COURS ENGLISH PAULINE HARKNESS

Countable vs. Uncountable

Nouns
Countable Nouns
Countable nouns are 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
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
COURS ENGLISH PAULINE HARKNESS

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
COURS ENGLISH PAULINE HARKNESS

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.

1. honey UNCOUNTABLE

2. table COUNTABLE

3. advice UNCOUNTABLE

4. wallet COUNTABLE

5. health UNCOUNTABLE

6. luggage UNCOUNTABLE (ONE PIECE-TWO PIECES OF

LUGGAGE)

7. computer COUNTABLE

8. salt UNCOUNTABLE

9. strength UNCOUNTABLE

10. English UNCOUNTABLE

11. gravity UNCOUNTABLE

12. bicycle COUNTABLE

COURS ENGLISH PAULINE HARKNESS

13. vanilla UNCOUNTABLE

14. information UNCOUNTABLE (a piece of information)

15. wheat UNCOUNTABLE

16. air UNCOUNTABLE

17. house COUNTABLE

18. anger UNCOUNTABLE

19. tea UNCOUNTABLE

20. plant COUNTABLE

ARTICLES A, AN, THE

USE 1
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.
USE 2
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.
USE 3
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
USE 4
COURS ENGLISH PAULINE HARKNESS
If there is an adjective or an adverb-adjective combination before the noun,
A(AN) should agree with the first sound in the adjective or the adverb-
adjective combination.
Examples:
He is an excellent teacher.
I saw a really beautiful eagle at the zoo.
USE 5
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. Also use A before
letters and numbers which sound like they begin with a consonant, such as
"U", "J", "1" or "9". Remember, it is the sound not the spelling which is
important. For example, "1" is spelled O-N-E; however, it is pronounced
"won" like it starts with a "W".
Examples:
She has a euro. Sounds like "yu-ro".
That number is a "1". Sounds like "won".

USE 6
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". Remember, it is
the sound not the spelling which is important. For example, "F" is pronounced
"eff" like it starts with an "E".
Examples:
I only have an hour for lunch. Sounds like "au-er".
Does his name begin with an "F"? Sounds like "eff".
USE 7
Some words such as "herb" or "hospital" are more complicated because they
are pronounced differently in different English accents. In most American
accents, the "h" in "herb" is silent, so Americans usually say "an herb". In
many British accents, the "h" in "herb" is pronounced, so many British say "a
herb". In some British accents, the "h" in hospital is silent, so some British will
say "an hospital" instead of "a hospital".
USE 8
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.
(Learn more about countable and uncountable nouns.)

Examples:

She gives a good advice. Not Correct

She gives good advice. Correct
COURS ENGLISH PAULINE HARKNESS

Choose a, an or / for no article

1.A bed

2. A chair

3. AN egg

4. A fish

5. AN answer

6. A song

7. A vacation

8. AN investigation

9. NO ARTICLE computers

10. AN old letter

11. A very sad story

12. A web site

13. AN Internet conference

14. AN extremely large dog

15. A light meal

16. A fantastic answer

17. AN unusually small head

18. A funny joke

19. AN expensive purse

COURS ENGLISH PAULINE HARKNESS

20. NO ARTICLE hard lessons

1. This is an amazing dance club, but you don't look like you are
enjoying yourself. Aren't you having (/) fun? Is there a problem?

2. Vegetarians don't eat (/) meat, they eat (/) vegetables and (/) fruit.
Don't make him a greasy hamburger; make him a-an healthy salad
instead.

3. We finally found an apartment, but we don't have (/) furniture yet.

There is a furniture store just around the corner and they have a
pretty good selection of beds. I think we'll start there.

4. Samir works for an Egyptian company which specializes in (/)

information technology. He is going to a European conference next
month to discuss a research on online sales in North Africa.

5. I love (/) chocolate, but my husband doesn't. I want to get a cat,

but he hates (/) cats. We don't agree on anything, but I still think we
make a great couple.

6. While I was in Japan, I stayed in a-an hotel with walls made of (/)
paper. We ate (/) rice with every meal. It was quite a unique
experience.

7. I wanted to buy a new smartphone, but the salesman didn't have

(/) information on the model I wanted. I need (/) help making a
decision before I buy anything.

8. How much does a ticket cost? Unfortunately, I don't have (/)

money with me right now. Can I pay with an ATM card? What about a
credit card?

9. He won an award for his new science fiction novel called

"Launch". Evidently, it's about an astronaut who gets trapped in (/)
space for more than a year. It sounds like an incredible book.
COURS ENGLISH PAULINE HARKNESS

10. He loves (/) classical music, so he went to a university where he

could study the violin. That's an unusual major, but he is so good I'm
sure he'll find (/) work as a concert violinist.

USE 9
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
USE 10
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.
COURS ENGLISH PAULINE HARKNESS

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

USE 11
Many clauses and phrases make the noun known to the listener by
telling the listener which person or thing we are talking about. Let's
look at an example sentence:
Can you give me the book on the table.
We use THE in this sentence because the phrase "on the table"
tells the listener which book we are referring to. We are not talking
about other books, we are talking about a specific book that the
listener can see or already knows about. Learning to recognize
such identifying clauses and phrases will help you
use THE correctly.

Examples:

Did you read the book which I gave you?

He didn't like the movie that you suggested.
He loved the dessert with chocolate and cherries.
The phone on my desk belongs to Ken.
Did you know the man who was talking to Leonie?
HOWEVER: Not all clauses and phrases make the noun known to
the listener. Some are simply descriptive. They add extra
information, but they do not tell the listener which specific thing we
are talking about.
COURS ENGLISH PAULINE HARKNESS

Examples:

He bought the house with a big backyard. This combination

tells the listener which specific house he bought.
He bought a house with a big backyard. This combination tells
the listener what kind of house he bought, but not the specific
house he bought.

1. John bought (/)aanthe new car last week. Unfortunately, (/)aanthe car
broke down after just two days.

2. We went to (/)aanthe movie yesterday. Even though it got (/)aanthe

good reviews, (/)aanthe movie was absolutely terrible. I was so mad, I
went to (/)aanthe box office and asked for my money back.

3. Our teacher gave us (/)aanthe test today. It was (/)aanthe really hard
test. There were (/)aanthe questions on there which I didn't even
understand.

4. Excuse me, is there (/)aanthe post office around here? I need to buy
(/)aanthe stamp.

5. We have (/)aanthe beautiful lake behind our house. Every winter,

(/)aanthe lake freezes over and we can go ice skating. When I was
(/)aanthe kid, I used to spend (/)aanthe hours skating back and forth
across (/)aanthe ice.

6. Carrie works for (/)aanthe amazing organization; (/)aanthe organization

provides (/)aanthe food and (/)aanthe supplies for children in (/)aanthe
developing world.

7. A: Is there (/)aanthe water on (/)aanthe Moon?

B: Yes, scientists have discovered (/)aanthe ice there.

8. When I turned on my new laptop, (/)aanthe screen exploded! Luckily,

it has (/)aanthe good warranty. Either they will replace (/)aanthe broken
screen or send me (/)aanthe brand new laptop.
COURS ENGLISH PAULINE HARKNESS

9. A: I know (/)aanthe great new restaurant called Mumbai on 8th

Avenue. It's (/)aanthe Indian restaurant with (/)aanthe incredible food.
B: Oh yeah, I know that restaurant; (/)aanthe chef is (/)aanthe good friend
of mine.

10. Wow, I can't believe how much (/)aanthe gallon of gas costs these
days. If (/)aanthe price keeps going up, I'm going to buy (/)aanthe electric
car.