Skip to main content

countable & uncountable noun

Countable Nouns
Countable nouns are nouns that we can count. They can be singular or plural.
Examples:- I have a boiled egg for breakfast.
                      I bought three story books yesterday.
                       The students in this school are very polite.
               
 We use the indefinite article (a/ an) before singular nouns.
 Examples:- a boiled egg

 We use a definite article (the) or a number before plural nouns.
  Examples:-the students
                               three story books

 Uncountable Nouns
 Uncountable nouns are nouns that we cannot count. We cannot count them because they
are too difficult to count.
   Examples:- rice, hair, sugar.
   - do not have separate parts.
    Examples:- air, water, steam.
   - are abstract.
     Examples:- friendship, happiness, health.
                   
     Uncountable nouns do not have a plural form. We do not use an indefinite article (a/an) or numerals (one, two, three, etc.) in front of these nouns.

    iii. If we want to show the amount of an uncountable noun, we use quantity words in front of it.
       Examples:- two cups of tea    
          a bowl of rice
          three tins of paint

    iv. We cannot use many/few with uncountable nouns, but we can say some/much/ a lot of/ all of the/ most of the water, butter, cheese, etc.
In case of Interrogative sentence and Negative sentence we use any.
Examples:- Is there any water in the glass?
                     Is there any book in the almirah?
                     There is not any milk in the bottle.
If Proper Noun, Material Noun, Collective Noun and Abstract Noun used as
Common Noun , then we can say these are Countable Noun.
Examples:- The boses are highly cultured.
                     Africa is a country of woods.
                     The navies of America are powerful.
                      She has many virtues.
                         
List of Uncountables Nouns Used as Countable
Article/Number   +  Countable  +  Of+    Uncountable
         A                            bag              of             sugar.
         Two                       bags           of             sugar.
         Many                    bags            of             sugar.
         Many more          bags            of             sugar.
          A few                    bags           of             sugar.
          Many                    packets      of             salt.
          A few                    boxes         of              bread.
          Several                 bottles       of              honey.
          Two                       tons           of               coal.
          Three                    pieces        of               bread.
          Four                      kilos            of              flour.
          Five                       liters           of              petrol.
           Six                        bottles        of              milk.
           Seven                  bales            of              cotton.
           Eight                    phials           of              medicine.
           Nine                     boxes           of               milk powder.
           Ten                       wagons        of               limestone.
When full is added to a countable noun, it becomes full.
  Article/Number   +  Countable  +  Of+    Uncountable
         A                          bagfull             of        sweets.
         A                          spoonful          of        sugar.
         A                          spoonfuls        of         salt.                                                                                                     

Exercise 1
Underline the noun in each sentence and write ‘C’ or ‘U’ to show whether the noun is countable or uncountable.
1.     That is a very good painting. __________
2.     I don’t like coffee. __________
3.     I need two clean glasses. __________
4.     She bought a new iron yesterday. __________
5.     They’ve got plenty of coal. __________
6.     Would you like some chicken? __________
7.     Too much cake isn’t good for you. __________
8.     She ate a whole chicken. __________.
9.     How much flour did you buy? __________.
10.            Hope keeps me going. __________
                                        

2
Exercise 2
Use the correct form of the given nouns to complete the following sentences.
language      party       fun      vegetable      information
     fruit          money     hair      advice        sleeve

1.     We can buy fresh _______________ from the supermarket.
2.     Mrs. Lee went to the travel agent for some _______________ about the tour to Japan.
3.     I can’t wear this shirt. The _______________ are too long.
4.     How many _______________ does Jenny speak?
5.     Miss Ng spends a lot of _______________ on clothes.
6.     I don’t know what to do. Please give me some _______________.
7.     Karen has beautiful _______________.
8.     We had a lot of _______________ at the party last night.
9.     Susan enjoys going to _______________.
10.            Alan eats a lot of _______________.    


Exercise 3
Choose the correct answer.
1.     She burst into _______________ (tear/ tears) when she heard the bad news.
2.     Peter and Jack shake _______________ (hand/ hands) and become friends again.
3.     She can’t see what is written on the blackboard without her contact _______________ (len/ lens)
4.     The two sisters took _______________ (turn/ turns) at sitting up with their sick mother.
5.     Quite a number of _______________ (DJ/ DJs) have extended their careers to singing.
6.     If you want to get well, you should take the doctor’s _______________ (advice/ advices).
7.     Mary never does her _______________ (homework/ homeworks)
8.     Johnny has lost his _______________ (luggage/ luggages).
9.     The factory workers stopped working and took (a rest/ rest).
10.            The children sat on the _______________ (grass/ grasses).



3
Exercise 4
Underline the incorrect word in each sentence and write the correct word in the space provided.
1. He takes part in a lot of extracurricular activitys.             ______________
2. I always put three teaspoon of sugar in my coffee.            ______________
3. The field is full of sheeps.                               ______________
4. The thief was wearing jean.                              ______________
5. Money cannot buy happinesses.                           ______________ 
6. They want to finish the job themself.                       ______________
7. How many piece of cheese would you like?                  ______________
8. A mice was hiding under the table.                         ______________
9. Three passer-bys were shot in the raid.                      ______________
10.Put on more cloth or you will get a cold.                    ______________


Exercise 5
Correct the following sentences. Corrections should be done as follows.

*words needing to be changed  - (a) underline the incorrect word
                            (b) write the correct form of the word above it
** missing word           - (a) mark the position of the missing word with a ‘^’
                          (b) write the missing word above it
*** extra word             - put a cross ‘X’ on the word you wish to cross out

1. *    This piece of furniture look nice. I will buy it.

2. *    These chairs are made of woods.

3. ***  If we want to be happy, we should have a good health.

4. **   I need two sheets paper to write a letter.

5. *    Customer: How many are these jeans?
       Shop assistant: $268.

6. ***  She burst into a laughter on hearing the joke.

7. *    We need more warm cloth when we visit Toronto in winter.

8. ***  I have absolute the faith in you.

9. *    The cars are stuck in the heavy traffics in Central.

10. **  The workmen stopped working and took rest.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Expansion of Passages

EXPANSION OF PASSAGES This exercise is the exact opposite of Precis-writing. In Precis-writing we have to compress; and in these exercises we have to expand. A sentence, or a short passage, has to be enlarged into a paragraph by the fuller and more elaborate expression of its meaning, or by adding illustrations, details or proofs to a simple statement. Such exercise practically amounts to the writing of miniature essays on the subject of the original sentence or passage. No strict rule can be laid down for the length of the expansion; it must not be too short, or it will scarcely be an expansion, or so long as to become an essay. On the average, eighty to one hundred words should be aimed at. METHOD OF PROCEDURE Carefully read the original sentence or passage until you feel that you clearly understand its meaning. (It is a good practice to try to express the main idea in a word or a phrase; e.g., the real subject of the second specimen is, "Pride in One's Work
Post a Comment
Read more

Transitive and Intransitive Verb

THE VERB Transitive and Intransitive Verbs A Verb is a word that tells or asserts something about a person or thing. Verb comes from the Latin verbum, a word. It is so called because it is the most important word in a sentence. A Verb may tell us- What a person or thing does; as, Hari laughs. The clock strikes. What is done to a person or thing ; as, Hari is scolded. The window is broken. What a person or thing is; as, The cat is dead. Glass is brittle. I feel sorry. Def:- A Verb is a word used to tell or assert something about some person or thing. A Verb often consists of more than one word; as, The girls were singing. I have learnt my lesson. The watch has been found. Read these sentences:- The boy kicks the football. The boy laughs loudly. In sentence 1, the action denoted by the verb kicks passes over from the doer or subject boy to some Object football. The verb kicks is, therefore, called a Transitive Verb. (Transitive means passing ove
7 comments
Read more

Phrases

PHRASES 1. Adjective Phrases We have seen that sometimes a group of words does the work of an adjective ( Now examine the following pairs of sentences:- 1. (a) The vizier was a wealthy man.    (b) The vizier was a man of great wealth. 2. (a) The magistrate was a kind man.    (b) The magistrate was a man with a kindly nature.       3.   (a) The chief lived in a stone house.                                     (b)  The chief lived in a house built of stone. 4. (a) I like to see a smiling face.     (b) I like to see a face with a smile on it. 5. (a) The coolies belonged to a hill tribe.     (b) The coolies belonged to a tribe dwelling in the hills. In each of the above pairs of sentences, we have first a single word describing the person or thing denoted by the noun, and then a group of words describing the person or thing denoted by the same noun. For instance, the group of words of great wealth tells us what sort of man the vizier was.
9 comments
Read more