot of uncountable nouns in the English language, and in order to remember them better, you can classify them into groups. We have compiled a list of commonly used uncountable nouns in colloquial speech.
- Natural phenomena: darkness - darkness, snow - snow, fog - fog, gravity - gravity, heat - heat, humidity - dampness, light - daylight, hail - hail, lighting - lightning, rain - rain, thunder - thunder, sunshine - sunlight, weather - weather, wind - wind, etc.
- Liquids: petrol - gasoline, oil - vegetable oil/petroleum, coffee - coffee, water - water, tea - tea, lemonade - lemonade, milk - milk, wine - wine, blood - blood, etc.
- Gaseous substances: nitrogen - nitrogen, oxygen - oxygen, air - air, steam - steam, smoke - smoke, smog - thick fog, etc.
- Food: bread - bread, cheese - cheese, butter - butter, meat - meat, spaghetti - spaghetti, yoghurt - yogurt, etc.
- Languages: Russian - Russian, Greek - Greek, German - German, English - English, Arabic - Arabic, Chinese - Chinese, Spanish - Spanish, etc.
- Substances consisting of many small particles: semolina - semolina, rice - rice, flour - flour, corn - corn, dust - dust, salt - salt, sugar - sugar, pepper - pepper, sand - sand, etc.
- Diseases:Сancer - cancer, Flu - flu, Measles - measles, Mumps - mumps, Smallpox - chickenpox, Pneumonia - pneumonia, etc.
- Abstract concepts: space - space, energy - energy, advice - advice, beauty - beauty, time - time, education - education, wealth - wealth, happiness - happiness, honesty - honesty, health - health, help - help, laughter - laughter, intelligence - intelligence, knowledge - knowledge, justice - justice, truth - truth, information - information, news - news, homework - homework, work - work, grammar - grammar, vocabulary - vocabulary, etc.
- Names of disciplines: chemistry - chemistry, mathematics - mathematics, history - history, psychology - psychology, literature - literature, etc.
- Natural resources, building materials, metals: gold - gold, silver - silver, wood - wood, glass - glass, oil - oil, clay - clay, concrete - concrete, paper - paper, etc.
- Games: baseball - baseball, poker - poker, billiards - billiards, chess - chess, golf - golf, rugby - rugby, football - football, soccer - football, tennis - tennis, etc.
- Actions (gerund): driving - driving, walking - walking, studying - studying, drawing - drawing, rock climbing - rock climbing, swimming - swimming, etc.
Notation for the number of uncountable nouns
If you need to indicate the quantity denoted by an uncountable noun, use the following nouns:
- a piece - a piece (a piece of paper - a sheet of paper, a piece of news - news, a piece of advice - advice, a piece of information - information, a piece of furniture - a piece of furniture)
- a glass - glass (a glass of wine - glass of wine)
- a bottle - a bottle (a bottle of cognac - a bottle of cognac)
- a jar - jar (a jar of honey - jar of honey)
- a rasher - slice (a rasher of bacon - thin slice of bacon)
- a packet - packet (a packet of rice - packet of rice)
- a loaf - loaf (a loaf of bread - loaf of bread)
- and slice is a piece (and slice of bread is a piece of bread)
- a pot - a pot, a jar (a pot of yoghurt - a jar of yogurt, a pot of tea - a teapot)
- a cup - a cup (and cup of tea - a cup of tea)
- a kilo - kilogram (a kilo of meat - kilogram of meat)
- a tube - tube (a tube of tooth paste - tube of toothpaste)
- a bar - piece, tile (a bar of chocolate - chocolate bar, a bar of soap - piece of soap)
- a can - a tin can (a can of lemonade - a jar of lemonade)
- a carton - packaging (a carton of milk - packaging of milk)
- a bowl - bowl (a bowl of soup - bowl/bowl of soup)
Example of uncountable nouns in English Also, to indicate a large or small quantity denoted by an uncountable noun, use the following pronouns:
- much - a lot (much time - a lot of time)
- a lot of - a lot (a lot of chees - a lot of cheese)
- little - little, a little (little oil - little oil)
- some − a certain amount (to buy some tea - buy tea)
- any - any, any (to eat any spaghetti - there is some spaghetti)
Transition of nouns from uncountable to countable
1. In English, if a material noun is used to designate an object from a given material, the uncountable noun becomes countable and is used with articles a And an. (If the whole and its elements are denoted the same way.)
- hair hair − a hair hair
- wood tree, wood − a wood forest
- paper paper − a paper newspaper, document
- coal − a coal coal
- iron iron − an iron iron
2. In English, if a material noun is used to denote varieties, types or portions of something, the uncountable noun becomes countable and is used with articles a And an.
- He bought some tea. He bought tea. — He bought an Indian tea. He bought one of the Indian teas.
- I like coffee. I love coffee. − He bought a coffee. He bought (a cup of) coffee.
3. In English, if an abstract noun is used to designate a specific object or person, i.e. for concretization, the uncountable noun becomes countable and is used with articles a And an.
- beauty beauty − a beauty beauty
- light light − a light light, lamp
- life life − a life life path
- time time − a time times
- play game − a play play
4. In English, if the ending is added to an uncountable noun -s, -es, it becomes countable and is used with articles a And an.
We can all count. But is everything countable? For example, how to calculate the weather? Or water or money? “Well, we know how to count money!” - many will object. Okay, let's count: one money, two money, three... Is something wrong? But we can count rubles, dollars or euros very well. Why this conversation? Yes, besides, we will talk about countable and uncountable nouns in the English language.
Why is it important
The fact is that in English there are grammatical differences when using countable and uncountable. This concerns agreement between the subject and the predicate, formation, use, and use of indefinite pronouns.
How to determine countability
Everything is simple here: you need to count. If it turns out, it means the noun is countable. If not, uncountable. We've already counted the money, let's count something else. For example, milk. Try saying: I have five milk. The question immediately arises: why five? Liters? Glasses? Cans? This means milk is an uncountable noun, and a liter, glass or can is a countable noun. We can count hours, days, seconds, but we cannot count time. This means that time is an uncountable noun, and days and hours are countable. Using this principle, you can easily determine which noun is countable and which is not.
Countable nouns
Countables include specific items, objects, people, animals, which we perceive as separate units:
doll - doll
girl - girl
tree - tree
cat - cat
pencil - pencil
Some abstract concepts that can be counted can also be countable:
word - word
desire - desire
idea - idea
decision - decision
order - order
You can always put a numeral in front of them:
four cats – four cats
two decisions - two decisions
Uncountable nouns
Uncountable substances include any substance: liquid, solid, gaseous, or in powder form. This also includes abstract concepts, feelings, emotions, natural phenomena, various sciences and academic subjects, sports, etc. That is, everything that cannot be divided into separate units and, therefore, counted:
peace - peace
gold - gold
time - time
kindness - kindness
love - love
Features of some nouns
Let's take, for example, such nouns as coffee (coffee), tea (tea), beer (beer). These are liquids, they cannot be counted and we classify them as uncountable nouns:
I don't like coffee, I prefer tea.
I do not like coffee, I prefer tea.
But here's another example:
Give us two coffees and a tea, please.
Give us two coffee And tea, Please.
As you can see, seemingly uncountable liquids have become countable. Since in in this case We are not interested in abstract coffee and tea, but in a specific volume (cup, portion). We mean it, although we don't name it.
More examples
Here are some more examples where the same noun can have two categories. In this case, the semantic meaning of the word may change. Compare:
The statue is made of stone.
The statue is made from stone.
There are two beautiful stones in the girl's pocket.
The girl has (has) two beautiful pebble.
In the first case, stone is the substance from which the statue is made, so the noun is uncountable. In the second case, a stone is an object that can be counted.
The bridge was not sturdy because it was made out of wood.
The bridge was not strong because it was made of tree.
This wood is huge.
This forest(the forest area) is huge.
Forest is like wood, the material is an uncountable noun. And the forest as a specific area, a forested area, can already be counted.
The sun gives us light and heat.
The sun gives us light and warmth.
The light in the room was dim.
Light(lamp, light bulb) in the room was dim.
In the first case, the word “light” is used as an abstract concept, in the second, a specific light source is meant, of which there may be several (two light bulbs).
Michael has extensive experience in medicine.
Mikhail has a big one experience in medicine.
When we went to Moscow, we had some interesting experiences.
When we went to Moscow, we had several interesting adventure(experiences).
In the first sentence, experience is an abstract uncountable concept, in the second it is concrete interesting points from life that can be counted.
Thus, depending on the meaning, the same noun can be countable or uncountable. How to determine? The old proven way: count.
Language Differences
advice - advice
work - work
news - news
baggage - luggage
knowledge - knowledge
information – information, message
progress – progress, success
hair - hair
However, there are pitfalls here too. For example, the word hair is uncountable; in English, hair cannot be counted. But there is a noun a hair, which is translated as “hair” and is countable:
There are two hairs on your dress.
There (are) two here hair on your dress.
Let's move on to grammar
Determine countability English nouns We've learned it, now let's see where it can come in handy. The fact is that there are very important grammatical differences in the use of countable and uncountable nouns.
- English nouns vary in number and can be singular or plural. But this only applies to countable nouns. All uncountable nouns are used only in the singular. Don't try to pluralize them, it will be a mistake. In a sentence, uncountable nouns agree with the singular verb and can be replaced by the pronoun it:
This advice is very useful.
This advice very helpful.
Water freezes at a temperature of zero degrees.
Water freezes at zero degrees.
I would like to remind you that the word news also belongs to the uncountable, therefore, despite the ending – s, it is a singular noun:
No news is good news.
Absence news- good news.
- I think you know that nouns are used with articles, which can be and.
Both articles are used with countable nouns:
There is a big tree in the yard.
There is a big one in the yard tree.
The tree is very old.
Tree very old.
The indefinite article cannot be used with uncountable nouns. This can be explained simply: the indefinite article a/an comes from English word one, which means “one”. Since uncountable nouns cannot be counted, the article a/an cannot be used either. These nouns are either preceded by a definite article, or no article is placed at all:
Water is very important for life on the Earth.
Water very important for life on the ground.
The water in the stream is cold and clean.
Water the stream is cold and clean.
- Both countable and uncountable nouns can be used with the indefinite pronouns some and any. However, countable nouns in this case must be in the plural:
I have some friends in Brazil.
I have some friends in Brazil.
He took some money and went to the store.
He took money (some money) and went to the store.
- Using nouns with pronouns much, many, little, few also have their own rules.
- The pronouns many (many), how many (how much, how much), (a) few (little, little) can only be used with countable nouns:
He doesn't usually ask many questions.
He usually doesn't ask many questions.
There are a few flowers in the garden.
There is in the garden some flowers.
- The pronouns much, how much, (a) little are used only with uncountable nouns:
How much time do you usually spend on this kind of work?
How much time do you usually spend on this kind of work?
There is a little milk in the cup.
There is in the cup some milk.
- The expression a lot of (a lot) is used with any nouns:
There are a lot of cars in the yard.
In the courtyard a lot of cars.
There is a lot of water in the glass.
In glass much water.
Knowledge grammatical features countable and uncountable nouns will help you avoid many mistakes. But theory without practice is quickly forgotten. Channel “English – speak freely!” will give you the opportunity to practice your English at any time of the day. See you on air!
Countable nouns are those nouns that can be counted individually (two cups, three books, a thousand people). Uncountable nouns can have both singular and plural. one cup - one cup, five cups - five cups.
Uncountable- nouns that cannot be counted (water, love, money). That is, these are those nouns that cannot be preceded by a number indicating their quantity. For example, you cannot say: five loves, eight waters, ten money. The most common uncountable nouns are abstract concepts, solids and liquids. Uncountable nouns have only a singular form, even if translated into Russian in the plural. For example: money - money, hair - hair.
Rules for the use of phrases with countable and uncountable nouns
| Countable nouns |
Not countable nouns |
| Many
- a lot of |
Much
- a lot of |
|
Much and many are translated as "many", but much is used only with uncountable nouns, and many only with countable nouns. Much and many can be used only in questions and negative sentences . For affirmative sentences, "a lot of" is used.
The question "how much? how much?" in English it is given in different ways: for uncountables - how much? for countables - how many? (It is impossible to say how a lot of?) |
|
|
A lot of - a lot of In affirmative sentences, the phrase " is used to say "a lot". a lot of" (lots of). It is used with both countable and uncountable nouns. It can also be used in interrogative and negative sentences instead of the words much and many.
|
|
|
a few - A little I have a few books - I have several books (few books) |
a little - A little I have a little time - I have a little time |
|
few - few I have few books - I have few books |
little - few I have little time - I don’t have much time |
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 don’t deal with it from the very beginning, you will make mistakes as you further study the language.
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 table comparing countable and uncountable nouns
How to determine whether a noun is countable or not?
Noun- a part of speech that denotes an object or person and answers the question “who?”, “what?”.
How to understand which object 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 the money? Of course we can, you say. However, in English money is an uncountable noun.
Can we really say: “one money, second money, third money”? No, we count rubles/dollars/euros: 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 themselves: one is water, the other is 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 objects 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 have a plural form
- singular (one subject)
- plural (several subjects)
In English, plurals are formed by adding the ending -s to a word.
For example:
cat - cats
cat - cats
cup-cups
cup - cups
bag - 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 tag that is placed before certain words to help us grasp information about them.
The article a/an comes from the word one and means “one thing”, “some, some”.
We use this article when we speak 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) phone
a pen
(one) handle
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 appear in front of the subject.
- 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 kind of dress, we don't know which one exactly)
- 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 (mine, yours, his, her, theirs, 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 numbers we use the words many and few/afew
Eat words that we can only use with objects that we can count:
- many - a lot
- few - few
- a few - several
For example:
We've dealt with countable nouns, now let's move on to uncountable nouns.
Uncountable nouns in English
(uncount nouns) - something that we cannot count.
Uncountable nouns include:
- Food(usually something small, like cereal 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 by number.
Such words have only one form - the singular number.
2. With such words we never use the article a/an
We cannot use the article a/an with something that we cannot count. We usually use these words:
- Article the
For example:
I will take the chocolate.
I'll take the chocolate
- The word some - a little, several
For example:
I will take some chocolate.
I'll take some chocolate.
3. With uncountable objects we use the words much,little/ alittle
There are words that we can only use with uncountable objects:
- Much (a lot)
- Little
- A 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 reinforce 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.
| Countable nouns | Uncountable nouns |
| Something we can count For example: apple, cup, pen, telephone |
Something we can't count For example: sugar, water, information, money |
| May be plural For example: apple - apples, pen - pens |
Cannot be plural For example: money - moneys, sugar - sugars |
| Can be used with the article a Also used:
|
Cannot be used with the article a Most often used with:
|
| Used with words many, few/a few For example: many cups, a few apples |
Used with words much, little/ a little For example: much money, a little water |
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 several oranges.
2. Did she earn a lot of money?
3. Does she have a lot of books?
4. Bring me a glass of wine.
5. I need sugar.
When it comes to such a part of speech as nouns, one of the greatest difficulties in the learning process is given to students by countable and uncountable nouns in the English language. Here you need to navigate different cases of use and know a fairly extensive list of such words and exceptions. However, here you can find certain patterns, and for this it is necessary to consider the topic of countable and uncountable nouns of the English language in more detail.
Main features of countable and uncountable nouns
These linguistic elements, which are called countable or uncountable nouns, are characterized by the fact that, depending on belonging to a particular group, they can be used both in both numbers (singular and plural), and only in the singular. Those nouns that can be counted, that is, formed into a plural form, are called countable nouns. Uncountables are those that do not have plural forms and are used exclusively in the singular.
The rules for using these linguistic structures largely imply division into countable nouns - uncountable nouns from the point of view of the semantics of the noun itself, that is, the group to which this or that belongs. In this regard, it is possible to give an appropriate classification and determine in which groups the differences between countable and uncountable nouns are most obvious.
Main categories of countable nouns
For countable nouns, the translation allows for the formation of the plural. This group can be divided into two main categories:
1. Concrete nouns
These parts of speech demonstrate familiar objects that surround people. They can be easily counted, they are tangible and completely real. Examples of such words are lamp, window, dog, bottle, pen, etc. Each noun in this group can be given a plural and used in the appropriate context.
2. Abstract nouns
Despite the fact that very often nouns from this category are uncountable nouns, there are often situations when these words can be used in the plural. Here are vivid examples of such words:
· idea (from a logical point of view, the essence of this concept is abstract; at the same time, the word ideas is used in the language very often)
· hour (the word “hour” is also intangible, but has a plural form), etc.
One of the main indicators that a noun is countable is the article. General grammatical rules stipulate that any singular countable noun must have an article, except in some special cases related directly to the subject of the article. At the same time, plurals of countable (their plural forms) are not always used with the article.
Categories of uncountable nouns
An uncountable word differs from a countable word in that it does not have the ability to form a plural. Uncountable words in the English language are quite often similar in principle to Russian ones. At the same time, there are situations when a noun can simultaneously be both countable and uncountable, depending on different meanings. Examples of these words:
· hair (“hair”) – a hair (“one hair”)
· beauty (“beauty”) – a beauty (“beauty”)
· paper (“paper”) – a paper (“document”)
· time (“time”) – a time (“one time”)
· room (“space”) – a room (“room”)
· light (“light”) – a light (“lamp”), etc.
Just like countable nouns, uncountable nouns fall into two categories:
1. Abstract
In this group, of course, words are rarely counted (some exceptional cases have been described above). This category includes concepts or phenomena that are not tangible and carry an abstract meaning: sadness, kindness, love, despair, experience, etc.
2. Real
In English they are called nouns of material. This includes natural elements, substances and materials: cream, bread, soup, butter, milk, meat, etc.
However, sometimes it becomes necessary to form plural forms with uncountable nouns. To do this, it is customary to use additional words, for example:
· cheese (“cheese”) – two slices of cheese (“two slices of cheese”)
· biscuit (“biscuit, cookies”) – three pieces of biscuit (“three pieces of biscuit”)
· chocolate (“chocolate”) – two bars of chocolate (“two chocolate bars”)
Articles with uncountable nouns when the context requires it: if a word is mentioned with a qualifying definition (the love that he feels), the use of a definite article is quite acceptable.
In addition, there are some unusual exception words. These include fruit and fish. Although it is possible to form the plural with them, this is not always done. When talking about fruits or fish without listing, the form of the number will remain unique (this does not apply to the word vegetables). For example:
· Most fruit are tasty – Most fruits are tasty
· They have a lot of fish – They have a lot of fish
There are many special cases: there are exceptions in the formation of plural forms (child – children – “child – children”), in the use of the plural with products and dishes (cake – cakes – “cake – cakes”, salad – salads – “salad – salads” , sweet – sweets – “candy – sweets”). In some cases, it is allowed to use the word some with such nouns to emphasize a certain amount (some chicken - “a little chicken”, some grapes - “a little grapes”). For example, people as a countable means “people” and can be used with the ending –s. There are quite a lot of such cases, and you should know them in order to navigate the peculiarities of the language.
Frequently occurring uncountable nouns
Below is a kind of table with examples of uncountable nouns, which are found quite often in English:
money - money
advice - advice
clothes - clothes
food - food
furniture - furniture
information - information
news - news
luggage - luggage
meal - meal
watch - watch
homework - homework
knowledge - knowledge
weather - weather
All the nuances and exceptions described above are extremely important, since, as can be seen from the examples presented, they are very actively used in the language and are quite standard structures in terms of meaning. The correct use of even such a seemingly not very complex part of speech as a noun requires quite serious preparation. The easiest way is to carefully study all atypical cases of use in order to appropriately apply the corresponding constructions in speech.
