Countable and Uncountable nouns

Countable/ Uncountable  Nouns apple vs.apples some/much vs. a something of Wrap Up Activities Back to Home

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Countable nouns are objects that come in discrete units and thus can be made plural. If the noun is singular, it usually requires the indefinite article a, an or some. If the noun is plural, it requires the article some or no article at all. e.g. a banana...some bananas Non-countable nouns are objects that cannot be divided into discrete units and thus cannot be made plural. They require the indefinite article some, and expression of quantity (a piece of, a lot of), or no article before them. e.g. milk...some milk        water...a lot of water A large number of nouns can be counted, but others cannot because the noun is too small, is too spread out, is part of a group, or is abstract (exists in the mind.) Note 1) A group or collective noun The money is on the table. -->The noun is singular. Note 2) An item in the group The dollar is on the table. The dollars are on the table. The dollars and coins are on the table. -->The nouns can be singular or plural. Uncountable nouns: Categories                                Examples fluids                    water, coffee, tea, milk, oil, gasoline solids                  ice, bread, butter, cheese, meat, gold gases                  air, oxygen, nitrogen, smoke, smog particles              rice, corn, dirt, dust, flour, sugar, grass collective nouns baggage, luggage, clothing, furniture, (grouped items) food, money, traffic, garbage abstrastions        happiness, health, love, fun, help, languages          Arabic, French, Spanish, English fields of study      chemistry, engineering, art, philosophy recreation           basketball, soccer, baseball, dance activities              sleeping, driving, writing, studying phenomena         weather, fog, heat, humidity, lightning common mistakes:*I have a lot of homeworks to do.                               *She is washing her hairs.                               *The equipments weren't working well.                               *My baggages were lost. (suitcases.)                               *I bought new furnitures.

Activity #1

Activity #2

Direction: Step 1: Click the above "activity" button to begin with the exercises in Quia web site. Step 2: Play the exercises to distinguish countable and uncountable noun. Step 3: After you finish playing the exercise, click the "Back" button on your internet Explorer or Netscape to return to this page.

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