Countable uncountable English food. Count and Noncount Nouns in English (plurals, articles, quantities)

Hello dear readers! Today I have prepared a very sensitive topic for you. After studying the material, you will become familiar with the main groups of uncountable nouns, learn how to denote the number of uncountable nouns in English, and also learn in which cases an uncountable noun can be used as a countable noun. The topic is not as simple as you might think. The fact is that when translating an uncountable noun from Russian into English, you can easily make a mistake. Very often, a noun that is countable in Russian is uncountable in English, and vice versa. Because of this, confusion arises. As you can see, this topic needs to be treated with special attention.

You could already familiarize yourself with countable nouns in the article: Plurals of nouns in English. Let me remind you that countable nouns in English denote objects and concepts that can be counted. They can be in singular or plural form. You could also familiarize yourself with the rules for forming the plural in the article “Plural nouns in English.” Let's move on directly to studying uncountable nouns in English.

Uncountable nouns in English

Uncountable nouns are nouns that denote substances and concepts that cannot be counted. These include both real (liquid, gaseous, solid materials) and abstract nouns (natural phenomena, actions, feelings, etc.). But in English, unlike Russian, many nouns can be used both as countable and uncountable.

So, uncountable nouns are used only in the singular and, accordingly, agree with verbs in the singular. Remember that in English they are not used with the indefinite article a or an. If it is necessary to distinguish an uncountable noun from the general category of substances or concepts, the definite article is used the.

As a subject, they agree with the singular predicate. Can be replaced by singular pronouns. In most cases this is a pronoun it.

Classification of uncountable nouns

There are quite a lot of uncountable nouns in the English language, and in order to remember them better, you can classify them into groups. We have compiled a list of commonly used uncountable nouns in colloquial speech.

1. Natural phenomena: darkness - darkness, snow - snow, fog - fog, gravity - gravity, heat - heat, humidity - dampness, light - daylight, hail - hail, lighting - lightning, rain - rain, thunder - thunder, sunshine - sunlight, weather - weather, wind - wind, etc.
2. Liquids: petrol - gasoline, oil - vegetable oil/petroleum, coffee - coffee, water - water, tea - tea, lemonade - lemonade, milk - milk, wine - wine, blood - blood, etc.
3. Gaseous substances: nitrogen - nitrogen, oxygen - oxygen, air - air, steam - steam, smoke - smoke, smog - thick fog, etc.
4. Food: bread - bread, cheese - cheese, butter - butter, meat - meat, spaghetti - spaghetti, yoghurt - yogurt, etc.
5. Languages: Russian - Russian, Greek - Greek, German - German, English - English, Arabic - Arabic, Chinese - Chinese, Spanish - Spanish, etc.
6. Substances consisting of many small particles: semolina - semolina, rice - rice, flour - flour, corn - corn, dust - dust, salt - salt, sugar - sugar, pepper - pepper, sand - sand, etc.
7. Diseases:Сancer - cancer, Flu - influenza, Measles - measles, Mumps - mumps, Smallpox - chickenpox, Pneumonia - pneumonia, etc.
8. Abstract concepts: space - space, energy - energy, advice - advice, beauty - beauty, time - time, education - education, wealth - wealth, happiness - happiness, honesty - honesty, health - health, help - help, laughter - laughter, intelligence - intelligence, knowledge - knowledge, justice - justice, truth - truth, information - information, news - news, homework - homework, work - work, grammar - grammar, vocabulary - vocabulary, etc.
9. Names of disciplines: chemistry - chemistry, mathematics - mathematics, history - history, psychology - psychology, literature - literature, etc.
10. Natural resources, building materials, metals: gold - gold, silver - silver, wood - wood, glass - glass, oil - oil, clay - clay, concrete - concrete, paper - paper, etc.
11. Games: baseball - baseball, poker - poker, billiards - billiards, chess - chess, golf - golf, rugby - rugby, football - football, soccer - football, tennis - tennis, etc.
12. Actions (gerund): driving - driving, walking - walking, studying - studying, drawing - drawing, rock climbing - rock climbing, swimming - swimming, etc.

Notation for the number of uncountable nouns

If you need to indicate the quantity denoted by an uncountable noun, use the following nouns:

• a piece - a piece (a piece of paper - a sheet of paper, a piece of news - news, a piece of advice - advice, a piece of information - information, a piece of furniture - a piece of furniture)
• a glass - glass (a glass of wine - glass of wine)
• a bottle - a bottle (a bottle of cognac - a bottle of cognac)
• a jar - jar (a jar of honey - jar of honey)
• a rasher - slice (a rasher of bacon - thin slice of bacon)
• a packet - a packet (a packet of rice - a packet of rice)
• a loaf - loaf (a loaf of bread - loaf of bread)
• and slice is a piece (and slice of bread is a piece of bread)
• a pot - a pot, a jar (a pot of yoghurt - a jar of yogurt, a pot of tea - a teapot)
• a cup - a cup (and cup of tea - a cup of tea)
• a kilo - kilogram (a kilo of meat - kilogram of meat)
• a tube - tube (a tube of tooth paste - tube of toothpaste)
• a bar - piece, tile (a bar of chocolate - chocolate bar, a bar of soap - piece of soap)
• a can - a tin can (a can of lemonade - a jar of lemonade)
• a carton - packaging (a carton of milk - packaging of milk)
• a bowl - bowl (a bowl of soup - bowl/bowl of soup)

Also, to indicate a large or small quantity denoted by an uncountable noun, use the following pronouns:

• much - a lot (much time - a lot of time)
• a lot of - a lot (a lot of chees - a lot of cheese)
• little - little, a little (little oil - little oil)
• some − a certain amount (to buy some tea - buy tea)
• any - any, any (to eat any spaghetti - there is some spaghetti)

Transition of nouns from uncountable to countable

1. In English, if a material noun is used to designate an object from a given material, the uncountable noun becomes countable and is used with articles a And an. (If the whole and its elements are designated the same.)

• hair hair − a hair hair
• wood tree, wood − a wood forest
• paper paper − a paper newspaper, document
• coal − a coal coal
• iron iron − an iron iron

2. In English, if a material noun is used to denote varieties, types or portions of something, the uncountable noun becomes countable and is used with articles a And an.

• He bought some tea. He bought tea. — He bought an Indian tea. He bought one of the Indian teas.
• I like coffee. I love coffee. − He bought a coffee. He bought (a cup of) coffee.

3. In English, if an abstract noun is used to designate a specific object or person, i.e. for concretization, the uncountable noun becomes countable and is used with articles a And an.

• beauty beauty − a beauty beauty
• light light − a light light, lamp
• life life − a life life path
• time time − a time times
• play game − a play play

4. In English, if the ending is added to an uncountable noun -s, -es, it becomes countable and is used with articles a And an.

Nouns are divided into countable and uncountable.

1. Countable nouns include the names of objects, objects and concepts, countable. They are used in the singular and plural, with both the indefinite and the definite articles. For example:

A) Subject: a pupil student(s) - five pupils five student(s); a table table - many tables many tables; an engineer engineer - engineers engineers.

b) Collective: a family family - families families, an army army - armies army, a team team - ten teams ten teams.

2. Uncountable nouns include names of substances and concepts that can't be counted. These include real and abstract (abstract) nouns. Uncountable nouns are used only in singular and are not used with the indefinite article. When distinguishing them from the category of substances or concepts, they are preceded by a definite article.

As a subject, they are used with a singular predicate and can be replaced by a singular pronoun (most often: it).

Uncountable nouns combine with pronouns much many, little a little, little, some several, some amount, any some, any.

A) Real(materials; bulk, liquid, gaseous substances; food): water, bread, tea, wool, oil, air.

b) Abstract(actions, states, natural phenomena, feelings, etc.): life life, time time, music music, news news, cold cold, freedom freedom, bravery courage, sleep dream, winter winter.

Cases of transition of nouns from the category of uncountable to countable

Many uncountable nouns become countable and are used with corresponding articles in the following cases:

1. Real nouns are used to designate an object (or objects) from a given material or when the whole and its elements are denoted by the same word: hair hair - a hair hair.

A coal fell out of the fire.- A coal fell out of the fireplace.

The ground was as hard as stone. - The ground was hard as stone.

The boy threw two stones into the water. - The boy threw two stones into the water.

2. Real nouns are used to designate different varieties and types of something or to designate a portion of something that can, for example, be bought:

He made some tea. - He prepared tea.

This is an Indian tea. - This is one of the Indian varieties of tea.

I hate coffee. - I can't stand coffee.

He bought a coffee and a sandwich. - He bought (a cup of) coffee and a sandwich.

3. Abstract nouns denote specific objects or persons (are specified):

My room is full of light. - My room is full of light.

We saw a light in the distance. - We saw a light in the distance.

Some of the uncountable nouns are almost never used as countable nouns, for example: freedom freedom, weather weather, news news, news, advice advice, progress success, money money.

4. If the ending -s (-es) is added to the stem of an uncountable noun, it is usually converted into a countable noun, for example:

Note. In addition to the noun, the ending -s (-es) takes only a predicate verb in the Present Simple form for agreement with the subject in the 3rd person singular. numbers.

In other cases, the ending -s (-es) certainly indicates that this is a noun. For example, other parts of speech, such as an adjective, adverb, etc., taking the ending -s, become a noun: yellows yolks, goods goods, whys reasons, ups and downs ups and downs, etc.

When it comes to such a part of speech as nouns, one of the greatest difficulties in the learning process is given to students by countable and uncountable nouns in the English language. Here you need to navigate different cases of use and know a fairly extensive list of such words and exceptions. However, here you can find certain patterns, and for this it is necessary to consider the topic of countable and uncountable nouns of the English language in more detail.

Main features of countable and uncountable nouns

These linguistic elements, which are called countable or uncountable nouns, are characterized by the fact that, depending on belonging to a particular group, they can be used both in both numbers (singular and plural), and only in the singular. Those nouns that can be counted, that is, formed into a plural form, are called countable nouns. Uncountables are those that do not have plural forms and are used exclusively in the singular.

The rules for using these linguistic structures largely imply division into countable nouns - uncountable nouns from the point of view of the semantics of the noun itself, that is, the group to which this or that belongs. In this regard, it is possible to give an appropriate classification and determine in which groups the differences between countable and uncountable nouns are most obvious.

Main categories of countable nouns

For countable nouns, the translation allows for the formation of the plural. This group can be divided into two main categories:

1. Concrete nouns

These parts of speech demonstrate familiar objects that surround people. They can be easily counted, they are tangible and completely real. Examples of such words are lamp, window, dog, bottle, pen, etc. For each noun in this group, a plural can be selected and used in the appropriate context.

2. Abstract nouns

Despite the fact that very often nouns from this category are uncountable nouns, there are often situations when these words can be used in the plural. Here are vivid examples of such words:

· idea (from a logical point of view, the essence of this concept is abstract; at the same time, the word ideas is used in the language very often)

· hour (the word “hour” is also intangible, but has a plural form), etc.

One of the main indicators that a noun is countable is the article. General grammatical rules stipulate that any singular countable noun must have an article, except in some special cases related directly to the subject of the article. At the same time, plurals of countable (their plural forms) are not always used with the article.

Categories of uncountable nouns

An uncountable word differs from a countable word in that it does not have the ability to form a plural. Innumerable words in the English language are quite often similar in principle to Russian ones. At the same time, there are situations when a noun can simultaneously be both countable and uncountable, depending on different meanings. Examples of these words:

· hair (“hair”) – a hair (“one hair”)
· beauty (“beauty”) – a beauty (“beauty”)
· paper (“paper”) – a paper (“document”)
· time (“time”) – a time (“one time”)
· room (“space”) – a room (“room”)
· light (“light”) – a light (“lamp”), etc.

Just like countable nouns, uncountable nouns fall into two categories:

1. Abstract

In this group, of course, words are rarely counted (some exceptional cases have been described above). This category includes concepts or phenomena that are not tangible and carry an abstract meaning: sadness, kindness, love, despair, experience, etc.

2. Real

In English they are called nouns of material. This includes natural elements, substances and materials: cream, bread, soup, butter, milk, meat, etc.

However, sometimes it becomes necessary to form plural forms with uncountable nouns. To do this, it is customary to use additional words, for example:

· cheese (“cheese”) – two slices of cheese (“two slices of cheese”)
· biscuit (“biscuit, cookies”) – three pieces of biscuit (“three pieces of biscuit”)
· chocolate (“chocolate”) – two bars of chocolate (“two chocolate bars”)

Articles with uncountable nouns when the context requires it: if a word is mentioned with a qualifying definition (the love that he feels), the use of a definite article is quite acceptable.

In addition, there are some unusual exception words. These include fruit and fish. Although it is possible to form the plural with them, this is not always done. When talking about fruits or fish without listing, the form of the number will remain unique (this does not apply to the word vegetables). For example:

· Most fruit are tasty – Most fruits are tasty
· They have a lot of fish – They have a lot of fish

There are many special cases: there are exceptions in the formation of plural forms (child – children – “child – children”), in the use of the plural with products and dishes (cake – cakes – “cake – cakes”, salad – salads – “salad – salads” , sweet – sweets – “candy – sweets”). In some cases, it is allowed to use the word some with such nouns to emphasize a certain amount (some chicken - “a little chicken”, some grapes - “a little grapes”). For example, people as a countable means “people” and can be used with the ending –s. There are quite a lot of such cases, and you should know them in order to navigate the peculiarities of the language.

Frequently occurring uncountable nouns

Below is a kind of table with examples of uncountable nouns, which are found quite often in English:

money - money
advice - advice
clothes - clothes
food - food
furniture - furniture
information – information
news - news
luggage - luggage
meal - meal
watch - watch
homework - homework
knowledge - knowledge
weather - weather

All the nuances and exceptions described above are extremely important, since, as can be seen from the examples presented, they are very actively used in the language and are quite standard structures in terms of meaning. The correct use of even such a seemingly not very complex part of speech as a noun requires quite serious preparation. The easiest way is to carefully study all atypical cases of use in order to appropriately apply the corresponding constructions in speech.

Very important from the point of view of grammar and understanding of native speakers is the rule “Countable and uncountable nouns” in English. It is known that some objects can be counted, while it is impossible to apply quantitative numerals to abstract concepts and substances.

Difference between countable and uncountable nouns

To understand how to determine the type to which a given part of speech belongs and correctly use words in sentences, you should focus on the following basic principles:

• In a countable noun. there are forms of units. h. and pl. h. Together with them you can use digital symbols or the word some (several):

• Uncountable nouns have no plural form. h., but can also be used with some to mean “a certain amount, a little”:

We have some chocolate. - We have some chocolate.

• In negative and interrogative sentences with both types of nouns. the word any is used (any, any, etc.):

They haven't got any coins. - They don't have any coins. (a coin – countable noun)

Have they got any coins? – Do they have any coins?

There isn’t any information about this case. – There is no information about this case. (information – uncountable noun)

Is there any information about this case? – Is there any information about this case?

• In the meaning of “many” with uncountable. noun use much, with calculus. – many:

Kate has much work to do. – Katya has a lot of work. Jack has got many subjects at school. – Jack has a lot of disciplines at school.

• To report a small quantity or volume use little with uncount. noun and few (little) with calculus. noun:

The English also use the expressions “a little”, “a few” with uncountable. and calculus noun accordingly, to report a small but sufficient amount of any objects or substances:

Margaret put a little salt in the soup. Margaret put some salt in the soup.

Sam invited a few friends to the picnic. Sam invited several friends to a picnic.

• From uncountable noun the verb is always used in the singular form. h.:

Love is a nice feeling. – Love is a wonderful feeling.

Coffee helps people to stay active. – Coffee helps people stay active.

These basic rules will help you use countable and uncountable nouns in English without errors.

List of countable nouns in English

To understand which words belong to the group of concepts to be counted, you can look at some categories and examples for them:

• items : a cup (cup), a book (book), a table (table);
• animals, birds, insects, fish: a snow leopard (snow leopard), an eagle (eagle), a fly (fly), a shark (shark);
• countable products: an apple (apple), an egg (egg);
• containers or packaging: a box (box), a jar (jar), a bar (chocolate bar);
• people, family members, representatives of different professions: a grandfather (grandfather), a baby (baby), a doctor (doctor), etc.

This list can be continued endlessly. The main thing is to understand the basic principle: calculus. noun you can recalculate and name their number using a numerical expression.

Some words can be used in plural. hours or units h., if they have a collective meaning: family, team, army, audience, etc. But noun. police (police) is always used with plural verbs. h.

My family is/ are on holiday now. – My family is on vacation now. The police are near his house. - The police are near his house.

Special cases

Some nouns are inconstant and move from the category of uncountable. in calculus depending on the meaning that the speaker puts into the sentence.

It is necessary to take into account such nuances when composing and translating English sentences.

Countable nouns are those nouns that can be counted individually (two cups, three books, a thousand people). Uncountable nouns can have both singular and plural. one cup - one cup, five cups - five cups.

Uncountable- nouns that cannot be counted (water, love, money). That is, these are those nouns that cannot be preceded by a number indicating their quantity. For example, you cannot say: five loves, eight waters, ten money. The most common uncountable nouns are abstract concepts, solids and liquids. Uncountable nouns have only a singular form, even if translated into Russian in the plural. For example: money - money, hair - hair.

Rules for the use of phrases with countable and uncountable nouns