count and noncount nouns 3

8/11/2019 Count and noncount nouns 3

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COUNT AND NONCOUNT NOUNS

G I A N I E J E A N -P H I L I P P E

5 T O S E M E S T R EP L U R I L I N G E

UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DEL ECUADOR

FACULTAD DE FILOSOFA LETRAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIN

CARRERA DE IDIOMAS


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(a) I bought a chair. Sam bought three chairs.

(b) We bought some furniture.

INCORRECT: We bought a furniture.INCORRECT: We bought some furnitures.

Chair is a count noun; chairs are items thatcan be counted.

Furniture is a noncount noun. In grammar,furniture cannot be counted.


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SINGULAR PLURAL

COUNT

NOUN

A chair

One chair

Chairs

Two chairs

Some chairs

A lot of chairs

Many chairs

A count noun:

(1) may be preceded by a/anin the singular;

(2) Takes a final -s/-es.

NONCOUNT

NOUN

Furniture

Some furniture

A lot of furniture

Much furniture

A noncount noun:

(1) Is not immediatelypreceded by a/an;

(2) Has no plural form; does

not take a final -s/-es.


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Look at the italicized nouns in the followingsentences. C(Count nouns) andNC(Noncountnouns)

C C C

I bought some chairs, tables, and desks. Inother

NC

words I bought some furni ture.


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NONCOUNT NOUNS

Most noncount nouns refer to a whole thatis made up of different parts.

(a) I bought some chairs, tables and desks. Inother words I bougth some furni ture.

furni ture represents a whole group of thingsthat is made up of similar but separate items


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(b) I put some sugarin my coffee.

Sugar and coffee represent whole massesmade up of individual particles or elements.


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(c) I wish you luck.

Luck is an abstract concept, an abstract whole. Ithas no physical form; you canttouch it. You cantcount it.

(d) Sunshine is warm and cheerful

Phenomena of nature, such us sunshine, arefrequently used as noncount nouns.


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(e) NONCOUNT: Ann has brown hair.COUNT: Tom has a hair into his jacket.

(f) NONCOUNT: I opened the curtains to let in somel ight.

COUNT: Dontforget to turn off the l ights before

you go to bed.


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Many nouns can be used as either noncount orcount nouns, but the meaning is

different;e.g., hair in (e) and l ight in (f).

To express a particular quantity may bepreceded by unit expressions:e.g., a

spoonful of sugar, a glass of water, a cup ofcoffee, a quart of milk, a loaf of bread, a grainof rice, a bowl of soup, a bag of flour, apound of meat, a piece of furniture, a piece of

paper, a piece of jewelry.


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SOME COMMON NONCOUNT NOUNSThe following are typical of nouns that are

commonly used as noncount nouns. This listserves only as a sample.(a) WHOLE GROUPS MADE UP OF SILMILAR ITEMS:

baggage, clothing, equipment, food, fruit, furniture,garbage, hardware, jewelry, junk, luggage,machinery, mail, makeup, money/cash/change,postage, scenery, traffic.

(b) FLUIDS: water, coffee, tea, milk, oil, soup, gasoline,blood, etc.

(c) SOLIDS: ice, bread, butter, cheese, meat, gold,

iron, silver, glass, paper, wood, cotton, wool, etc.(d) GASES: steam, air, oxygen, nitrogen, smoke,smog, pollution, etc.

(e) PARTICLES: rice, chalk, corn, dirt, dust, flour,grass, hair, pepper, salt, sand, sugar, wheat, etc.


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(f) ABSTRACTIONS:

- beauty, confidence, courage, education,enjoyment, fun, happiness, health, help,honesty, hospitality, importance, intelligence,

justice, knowledge, laughter, luck, music,

patience, price, pride, progress, recreation,significance, sleep, truth, violence, wealth,etc.

- Advice, information, news, evidence, proof.

- Time, space, energy.

- Homework, work.

- Grammar, slang, vocabulary.


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(g) LANGUAGES: Arabic, Chinese, English,Spanish, etc.

(h) FIELDS OF STUDY: chemistry, engineering,history, literature, mathemtics,psychologie, etc.

(i) RECREATION: baseball, soccer, tennis,

chess, brigde, poker, etc.(j) GENERAL ACTIVITIES: driving, studying,swimming, traveling, walking (and othergerunds.

(k) NATURAL PHENOMENA: weather, dew, fog,hail, heat, humidity, lightning, rain, sleet,snow, thunder, wind, darkness, light,sunshine, electricity, fire, gravity.


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EXPRESSIONS OF QUANTITY

An expression of quantity (e.g., one, several, many,much) may peced a noun. Notice below: Someexpressions of quantity are used only with count nouns;some only with noncount nouns; some with either count ornoncount nouns.

EXPRESSIONSOF QUANTITY

USED WITHCOUNT NOUNS

OneEach

Every

One appleEach apple

Every apple


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EXPRESSIONS

OF QUANTITYUSED WITH

COUNT NOUNS

Two

Both

A couple of

Tree, etc.A few

Several

Many

A number of

Two apples

Both apples

A couple of apples

Tree applesA few apples

Several apples

Many apples

A number of apples

EXPRESSIONS

OF QUANTITY USED WITHNONCOUNTNOUNS

A little

Much

A great deal of

A little rice

Much rice

A great deal of rice


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EXPRESSIONS

OF QUANTITY

USED WITH

COUNT NOUNS

USED WITHNONCOUNT NOUNS

Not any/no

Some

A lot of

Lots ofPlenty of

Most

All

Not any/no apples

Some apples

A lot of apples

Lots of applesPlenty of apples

Most apples

All apples

Not any/no rice

Some rice

A lot of rice

Lots of ricePlenty of rice

Most of rice

All rice


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BIBLIOGRAFA

Betty Schrampfer Azar.Understanding and usingEnglish Grammar.

count and noncount nouns 3

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