1.

Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into
separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count
"milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot count
"milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns:

 music, art, love, happiness

 advice, information, news
 furniture, luggage
 rice, sugar, butter, water
 electricity, gas, power
 money, currency

We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For

example:

 This news is very important.
 Your luggage looks heavy.

We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We

cannot say "an information" or "a music". But we can say a "something" of:

 a piece of news
 a bottle of water
 a grain of rice

We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:

 I've got some money.
 Have you got any rice?

We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:

 I've got a little money.

 I haven't got much rice.
Uncountable nouns are also called "mass nouns".

Here are some more examples of countable and uncountable nouns:

Countabl
e Uncountable

dollar money

song music

suitcase luggage

table furniture

battery electricity

bottle wine

report information

tip advice

journey travel

job work
 Countabl
e Uncountable

view scenery

When you learn a new word, it's a good idea to learn whether it's countable or
uncountable.

Nouns that can be Countable and

Uncountable
Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a
change of meaning.

Countable Uncountable

There are two hairs in my coffee! hair I don't have much hair.

There are two lights in our bedroom. light Close the curtain. There's too much light!

Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise. noise It's difficult to work when there is so much
There are so many different noises in the noise.
city.

Have you got a paper to read? (newspaper) paper I want to draw a picture. Have you got some
Hand me those student papers. paper?
 Countable Uncountable

Our house has seven rooms. room Is there room for me to sit here?

We had a great time at the party. time Have you got time for a cup of coffee?
How many times have I told you no?

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's greatest work I have no money. I need work!

works.

Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are usually uncountable. But if we are
thinking of a cup or a glass, we can say (in a restaurant, for example):
Two teas and one coffee please.

See also this list of nouns that are count and noncount, with example
sentences, notes and quizzes

https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/nouns-countable-both.htm
OriginalAlp habetical

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scissors
...

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pliers
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pincers
...


tweezers

tongs
...

headphones


binoculars


scales


handcuffs

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shears

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glasses/spectacles

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goggles
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clothes
...
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pyjamas
...

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knickers/pants

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underpants/pants
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jeans
...

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tights

jodhpurs
horseback riders pants

leggings
a pair of very tight trousers made from a material that stretches easily, usually worn by
women


dungarees
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shorts
...
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trousers
...
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braces
...

swimming trunks
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lodgings
a place to stay when not at home

goods
tangible products that we use to satisfy our wants and needs

foundations
under the building.
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premises
the building itself.
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authorities
a group of people who have the right to enforce laws

headquarters
‫مركز\ مراكز القيادة‬
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acoustics
the quality of the sound.
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contents
‫محتويات‬
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looks
appearance
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outskirts
the parts far from the center, as of a town
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traffic-lights
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stairs
...
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proceeds
money from selling tickets
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whereabouts
n. The place in or near which a person or thing is.

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billiards
...

dominoes


darts


bowls

cards
a game played with playing cards

physics
...
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economics
...
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classics
study of the literary works of ancient Greece and Rome
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gymnastics
...
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aerobics
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athletics
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maths
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means
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news
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spaghetti
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series
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https://quizlet.com/16576901/words-that-only-occur-in-the-plural-flash-cards/
Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns are not counted in English. This usually has to do with the way
English speakers think of these nouns. We often picture these nouns as a single
concept or one big thing which is hard to divide. Many of these words are countable in
other languages, but they ARE NOT countable in English. Generally, we do not use
plural forms of these words; however some of these words do end in "s", so don't get
confused.

Examples:

 Mack drinks a lot of water.

 Cindy gives great advice.
 Paul enjoys politics. Ends with "s" but uncountable

Uncountable nouns tend to belong to one of the following categories:

Liquids and Gases

 water
 coffee
 milk
 air
 oxygen

Solid and Granular Substances

 wood
 metal
 cheese
 sand
 rice

Energy Words and Forces

 electricity
  sunshine
 radiation
 heat
 magnetism

Subjects

 French
 chemistry
 economics
 science
 math

Grouped Concepts

 fruit
 money
 food
 vocabulary
 news

Information and Abstract Concepts

 information
 advice
 education
 democracy
 intelligence

Uncountable Plurals

Sometimes in English, we do use uncountable nouns in plural forms. This is most

commonly done with liquids and substances. It usually takes on the meaning of "cups
of", "bottles of" or "types of".

Examples:
  We'll have two coffees. Cups of coffee
 I bought three waters. Bottles of water
 The company produces two leathers. Types of leather

Different Meanings

There are certain words which have multiple meanings. It is possible for one meaning to
be countable and the other to be uncountable. Take for example the word "light":

Examples:

 I couldn't see anything because there was no light. Uncountable noun

 The Christmas tree was covered with hundreds of lights. Countable noun

Generally, the rules are still the same. The first use of "light" is a form of energy. The
second use of "light" means "small light bulbs", which are normal countable objects.

EXERCISES AND RELATED TOPICS

 Countable vs. Uncountable Nouns Exercise 1

http://www.englishpage.com/minitutorials/countable-uncountable-nouns.htm
PLURAL 
NOUN FORMS

Select from the follow ing

In love with nouns? We also have sections on

 Plain ol' nouns

 An exercise in recognizing nouns
 Count versus non-count nouns
 An exercise in categorizing count- and non-count
nouns
 Possessive forms of nouns

The plural form of most nouns is created simply by adding the letter s.

 more than one snake = snakes

 more than one ski = skis
 more than one Barrymore = Barrymores

Words that end in -ch, x, s or s-like sounds, however, will require an -es for the plural:

 more than one witch = witches

 more than one box = boxes
 more than one gas = gases
 more than one bus = buses
 more than one kiss = kisses
 more than one Jones = Joneses

Note that some dictionaries list "busses" as an acceptable plural for "bus." Presumably, this is
because the plural "buses" looks like it ought to rhyme with the plural of "fuse," which is "fuses."
"Buses" is still listed as the preferable plural form. "Busses" is the plural, of course, for "buss," a
seldom used word for "kiss."
 There are several nouns that have irregular plural forms. Plurals formed in this way are
sometimes called mutated (or mutating) plurals.

 more than one child = children

 more than one woman = women
 more than one man = men
 more than one person = people
 more than one goose = geese
 more than one mouse = mice
 more than one barracks = barracks
 more than one deer = deer

And, finally, there are nouns that maintain their Latin or Greek form in the plural. (See
media and data and alumni, below.)

 more than one nucleus = nuclei

 more than one syllabus = syllabi
 more than one focus = foci
 more than one fungus = fungi
 more than one cactus = cacti (cactuses is acceptable)
 more than one thesis = theses
 more than one crisis = crises*
 more than one phenomenon = phenomena
 more than one index = indices (indexes is acceptable)
 more than one appendix = appendices (appendixes is acceptable)
 more than one criterion = criteria

*Note the pronunciation of this word, crises: the second syllable sounds like ease. More than one base in the game of
baseball is bases, but more than one basis for an argument, say, is also bases, and then we pronounce the word
basease.

A handful of nouns appear to be plural in form but take a singular verb:

 The news is bad.
 Gymnastics is fun to watch.
 Economics/mathematics/statistics is said to be difficult. ("Economics" can sometimes be a
plural concept, as in "The economics of the situation demand that . . . .")

Numerical expressions are usually singular, but can be plural if the individuals within a
numerical group are acting individually:

 Fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money.

 One-half of the faculty is retiring this summer.
 One-half of the faculty have doctorates.
 Fifty percent of the students have voted already.
 And another handful of nouns might seem to be singular in nature but take a plural form and
always use a plural verb:

 My pants are torn. (Nowadays you will sometimes see this word as a singular "pant"
[meaning one pair of pants] especially in clothing ads, but most writers would regard that
as an affectation.)
 Her scissors were stolen.
 The glasses have slipped down his nose again.

When a noun names the title of something or is a word being used as a word, it is singular
whether the word takes a singular form or not.

 Faces is the name of the new restaurant downtown.

 Okies, which most people regard as a disparaging word, was first used to describe the
residents of Oklahoma during the 1930s.
 Chelmsley Brothers is the best moving company in town.
 Postcards is my favorite novel.
 The term Okies was used to describe the residents of Oklahoma during the 1930s. (In this
sentence, the word Okies is actually an appositive for the singular subject, "term.")

Plural Compound Nouns

Compound words create special problems when we need to pluralize them. As a general
rule, the element within the compound that word that is pluralized will receive the plural -s, but
it's not always that simple. Daughters-in-law follows the general rule, but cupfuls does not. See
the special section on Compound Nouns and Modifiers or, better yet, a good dictionary, for
additional help.

Problem Children

Many careful writers insist that the words data and media are Latin plurals and must,
therefore, be used as plural words. The singular Latin forms of these words, however, are seldom
used:datum as a single bit of information or medium as a single means of communication. Many
authorities nowadays approve sentences like My data is lost. and The media is out to get the
President. Even textbooks in computer science are beginning to use "data" as a singular.

Alumni and alumnae remain problematic. The plural of masculine

singular alumnus is alumni; the plural of feminine singular alumna is alumnae. In traditional
Latin, the masculine plural form, alumni, could include both genders. This does not go over well
with some female alums. We note, furthermore, that Vassar College, which now has both, has
lists of alumni and alumnae. Hartford College for Women, we assume, has only alumnae. In its
publication style manual, Wesleyan University approves of alumni/ae. The
genderless graduate and the truncated and informalalum have much to commend them.
Special Cases

With words that end in a consonant and a y, you'll need to change the y to an i and add es.

 more than one baby = babies

 more than one gallery = galleries
(Notice the difference between this and galleys, where the final y is not preceded by a
consonant.)
 more than one reality = realities
This rule does not apply to proper nouns:
 more than one Kennedy = Kennedys

Words that end in o create special problems.

 more than one potato = potatoes

 more than one hero = heroes
. . . however . . .
 more than one memo = memos
 more than one cello = cellos
. . . and for words where another vowel comes before the o . . .
 more than one stereo = stereos

Plurals of words that end in -f or -fe usually change the f sound to a v sound and add s or -es.

 more than one knife = knives

 more than one leaf = leaves
 more than one hoof = hooves
 more than one life = lives
 more than one self = selves
 more than one elf = elves

There are, however, exceptions:

 more than one dwarf = dwarfs

 more than one roof = roofs

When in doubt, as always, consult a dictionary. Some dictionaries, for instance, will list
both wharfs and wharves as acceptable plural forms of wharf. It makes for good arguments when
you're playing Scrabble. The online version of Merriam-Webster's WWWebster
Dictionary should help.
Collective Nouns, Company Names, 
Family Names, Sports Teams

There are, further, so called collective nouns, which are singular when we think of them as
groups and plural when we think of the individuals acting within the whole (which happens
sometimes, but not often).

audience family kind

band flock lot
class group [the] number
committee heap public
crowd herd staff
dozen jury team

Thus, if we're talking about eggs, we could say "A dozen is probably not enough." But if
we're talking partying with our friends, we could say, "A dozen are coming over this afternoon."
The jury delivers its verdict. [But] The jury came in and took their seats. We could say the Tokyo
String Quartet is one of the best string ensembles in the world, but we could say the
Beatleswere some of the most famous singers in history. Generally, band names and musical
groups take singular or plural verbs depending on the form of their names: "The Mamas and the
Papas wereone of the best groups of the 70s" and "Metallica is my favorite band."

Note that "the number" is a singular collective noun. "The number of applicants is steadily
increasing." "A number," on the other hand, is a plural form: "There are several students in the
lobby. A number are here to see the president."

Collective nouns are count nouns which means they, themselves, can be pluralized: a

university has several athletic teams and classes. And the immigrant families kept watch over
theirherds and flocks.

The word following the phrase one of the (as an object of the preposition of) will always be
plural.

 One of the reasons we do this is that it rains a lot in spring.

 One of the students in this room is responsible.

Notice, though, that the verb ("is") agrees with one, which is singular, and not with
the object of the preposition, which is always plural.

When a family name (a proper noun) is pluralized, we almost always simply add an "s." So
we go to visit the Smiths, the Kennedys, the Grays, etc.When a family name ends in s, x, ch,
sh,or z, however, we form the plural by added -es, as in the Marches, the Joneses, the Maddoxes,
the Bushes, the Rodriguezes. Do not form a family name plural by using an apostrophe; that
device is reserved for creating possessive forms.

When a proper noun ends in an "s" with a hard "z" sound, we don't add any ending to form
the plural: "The Chambers are coming to dinner" (not the Chamberses); "The Hodges used to
live here" (not the Hodgeses). There are exceptions even to this: we say "The Joneses are coming
over," and we'd probably write "The Stevenses are coming, too." A modest proposal: women
whose last names end in "s" (pronounced "z") should marry and take the names of men whose
last names do not end with that sound, and eventually this problem will disappear.

The names of companies and other organizations are usually regarded as singular,

regardless of their ending: "General Motors has announced its fall lineup of new vehicles." Try
to avoid the inconsistency that is almost inevitable when you think of corporate entities as a
group of individuals: "General Motors has announced their fall lineup of new vehicles." But note
that some inconsistency is acceptable in all but the most formal writing: "Ford has announced its
breakup with Firestone Tires. Their cars will no longer use tires built by Firestone." Some writers
will use a plural verb when a plural construction such as "Associates" is part of the company's
title or when the title consists of a series of names: "Upton, Vernon, and Gridley are moving to
new law offices next week" or "Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego & Associates have won
all their cases this year." Singular verbs and pronouns would be correct in those sentences, also.

The names of sports teams, on the other hand, are treated as plurals, regardless of the form
of that name. We would write that "The Yankees have signed a new third baseman" and "The
Yankees are a great organization" (even if we're Red Sox fans) and that "For two years in a row,
the Utah Jazz have attempted to draft a big man." When we refer to a team by the city in which it
resides, however, we use the singular, as in "Dallas has attempted to secure the services of two
assistant coaches that Green Bay hopes to keep." (This is decidedly not a British practice. In the
UK, the city or country names by which British newspapers refer to soccer teams, for example,
are used as plurals — a practice that seems odd and inconsistent to American ears: "A minute's
silence will precede the game at Le Stadium today, when Toulouse play Munster, and tomorrow
at Lansdowne Road, when Leinster attempt to reach their first European final by beating
Perpignan" [report in the online London Times].)

In a rare dictum-making mood, William Safire (in No Uncertain Terms, 2003) declares that
pluralized names like Packers and Yankees should take plural verbs (obviously), but that team
names like the Jazz, the Heat, the Lightning, the Connecticut Sun should take singular verbs.
This dictum seems to prevail in Safire's own New York Times: "The [Miami] Heat, typical of its
resilience at home, was far from through. " But just about everywhere else in the world of sports
reporting, this is not the case. Even in the Times, an AP report asserts that "The Heat, down 2-0
in the East Conference semifinal series, have won 16 straight home games." The Boston
Globe says that "the [New England] Revolution are reestablishing their reputation for
resourcefulness and spirited play." and "the Heat werein it in the first half." The Hartford
Courant writes that "When the Connecticut Sun play an exhibition game tonight in Houston,
coach Mike Thibault will have two more players." Finally, NBA Media Ventures writes that "The
Utah Jazz were expected to follow the rebuilding mode… ." [All quotations are from May 10th
and 20th, 2004, online sources.)

Plurals and Apostrophes

We use an apostrophe to create plural forms in two limited situations: for pluralized
letters of the alphabet and when we are trying to create the plural form of a word that refers to
the word itself. Here we also should italicize this "word as word," but not the 's ending that
belongs to it. Do not use the apostrophe+s to create the plural of acronyms (pronounceable
abbreviations such as laser and IRA and URL*) and other abbreviations. (A possible exception
to this last rule is an acronym that ends in "S": "We filed four NOS's in that folder.")

 Jeffrey got four A's on his last report card.

 Towanda learned very quickly to mind her p's and q's.
 You have fifteen and's in that last paragraph.

Notice that we do not use an apostrophe -s to create the plural of a word-in-itself. For instance,
we would refer to the "ins and outs" of a mystery, the "yeses and nos" of a vote (NYPL Writer's
Guide to Style and Usage), and we assume that Theodore Bernstein knew what he was talking
about in his book Dos, Don'ts & Maybes of English Usage. We would also write "The shortstop
made two spectacular outs in that inning." But when we refer to a word-as-a-word, we first
italicize it — I pointed out the use of the word out in that sentence. — and if necessary, we
pluralize it by adding the unitalicized apostrophe -s — "In his essay on prepositions, Jose used an
astonishing three dozen out's." This practice is not universally followed, and in newspapers, you
would find our example sentence written without italics or apostrophe: "You have fifteen ands in
that last paragraph."

Some abbreviations have embedded plural forms, and there are often inconsistencies in
creating the plurals of these words. The speed of an internal combustion engine is measured in
"revolutions per minute" or rpm (lower case) and the efficiency of an automobile is reported in
"miles per gallon" or mpg (no "-s" endings). On the other hand, baseball players love to
accumulate "runs batted in," a statistic that is usually reported as RBIs (although it would not be
terribly unusual to hear that someone got 100 RBI last year — and some baseball commentators
will talk about "ribbies," too). Also, the U.S. military provides "meals ready to eat" and those
rations are usually described as MREs (not MRE). When an abbreviation can be used to refer to
a singular thing — a run batted in, a meal ready-to-eat, a prisoner of war — it's surely a good
idea to form the plural by adding "s" to the abbreviation: RBIs, MREs, POWs. (Notice that no
apostrophe is involved in the formation of these plurals. Whether abbreviations like these are
formed with upper- or lower-case letters is a matter of great mystery; only your dictionary editor
knows for sure.)

Notice, furthermore, that we do not use an apostrophe to create plurals in the following:

 The 1890s in Europe are widely regarded as years of social decadence.

 I have prepared 1099s for the entire staff.
 Rosa and her brother have identical IQs, and they both have PhDs from Harvard.
 She has over 400 URLs* in her bookmark file.

Authority for this last paragraph: Keys for Writers: A Brief Handbook by Ann Raimes. Houghton Mifflin: New York.
1996.

Singular Subjects, Plural Predicates, etc.

We frequently run into a situation in which a singular subject is linked to a plural predicate:

 My favorite breakfast is cereal with fruit, milk, orange juice, and toast.

Sometimes, too, a plural subject can be linked to singular predicate:

 Mistakes in parallelism are the only problem here.

In such situations, remember that the number (singular or plural) of the subject, not the predicate,
determines the number of the verb. See the section on Subject-Verb Agreement for further
help.

A special situation exists when a subject seems not to agree with its predicate. For instance,
when we want each student to see his or her counselor (and each student is assigned to only one
counselor), but we want to avoid that "his or her" construction by pluralizing, do we say
"Students must see their counselors" or "Students must see their counselor"? The
singular counselor is necesssary to avoid the implication that students have more than one
counselor apiece. Do we say "Many sons dislike their father or fathers"? We don't mean to
suggest that the sons have more than one father, so we use the singular father. Theodore
Bernstein, in Dos, Don'ts and Maybes of English Usage, says that "Idiomatically the noun
applying to more than one person remains in the singular when (a) it represents a quality or thing
possessed in common ("The audience's curiosity was aroused"); or (b) it is an abstraction ("The
judges applied their reason to the problem"), or (c) it is a figurative word ("All ten children had a
sweet tooth") (203). Sometimes good sense will have to guide you. We might want to say
"Puzzled, the children scratched their head" to avoid the image of multi-headed children, but
"The audience rose to their foot" is plainly ridiculous and about to tip over.
 In "The boys moved their car/cars," the plural would indicate that each boy owned a car, the
singular that the boys (together) owned one car (which is quite possible). It is also possible that
each boy owned more than one car. Be prepared for such situations, and consider carefully the
implications of using either the singular or the plural. You might have to avoid the problem by
going the opposite direction of pluralizing: moving things to the singular and talking about what
each boy did.

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/plurals.htm
Nouns: countable and uncountable
from English Grammar Today
Countable nouns

Some nouns refer to things which, in English, are treated as separate items which can
be counted. These are called countable nouns. Here are some examples:

a car, three cars

my cousin, my two cousins

a book, a box full of books

a city, several big cities

Singular and plural

Countable nouns can be singular or plural. They can be used with a/an and with
numbers and many other determiners (e.g. these, a few):

She’s got two sisters and a younger brother.

Most people buy things like cameras and MP3-players online these days.

These shoes look old now.

I’ll take a few magazines with me for the flight.

See also:
 Determiners (the, my, some, this)
 Singular and plural nouns
 Nouns
Uncountable nouns

In English grammar, some things are seen as a whole or mass. These are called
uncountable nouns, because they cannot be separated or counted.

Some examples of uncountable nouns are:

Ideas and experiences: advice, information, progress, news, luck, fun, work

Materials and substances: water, rice, cement, gold, milk

Weather words: weather, thunder, lightning, rain, snow

Names for groups or collections of things: furniture, equipment, rubbish, luggage

Other common uncountable nouns include: accommodation, baggage, homework,

knowledge, money, permission, research, traffic, travel.

These nouns are not used with a/an or numbers and are not used in the plural.

We’re going to get new furniture for the living room.

Not: We’re going to get a new furniture for the living room . or We’re going to get new
furnitures for the living room .

We had terrible weather last week.

Not: We had a terrible weather last week .

We need rice next time we go shopping.

Some nouns always have plural form but they are uncountable because we cannot
use numbers with them.

I bought two pairs of trousers.

Not: I bought two trousers.

Other nouns of this type are: shorts, pants, pyjamas, glasses (for the

eyes), binoculars, scissors.

Warning:

Some nouns which are uncountable in English are countable in other languages
(e.g. accommodation, advice, furniture, information):

They can give you some information about accommodation at the tourist office.

Not: They can give you some informations about accommodations at the tourist office .
Can you give me some advice about buying a second-hand car?

Not: Can you give me some advices about buying a second-hand car?

A good learner’s dictionary will tell you whether a noun is countable or uncountable.

Quantity expressions (a bit/piece)

To refer to one or more quantities of an uncountable noun, expressions such as a bit
of, a piece of, an item of or words for containers and measures must be used:

He bought a very expensive piece of furniture for his new apartment.

Maggie always has some exciting bits of news when she comes to see us.

I think we’ll need five bags of cement for the patio.

There’s a litre of milk in the fridge for you. And I bought you a bar of chocolate.

Determiners (my, some, the)

Uncountable nouns can be used with certain determiners (e.g. my, her, some,

any, no,the, this, that) and expressions of quantity (e.g. a lot of, (a) little):

They gave me some information about courses and scholarships and things.

Have you heard the news? Fran’s getting engaged.

She’s been studying hard and has made a lot of progress.

There’s no work to do here, so you can go home if you like.

This milk’s a bit old, I’m afraid.

See also:
 Determiners (the, my, some, this)
Countable phrases for uncountable nouns

We can sometimes use countable noun phrases to talk about an individual example of
the thing an uncountable noun refers to.
 uncountable countable

accommodation a house, a flat, a place to live, a place to stay

baggage/luggage a suitcase, a bag, a rucksack

bread a loaf (of bread), a (bread) roll

lightning a flash of lightning

luck a stroke of luck

money a note, a coin, a sum of money, a euro, a dollar

poetry a poem

rain a shower, a downpour, a storm

travel a journey, a trip

work a job, a task

Finding a place to live is difficult if you’re a student and you’ve got no

money. (orFinding accommodation …)

Not: Finding an accommodation  …

She brought two big suitcases and a rucksack with her.

Not: She brought two big luggages  …

I read a poem once about someone riding a horse at night.

Not: I read a poetry …

We went on a trip to the Amazon when we were in Brazil.

Not: We went on a travel …

Countable and uncountable nouns with different meanings

Some nouns can be used either countably or uncountably, but with different meanings.

Compare

Countable use Uncountable use

We bought a new iron and an ironing People believed that ships made

board. of iron would sink.

The table was made of

I broke a glass yesterday.
hardened glass.

Would you like a chocolate? Would you like some chocolate?

Let’s get a paper and see what’s on at the

The printer has run out ofpaper.
cinema.

‘Hamlet’ is one of Shakespeare’s most

I had work to do so I couldn’t go out.
famous works.

Uncountable nouns used countably

Measures and examples

Sometimes uncountable nouns are used countably, to mean ‘a measure of something’

or ‘a type or example of something’:

Can I have two teas and one coffee, please? (two cups of tea and one cup of coffee
…?)

A:
How many sugars do you want in your tea? (How many spoonfuls/lumps of sugar?)

B:

Just one, please.

To some degree we tend to eat the foods that we ate as children. (i.e. types of food)

Abstract nouns

Some abstract nouns can be used uncountably or countably. The uncountable use
has a more general meaning. The countable use has a more particular meaning.

Nouns of this type include: education, experience, hatred, help, knowledge, life, love,
sleep, time, understanding.

Compare

uncountable use countable use

The first daughter had a very

Good education is the best investment in
expensive education at a private
Britain’s future.
school in France.
(education in general)
(the time one person spent at school)

Love is like a physical pain for some I’ve always had a love of poetry, ever
people. since I was a child.
(love in general/all love) (a specific liking for something)

They have a quiz every week, with The job requires a knowledge of
questions about generalknowledge. statistics and basic computing.
(all knowledge/knowledge in general) (a specific type of knowledge)

Time passes more and more quickly as We had a great time in Ibiza. We

you grow older. didn’t want to come home.
(time in general) (a specific period of time)

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/nouns-countable-and-uncountable
3 THE COLLECTIVE NOUN
Recognize a collective noun when you see one.

Nouns name people, places, and things. Collective nouns, a

special class, namegroups [things] composed
of members [usually people]. Check out the chart below:

Collective Nouns

army council minority

audience department navy
board faculty public
cabinet family school
class firm senate
committee group society
company jury team
corporation majority troupe
Use correct verbs and
pronouns with collective
nouns.
Each noun from the list above is a single thing. That thing,
however, is made up ofmore than one person. You cannot have a
committee, team, or family of one; you need at least two people to
compose the unit.

Because people behave as both herd animals and solitary

creatures, collective nouns can be either singular or plural,
depending on context. In writing, this double status often causes
agreement errors. How do you tell if a collective noun is singular
or plural? What verbs and pronouns do you use with the collective
noun?

Here is the key: Imagine a flock of pigeons pecking at birdseed on

the ground. Suddenly, a cat races out of the bushes. What do the
pigeons do? They fly off as a unit in an attempt to escape the
predator, wheeling through the sky in the same direction.

People often behave in the same manner, doing one thing in

unison with the other members of their group. When these people
are part of a collective noun, that noun becomes singular and
requires singular verbs and pronouns. As you read the following
examples, notice that all members of the collective noun are doing
thesame thing at the same time:

Every afternoon the baseball  team follows its  coach

out to the hot field for practice.

Team = singular; follows = a singular verb; its = a singular

pronoun. All members of the team arrive at the same place at the
same time.

Today, Dr. Ribley's  class takes its  first 100-item

exam.

Class = singular; takes = a singular verb; its = a singular

pronoun. All members of the class are testing at the same time.

The jury agrees  that the state prosecutors did not

provide enough evidence, so  its verdict is not guilty.

Jury = singular; agrees = a singular verb; its = a singular

pronoun. All members of the jury are thinking the same way.

Now imagine three house cats in the living room. Are the cats
doing the same thing at the same time? Not this group! One cat
might be sleeping on top of the warm television. Another might be
grooming on the sofa. A third animal might be perched on the
windowsill, watching the world outside. There is one group of
animals, but the members of that group are all doing their own
thing.
Members of collective nouns can behave in a similar fashion.
When the members are acting as individuals, the collective noun
is plural and requires plural verbs and pronouns. As you read
these examples, notice that the members of the collective noun
are not acting in unison:

After the three-hour practice under the brutal sun,

the  team shower , change into their street clothes,
and head to theirair-conditioned homes.

Team = plural; shower, change, head = plural verbs; their =

a plural pronoun. The teammates are dressing into their
individual outfits and leaving in different directions for their
individual homes.

After the long exam, the  class start their  research

papers on famous mathematicians.

Class = plural; start = a plural verb; their = a plural pronoun.

The students are beginning their own research papers—in
different places, at different times, on different mathematicians.

The jury disagree  about the guilt of the accused

and have told  the judge that  they are hopelessly
deadlocked.

Jury = plural; disagree, have told = plural verbs; they = a

plural pronoun. Not everyone on the jury is thinking the same
way.
Whenever you cannot decide if a collective noun is singular or
plural, exercise your options as a writer. You have two ways that
you can compose the sentence without causing an agreement
error: 1) insert the word members after the collective noun
[jury members, committee members, board members],
or 2) use an entirely different word [players instead
of team, students instead of class,soldiers instead of army].
Then you can use plural verbs and pronouns without worrying
about making mistakes or sounding unnatural.
http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/collectivenoun.htm

 Adjectives

 Verbs

 Nouns

o Proper Nouns

o Types of Nouns

o Countable and Uncountable Nouns

o Gerund Phrase

o Common Noun

o Plural Nouns

o Gerunds

o Compound Nouns

o Collective Nouns
 o Abstract Nouns

o Gerunds and Infinitives

 Conjunctions

 Pronouns

 Adverb

 Preposition

Collective Nouns

Collective nouns are names for a collection or a number of people or things. Words like group, herd, and
array are collective noun examples. Here, we’ll take a closer look at collective nouns, and provide even
more examples, placing them in context so you can gain a greater understanding of how they work.

What is a Collective Noun

You might not know it, but you encounter collective nouns in everyday speech. Collective nouns are
words for single things that are made up of more than one person, animal, place, thing, or idea. You
can’t have a team without individual members; even so, we discuss a team as a single entity.

Collective Noun Examples

Remember that nouns are words naming people, animals, places, and things. Collective nouns are in a
class all their own. Once you’ve read these examples, you’ll find it much easier to recognize collective
nouns when you see them.

• class

• herd

• jury

• team

• army

• council

• family

• group

• audience

How to Use Collective Nouns

People who are new to writing often encounter some trouble with sentence agreement when using
collective nouns. This is understandable, because a collective noun can be singular or plural, depending
on a sentence’s context. How do you know if a collective noun is singular? How can you tell if it’s plural?
What pronouns and verbs are best for pairing with the collective noun you’ve chosen?

Here’s a simple trick you can use to decide how to use collective nouns in sentences: Imagine a herd of
zebras grazing peacefully on the savanna. Suddenly, a lion jumps out of a clump of tall grass. What do
the zebras do? They run away as a single unit as they attempt to make a getaway, galloping across the
savanna in the same direction.

Often, people behave in the same way, engaging in a single activity in unison with everyone else in their
group. When individuals are in a team, a choir, a committee, or part of any other collective noun, that
noun is singular and is paired with singular pronouns and singular verbs. As you read the examples that
follow, notice that each individual who is part of the collective noun is doing the same action at the
same time as others who are part of that collective noun.

 Every morning, the herd follows its leader to the watering hole for a drink.

→ Herd is a singular collective noun. Follows is a singular verb, and the word its is a singular pronoun. All
the animals in the herd arrive at the watering hole at the same time.

 Today, Ms. Kennedy’s class takes its SOL test.

→ Class is a singular collective noun. Takes is a singular verb, and the word its is a singular pronoun. All
the students in Ms. Kennedy’s class are taking the same test at the same time.

 The committee agrees that people are misusing their cell phones, so its verdict is that phones
must not be used during working hours.

→ Committee is a singular collective noun. Agrees is a singular verb, and the word its is a singular
pronoun. All the members of the committee are thinking alike.

Now imagine three teenagers in the living room. Are they all doing the same thing at once? Not likely!
One is watching TV intently. Another is reading a book and listening to music. The third has one eye on
the TV and the other on his computer. There is a single group of teenagers, but the members of the
group are doing different things.

Members of collective nouns can act the same way, as individuals doing their own thing. When
members of a collective noun act as individuals, that collective noun is plural and must be paired with
plural pronouns and plural verbs. As you read the following examples, you’ll notice that members of the
collective noun are not functioning in unison.

 After eight hours sitting in the stuffy courtroom, the jury stretch, look at their watches, and head
to their cars for the commute home.
→ Jury is a plural collective noun in this instance. Stretch, look, and head are plural verbs, andtheir is a
plural pronoun. The members of the jury are stretching and looking at their individual watches before
they head to different cars to go to their own homes.

 After taking a test, the class start their papers on Shakespeare’s sonnets.

→ Class is a plural collective noun in this instance. Start is a plural verb, and their is a plural pronoun.
Although the students are in the same class, they are beginning their own papers on different sonnets
written by Shakespeare.

What happens if you can’t decide whether a collective noun is singular or plural?

You can use different words to compose your sentence to be sure there is no agreement error. For
example, you can insert the word “members” after a collective noun or use a different word such as
“players” instead of “team” or “zebras” instead of “herd” or “students” instead of “class.” Reread what
you have written to be sure it sounds natural, and give yourself some time to practice. Soon enough
you’ll be able to use plural verbs without worrying whether you have made mistakes.

http://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/nouns/collective-nouns/

These collective nouns are commonly used under the category of people.

1. A class of students.
2. An army of soldiers.
3. A choir of singers.
4. A crew of sailors.
5. A band of musicians.
6. A bunch of crooks.
7. A crowd of people/spectators.
8. A gang of thieves.
9. A group of dancers.
10. A team of players.
11. A troupe of artists/dancers.
12. A pack of thieves.
13. A staff of employees.
14. A regiment of soldiers.
15. A tribe of natives.
16. An audience of listeners.
17. A panel of experts.
18. A gang of labourers.
19. A flock of tourists.
20. A board of directors.
Collective Nouns Exercise 1
Collective Nouns Exercise 2
The following collective nouns are used for animals.

1. A catch of fish.
2. An army of ants.
3. A flight of birds.
4. A flock of birds.
5. A haul of fish.
6. A flock of sheep.
7. A herd of deer/cattle/elephants/goats/buffaloes.
8. A hive of bees.
9. A litter of cubs.
10. A host of sparrows.
11. A team of horses.
12. A troop of lions.
13. A zoo of wild animals.
14. A pack of wolves.
15. A litter of puppies/kittens.
16. A swarm of bees/ants/rats/flies.
17. A team of horses/ducks/oxen.
18. A murder of crows.
19. A kennel of dogs.
20. A pack of hounds.

The following collective nouns are used for things.

1. A group of islands.
2. A galaxy of stars.
3. A wad of notes.
4. A forest of trees.
5. A stack of wood.
6. A fleet of ships.
7. A string of pearls.
8. An album of stamps/autographs/photographs.
9. A hedge of bushes.
10. A library of books.
11. A basket of fruit.
12. A bowl of rice.
13. A pack of cards.
14. A pair of shoes.
15. A bouquet of flowers.
16. A bunch of keys.
 17. A chest of drawers.
18. A pack of lies.
19. A range of mountains.
20. A cloud of dust.

Collective nouns are endless and these are just a list of those used more often. As you continue to work
on improving your English, you will stumble across many more. Be sure to add them to your list and use
them as frequently as you can.

http://www.englishleap.com/grammar/collective-nouns
Make uncountable nouns countable

Nouns can be split into two different groups – countable and

uncountable. (see Countable and uncountable nouns for more information)
Countable nouns, as the name suggests, can be counted. For example, you can have 1 pen or 2
pens, a car or some or a lot of cars.
However, uncountable nouns cannot be counted. For example, you cannot have 2
advices orsome or a lot of advices.

However, there are two ways to make an uncountable noun countable.

How to make an uncountable noun countable method 1

Add a countable ‘container’ for the uncountable noun.

For example, milk is uncountable but bottles of milk can be counted. You can say a bottle of milk,
2 bottles of milk etc.

How to make an uncountable noun countable method 2

Use a countable form of the word.

For example, work is uncountable, but job is countable.

The table below shows more examples of how to make uncountable nouns countable.

Uncountabl

e Countable

Advice A piece of advice – pieces of advice

Luggage A suitcase, a bag or a piece of luggage – suitcases, bags or pieces of luggage

money a note, a coin – notes, coins

cake a slice of cake, a piece of cake – slices or pieces of cake

furniture a table, a chair, a piece of furniture – tables, chairs, pieces of furniture

bread a slice of bread, a loaf of bread, a piece of bread – slices, loaves, pieces of bread
knowledge a fact – facts

travel a journey, a trip – journeys, trips

toothpaste a tube of toothpaste – tubes of toothpaste

wine a bottle of wine, a glass of wine – bottles of or glasses of wine

butter a pat of butter – pats of butter

cheese a slice of cheese, a chunk of cheese, a piece of cheese – slices, chunks or pieces of cheese

a sugarcube, a spoonful of sugar, a bowl of sugar – sugarcubes, spoonfuls of sugar, bowls of

sugar sugar

Petrol (gas) a litre of petrol – litres of petrol.

Salt a pinch of salt – pinches of salt

soap a bar of soap – bars of soap

hair a strand of hair – strands of hair

glass a sheet of glass, a pane of glass – sheets or panes of glass

http://www.englishpracticeonline.com/make-uncountable-nouns-countable/