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the, a, an
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Noun Practice
Back to Nouns
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Countable nouns refer to things that that can be counted. They are usually tangible things, things that
can be perceived by one of our senses (taste, touch, sight, hearing, smell). These nouns can be either
singular or plural.
Concrete nouns can be countable.
Flowers, oranges, trees, houses, bricks, cars, men, women, cats, birds
Joseph slipped on a banana peel.
How many banana peels did Joseph slip on? Just one.
Collective nouns can be countable or uncountable, depending on the meaning of the sentence.
Collective nouns refer to a group (army, committee, group, government, etc.) Americans tend to use collective
nouns as singular nouns:
The crowd is cheering.
The navy was commissioning three new cruisers last week.
The group has elected Rodney to be chairman.
Some proper nouns are countable.
There are more Irish in New York than in Eire. (Irish people...How many Irish people are in...)
The Rockefellers produced several statesmen.
An uncountable noun refers to something that can't be counted, because it's thought of as a whole that cant be cut
into parts. They are often abstract, and occasionally have a collective meaning. (for example, food; Is the food
ready now?) These nouns take only the singular form.
Correct: 1) I want to eat the food you made yesterday. Is it still good? 2) Yes, some of it is still good.
Correct: I gave the dog three pieces of food, but he only ate two.
Correct: I don't enjoy food when it's served cold. I like hot food to be served hot, and cold food to be served cold.
Incorrect: Don't give him an old food. Only give the dog a fresh food.
Jasper jumped into the air.
There are exceptions to the above definitions. (Be aware that a countable noun in a different language may not be
countable in English, and vice versa.
Exceptions: Meanings can change, according to how the word is used. This is just a sampling:
Uncountableabstract; general
statement of fact
lecture
He hates lectures.
noise
room
meal
The Mona Lisa is a famous work by DaVinci. There are three other Da
Vinci works in the museum.
work
sand
rice
sugar
corn
rye
popcorn
salt
lettuce
hair
flour
oats
dust
spinach
garlic
powder
Sample Components
package, letter
vegetable
carrot, tomato
clothing
slacks, shoes
food
cookie, cracker
fruit
pineapple, banana
furniture
bed, chair
garbage
jewelry
ring, bracelet
machinery
flywheel, cog
Note: Sometimes an uncountable noun can be understood as an individual item that's distinct from other items of
the same category. These nouns are often foods and beverages: pastry /pastries, drink/drinks, wine/wines,
bread/breads, cheese/cheeses, tea/teas, etc.
Men seem to like Limburger cheese more than other kinds. (kinds of cheese)
geography
geology
music
advertising
medicine
grammar
mechanics
biology
economics
history
accounting
sociology
law
mathematics
linguistics
Abstract ideas
strength
equality
sadness
love
selfishness
anger
happiness
knowledge
patriotism
slang
wonder
hatred
laughter
peace
trouble
courage
health
laziness
permission
wealth
crime
help
leisure
relaxation
wisdom
Liquids
oil
water
milk
gasoline
syrup
coffee
vodka
juice
tea
soda
molasses
saliva
helium
methane
air
oxygen
ether
ozone
carbon monoxide
hydrogen
Gases
chicken
cotton
iron
wood
pork
wool
fire
lamb
plastic
beef
cloth
glass
lead
silver
ice
coal
gold
meat
soap
bread
concrete
cheese
ice
steel
bridge
jogging
swimming
aerobics
checkers
Monopoly
tag
badminton
chess
Scrabble
tennis
baseball
football
soccer
water polo
bowling
hockey
surfing
volleyball
Natural Phenomena
snow
cold
darkness
dew
fog
frost
gravity
hail
humidity
light
lightning
mist
rain
sleet
heat
thunder
Medical Conditions
An article does not precede terms for general medical conditions. When referring to specific instances of a
medical condition or disease, some uncountable nouns use the; others do not use any article.
General statement: Measles is a childhood disease.
Specific statement: He has the German measles.
arthritis
hiccups
cancer
polio
tuberculosis
AIDS
flu
measles
smallpox
lupus
electroshock
fission
fusion
sonar
radar
dissection
dialysis
Notice that this, that, these, and those have been included because like the word the, they mark a definite noun
rather than a general one.
a, an
the
this, that
Countable
singular
Countable
singular
Countable
singular
Countable plural
these, those
no article
Countable
plural
Countable
plural
Uncountable
Uncountable
Countable Singular:
I think she prefers those videos that are on the next shelf.
most countable nouns can be made plural adding s, or ies (study, studies)
Plural
uncountable noun
countable noun
uncountable Use
countable use
The detective found several blond hairs on the body of the victim.
Those men standing at the coffee machine were my teachers last year at
school.