Rain countable or uncountable. Count and non-count nouns (Count and Noncount Nouns) in English (plural, articles, quantitative designations)

A bit about countable and uncountable nouns.

IN English language they are called Countable - [‘kauntəbl] (countable) and Uncountable - [ʌn’kauntəbl] (uncountable) Nouns.

What are countable and uncountable nouns in English, I think everyone knows. In other words, what can be counted and what cannot be counted.

Usually not considered:
1) materials - (Wood, Silver, Gold)
2) liquids - (Water, Wine, Juice),
3) languages ​​- (Spanish, English, German)
4) subjects of study - (Economics, Physics),
5) games - (Chess, Golf, Basketball),
6) diseases - (Herpes, Flu),
7) abstract nouns - (see below)
8) natural phenomena - (Rain, Snow, Humidity)

Used with them Much.

Much snow - a lot of snow.

In fact, you can imagine that somewhere there is a big pile ... of wood, sap, rain, german, information, business, shopping ... from which you chip off something interesting and countable for yourself. For example, from shopping dresses that you can count, and from business - ideas)

List of exemplary abstract nouns: advice (advice), anger (anger), applause (applause), assistance (help), behavior (behavior), business (business, affairs), seaside (seaside resort, by the sea),chaos (Chaos), countryside (In the village), courage (courage, courage), damage (damage), dirt (dirt), education (education), accommodation (room), evidence (testimony), housework (housework), homework (D / Z), information (information), intelligence (intelligence), knowledge (Knowledge), luck (luck), music (music), news (news), peace (peace), progress (progress), shopping (Shopping ), traffic( traffic), trouble (trouble), truth (truth), wealth (wealth), work (work), beauty (beauty), charity (charity), capitalism (capitalism), democracy (democracy), eternity (eternity),individualism, faith (faith), infinity (infinity), liberty (freedom), misery (suffering), motivation (motivation), observation (observation), poverty (poverty), privacy (personal space), slavery (slavery), space ( place, space), stability (stability), unemployment (unemployment), violence (violence), wisdom (wisdom)

Uncountable nouns have the form of the 3rd person singular - conventionally denoted (IS)
Your luggage looks heavy. Your luggage looks heavy.
This news is very important. This news is very important.

It will not be superfluous to remember that News IS
Money IS
hair IS,
Because it is in these words that they make mistakes, since in Russian they sound like

NEWS/HAIR/MONEY.

Uncountable nouns are not preceded by the article “a”, only “the”, when we need to clarify the definiteness. For example Give me the money - Give me money (that same money).
For what we cannot count, we use words and expressions how much/much,a little/little,a lot of.

We cannot say an information, but we can say little information (little information / a little information (a little information) or much / a lot of information (a lot of information) or the information (the same information)
* Little here does not mean "small", but in the meaning of "a little".

To turn uncountable nouns into countable ones, you need to add the preposition of and, for example, get a glass or a cup of water from water, and a piece of information from information)
a piece of news - news.
a bottle of water - a bottle of water
a grain of rice - a grain of rice
These words are called a kind - “Measured words” (Measure words), there are a lot of them, but mostly food measurements are remembered.
a cup of tea. A cup of tea.
a slice of meat. A piece of meat.

MANY CUPS OF TEA.

Or, you can imagine that "Money" are counted on "Rubles", "Music" has "Songs", and "Furniture"(Furniture) is calculated by tables-"Tables."(For example)

And, of course, with uncountables, we can use some (+ ) in affirmative sentences and any(?- ) in interrogative and negative sentences.
For example: We haven`t got any milk . We don't have milk at all.
Have you got any cheese? Do you have cheese?
Yes, I've got some cheese in the fridge. Yes, there is some cheese in the fridge.

* We can use Some in questions in the sense of a POLITE OFFER.

For example: Can I have some milk?

With countable nouns, things are much simpler.
1) easy to count - A Cup - Cups
A doctor-doctors
A lemon-lemons
I like oranges - I love oranges.
Bottles can break. Bottles may break.

2) Also used with some and any .

I would like some berries. I would like some berries
I wouldn`t like any berrie s. I would like any berries.
Have you got any berries? Do you have any berries?
Can I have some berries? Can I have some berries?

3) C With countables, we can use expressions such as few - (little), a few (a little), many
(a lot of), lots of (many)

For example:

There are few people in the street. There are few people on the street.
There are a few people in the street. There are few people on the street.
There are lots of pizzas on the table. There are many pizzas (large and different) on the table.

You speak correctly =).

Have a great day

When we are talking about 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 English. Here you need to navigate in different cases of use and know a rather extensive list of such words and exceptions. However, here you can also find certain patterns, and for this it is necessary to consider the topic of countable and uncountable nouns in the English language in more detail.

Main features of countable and uncountable nouns

These language 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, form a plural form, are called countable nouns. Uncountable - those that do not have plural forms and are used exclusively in the singular.

The rules for the use of these language structures largely imply a 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 the formation of the plural. This group includes two main categories:

1. Specific 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. Each noun in this group can be pluralized and used in the appropriate context.

2. Abstract nouns

Despite the fact that very often nouns from this category are uncountable nouns, it is not uncommon for these words to be used in the plural. Here are some prime examples of such words:

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

hour (the word "hour" is also intangible, but has a plural), etc.

One of the main indicators that a noun is countable is the article. General grammatical rules provide that any countable noun in the singular must be with the article, with the exception of some special cases related directly to the topic 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 English are quite often similar in principle to Russian ones. At the same time, there are situations when a noun can be both countable and uncountable at the same time, 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 ("once")
room ("space") - a room ("room")
light ("light") - a light ("lamp"), etc.

Just like countable nouns, uncountable nouns are characteristic of 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 have 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. For 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 bars of chocolate")

Articles with uncountable nouns when the context requires it: if the word is mentioned with a qualifying definition (the love that he feels - “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. Despite the fact that they can be pluralized, this is not always done. When it comes to fruits or fish without enumeration, the form of the number will remain the only one (this does not apply to the word vegetables - "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 food 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 count means "people" and can be used with the ending -s. There are quite a lot of such cases, and they should be known in order to navigate the features of the language.

Common uncountable nouns

Below is a kind of table with examples of uncountable nouns that are quite common 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 of the above nuances and exceptions are extremely important, because, 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, even at first glance, not too complicated part of speech, like a noun, requires quite serious preparation. The easiest way is to carefully study all atypical use cases in order to appropriately apply the appropriate constructions in speech.

We can all count. But does everything count? For example, how to calculate the weather? Or water, or money? “Well, we can count money!” many will object. Okay, let's count: one money, two money, three ... Is something wrong? But we can perfectly count rubles, dollars or euros. Why this conversation? Yes, to the fact that we will talk about countable and uncountable nouns in English.

Why is it important

The fact is that in English there are grammatical differences when using countable and uncountable. This concerns the agreement of the subject with the predicate, education, use, use of indefinite pronouns.

How to define countability

Everything is simple here: you need to calculate. If it turns out, then the noun is countable. If not, it's uncountable. We have already counted the money, let's count something else. For example, milk. Try saying: I have five milk. Immediately the question arises: what five? Liters? Glasses? Cans? So milk is an uncountable noun, and a liter, a glass or a can is a countable one. We can count hours, days, seconds, but we cannot count time. So time is an uncountable noun, and days and hours are countable. Using this principle, you can easily determine which noun is countable and which is not.

countable nouns

Countables include specific objects, objects, people, animals, which we perceive as separate units:

doll - doll
girl - girl
tree - tree
cat - cat
pencil - pencil

Some abstract concepts that can be counted can also be countable:

word - word
desire - desire
idea - idea
decision
order - order

You can always put a number in front of them:

four cats - four cats
two decisions - two decisions

Uncountable nouns

Uncountable substances include any substances: liquid, solid, gaseous, in the form of a powder. We also include abstract concepts, feelings, emotions, natural phenomena, various sciences and academic subjects, sports, etc. That is, everything that cannot be divided into separate units, and, therefore, counted:

peace - peace
gold - gold
time - time
kindness - kindness
love - love

Features of some nouns

Take, for example, nouns such as coffee (coffee), tea (tea), beer (beer). These are liquids, they cannot be counted and we refer them to uncountable nouns:

I don't like coffee, I prefer tea.
I do not like coffee, I prefer tea.

But here's another example:

Give us two coffees and a tea, please.
give us two coffee And tea, Please.

As you can see, seemingly uncountable liquids have turned into countable ones. Since in this case we are not interested in abstract coffee and tea, but in a specific volume (cup, portion). We mean it, though we don't say it.

More examples

Here are some more examples where the same noun can have two categories. In this case, the semantic meaning of the word may change. Compare:

The statue is made of stone.
The statue is made from stone.

There are two beautiful stones in the girl's pocket.
The girl has (has) two beautiful pebble.

In the first case, the stone is the substance from which the statue is made, so the noun is uncountable. In the second case, a stone is an object that can be counted.

The bridge was not sturdy because it was made out of wood.
The bridge was not strong because it was made of tree.

This wood is huge.
This forest(woodland) is huge.

Forest is like wood, material is an uncountable noun. And the forest as a specific area, the forest area can already be counted.

The sun gives us light and heat.
The sun gives us light and warm.

The light in the room was dim.
Light(lamp, bulb) in the room was dim.

In the first case, the word "light" is used as an abstract concept, in the second case, it refers to a specific light source, which can be several (two light bulbs).

Michael has extensive experience in medicine.
Michael has a big experience in medicine.

When we went to Moscow, we had some interesting experiences.
When we went to Moscow, we had several interesting adventure(experiences).

In the first sentence, experience is an abstract, uncountable concept; in the second, it is specific interesting moments from life that can be counted.

Thus, depending on the meaning, the same noun can be countable or uncountable. How to determine? The old proven way: count.

Differences in languages

advice - advice
work - work
news - news
baggage - luggage
knowledge - knowledge
information - information, message
progress - progress, success
hair - hair

However, there are pitfalls here as well. For example, the word hair is uncountable; in English, hair cannot be counted. But there is a noun a hair, which translates as "hair" and refers to the countable:

There are two hairs on your dress.
Here (there are) two hair on your dress.

Let's move on to grammar

Define countability English nouns we learned, now let's see where it can come in handy. The fact is that there are very important grammatical differences in the use of countable and uncountable nouns.

1. English nouns change in number and can be either singular or plural. But this only applies to countable nouns. All uncountable nouns are used only in the singular. Don't try to pluralize them, that would be a mistake. In a sentence, uncountable nouns agree with the singular verb and can be replaced by the pronoun it:

This advice is very useful.
This advice very helpful.

water freezes at a temperature of zero degrees.
Water freezes at zero degrees.

I want to remind you that the word news also refers to uncountable, therefore, despite the ending - s, it is a noun in the singular:

no news is good news.
Absence news- good news.

1. I think you know that nouns are used with articles, which can be and .

Both articles are used with countable nouns:

There is a big tree in the yard.
In the yard there is a large tree.

The tree is very old.
Tree very old.

The indefinite article cannot be used with uncountable nouns. This is explained simply: the indefinite article a / an comes from English word one, which means "one". Since uncountable nouns cannot be counted, the article a/an cannot be used either. These nouns are either preceded by a definite article or no article at all:

water is very important for life on the Earth.
Water very important for life on the ground.

The water in the stream is cold and clean.
Water the stream is cold and clear.

1. With the indefinite pronouns some and any, both countable and uncountable nouns can be used. However, countable nouns in this case must be in the plural:

I have some friends in Brazil.
I have some friends in Brazil.

He took some money and went to the store.
He took money (some money) and went to the store.

1. The use of nouns with the pronouns much, many, little, few also has its own rules.

• The pronouns many (many), how many (how many, how many), (a) few (few, few) can only be used with countable nouns:

He doesn't usually ask many questions.
He usually does not ask many questions.

There are a few flowers in the garden.
The garden has some flowers.

• The pronouns much (many), how much (how much, how much), (a) little (little, a little) are used only with uncountable nouns:

how much time do you usually spend on this kind of work?
How much time do you usually spend on this kind of work?

There is a little milk in the cup.
There is in the cup some milk.

• The expression a lot of (a lot) is used with any nouns:

There are a lot of cars in the yard.
In the courtyard a lot of cars.

There is a lot of water in the glass.
In glass much water.

Knowing the grammatical features of countable and uncountable nouns will help you avoid many mistakes. But theory without practice is quickly forgotten. Channel "English - speak freely!" will give you the opportunity to practice your English at any time of the day. See you on the air!

All nouns belong to one of two groups: countable (countable) or uncountable (uncountable). Division intocountable and uncountable in Englishdifferent from Russian, so this topic causes difficulties for language learners.

Depending on belonging to one of the two categories, some grammatical indicators change in English: the choice of the number of a noun and the agreement of the verb with it, the use of articles, the use of the words much / many and few / little.

In the article, we will consider which words belong to each group and analyze what the choice inEnglish countable and uncountablenouns.

What can or cannot be counted

Countable nouns are objects that can be listed and counted. For example, a pencil is a pencil. This word belongs to the class of countable nouns because we can count many pencils: one pencil (one pencil), two pencils (two pencils), three pencils (three pencils) and so on. There are singular and plural forms for such nouns.

Uncountable nouns are those for which we cannot enumerate objects and count the elements of the set. An example of such words is water (water). When we talk about water, it is simply impossible to calculate how many elements it contains.

It is the principle of countability that underlies the allocation of countable and uncountable words. In theory, everything seems simple, but in practice there are controversial situations. To avoid them, let's look at each type of nouns in more detail.

Countable nouns in English

The R class of countable nouns includes, as we have already said, objects that can be counted. These are household items familiar to us (table - table), people (boy - boy) and many other words.

Countable nouns change in number. In the plural, -s is added to them: pencil (pencil) - pencils (pencils). The verb to be with such nouns takes both singular and plural forms:

There are many cars on the road - There are many cars on the road.

His car is very expensive - His car is very expensive.

With countable objects, both the indefinite and the definite article can stand:

I have a car - I have a car.

The car needs to be repaired - The car needs to be repaired.

Uncountable nouns

IN fall into the following categories:

1. Sensations, feelings, emotions: hate (hatred), fear (fear), happiness (happiness) and others. The mental state is not enumerable, we either experience an emotion or not, so such words belong to the class of uncountable.
2. Abstract nouns: information (information), space (space), time (time) and others. We cannot see or touch abstract nouns, nor can we count them. These concepts are non-material and do not exist in the objective world, therefore they are defined as incalculable. No doubt about itcountable information or not, you should not stay.
3. Weather conditions: weather (weather), cold (cold), wind (wind) ... Such words also belong to the class of uncountable.
4. Substances and materials: wood (wood), salt (salt), flour (flour), water (water) ... A feature of substances is that they do not consist of elements that can be counted. Any part of flour is the same flour, any part of water is still water.

Now let's see if it's usedis or are with uncountable. These nouns can only be in the singular, so the verb agrees with them in the singular:

Fear is a destructive feeling - Fear is a destructive feeling.

Salt is necessary for the human body - Salt is necessary for the human body.

With words of this class, the definite article can be used, but the indefinite article is impossible. The indefinite article a / an contains the idea of ​​selecting one object from a set, which contradicts the idea of ​​uncountable nouns. Whereas the definite article the can be used with uncountable objects:

The weather is great today - The weather is great today.

Difficult cases

But also list of uncountable nouns in Englishmay raise questions. It is not always easy to determine what type an object is. Complicating the situation is that in Russian the distribution into two classes can occur somewhat differently.

For example, in Russian we can use the same noun in both senses: as a countable object and as an uncountable one. While English often uses different words for two types. For example, the abstract work (work) refers to a non-countable type. If we want to talk about a specific job, about a workplace or position, the countable noun job (work) is used:

I have a lot of work to do - I have a lot of work (that is, things to do - an abstract noun, uncountable)

I've found a new job - I found a new job (i.e. post, workplace - specific usage, countable)

The same situation is with the word food (food, food). To have no doubtcountable food or not, you need to remember its difference with the word meal (food, meal). When it comes to defining edible products, the word food is used, and when talking about eating, meal. In this case, the first word refers to uncountable, and the second - to countable.

I want to live long so I only eat healthy food - I want to live long, so I only eat healthy food.

Try to have more than three meals a day - Try to eat more than 3 meals a day.

Another example is the word "tree", which in Russian can mean both the material from which objects are made and a specific tree. In English, the word wood (tree) is used for material, and tree (tree) for a specific object.

This table is made of wood - This table is made of wood (material - uncountable)

This tree on the side of the road is very old - This tree on the edge of the road is very old (specific tree - countable)

Uncountable nouns are used in sentences in the singular. And here there are also discrepancies with the Russian language: some words in Russian are plural, while in English they are in the singular. For example, iscountable or not money(money)? The plural in translation into Russian should not confuse you: in English this word belongs to the class of uncountable.

Money doesn't always bring happiness - Money doesn't always bring happiness.

The example with the word news (news) is indicative. Formally, it is plural. But it is an uncountable noun, and it always agrees with the singular verb:

In the modern world news is everything - In modern world news means everything.

Difficulties also arise when the same concept in English and Russian belongs to different classes. For example, does it belong tocountable or uncountable advice(advice)? A countable or uncountable furniture(furniture)? Let's see which of the words in English belong to a different class than in Russian.

Uncountable nouns in English are:

• news - news
• advice - advice
• work - work
• knowledge - knowledge

Understanding, for example,quantifiable or not knowledge(knowledge), we should not be guided by other languages. After all, we can translate this word into Russian both singular and plural:

Knowledge is the key to success - Knowledge / Knowledge is the key to success.

Often students have questions about the following words:

• furniture - furniture
• damage - damage
• luggage - luggage
• traffic - traffic
• food - food

Remember that all of these examples belong to the class of uncountable words.

Transfer from one class to another

Words from one class can be transferred to another. For this, the names of containers or units of measure are used. We cannot count the substance itself, but we can always count the packages or the number of kilograms.

• bottle - bottle: a bottle of wine - a bottle of wine
• plate - plate, portion: a plate of meat - portion of meat
• bar - piece: a bar of soap - bar of soap
• sheet - sheet: a sheet of paper - sheet of paper
• slice - slice: a slice of bread - a slice of bread
• glass - glass: a glass of water - a glass of water
• jar - jar: a jar of jam - jar of jam
• cup - cup: a cup of coffee - a cup of coffee
• kilo - kilogram: a kilo of meat - kilogram of meat
• liter - liter: a liter of water - a liter of water
• piece - a piece: a piece of bread - a piece of bread

The expression "a piece of" is used not only for material objects, but can also be transferred to abstract concepts. So advice (advice) becomes countable in the construction a piece of advice.

If we use such constructions, then the verb agrees in number with them, which means it can take the plural form:

Here are two bottles of juice - Here are two bottles of juice.

Usually to the questioncountable or uncountable soup(soup), we answer that it is uncountable. However, when used in the construction "a bowl of soup" (a bowl of soup), it becomes possible to count individual items.

When any of the above ways of indicating quantity is very common, then the word denoting capacity may be omitted from the sentence. For example, coffee or tea is characterized by the use of the word "cup" (cup). Therefore, it can only be implied in a phrase, not expressed. Then the words coffee and tea act as countable.

Two coffees, please - Two coffees, please.

Transition from one class to another is possible without special pointers. Some uncountable nouns can be pluralized. This changes their meaning.

Let's take the floor time: countable or not? We have already said that time (time) as an abstract noun is uncountable. However, it also has another meaning: when used as a countable noun, time takes on the meaning of “time”: one time (one time), two times (two times):

I’ve seen him four times today - I saw him four times today.

The already considered word work (work), which in common use refers to uncountable nouns, can change class and go into countable ones. Then this word takes on the meaning of "work":

I love the works of this painter - I love the work of this painter.

Beginners to learn English can be confused by the question,countable or uncountable fruit(fruits). The fact is that when we use this word in the meaning of a type of food, the noun acts as an uncountable one. And when it is pluralized, the word takes on additional meanings: different types fruit or tree fruit.

In order to be healthy, you need to eat fruit - To be healthy, you need to eat fruit (use as uncountable).

What fruits can we buy here? - What fruits can we buy here? (Use as a countable).

For words relating to food, such translations from one class to another are feature. The noun wine (wine) denotes a type of drink in an uncountable form, but in the meaning of different varieties of wines it becomes countable and has a plural:

When I drink wine I always feel bad - When I drink wine, I always feel bad (type of drink)

We tasted some marvelous wines - We tasted delicious wines (different varieties).

Other examples of this topic can be given as examples. Try to determinepotato: countable or uncountable?

You shouldn't eat potato - You shouldn't eat potatoes.

One potato is enough, I've had lunch recently - One potato is enough, I recently had lunch.

As in the previous examples, when we use potato as a type of food, we are using the word as uncountable. And in a countable form, the word gets the meaning of "potato".

The noun hair (hair) is usually used in the singular as uncountable when we are talking about the totality of hair on the head:

His hair is dark - He has dark hair.

But when it comes to a single hair, hair becomes countable. In Russian, we can emphasize a single object using the expression "one hair" or leave the plural:

There is a hair in my tea! - In my hair tea / hair!

Various uses exist for the word paper (paper).Countable or not paper? In the meaning of "paper" this noun acts as uncountable. And as a countable, it means a newspaper / document / written work.

Do you have enough paper? - Do you have enough paper?

I love to read papers - I love reading newspapers.

Quantity indication

The choice of indicators of quantity depends on the countability of the word. These include many / much, few / little. In each pair, the first word is used with countable nouns, the second - with uncountable ones.

It is the distribution ofcountable and uncountable in Englishdetermines the choice of a quantitative word. For example, apple is countable, so many exponents will be used with it. Whereas with words like water (water) much is used.

Here are examples for each use:

• many - many (countable): Many years have passed - Many years have passed.
• much - a lot (with uncountable ones): There is much love in the world - There is a lot of love in the world.
• few - few (countable): Too few people agreed to do this - Too few people agreed to do this.
• little - little (with uncountable): I have little time - I have little time.