countable and uncountable nouns: นี่คือโพสต์ที่เกี่ยวข้องกับหัวข้อนี้
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[Update] Understanding Countable And Uncountable Nouns | countable and uncountable nouns – NATAVIGUIDES
Here is a fun challenge: Let’s count some of the things you see around you. Count how many chairs are in the room you are in or how many clouds are in the sky if you are outside. Now, count how much happiness you have—one happiness, two happinesses, 987 happinesses?! Did our little challenge suddenly become a lot more difficult? If you know your grammar, you probably know that the words chairs, clouds, and happiness are all nouns, words that refer to people, places, things, and ideas. Our not-much-fun challenge has shown the difference between two particular types of nouns that we use. These are countable nouns and uncountable nouns.
Countable noun vs. uncountable noun
A countable noun, or count noun, is “a noun that typically refers to a countable thing and that in English can be used in both the singular and the plural and can be preceded by the indefinite article a or an or by a number.”
An uncountable noun, or mass noun, is “a noun that typically refers to an indefinitely divisible substance or an abstract notion, and that in English cannot be used, in such a sense, with the indefinite article or in the plural.”
Putting it simply, countable nouns refer to people, places, things, and ideas that you can count (1, 2, 3, 100, 987,00,000, etc.), and uncountable nouns refer to things you can’t. Let’s explore each of these types of nouns more thoroughly so you can get a better idea of how they are different.
Countable nouns
Of the two, countable nouns are more common and are relatively easier to understand. A simple way to tell if a noun is a countable noun is to ask yourself if the person or thing the noun is referring to can be counted. Most nouns that refer to people and places, for example, are countable nouns. Countable nouns can be either singular nouns or plural nouns. Countable nouns can use the articles a or an, and it makes sense to precede countable nouns with a number.
Examples of countable nouns
Many different nouns that refer to people, places, and things are countable nouns.
- People: friend, strangers, boy, girls, hunter, children, assistant, boss
- Places: island, town, countries, continent, neighborhoods, basement, garages
- Things: bags, hat, computer, books, vehicle, artichokes, wheel, trophies
Although it may seem strange at first glance, some abstract nouns can also be countable nouns. Ask yourself if it makes sense to put the articles a or an or a number in front of these nouns and you will see that these nouns can be countable nouns:
- idea, guesses, question, suggestion, alternatives, opportunities, dream, goals, problem
Don’t count yourself out if you need more explanation. We have a full discussion on countable nouns here.
Uncountable nouns
Compared to countable nouns, uncountable nouns are less common and are often harder to spot. An uncountable noun refers to a thing that cannot be counted. Unlike countable nouns, most uncountable nouns cannot use the articles a or an or can’t be preceded by a number. In addition, most uncountable nouns are treated as singular nouns and they don’t typically have plural forms.
Examples of uncountable nouns
Most uncountable nouns are abstract nouns that refer to things such as emotions, qualities, and concepts.
- Emotions: sadness, happiness, rage, anger, confusion, loneliness, envy
- Qualities: bravery, cruelty, kindness, agility, laziness, dedication, patience
- Concepts: cooperation, obscurity, art, entertainment, boredom, poverty, intelligence
Sometimes, concrete nouns can be uncountable nouns. Look at each of these words and think about if it makes any sense to put the articles a or an or a number in front of them:
- furniture, police, water, luggage, bread, baggage, air, milk, rain, snow, fog, smoke, wood, gold
Explore uncountable nouns even further in our useful article about them.
How do you use countable and uncountable nouns?
We have touched on it a little bit, but we use countable and uncountable nouns in different ways to make grammatically correct sentences.
As we’ve noted, countable nouns can typically use the articles a and an while uncountable nouns can’t. For example, it is correct to say I have a cat, but it is incorrect to say, “I bought a bread at the store.” (Instead, we’d say I bought a loaf of bread at the stores—two loaves, actually, because all this counting is making us hungry.)
Countable nouns can also follow a number while uncountable nouns cannot. You can say She owns three houses but it is wrong to say, “He feels two happinesses.” (Although some people may break grammatical rules for humorous effect.)
Countable nouns can be either singular or plural, which means they can use either singular or plural verbs as in The monkey eats bananas and My sisters are rich. Most uncountable nouns are singular nouns and use singular verbs as in Grammar is important.
Uncountable nouns often don’t have plural forms: for example, we generally don’t say our house is full of “furnitures” nor do we put “milks” in our coffee. Rather than use plural nouns, we often instead use the form “X of Y” to refer to different amounts of an uncountable noun. For example, we would say that we have three boxes of junk or a load of junk rather than incorrectly saying that we have “three junks” or “a junk.”
However, some uncountable nouns are plural and use plural verbs as in The police are at the crime scene or Those extra services were too expensive. Be careful of sneaky uncountable nouns like these!
The gray areas
Sometimes, a word can appear to be either a countable or uncountable noun depending on how it is used. For example, a person may say they want “two waters” or that they need “three ketchups” when they actually mean they want two bottles of water or three packets of ketchup.
This gray area is common when dealing with words with multiple meanings. Sometimes, a word can be either a countable noun or an uncountable noun depending on what exactly it is referring to. For example, the word iron can refer to an appliance used to get wrinkles out of clothes. In this case, iron is a countable noun because it makes sense to say We bought three irons at the store. However, the word iron can also refer to a chemical element. In this case, iron is now an uncountable noun because it doesn’t make sense to say that a molecule has “six irons.” It either contains iron or it doesn’t.
This is especially common when dealing with abstract nouns. For example, delight is an uncountable noun when referring to the happy emotion, but it is a countable noun when it refers to something or someone that causes happiness; It is grammatically correct to say The toy box was filled with many delights.
Tips for differentiating countable vs. uncountable nouns
It may seem obvious, but the biggest tip that will help you decide if a noun is a countable noun or an uncountable noun is to determine if whatever the noun is referring to can be counted or not. If it can, it is a countable noun. If it can’t, it is an uncountable noun. You can count beans, so beans is a countable noun. You can’t count greed, so greed is an uncountable noun.
Countable and uncountable nouns and fewer vs. less
Countable nouns lead us to the heated fewer vs. less debate. In general, we use fewer with countable nouns as in I need to buy fewer apples next time and less with uncountable nouns as in I think the puppy did better with less discipline. However, there are many exceptions to this general rule, such as when referring to distances as in The store is less than three miles away.
The words less and fewer are used interchangeably more and more often in everyday speech (no matter how grammar purists may feel about it—and they often feel very strongly about it).
Proper nouns issues
Up until now, we have only been focused on common nouns. But what about proper nouns? In general, we treat all proper nouns as if they are uncountable nouns. Proper nouns almost always follow the rules of uncountable nouns in that it doesn’t make sense to precede them with a, an, or a number. We don’t buy cars made by “a Toyota” and we don’t speak “six Germans.”
However, it is accurate to say that England has had six King Georges. Is the plural noun King Georges a countable noun in this sentence? We cannot solve this debate right now, but the important thing to keep in mind is that some people may argue that proper nouns can be considered countable nouns.
Finally, let’s put everything you have learned about countable and uncountable nouns to the test. Each of the following sentences has one example of a countable and uncountable noun. Can you tell which is which?
- Dolphins are known for their intelligence.
- I need to get more oil for my car.
- The tiny house was made of gingerbread.
- There is a baseball sitting in the grass.
- My daughters love to play baseball.
- I really like grammar, but I still need to learn about nouns.
Sneaky nouns, be gone!
You can count on Thesaurus.com’s Grammar Coach™. This writing tool uses machine learning technology uniquely designed to catch grammar and spelling errors. Its Synonym Swap will find the best nouns, adjectives, and more to help say what you really mean, guiding you toward clearer, stronger, writing.
Answers: 1. Countable; uncountable 2. Uncountable; countable 3. Countable; uncountable 4. Countable; uncountable 5. Countable; uncountable 6. Uncountable; countable
Uncountable Nouns – English Grammar Lesson
Do you know the difference between countable and uncountable nouns? The basic difference is quite simple, but this topic still needs attention. Often, countable and uncountable nouns are different in different languages. Also, some nouns can be both countable and uncountable with different meanings! We’ll look at these ideas in this lesson, and you can see how uncountable nouns work in English. Learn more with a certified English teacher: http://bit.ly/ooeteachers.
What’s the difference between paper and a paper? Why do we say trousers are… but news is…? Why can’t you say, ‘Can you give me an advice’?
You’ll learn the answers to all these questions in this lesson.
See the full version of this free lesson here:
https://www.oxfordonlineenglish.com/uncountablenouns
Contents:
1. A basic guide to uncountable nouns 0:40
2. Which nouns are uncountable? 4:06
3. Nouns can be countable and uncountable 7:09
4. Some other strange nouns 12:39
5. Making uncountable nouns countable 16:09
In this lesson you can learn:
The basic rules of uncountable nouns.
How to tell which nouns are uncountable.
How some nouns can be both countable and uncountable.
About uncountable nouns that are always in the plural form.
Ways to make uncountable nouns countable.
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Countable English Nouns | Fix Common Grammar Mistakes \u0026 Errors
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In this course you’ll practise what you learned in this lesson about countable nouns with quizzes and worksheets. PLUS, there are 9 more grammar lessons and quizzes to help you practise!
So many of YOUR English mistakes are related to the way that you use nouns! In this free video lesson, we are going to improve your use of English nouns!
There are two types of nouns countable and uncountable. Knowing the difference between them and how you can use these types of nouns is really important. It affects how you use:
articles (a/an/the)
much/many
some/any
a little/a few
so/such
Learning and understanding how countable and uncountable nouns are used differently in English will DRAMATICALLY improve your grammar!
I’ve made a worksheet that you can download so you can practice what you learn in this lesson.
This video, we’ll focus on countable nouns. You can check out my lesson on uncountable nouns right here: https://youtu.be/tjPoypKI11g
What you need to know about countable nouns:
Some nouns are ‘countable’ – very simply, you can count them!
We can say there are three, five or ten of these nouns.
Countable nouns have singular and plural forms.
For example: one lemon (singular), three lemons (plural)
You can use the articles ‘a’ and ‘an’, with the singular form of the noun: a glass, an apple, a banana…
What about plural countable nouns?
When you have a plural countable noun, you can use the number to say how many. Or you can use ‘some’ (when you don’t want to be specific about how many)
You can say: some red chillies, some potatoes, two forks and three zucchinis!
Most English nouns are countable nouns. Other examples include: day, week, hour, minute, dollar, task, story, job, coin, accident and appointment.
Countable nouns:
can be singular or plural.
use a/an when using the singular form
Use some when plural, but you don’t want to be specific
Use the number to be specific!
Read the full transcript to this video on my blog: https://www.mmmenglish.com/2017/05/31/countableuncountableenglishnounsfixcommongrammarmistakeserrors/countablenouns
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How to discuss a topic in a group
Five English teachers come together to show you how to discuss a topic in a group. You’ll learn how to give your opinion, interrupt, contradict, and more. We’ll teach you how to use expressions like \”in a nutshell\”, \”please let me finish\”, and \”don’t get me wrong\”. You can use these expressions confidently in personal, social, and professional situations. Make sure to test your understanding of the lesson at https://www.engvid.com/howtodiscussatopicinagroup/
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James http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=JamesESL
Alex http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=AlexESLvid
Adam http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=EnglishTeacherAdam
Rebecca http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=RebeccaESL
TRANSCRIPT:
Hi! My name is Rebecca, and in today’s lesson you’ll learn how to participate effectively in a discussion in English, something you may need to do in your personal, professional, or academic life, okay? Now, the topic we’ll use as our sample is this one: Is it better to study online or in a regular classroom? Okay? You’ll have a chance to hear a discussion by native English speakers on this topic. What I’d like you to do is listen for any special expressions and phrases that they use during the discussion. Afterwards, I’ll review the expressions and phrases with you, okay? Now, today I have some special friends who have agreed to help me with this lesson, and they’re waiting in the classroom next door, so let’s go and say hello to them.
Hello!
Hello!
Hi!
Hi!
Well, look who’s here. It’s
Ronnie.
Alex.
James.
Adam.
Thank you for joining me, and thanks for helping with this lesson, guys.
No problem.
No problem.
So you know we’re talking about discussions, and the topic is: Is it better to study online or in a regular classroom? Okay, who wants to go first?
Okay, so I’ll start, and I think that it’s actually very good to study online because it’s very convenient because you can study whenever you want and at your own pace. For example, someone like me, I like to study at nighttime. So for me, online works better because it’s quiet at night, no one disturbs me, and I can do what I need to do.
Okay, that’s true, but if you’re going to study online
Sorry, but
Please let me finish. Let me finish. As I was saying, that’s true, but if you’re studying online you do need to motivate yourself, so I think it’s better to be in a classroom where you have other students and a teacher who can motivate you.
That’s true, but some people can’t afford to go to a classroom and don’t have enough money or resources to actually go to a big school. So studying online, you can actually do it for free.
Me? Well, I would like to add May I say something?
Sure.
Soft skills. That’s not usually talked about in schools, but when we talk about \”soft skills\”, it’s actual interaction, utilizing your English when you’re with other people, and that’s hard to get online because you’re watching a screen and not actually interacting with other people.
You make a very good point but I would also like to add that sometimes having classmates takes you away from your focus because you have to maybe review things many times for other people to catch up, or you have to do topics that are interesting to other people, not to yourself. So it’s a little distracting sometimes, too.
However, focus is a good thing. I mean, it’s not a bad thing to repeat something because sometimes people don’t catch the material the first time. So that way, you go over the material, and they you know, you get depth. So you get to learn more, and people who don’t understand get the opportunity to ask questions and learn from it again.
Yeah, but sometimes the resources that you get in a classroom are boring, and online you can just look up whatever you need on the Internet, and you’ve got it right there. You don’t have to rely on a textbook. Sometimes it can be a bad textbook.
Preparing Dinner | Count and Non-Count Nouns | ESL Classics – songs for learning English
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It’s a fun way to learn English!
Count, Noncount Nouns Song – Rockin’ English
Animated musical English lesson on count and noncount nouns. Sing along, learn English and rock!
We can count the stars
We can count the numbers,
trees and books and cars
months and years and hours
but snow and rain
we can’t count the weather.
Time and space
we can only measure
We can count the clouds.
We can count the numbers,
birds and bees and pounds,
wishes dreams and flowers,
but North and South
we can only measure.
Water and air
happiness like weather
we can’t count.
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ขอบคุณมากสำหรับการดูหัวข้อโพสต์ countable and uncountable nouns