CountabIe and uncountabIe
А noun сап Ье countable or uncountable:
Countable
D 1 еаг а Ьапапа every day.
D 1 like bananas.
Banana is а countable поцп,
А countable noun сап Ье singular (Ьапапа)
or plural (bananas).
We сап use numbers with countable nouns.
50 we сап say 'опе banana', 'two bananas'
etc.
Examples of nouns usually countable:
I D Kate was singing а song.
1\·1 D There's а nice beach near here.
D Do уои have а ten-pound note?
D It wasn't уоцг fault. It was an accident.
D There аге по batteries in the radio.
D We haven't got enough cups.
Уои сап use а/ап with singular countable
nouns:
а beach а student ап umbrella
1
Уои саппот use singular countable nouns
alone (without a/the/my етс.):
111
D 1 want а banana. (not 1 want banana)
D There's Ьееп an accident. (not There's
been accident)
Уои сап use plural countable nouns alone:
D 1 like bananas. (= bananas in general)
D Accidents сап Ье prevented.
Уои сап use some and any with plural
countable nouns:
j D We sang some songs.
D Did уои Ьиу any apples?
11 We use тапу and few with plural countable
nouns:
D We didn't take тапу photographs.
D 1 have а few things to do.
CountabIe and uncountabIe 2 -i> Unit 70
138 Children / the children -i> Unit 75
1
~.
Uncountable
D 1 еаг rice every day.
D 1 like rice.
Е3
=е:::;;;
Rice is an uncountable noun. .~
An uncountable noun has only опе
form (псе).
We саппот use numbers with uncountable
nouns. We саппот say 'one rice', 'two rices'
etc.
Examples of nouns usually uncountable:
D Кате was listening to (some) music.
D There's sand in ту shoes.
D Do уои have any money?
D It wasn't уоцг fault. It was bad luck.
D There is по electricity in this house.
D We haven't got enough water.
Уои саппот normally use a/an with
uncountable nouns. We do not say 'а sand',
'а music', 'а rice'.
Вш уои сап often use а ... of. For example:
а bowl / а packet / а grain of rice
Уои сап use uncountable nouns alone
(without the/my/some етс.):
D 1 eat rice every day.
D There's blood оп уоцг shirt.
D Сап уои hear music?
Уои сап use some and any with uncountable
nouns:
D We listened to some music.
D Did уои Ьиу any apple juice?
We use much and little with uncountable
nouns:
D We didn't do much shopping.
D 1 have а little work to do.
Some and апу -i> Unit 85 Many/much/few/litlle -i> Unit 87
 ·
хегсвез Unit 69
.1 Some of these sentences need а/ап. Correct the sentences where necessary .
1 Joe goes everywhere Ьу bike. ~ .....
H~ h..~s..r.)t..99.Р. ~ <::о.!.., .
2 Helen was listening to music when 1 arrived. .....Q~ .
3 We went го very nice restaurant last weekend.
4 1 clean ту teeth with'toothpaste.
5 1 use toothbrush to clean ту teeth.
6 Сап уои tell те if there's bank пеаг here?
7 Му brother works for insurance сотрапу in London.
8 1 don't like violence.
9 Сап уои smell paint?
10 Whеп we were in Rome, we stayed in big hotel.
11 We need petrol. 1 hope we соте to petrol station soon.
12 1 wonder if уои сап help те. 1 have problem.
13 1 like your suggestion. It's very interesting idea.
14 John has got interview for job tomorrow.
15 1 like уоllеуЬаll. It's good game.
16 Liz doesn't usually wear jewellery.
17 Jane was wearing beautiful necklace.
9.2 Согпр'ете the sentences using the following words. Use а/ап where necessary.
accident biscuit blood coat decision electricity
interview key moment ~ question sugar
1 It wasn't your fault. It was ~ ~У.ф .
2 Listen! Сап уои hear .....r.п.IA..s..~.... ?
3 1 couldn't get into the house because 1 didn't have .
4 1t's very warm today. Why are уои wearing ?
5 Do уои take in your соНее?
6 Are уои hungry? Would уои like with your соНее?
7 Our lives would Ье very difficult without .
8 '1 had for а job yesterday.' 'Did уои? How did it go?'
9 The heart pumps through the body.
10 Excuse те, but сап 1 ask уои ?
11 Гт not ready yet. Сап уои wait , please?
12 We can't delay much longer. We have to make sооп.
69.3 Complete the sentences using the following words. Sometimes the word needs to Ье plural (-5),
and sometimes you need to use а/ап.
ап day friend language letter шеат
рапепсе реорlе photograph queue space umbrella
1 1 had ту camera, but 1 didn't take апу pJ:J9.t:o.gr.~.h..? .
2 There аге seven in а week.
3 А vegetarian is а person who doesn't eat .
4 Outside the cinema there was of people waiting to see the film.
5 Гт not very good at writing .
6 Last night 1went out with some of mine.
7 There were very few in town today. The streets were almost ешрту,
8 Гт going out for а walk. 1 need some fresh .
9 Gary always wants things quickly. Не hasn't got much .
10 1 think it's going to rain. Do уои have 1 could borrow?
11 Do уои speak апу foreign ?
12 Our flat is very small. We haven't got much .
139
 CountabIe and uncountabIe 2
Мапу nouns сап Ье used as countable or uncountable nouns, usually with а difference in
meaning. Compare:

Countable Uncountable
о Did уои hear а noise just now? о 1 can't work here. There's too much
(= а specific noise) noise. (not too тапу noises)
о 1 bought а paper to read. о 1 need some paper to write оп.
(= а newspaper) (= material for writing оп)
О There's а hair in ту soup! о Уои'уе got very long hair. (not hairs)
(= опе single hair) (= аll the hair оп уоцг head)
о Уои сап stay with us. There is а spare о Уои can't sit here. There isл't room.
room. (= а room in а house) (= space)
о 1 had some interesting experiences О They offered те the job because 1 had а
while 1 was travelling. (= things that lot of experience. (not experiences)
I
happened to те)
О Enjoy уоцг trip. Наче а good time! о 1 can't wait. 1 haven't got time.

\ Coffee/tea/juice!beer егс, (drinks) аге normally uncountable:

о 1 don't like coffee very much.
But уои сап say а соНее (= а сир of соНее), two coffees (= two cups) егс, :
О Two coffees and ап orange juice, please.

The following nouns are usually uncountable:

accommodation behaviour damage luck permission traffic

advice bread fumiture luggage progress weather
baggage chaos information news scenery work

Уои саппот use a/an with these nouns:

о I'т going to Ьиу some bread. or ... а loaf of bread. (not а bread)
о Enjoy уоцг holiday! 1 hope 'уои have good weather. (not а good weather)
These nouns are пот usually plural (so we do пот say 'breads', 'furnitures' етс.):
о Where аге уои going to put аll уоцг fumiture? (not furnitures)
о Let те know if уои need гпоге information. (not informations)
News is uncountable, not plural:
о The news was very depressing. (not The news were)
Travel (nоun) means 'travelling in general' (uncountable). We do пот say 'а travel' to теап а
trip ог а joumey:
О They spend а lot of топеу оп travel.
о We had а very good trip/joumey. (not а good travel)
Compare these соuпtаblе and uncountable nouns:

Countable Uncountable
о I'т looking for а job. о I'т looking for work. (not а work)
о What а beautiful view! о What beautiful scenery!
о It's а nice day today. о It's nice weather today.
о We had а lot of bags and cases. о We had а lot of baggageJluggage
о These chairs аге mine. о This furniture is mine.
о That's а good suggestion. о That's good advice.

140 СоuпtэbJе эпd uпсоuпtэbJе 1 ---i> Unit 69 American Eng/ish ---i> Appendix 7
 ·
егсвез Unit 70
Which of the underlined parts of these sentences is correct?
1 'Did уои hear-fleffie-/ а noise just now?' 'No, 1 didn't hear anything.' (а noise is correct).
2 а If уои want to know the news, уои сап read paper / а paper.
Ь 1 want to print some documents, but the printer is out of paper / papers.
3 а 1 fhought there was somebody in the house because there was light / а light оп inside.
Ь Light / А light comes from the sun.
4 а 1 was in а hurry this morning. 1 didn't have time / а time for breakfast.
Ь 'Did уои enjoy your holiday?' 'Yes, we had wonderful time / а wonderful time.'
5 This is nice room / а nice room. Did уои decorate it yourself?
6 5ие was very helpful. 5he gave us some very useful advice / advices.
7 Did уои have nice weather / а nice weather when уои were away?
8 We were very unfortunate. We had bad luck / а bad luck.
9 Is it difficult to find а work / job at the moment?
10 Our travel / journey from Paris to Moscow Ьу train was very tiring.
11 When the fire alarm rang, there was total chaos / а total chaos.
12 1 had to Ьиу а / some bread because 1 wanted to make some sandwiches.
13 Bad news don't / doesn't make people happy.
14 Your hair is / Your hairs are too long. Уои should have it / them cut.
15 The damage / the damages caused Ьу the storm will cost а lot to repair .

.2 Complete the sentences using the following words. Use the plural (-s) where necessary.
advice chair ехрепепсе experience furniture hair
information job IHggag@ репшвыоп progress work
1 1 didn't have much ... l.Iл.99М.Е:: ..... - just two small bags.
2 They'll tell уои аН уои want to know. They'll give уои plenty of .
3 There is гоогп for everybody to sit down. There are plenty of .
4 We have по , not even а bed ог а table.
5 'What does Alan look like?' 'He's got а long beard and very short .
6 Carla's English is better than it was. 5he's made .
7 Mike is uiJ.employed. Не can't get а .
8 Mike is unemployed. Не can't get .
9 If уои want го leave early, уои have to ask for .
10 1 didn't know what to do. 50 1 asked Chris for .
11 1 don't think Dan will get the job. Не doesn't have enough .
12 Paul has done тапу interesting things. Не could write а book about his .

0.3 What do you say in these situations? Complete each sentence using опе of the words from
Section В.
1 Your friends have just arrived at the station. Уои can't see any cases or bags. Уои ask them:
Науе .!i().tл. .9.()~ <д.:У.\!:I щ.9.9.0::9.Е:: ?
2 Уои go into the tourist office. Уои want to know about places to see in the town. Уои say:
I'd like .
3 Уои аге а student. Уои want your teacher to advise уои about which courses го do. Уои say:
Сап уои give те .
4 Уои want to watch the news оп ТУ, but уои don't know when it is оп. Уои ask your friend:
What time ?
5 Уои are at the top of а mountain. Уои сап see а very long way. It's beautiful. Уои say:
It , isn't it?
6 Уои look out of the window. The weather is horrible: cold, wet and windy. Уои say:
What .. !

141
 CountabIe nouns with а/ап and some
Countable nouns сап Ье singular or plural:

а dog а chilcl the evening this party ап umbrella

dogs some chilclren the evenings these parties two umbrellas

Before singular countable nouns уои сап use а/ап:

о Goodbye! Насе а nice eveningo
о Do уои need ап umbrella?

Уои саппот use singular countable nouns alone (without a/the/my етс.):
О She never wears а Ьат. (not She never wears hat)
о Ве careful of the dogo (not Ве careful of dog)
о What а beautiful day!
о Гуе got а Ьеаоаспе.

1 We use а/ап оto say what kind of thing or person somethinglsomebody

о о is:
о That's а nice tableo
\1 In the plural we use the поип alone (not some 000):
О Those are nice спацв. (not some nice chairs)

Compare singular and plural:

о А dog is ап апппа]. о Dogs are ашшаи.

о I'т ап оршшвт.
о Tim's father is а doctoro
о Are уои а good driver?
о Jill is а really nice persono
о What а lovely dress!
о We're оршшыв.
о Most of ту friends аге зпшешз.
о Are they good students?
о Jill's parents аге really nice реорге,
о What awful shoes!

We say that somebody has а long nose / а nice face / Ыце eyes / small hands егс. :

о J ack has got а long позе. о Jack has got Ыие еуев,
(not the long nose) (not the Ыие eyes)

Remember to use а/ап when уои say what somebody's job is:
о Sandra is а пшве, (not Sandra is nurse)
1 о Would уои like го Ье ап English teacher?
1

Уои сап use some with plural countable поцпв, We use some in two wayso

(1) Some = а number оЕ / а few of / а pair of:

о I'уе seen some good films гесегшу, (not Гуе seen good films)
о Some friends of mine аге coming to stay at the weekendo
о 1 need some new sunglasseso (= а new pair of sunglasses)
Do not use some when уои аге talking about things in general (see Unit 75):
о 1 love Ьапапав. (not some bananas)
о Му aunt is а writero She writes Ьоокв. (not some books)
Sometimes уои сап make sentences with or without some (with по difference in meaning):
о There are (some) eggs in the fridge if you're hungryo

(2) Some = some but пот аН:

О Some chilclren learn very quicklyo (but not allchildrenj
о Tomorrow there wi1l Ье rain in some places, but most of the country wi1l Ье dryo

142 CountabIe and uncountabIe ~ Units 69-70 А/ап and the ~ Unit 72 Some and апу ~ Unit 85
Exercises Unit 71
71.1 What аге these things? Use а dictionary if necessary.
1 ап ant? .....I.t.).?...~ ~.?..~t.:........................................... 7 Earth, Mars, Venus and Jupiter?
2 ants and bees? Th.~.)r.~~.?~t.?..:.................... . .
3 а cauliflower? 8 а tulip? .
4 chess? 9 the Nile, the Rhine and the Mississippi?
5 а violin, а trumpet and а flute? .
10 а pigeon, ап eagle and а crow?
6 а skyscraper? .

Who were these people?

11 Beethoven? tI~~.i?-:? О":: c.Q!.'(1р.9.?.~.: . 15 Marilyn Моnrое?
12 Shakespeare? .
13 Albert Einstein? 16 Elvis Presley and John Lennon?

14 Washington, Lincoln and Kennedy? 17 Уап Gogh, Renoir and Picasso?

71.2 Read about what these people do, and say what their jobs are. Choose from:
chef interpreter journalist -ffiН'S€- plumber surgeon travel agent waiter
1 Sarah looks after patients in hospital. . ~h.~).? ~ t.'(A...r.?..e.:: .
2 Gary works in а restaurant. Не brings the food to the tables. Не .
3 Martina arranges people's holidays for them. She .
4 Kevin works in а hospital. Не operates оп people. . .
5 Jonathan cooks in а restaurant. . .
6 Jane writes articles for а newspaper. . : .
7 Dave insta11s and repairs water pipes .
8 Linda translates what people are saying from опе language into another, so that they сап
understand each other. . .

71.3 Put in а/ап or some where necessary. If по word is necessary, leave the space empty.
1 I'уе seen .....?9.!.'(1~..... good films recently.
2 What's wrong with уоu? Науе уои got .....~ headache?
3 1 know а lot of people. Most of them are : students.
4 When 1 was child, 1 used to Ье very shy.
5 Would уои like to Ье actor?
6 Do уоu сойест stamps?
7 What beautiful garden!
8 birds, for example the penguin, саппот Ну.
9 Do уоu enjoy going to concerts?
10 I'уе Ьееп walking for three hours. Гуе got sore feet.
11 1 don't feel very we11 this morning. Гме got sore throat.
12 Maria speaks English, but not very much.
13 It's а pity we don't have сагпега, I'd like to take photograph of that
house.
14 Those are nice shoes. Where did уоu get them?
15 I'т going shopping. 1 want то Ьиу new shoes.
16 Уоu need _ visa го visit countries, but not а11of them.
17 Jane is teacher. Нег parents were teachers too.
18 1 don't believe him. He's liar. He's always telling lies.

143.