CHAPTER I – COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS ( ACTIVITY 1 TO 10 )
CHAPTER I – COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
Key Points / Summary
1. Countable Nouns
Refer to things that can be counted.
➤ Example: pen, apple, chair, car
Can be singular or plural.
➤ a pen / two pens
Can use a/an, one, two, many, few, etc.
2. Uncountable Nouns
Refer to substances or ideas that cannot be counted.
➤ rice, sugar, water, music, advice
Have no plural form (✗ rices, ✗ sugars).
Take some, a little, much, a lot of, etc.
3. Using Quantity Expressions
We use quantifiers to talk about amounts.
➤ some rice, a little sugar, a lot of water
4. Units / Containers for Uncountable Nouns
Some fixed phrases express a countable unit of an uncountable noun:
➤ a bottle of milk, a bar of chocolate, a loaf of bread, a piece of advice
5. Nouns that can be Both
Some nouns are both countable and uncountable, depending on meaning.
➤ paper (material – uncountable / an academic paper – countable)
➤ iron (metal – uncountable / an iron – countable object)
6. Quantifiers
Much → uncountable nouns
Many → plural countable nouns
A lot of / Lots of → both kinds
Few / A few → plural countable nouns
Little / A little→ uncountable nouns
“Few” and “Little” = negative sense (almost none)
“A few” and “A little” = positive sense (some, but not much/many)
7. Articles
A / An → singular countable nouns only
The → for definite or known nouns
Ø (no article)→ before uncountable or general ideas
8. Special Uses
Use the for unique things (the sun, the earth).
No article before meals, languages, school, work, etc., when used generally.
ACTIVITY-1
Say whether the nouns in the list below are countable or uncountable. (If you are not sure of an answer, you can consult a dictionary.)
| Noun | Type
| car | Countable
| bottle | Countable
| video | Countable
| girl | Countable
| traffic | Uncountable
| music | Uncountable
| chair | Countable
| pot | Countable
| water | Uncountable
| leather | Uncountable
| cloud | Countable
| advice | Uncountable
| fruit | Usually Uncountable
| weather | Uncountable
| furniture | Uncountable
| loaf | Countable
| hair | Usually Uncountable
| taxi | Countable
| apple | Countable
| information | Uncountable
Activity 2 : Choose the correct alternatives, in the sentences below :
1. There is usually a lot of traffic/traffics in the city during working hours.
2. The young man is looking for a work/job at the moment.
3. I want to make a list of candidates attending the meeting. Have you got a paper/some
paper?
4. I don't want to have a bread/bread for my breakfast.
5. The girl with blonde hair/hairs lives next door.
6. Good accommodation/accommodations is not available in this city.
7. We need some meat/meats for the dinner tonight.
8. The old man could not carry the luggage/luggages.
ANSWERS
1. There is usually a lot of traffic in the city during working hours.
Traffic is uncountable. We do not say traffics.
2. The young man is looking for a job at the moment.
Job is countable. We do not say work when meaning a specific employment.
3. I want to make a list of candidates attending the meeting. Have you got some paper?
Paper is uncountable when referring to writing material.
4. I don't want to have bread for my breakfast.
Bread is uncountable.
5. The girl with blonde hair lives next door.
Hair is uncountable when referring to hair collectively; hairs is used only for individual strands.
6. Good accommodation is not available in this city.
Accommodation is uncountable.
7. We need some meat for the dinner tonight.
Meat is uncountable.
8. The old man could not carry the luggage.
Luggage is uncountable. We do not say luggages.
Activity 3 : Use a, an, the, some, where required, in the blank spaces below. If no word is
required, leave the space blank.
1. --------- health is more precious than --------- wealth. To keep healthy, we need --------
good food, --------- sleep, and ---------- exercise.
2. -------- travel gives us --------- opportunity of seeing how ---------- other people live.
When we go on ---------- journey, we should take --------- notebook with us to make -------
--- note of --------- names of ----------- people we meet.
ANSWERS
1. Health is more precious than wealth. To keep healthy, we need good food, sleep, and exercise.
2. Travel gives us an opportunity of seeing how other people live. When we go on a journey, we should take a notebook with us to make note of the names of the people we meet.
Activity 4 : There are three countable nouns in the list below. Can you find them ?
gold, snow, fun, help, Cheese, equipment, homework
jam, sand, wood, rubbish, food, happiness, knowledge
match, wind, money, love, bottle, cupboard, progress,
Here’s the text with all star marks removed:
ANSWERS
Countable nouns: match, bottle, cupboard
All others are uncountable nouns (gold, snow, fun, help, cheese, equipment, homework, jam, sand, wood, rubbish, food, happiness, knowledge, wind, money, love, progress).
Activity 5 : Match the items in Column A with suitable items in Column B.
A B
1. a slice of sugar
2. a loaf of paper
3. a sheet of bread
4. a pinch of soap
5. a jar of cake
6. a cup of milk
7. a bottle of tea
8. a cake of salt
ANSWERS
a. They could speak a few words of Assamese, but they weren't very fluent.
b. This is a boring little town; there's little to do here.
c. A: Would you like some pepper in your soup?
B: Yes, please, a little.
d. The mud was quite deep. They had little hope of getting out.
e. Would you like a little more tea? There's still a little left in the pot.
f. I don't think Ranjan can become a scientist. He's got little intelligence.
g. A: Have you ever been to Koraput?
B: Yes, we've been there a few times.
h. Father will be away for a few days next week.
i. My brother has got a few friends in Delhi and he is very happy there.
j. They won't take much time to reach the station. There's little traffic on the road at this time of the day.
Activity 10 : Use a little, a lot of, few, a few, fewer, many, much where required, in the
sentences below :
I moved to this neighbourhood two years ago. There seemed to be _____________ people
in this area who were without telephones, so I expected to get a new phone quickly. I applied
for one as soon as I moved into the new house. "We aren't supplying _____________ new
phones in your area, ''an engineer told me," ______________ people want new phones at
present and the company is employing __________ engineers than last year so as to save
money. A new phone won't cost _________ money, but it will take ___________ time. We
can't do anything for you before December. You need _________ patience if you are waiting
for a new phone and you should have __________ friends whose phones you can use when
necessary ’’. Fortunately, I had both. December came and went, but there was no sign of a
phone. I went to the office of the telephone company to protest. "They told me I would have a
phone by December," I protested. "Which year?" the clerk asked.
ANSWERS
I moved to this neighbourhood two years ago. There seemed to be few people in this area who were without telephones, so I expected to get a new phone quickly. I applied for one as soon as I moved into the new house.
"We aren't supplying many new phones in your area," an engineer told me, "many people want new phones at present and the company is employing fewer engineers than last year so as to save money. A new phone won't cost much money, but it will take a little time. We can't do anything for you before December. You need a lot of patience if you are waiting for a new phone and you should have a few friends whose phones you can use when necessary."
Fortunately, I had both. December came and went, but there was no sign of a phone. I went to the office of the telephone company to protest. "They told me I would have a phone by December," I protested. "Which year?" the clerk asked.
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