Nouns

Countable vs. Uncountable Nouns

Countable Nouns
- nouns that can be counted.
- most nouns in English are countable.

Examples:
• I have two dogs.
• Sandra has three cars.
• Jessie has ten dollars.
Uncountable Nouns
- nouns not counted in English. This usually has to do with the way
English speakers think of these nouns.
- denote 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“.

Examples:
• Mack drinks a lot of water.
• Cindy gives great advice.
• Paul enjoys politics. ENDS WITH "S" BUT UNCOUNTABLE
 Uncountable Nouns
Solid and Energy Information,
Liquids and Grouped
Granular Words and Subjects Abstract
Gases Concepts
Substances Forces Concepts

water wood electricity French fruit information

coffee metal sunshine chemistry money advice

milk cheese radiation economics food education

air sand heat science vocabulary democracy

oxygen rice magnetism math news 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.
Decide whether the word is a countable or an
uncountable noun
1. honey 11. gravity

2. table 12. bicycle

3. advice 13. vanilla

4. wallet 14. information

5. health 15. wheat

6. luggage 16. air

7. computer 17. house

8. salt 18. anger

9. strength 19. tea

10. English 20. plant

1. honey UNCOUNTABLE 11. gravity UNCOUNTABLE

2. table COUNTABLE 12. bicycle COUNTABLE

3. advice UNCOUNTABLE 13. vanilla UNCOUNTABLE

4. wallet COUNTABLE 14. information UNCOUNTABLE

5. health UNCOUNTABLE 15. wheat UNCOUNTABLE

6. luggage UNCOUNTABLE 16. air UNCOUNTABLE

7. computer COUNTABLE 17. house COUNTABLE

8. salt UNCOUNTABLE 18. anger UNCOUNTABLE

9. strength UNCOUNTABLE 19. tea UNCOUNTABLE

10. English UNCOUNTABLE 20. plant COUNTABLE

Countable nouns
• There is a cat in the garden.
• There are some birds in the trees.
For positive sentences we can use a/an or some (with a plural verb
form)

• There isn’t a dog in the garden.

• There aren’t any birds in the tree.
For negatives we can use a/an or any (with a plural verb form).

• Is there an orange on the tree?

• Are there any chairs in the garden?
• How many chairs are there?
In questions we use a/an, any or how many.
Uncountable nouns
• There is some milk on the floor.
Uncountable nouns have no plural. The verb form is singular and we
use some.

• Is there any sugar?

• How much wine is there?
In questions we can use any or how much.
Other expressions of quantity
• There are a lot of apples on the trees.
• There is a lot of snow on the road.
A lot of can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.
• Bill Gates has much money.

Notice that we don’t usually use ‘much’ or ‘many’ in positive sentences. We use ‘a lot
of’.
• Bill Gates has a lot of money.
• There’s a lot of beer but there isn’t much wine.
• There are a lot of carrots but there aren’t many potatoes.

We use not many with countable nouns and not much with uncountable nouns.

Some nouns can be both countable and uncountable, depending on how they are used.
Some, any, much, many
Some - A little, a few or small number or amount.
We usually use some in positive sentences for countable and uncountable
nouns.
• I have some friends in London.
• I usually drink some wine with my meal.

Sometimes we use some in a question, when we expect a positive YES answer.

• Would you like some more tea?
• Could I have some more sugar please?
Any
- One, small or all. It is used with negative sentences.
- When asking questions and when a sentence
is grammatically positive, but the meaning of the sentence is negative.

• Do you have any ice cream left for me?

• My brother never does any chores.

We use any for both countable and uncountable nouns.

• Do you have any cheese?
• He doesn't have any friends in Paris.
Much, many, much
Much - It is used with uncountable nouns.
• They don't have much money to buy a present.

Many - It is used with countable nouns.

• I don't have many English stamps in my collection.

Much and many are used to express that there is a large quantity of
something.
Some, any, a little, a few are used to express quantity,
to say or ask if you have a quantity of something or not.

▫ Some is used in affirmative sentences, and also when

asking for or offering something.

▫ Any is used in negative and interrogative sentences.

▫ A few is used with countable nouns : a few apples.

▫ A little is used with uncountable nouns : a little cheese.

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

There are some apples in the

There aren't any apples. Are there any apples?
bowl.

(We don't know how many, (We want to know if the

(The bowl is empty.)
but the bowl is not empty.) bowl contains apples.)

There are a few apples,

There aren't many apples. Are there many apples?
not many, a small number.

There is a little cheese. There isn't much cheese. Is there much cheese?
1) Did the teacher give us any homework? Yes, but not __________________.
• [ ]many [ ]much [ ]any

2) Nick never does __________________ work. He is a very lazy boy.

• [ ]many [ ]any [ ]some

3) Could you lend me fifty dollars? No, I haven't got __________________ money.
• [ ]any [ ]some [ ]many

4) She has had as __________________ success as her brother.

• [ ]any [ ]much [ ]many

5) I bought __________________ bread, but I didn't buy any butter. I forgot!

• [ ]some [ ]many [ ]any
6) She is a warm and friendly girl. She has so __________________ friends.
[ ]some [ ]many [ ]much

7) I've got __________________ interesting things to tell you. Let's meet at seven
o'clock and I'll tell you everything.
[ ]any [ ]many [ ]some

8) How __________________ lessons do you have on Mondays? Only three, mum.

[ ]much [ ]some [ ]many

9) Kate was very __________________ afraid of ghosts when she was little girl.
[ ]many [ ]much [ ]any

10) I didn't see __________________ white cats in the garden, only the black one.
[ ]any [ ]some [ ]much
Much, many, some, any: exercise
• Complete the following sentences using an appropriate determiner.

1. She hasn’t got ………………. friends. (some / any)

2. I didn’t do …………………. work today. (much / many)
3. She didn’t eat ……………… food. (much / many)
4. There aren’t ………………… trees in the garden. (much / many)
5. I haven’t read ………………… books. (many / much)
6. How ………………… time do you need to finish this assignment? (much / many)
7. We have planted ………………… roses in the garden. (some / any)
8. Don’t waste ………………… time watching TV. (much / many)
9. She can speak ………………… languages. (much / many)
10. She hasn’t got ……………….. cars. (some / any)
11. If you find ……………….. strawberries, keep some for me. (any / some)
12. You can borrow …………………. book you like. (many / any)
Answers

1. She hasn’t got many friends.

2. I didn’t do much work today.
3. She didn’t eat much food.
4. There aren’t many trees in the garden.
5. I haven’t read many books.
6. How much time do you need to finish this assignment?
7. We have planted some roses in the garden.
8. Don’t waste much time watching TV.
9. She can speak many languages.
10. She hasn’t got any cars.
11. If you find any strawberries, keep some for me.
12. You can borrow any book you like.
Articles – a/an, the
The article A is used before singular, countable nouns which begin
with consonant sounds.

Examples:
• He is a teacher.
• She doesn't own a car.
• I saw a bear at the zoo.

The article AN is used before singular, countable nouns which begin

with vowel sounds.

Examples:
• He is an actor.
• She didn't get an invitation.
• I saw an eagle at the zoo.
A/an
If there is an adj. or an adv-adj. combination before the N, A(AN) should agree with the
first sound in the adj. or the adv-adj. combination.
Examples:
• He is an excellent teacher.
• I saw a really beautiful eagle at the zoo.

Use A before words such as "European" or "university" which sound like they start with
a consonant even if the first letter is a vowel.
Examples:
• She has a euro. SOUNDS LIKE "YU-RO".
• That number is a "1". SOUNDS LIKE "WON".

Use AN before words such as "hour" which sound like they start with a vowel even if the
first letter is a consonant. Also use AN before letters and numbers which sound like they
begin with a vowel, such as "F" or "8".
Examples:
• I only have an hour for lunch. SOUNDS LIKE "AU-ER".
• Does his name begin with an "F"? SOUNDS LIKE "EFF".

Remember, it is the sound not the spelling which is important.

A/an
Remember that A(AN) means "one" or "a single". You cannot
use A(AN) with plural nouns.

Examples:
• I saw a bears in Yellowstone National Park. Not Correct
• I saw bears in Yellowstone National Park. Correct

In English, some nouns are considered uncountable such as:

information, air, advice, salt and fun. We do not use A(AN) with
these uncountable nouns.

Examples:
• She gives a good advice. Not Correct
• She gives good advice. Correct
Write a, an or / (for no article) for each blank below

1. __ bed 11. __ very sad story

2. __ chair 12. __ web site

3. __ egg 13. __ Internet conference

4. __ fish 14. __ extremely large dog

5. __ answer 15. __ light meal

6. __ song 16. __ fantastic answer

7. __ vacation 17. __ unusually small head

8. __ investigation 18. __ funny joke

9. __ computers 19. __ expensive purse

10. __ old letter 20. __ hard lessons

Write a, an or / (for no article) for each blank below
1. I have ___ two sisters and ___ brother. My brother has ___ son. That makes me ___ uncle.
2. Would you like ___ orange? Or would you prefer ___ banana? We also
have ___ strawberries.
3. Does anyone have ___ cell phone? I need to make ___ emergency phone call.
4. Larry doesn't own ___ car. He rides ___ motorcycle to work.
5. Today, you ate ___ ice cream cone, ___ piece of pizza, ___ burrito and ___ doughnuts.
That's not exactly ___ healthy diet.
6. Let's go see ___ movie. There's ___ adventure film that I have really been wanting to see.
7. Is there ___ Internet cafe around here? I need to send ___ important email.
8. Instead of making ___ traditional turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, she baked ___ enormous
chicken.
9. It looks like it is going to be ___ rainy day. You should take ___ umbrella.
10. Phil and Debbie took ___ amazing vacation to Switzerland last year. They even
climbed ___ mountain near Lucerne.
Write a, an or / (for no article) for each blank below

1. Because there was ___ huge rainstorm, the flight was delayed for more
than ___ hour. The airport was full of ___ angry passengers.

2. You said that he was ___ well known player on ___ European football team, his
name started with ___ "E", and his jersey had ___ "18" on it. I don't know who you
are talking about.

3. That company makes ___ app to let you instantly translate ___ things
with iPhone. That's ___ useful tool for ___ frequent traveler.

4. Is this ___ phone number? It's really hard to read. Is that ___ "1" or ___ "7"?

5. With gas prices at ___ all-time high, I wish I didn't drive ___ SUV. I think ___
small compact car would be ___ much more cost-effective way to get around.

6. "Photo" doesn't start with ___ "F"; it starts with ___ "P". And "write" starts
with ___ "W", not ___ "R".
7. He's quite ___ unique salesman. He has ___ unusual gift for keeping ___
customers happy, and he has ___ honest face which convinces ___ people to buy
things.

8. I buy my music from ___ online music store. They charge Americans ___ dollar
for ___ song and Europeans ___ euro. You can choose to download the song
as ___ MP3 or in several other formats. If you purchase ten songs, they will even send
you ___ CD.

9. No, no, Margaret isn't ___ secretary; her husband is. In fact, he is
quite ___ efficient secretary. He works for ___ well known law firm downtown.

10. Dr. Perez is ___ professor at Stanford University. She has ___ Ph.D. in biology
from Yale and ___ MBA from Harvard. She is quite ___ educated lady.
1. This is ___ amazing dance club, but you don't look like you are enjoying yourself. Aren't you
having ___ fun? Is there ___ problem?
2. Vegetarians don't eat ___ meat, they eat ___ vegetables and ___ fruit. Don't make
him ___ greasy hamburger; make him ___ healthy salad instead.
3. We finally found ___ apartment, but we don't have ___ furniture yet. There is ___
furniture store just around the corner and they have ___ pretty good selection of beds. I
think we'll start there.
4. Samir works for ___ Egyptian company which specializes in ___ information
technology. He is going to ___ European conference next month to discuss ___ research on
online sales in North Africa.
5. I love ___ chocolate, but my husband doesn't. I want to get ___ cat, but he
hates ___ cats. We don't agree on anything, but I still think we make ___ great couple.
6. While I was in Japan, I stayed in ___ hotel with walls made of ___ paper. We
ate ___ rice with every meal. It was quite ___ unique experience.
A(An) vs. The
A and AN are called indefinite articles. "Indefinite" means "not specific".
Use A(AN) when you are talking about a thing in general, NOT a specific
thing.

Examples:
• I need a phone. NOT A SPECIFIC PHONE, ANY PHONE
• Mark wants a bicycle. NOT A PARTICULAR BICYCLE, A BICYCLE IN GENERAL
• Do you have a driver's license? IN GENERAL

Use A(AN) when talking about a thing which is new, unknown, or introduced
to a listener for the first time. Also use A(AN) when you are asking about the
existence of something.

Examples:
• I have a car. THE CAR IS BEING INTRODUCED FOR THE FIRST TIME.
• Tom is a teacher. THIS IS NEW INFORMATION TO THE LISTENER.
• Is there a dictionary in your backpack? ASKING ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF THE
DICTIONARY
Similarly, use A(AN) to introduce what type of thing we are
talking about.

Examples:
• That is an excellent book. DESCRIBING THE KIND OF BOOK
• Do you live in a big house? ASKING ABOUT THE KIND OF HOUSE
• I ate a thick, juicy steak. DESCRIBING THE KIND OF STEAK

REMEMBER: You cannot use A(AN) with plural nouns

because A(AN) means "one" or "a single".

Examples:
• I saw a bears in Yellowstone National Park. Not Correct
• I saw bears in Yellowstone National Park. Correct
THE is called a definite article. "Definite" means "specific".
Use THE when talking about something which is already known to the
listener or which has been previously mentioned, introduced, or
discussed.

Examples:
• I have a cat. The cat is black.
• There is a book in my backpack. The book is very heavy.
• Do you know where I left the car keys? THE LISTENER KNOWS WHICH
SPECIFIC CAR KEYS YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.
• Do you own a car? Is the car blue? YOU ASSUME THEY DO HAVE A CAR
AFTER ASKING ABOUT IT IN THE FIRST SENTENCE.
• Nobody lives on the Moon. THE MOON IS KNOWN TO EVERYONE.

IMPORTANT: You can use THE with both singular nouns and plural
nouns.

Examples:
• I saw the bear in Yellowstone National Park. Correct
• I saw the bears in Yellowstone National Park. Correct
Write A, AN or THE for each blank below
1. My mother is ___ doctor and my father is ___ author.

2. Cindy recommended ___ good dentist, but ___ dentist doesn't have any openings for
two months.

3. Mt. Hood is ___ volcano in Oregon. It's ___ very beautiful mountain.

4. Sam recommended ___ book to Lisa. She didn't like ___ book at all.

5. Do you have ___ vacuum? I dropped ___ piece of cake, and I need to clean it up.

6. Honey, where's ___ vacuum? I can't find it. It was in ___ closet, but now it's not
there.

7. Do you have ___ dictionary? I don't have one, and I need to look up ___ word.

8. Do you have ___ passport? You need ___ passport to travel outside of ___ country.

9. There's ___ big bear in ___ backyard. I think ___ bear is looking for something to
eat.

10. Do you have ___ computer? I have ___ laptop and ___ iPad.
Write A, AN or THE for each blank below
1. Did you see ___ movie about Dian Fossey's work with mountain gorillas? It
was ___ amazing film.
2. I love ___ good movie about historical figures or historical events. I thought "Lincoln" was
fantastic. And Daniel Day-Lewis was great in ___ film.
3. I would love to take ___ luxury cruise next year to ___ exotic location such as Indonesia
or Panama.
4. Jimmy did not enjoy ___ cruise to Alaska because it was too cold and rainy. The weather
ruined ___ entire trip.
5. Let's find ___ place where we can just sit for ___ couple of hours, drink some coffee, and
have ___ good chat.
6. That is ___ place where Sidney proposed to Meryl. Isn't that ___ beautiful location?
7. Suddenly, ___ password Sandra always used to log in to her email didn't work anymore.
Somebody had hacked in and changed ___ password.
8. When Nick was on safari in Tanzania, he saw ___ cheetah hunting prey. He took some
beautiful video of ___ cheetah.
9. Did you enjoy ___ book I recommended to you? Wasn't that ___ exciting novel?
10. I need ___ smartphone which allows me to check my email and use Facebook. I really
want ___ phone with good battery life.