| |
Classes of
Nouns
| |
Countable (C) |
Uncountable (U) |
Proper |
| Singular |
a
(one)biscuit |
butter, honesty |
John
Smith |
| Plural |
two
biscuits |
- |
the
Smiths |
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Always
singular (U)
The news
about your job sounds good. - Yes, doesn't
it?
That money
that was promised has never turned up.
eg (honesty)
Always
plural
These
scissors are
terribly sharp. - They're supposed to be.
People
who live in the centre of town often cycle
to work.
eg (clothes)
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Three
typical differences between countables and uncountables
| |
(C)
(biscuit) |
(U)
(money) |
| a,
an |
Would
you like a biscuit? |
- |
| several,
many, five |
There
were several biscuits left. |
- |
| prop-word
one |
This
is the last one. |
- |
|
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Two ways
of using uncountables and 'always plural' nouns
| |
use of C
noun + of
|
use of some
and any
|
| Uncountables |
a. a
piece of advice, information, evidence b. a loaf of
bread, a bar of soap
c. an
item of news
|
Is there any
bread in the house? He gave me some good
advice.
There was some
interesting news on the radio.
|
| Always
plural |
d. a
pair of trousers, glasses e. a pair of
scissors, binoculars
|
I've just
bought some new trousers. Have you got any
scissors?
|
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Some
zero-plural nouns
- sheep
- fish
- aircraft
- series
- steelworks
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Examples of collective
nouns
- The committee is / are
expected to report later this month.
- The committee consists
of six men and five women.
- The committee are
all hard-working people.
- The number of people on the
committee is going to be reduced
from 11 to 10.
- A number of people on the
committee are thinking of resigning
next year.
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Nouns
that can be both countable and uncountable
- U What wood
is this table made of? It's made of oak.
- C There are hundreds of oaks
in this wood.
- U Mary has a lot of work
to do.
- C Paul has an interesting
job.
- C The works
of Shakespeare
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