Unit 69 · Articles and nouns

Countable and uncountable 1

Study

A noun can be countable or uncountable:

Countable

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I eat a banana every day.

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I 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:

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Kate was singing a song.

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There's a nice beach near here.

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Do you have a ten-pound note?

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It wasn't your fault. It was an accident.

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There are no batteries in the radio.

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We don't have enough cups.

Uncountable

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I eat rice every day.

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I like rice.

Rice is an uncountable noun.

An uncountable noun has only one form (rice). There is no plural.

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

Examples of nouns usually uncountable:

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Kate was listening to music.

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There's sand in my shoes.

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Do you have any money?

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It wasn't your fault. It was bad luck.

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There is no electricity in this house.

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We don't have enough water.

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.):

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Do you want a banana? (not want banana)

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There's been an accident. (not There's been accident)

You can use plural countable nouns alone:

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I like bananas. (= bananas in general)

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Accidents can be prevented.

We do not 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.):

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I eat rice every day.

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There's blood on your shirt.

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Can you hear music?

You can use some and any with plural countable nouns:

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We sang some songs.

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Did you buy any apples?

We use many and few with plural countable nouns:

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We didn't take many pictures.

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I have a few things to do.

You can use some and any with uncountable nouns:

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We listened to some music.

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Did you buy any apple juice?

We use much and little with uncountable nouns:

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We didn't do much shopping.

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I have a little work to do.

→ Countable and uncountable 2 ➜ Unit 70 · children / the children ➜ Unit 75 · some and any ➜ Unit 85 · many/much/few/little ➜ Unit 87

Exercises (3)

0/3 exercises checked

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69.1

Some of these sentences need a/an. Correct the sentences where necessary.

1
Joe goes everywhere by bike. He doesn’t have car. example
2
Helen was listening to music when I arrived. example
3
We went to very nice restaurant last weekend.
4
I brush my teeth with toothpaste.
5
I use toothbrush to brush my teeth.
6
Can you tell me if there’s bank near here?
7
My brother works for insurance company.
8
I don’t like violence.
9
When we were in Rome, we stayed in big hotel.
10
If you have problem, I’ll try and help you.
11
I like your suggestion. It’s interesting idea.
12
Can you smell paint?
13
I like volleyball. It’s good game.
14
Lisa doesn’t usually wear jewellery.
15
Jane was wearing beautiful necklace.
16
Does this city have airport?

69.2

Complete the sentences using the following words. Use a/an where necessary.

accidentbiscuitbloodcoatdecisionelectricityiceinterviewkeymomentmusicquestion

1
The road is closed. There’s been .example
2
Listen! Can you hear ?
3
I couldn’t get into the house. I didn’t have .
4
It’s very warm today. Why are you wearing ?
5
Would you like in your drink?
6
Are you hungry? Have !
7
Our lives would be very difficult without .
8
Excuse me, can I ask you ?
9
I’m not ready yet. Can you wait , please?
10
The heart pumps through the body.
11
We can’t delay much longer. We have to make soon.
12
I had for a job yesterday. It went quite well.

69.3

Complete the sentences using the following words: air, day, friend, joke, language, meat, patience, people, picture, queue, space, umbrella. Sometimes the word needs to be plural (-s), and sometimes you need to use a/an.

airdayfriendjokelanguagemeatpatiencepeoplepicturequeuespaceumbrella

1
I had a camera with me, but I didn’t take any .example
2
There are seven in a week.
3
A vegetarian is a person who doesn’t eat .
4
Outside the cinema there was of people waiting to see the film.
5
I’m not good at telling .
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
Paul always wants things quickly. He doesn’t have much .
10
I think it’s going to rain. Do you have I could borrow?
11
How many can you speak?
12
Our flat is very small. We don’t have much .