Do you remember the difference between countable and uncountable nouns? One of the things you need to remember is whether you need to use much or many
when talking about quantities. Much and many mean a lot of. For example:
"We don’t have many apples" is the same as:
"We don’t have a lot of apples".
Countable
Countable nouns have plurals and can be used with a/an.
Potato is a countable noun. You can have a potato and potatoes.
Uncountable
Uncountable nouns have no plurals, and cannot normally be used with a/an.
Sugar is an uncountable noun. You cannot have a sugar or sugars.
How much do you remember about countable and uncountable nouns? Can you remember when you use:
Here is a review quiz. In some cases, you may think that both answers are possible, but think about the meaning of the sentence very carefully and you will change your mind!
If you have any questions, post them at the bottom of this lesson. Good luck!
Lesson by Caroline Devane
How many slices of toast can you see? Is toast countable or uncountable?
How many pieces of cake can you see? Is cake countable or uncountable?
Decide if these types of food and drink are countable or uncountable:
Lesson by Sam, EC London English languge school
Important tip: much is always used together with an uncountable noun (like 'oil' or 'water') while many is always used with nouns that are countable (like 'table' or 'computer')
It's also good to know that 'too' means that you don't like the situation, for example, "There is too much food on my plate" means that you're not happy about it.
We use demonstrative adjectives to point out specific people or things.
This and that modify singular nouns.
This is used to point out something that is near by:
"This book I'm holding is very old."
Countable / Uncountable nouns practice time, people. I've added some questions on plurals too, so think carefully before you answer. Today's task is good for Pre-Intermediate level English learners. This is a quick chance for you to review your knowledge of noun forms and subject/verb agreement. Who can get 10/10?
So what's the difference between countable and uncountable nouns?
Let's take a look at two nouns: cars and water. If you stand outside you will proabably see cars passing. You can count these cars 1 car, 2 cars, 3 cars and so on.
Water, however, can not be seperated and counted. We do not say 1 water, 2 waters.
So now we know that cars are countable and water is uncountable.
'A pair of...?'
A pair of is used with two things that look the same, are the same size and are meant to be used together.
Example:
A pair of shoes
A pair of pajamas
A pair of gloves
We also use a pair of for something that is made of two items joined together
less hair than I used to have.We use less of something with non-countable nouns: 'less sugar, less hair, less time'. You can only have fewer items of a plural/ countable nouns: 'fewer people, fewer cars, fewer shops'.
