MODULO 8

COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE PART 2

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)

Some nouns in English are countable – we can use them in singular and plural forms. Some are
uncountable – they only have one form.

We often use  a/an with singular countable nouns and some with plurals. We can also
use some with uncountable nouns.

What are examples of countable nouns?

Here are a few:

I've got  a  steak,  some  red chilli peppers,  some  potatoes…

OK, well, I've got  a  lemon, an apple … and  some  chicken breasts.
I'd like  a  blue pen, please.

OK, so for things you can count, like one pen, two pens … Why did you say a  pen, not one  pen?

We often use a/an before singular countable nouns. Before words that start with a vowel sound,
we use an, and before words that start with a consonant sound, we use a.

So is one  wrong? As in Would you like one drink?

It sounds as if you're saying one (not two). If you're offering someone a drink, you'd say Would you
like  a  drink?

But someone who works in a café might say, So that's  one  coffee and  two  lemonades.

So it's usually  a or an for singular countable nouns and a number or some for plurals. How many
is some?

It can be any number more than one.

I got  some  new jeans at the weekend. (a pair of new jeans)

Some  teachers left at the end of the year.  (we don't know how many)

Is some or a number always used with plurals?

No, have a look at these examples

I'm frightened of  dogs. (dogs in general)

Strawberries  have a lot of vitamin C.  (strawberries in general)

What about uncountable nouns?

These are nouns that don't have a plural form.

I've got some  garlic  and some  butter.

I'm looking for information  about early rock and roll.
I haven't got enough  paper.
You have to get  permission  from the head teacher.
Do you want some  cake?

So, I can use some with uncountables too?

Yes, we use some with both countables and uncountables.

How do I know whether a noun is countable or uncountable?

A dictionary will tell you. Usually dictionaries use symbols [C] for countable and [U] for
uncountable.

Just a minute. You said cake was uncountable. What about I made a cake this morning?

Yes that's correct, but there's a difference in meaning.

I made  a cake  this morning.  (a whole cake – countable)

Do you want  some cake?  (a piece of cake – uncountable)
A box of  chocolates.  (individual chocolates – countable)
I'd like  some chocolate  too. (a piece or pieces of chocolate from a bar of chocolate – uncountable)

I thought coffee and lemonade were uncountable too.

Yes, they are usually.

I love  coffee  with hot milk.  (uncountable)

Can you get  some  coffee?  (uncountable)
I'll have  a coffee, please.  (a cup of coffee, countable)
Quantifiers

Quantifiers are determiners that describe quantity in a noun phrase. They answer the question

"How many?" or "How much?" on a scale from  none (0%) to all (100%).

We use some quantifiers only with countable nouns. We use some other quantifiers only with
uncountable nouns. And we use some with countable or uncountable nouns.

The table below shows quantifiers that can indicate quantity from 0% to 100%. Notice which ones
can be used with countable, uncountable or both:

  countable uncountable

100 all
%

every  

  most

many much

some

(a) few (a) little

fewest least

any

0% no
Like all determiners, quantifiers come at the beginning of a noun phrase, so they come in front of
any adjective(s).

Look at these example sentences:

 I want all  the eggs and I want all  the red wine.

 Please give me every  egg you have.

 Who has the most  eggs? Who has the most  money?

 We don't have many  eggs. We don't have much  money.

 I have some  eggs. I have some  money.

 I have a few  eggs. I have a little  money.

 I don't have any  eggs. I don't have any  money.

 We had no  eggs. We had no  money.

There are other quantifiers such as enough and several that cannot easily be shown on a scale:

 We have enough  eggs for the party. No need to buy any.

 There are several  eggs in the fridge but you'd better buy some more.

some, any, no

The quantifiers some, any and no are a kind of determiner.

Some is an unspecified quantity. It could be big or small, we don't know. Normally it is "medium".

Any is also an unspecified quantity. It refers to "one, some or all". So it's a quantity from 1 to
infinity (∞).

No is easy! No is ZERO (0).

The general rule is that we use some and no in positive (+) sentences and any in question (?) and
negative (-) sentences.

some example situation

+ I have some money. I have $10.

I have no money. I have $0.

? Do you Do you have $1 or $10 or $1,000,000?

have any money?

- I don't I don't have $1 and I don't have $10 and I don't have
have any money. $1,000,000. I have $0.

Look at these examples:

 He needs some stamps.

 I must go home. I have some homework to do.

 There were no stamps for the letters.

 I have no homework to do so let's go out.

 Does he need any stamps?

 Do you have any homework to do?

 He doesn't need any stamps.

 I can stay. I don't have any homework to do.

We use any in a positive sentence when the real sense is negative.

 I refused to give them any money. (I did not give them any money)

 She finished the test without any difficulty. (she did not have any difficulty)

Sometimes we use some in a question, when we expect a positive YES answer. (We could say that
it is not a real question, because we think we know the answer already.)

 Would you like some more tea?

 Could I have some sugar, please?

The determiner no is always used in a positive sentence. Do not use it in a negative sentence.

 I have no money.

 I don't have no money.