count and non-count nouns!

In this segment you are going to learn about the differences of the noun/verb agreement

of the two forms, the use of determiners in both the singular and plural forms of count

nouns and in the non-count forms, and the different categories that determine the “countability”

or “non-countability” of certain nouns. (We will touch base on some of the “problematic”

forms in the next lesson.)

The concept of count versus non-count nouns presents special problems for students studying

English as a second language. First, choosing which nouns are countable and which nouns

are non-countable is by no means universal. For example, although somebody can advise

us several times, we can't say they give us advices. Yet that would translate quite nicely

into several other languages. We would say, in English, that they give us advice. In some

languages, it makes sense to sit in a restaurant with a friend and ask for waters (and get

two glasses of water) — this would sound very strange in English.

When talking about nouns (people, places, or things) AND when referring to one or many

of the items….we generally are talking about “countable” things. These are things such

as accounts, addresses, apartments, mistakes, products, and so on. (for a more complete

list see: …..).

Notice that I have mentioned all of these in the plural form, with the –s ending.

That is because we can refer to “several” of them…in other words, “they are countable!”

There is, however, another category of nouns that is not possible to count and these generally

refer to materials, qualities, or actions. In the most general sense (and others will

be discussed in part 2) these are referring to qualities (intelligence/ patience), substances

(food/ salt), processes (teaching/ failure), and topics (philosophy/ love) rather than

to individual items or events.

For count nouns, when you use a singular form, you need to use a singular form of the verb:

A dog likes to eat far more meat than a human being.

In the same sense, when you are using the plural form, use a plural form of the verb:

Bigger dogs cost more.

When using non-count or uncountable things as the subject, you need to use a singular

form of the verb: Intelligence is determined by how one responds

to a certain situation, not by a score on a test.

Salt that has lost its flavor is useless. It is believed that teaching is one of the

more respectable professions in some countries.

A simple way to look at the use of articles or determiners in front of count and non-count

nouns would be to talk about those that are ONLY used with count, those that are ONLY

use with non-count, and those that can be used with BOTH:

A Many

Few A few

Non-count: much Little

A little bit of Both: nothing

The Some

Any No

A lot of Lots of

Enough Plenty of

The count determiners are referring to specific numbers of items in both the singular and

plural sense: Is there a doctor in the building? (referring

to “one” doctor) He had a few substantial reasons supporting

his stand. (referring to 2 or 3 reasons)

The non-count determiners refer to the whole or a part of the whole item being talked about:

Much of the furniture in this room is not comfortable. (referring to a good portion

of the furniture…tables, chairs, etc.) The excellent student had little need for

advice on his paper. (referring to a small portion of “need”)

Determiners that can be used for both offer a “safe” way to talk about nouns…especially

if you are not sure which to use! Some research has been done in this area.

Some

studies have been done in this area.

He was offered no advice.

No textbooks were used in the class.

Let’s double check to see how you’re doing… Consider the nouns in the following sentences.

Decide whether they are countable things or non-count items.

Then add the plural endings IF NECESSARY. (Note…you can always pause the video to

take more time to consider….)

Eggs and chickens are “countable” things in this sentence. We know we are talking about

the MANY eggs that the BIRDS produce in her yard.

Consider this sentence…

Here, we are talking about the MEAT and the cooked grain because of the meal situation.

(NOTE: small grains such as rice, wheat, sugar, etc are most commonly considered so small

that we cannot count them…thus, they are in the non-count category)

Here’s another…

“A lot of” can precede both count and non-count; however, here we understand the

writer is viewing individual trees, bushes and flowers outside his window.

Grass and dirt; however, are in that category of items that are considered uncountable because

of the impossible task of counting the individual blades of grass or the grains of dirt.

Now, let’s see how you do on choosing the determiners.

Choose one of the determiners that would modify the “count” noun or one that would modify

the “non-count noun from the list below to complete the sentence.

DO NOT use the determiners that could be used for both in the middle column (though these

would normally be easy to use)…we want to distinguish clearly between the count and

non-count nouns in this exercise…

Note that “times” has the plural “s” attached. This shows that it is clearly “countable.”

Try this one…

Here, “time” is “uncountable” or “noncount.” They are not talking about individual “events”

but a length or duration of the larger sense of “time.”

Here’s another…

Here, “hope” is referring to an “abstraction” or a “quality” which is uncountable

Here is one more….

In this case, “country” refers to a “particular” country that is not specified…but it is

only referring to one single country and is therefore a count noun.

In this video you have seen some of the differences between “count” and “non-count” nouns.

That count nouns are generally referring to people, places and things…

…and that non-count nouns are referring to qualities, substances, processes and topics

We have talked about making sure to match the verb form for each: singular and plural

for count and singular for non-count. In addition, we looked at some of the determiners

that are specific to either count or non count nouns and those that can be used for both.

In the next video, we will be looking at groups of nouns that play both sides of the fence…or

that can be considered both count in some cases and non-count in others.

Happy counting! (…or not!)