EXERCISE 2. Noun practice.

Directions: Look at the italicized words. Underline the noun. Is it count or

noncount?
1. He sits on a chair. noncount
count
2. He sits on furniture. count
noncount
3. She has a coin. count noncount
4. She has some money. count noncount
5. The street is full of traffic. count non count
6. There are a lot of cars in the street. count noncount
7. I know a fact about bees. count noncount
8. I have some information about bees. count non count
9. The teacher gives us homework. count noncount
10. We have an assignment. count noncount
11. I like music. count noncount
12. Would you like some coffee? count noncount
13. Our school has a library. count noncount

Count and Noncount Nouns 181

 14. We are learning new vocabulary every day. Cou noncount
nt
15. I need some advice. Coun Noncount
t
count
16. Tom has a good job. noncount
1 7. He likes his work. noncount

18. Maria wears a lot of bracelets. non count

EXERCISE 3. Let's talk: small groups.

Directions: Work in small groups.List the noncount nouns. Then find the count
nouns that are close in meaning. Use a/an with the count nouns.
advice furniture money
assignment homework music
bracelet information song
cloud jewelry suggestion
coin job weather
desk ./ letter work
fact ./ mail

NONCOUNT COUNT
1. Mail letter
2. Advice assigment
3. Furniture bracelet
4. Homework cloud
5. Money coin
6. Information desk
7. Jewelery fact
8. Music song
9. Weater suggestion
10. work
D EXERCISE 4. Let's talk: class activity.
Directions: Most nouns are count nouns. Complete the sentences by naming things
you see in the classroom.

1. I see a LETTER 5. I see five stationery

2. I see a table 6. I see some chairs
3. I see a blackboard and a marker 7. I see a lot of books on the shelf

4. I see two lights 8. I see many VEHICLE

7-2 USING AN vs. A

(a) A dog is an animal. A and an are used in front of singular count nouns.
In (a): dog and animal are singular count nouns.

(b) I work in an office.
(c) Mr. Lee is an old man.
Use an in front of words that begin with the vowels a, e,
i, and o: an apartment, an elephant, an idea, an ocean.
In (c): Notice that an is used because the adjective (old)
begins with a vowel and comes in front of a singular
count noun (man).

(d) I have an uncle. Use an if a word that begins with "u" has a vowel
COMPARE sound: an uncle, an ugly picture.
(e) He works at a university. Use a if a word that begins with "u" has a /yu/ sound: a
university, a usual event.

(f) I need an hour to finish my work.
COMPARE
(g) I live in a house. He lives in a hotel.
In some words that begin with "h," the "h" is not
pronounced. Instead, the word begins with a vowel
sound and an is used: an hour, an honor.
In most words that begin with "h," the "h" is
pronounced. Use a if the "h" is pronounced.

D EXERCISE 5. Sentence practice.

Directions: Complete the sentences. Use a or an.
1. Bob is eating apple.

2. Tom is eating banana.

3. Alice works in office.

4. I have an idea.

5. I have a good idea.

Count and Noncount Nouns 183

 6. Sue is taking an class.

7. Sue is taking an easy class.

8. Cuba is a island near the United States.

9. an hour has sixty minutes.

10. an healthy person gets regular exercise.

11. an horse has a long nose.

12. Maria is a honest worker.

13. Mark needs an math tutor.

14. an university is a educational institution.

15. Ann has a unusual job.

184 CHAPTER 7
O EXERCISE 7. Noun practice.
Directions: Look at the noun and circle the correct word (a, an, or some).
Then decide if the noun is singular count, plural count, or noncount.

1. a an s o m e letters ( pl. count)

2. a a some Mail ( noncount)
n
3.a some Letter ( sing. Count)
a
4. a a some Table ( sing.count)
n
5. a a some Tables (pl. count)
n
6. a a some Furniture ( noncount)
n
7. a a some Car (sing.count)
n
8. a a some Automobiles (pl. count)
n
9. a a some Buses (pl.count)
n
10. a a some Traffic ( noncount)
n
11. a a some Advice (noncount)
n
12. a a some Egg (sing. count)
n

D EXERCISE 9. Sentence practice.

Directions: Use a, an, or some with the nouns in these sentences. Are they singular
count nouns or noncount nouns?
1. I need some money. ~ money = a noncount noun

2. I need a dollar. -) dollar= a singular count noun

3. Alice has some mail in her mailbox. Mail = a count noun

4. Alice has a letter in her mailbox. Letter = a singular count noun

5. I'm hungry. I would like some fruit. Some = a noncount noun

6. I would like an apple. Apple= asingular count noun a banana

7. Jane is hungry. She would like some food. A noncount noun

8. She would like a sandwich. A singular count noun

9. I'd like to have some soup with my sandwich. A noncount noun

10. I'm thirsty. I'd like some water. Water= a

count noun noun
D EXERCISE 13. Sentence practice.
Directions: Use the word in italics to complete the sentence. Add -s to a count noun
(or give the irregular plural form). Do not add -s to a noncount noun.
1. money I need some money _

2. desk I see some desks in this room.

3. man Some men are working in the street.

4. music I want to listen to some m u s i c

5. flower Andy wants to buy some flowers for his girlfriend.

6. information I need some information

7. jewelry Fred wants to buy some jewelery _

8. child Some children are playing in the park.

9. homework I can't go to the movie because I have some homework to do.

10. advice Could you please give me some advice?

11 . suggestion I have some sugestion for you.

12. help I need some help with my homework.

13. sandwich We're hungry. We want to make some sandwhices

_

14. animal I see some animals in the picture.

15. banana The monkeys are hungry. They would like some bananas _

Count and Noncount Nouns 189

 16. fruit I'm hungry. I would like some fruit

17. weather We're having some hot weather right now.

18. picture I have some pictures of my family in my wallet.

1 9. rice, bean I usually have some rice and bean for dinner.

D EXERCISE 14. Sentence practice.

Directions: Change the italicized noun to its plural form if possible, changing a to
some. Make other changes in the sentence as necessary.

1. There is a chair in this room. PLURAL FORM -+ There are some chairs in this room.

2. There is some furniture in this room. PLURAL FORM -

+

3. I have a coin in my pocket. I have some coins in my pocket

4. I have some money in my wallet. none

5. There's a lot of traffic on Main Street. noun

6. There's a car on Main Street. There are some cars on main street
7. Our teacher assigns a lot of homework. none

8. I like rock music.none

9. Hong Kong has a lot of hot weather. none

10. I need some information and some advice from you. none

11. There's a dictionary on the shelf. There are a dictionaries on

the self
12. I hope you do well on your exam. Good luck! none

13. Here is a flower from my garden. There are flowers from my garden
14. Be careful! There's some water on the floor. none

15. I need an apple for the fruit salad. I need some apple for the fruit salad

16. The soup needs a potato and some salt. The soup needs some
potatos and some salt

190 CHAPTER 7
D EXERCISE 21. Sentence practice.
Directions: Change a lot of to many or much in these sentences.

1. Tom has a lot of problems. - Tom has many problems.

2. I don't have a lot of money. - I don't have much money.

3. I want to visit a lot of cities in the United States and Canada. I want to visit many cities
united estates and Canada .

4. I don't put a lot of sugar in my coffee. I don’t puut much sugar in my coffe
5. I have a lot of questions to ask you. I have many questions to ask you

6. Sue and John have a small apartment. They don't have a lot of furniture. They don’t
have much

7. You can see a lot of people at the zoo on Sunday. You can see much people at the zoo on
sunday
8. Dick doesn't get a lot of mail because he doesn't write a lot of letters. Dick doesn’t get
much mail

9. Chicago has a lot of skyscrapers. Montreal has a lot of tall buildings too. Chicago
has many skyscrapers

10. Mary is lazy. She doesn't do a lot of work. Mary is lazy. She doesn’t do much work

11. I don't drink a lot of coffee. I don’t drink much coffee

12. Jeff is a friendly person. He has a lot of friends. Jeff is a friendly person. He has many
friends

13. Do you usually buy a lot of fruit at the market? Do you usually buy much fruit at the
market

14. Does Andy drink a lot of coffee? Does andy drink much coffee?

15. Do you write a lot of letters? Do you write many letters

D EXERCISE 26. Sentence review.

Directions: Complete the sentences with these words. If necessary, use the plural form.

bush glass ./ match strawberry

centimeter homework page thief
dish inch paper tray
edge information piece valley
fish knife sex weather
foot leaf size woman
 1. I want to light a candle. I need some matches
2. leaf fall from the trees in autumn.

3. There are two thief : male and female.

4. There are some dish , forks, and spoons on the table.

5. I want to take the bus downtown, but I don't know the bus schedule. I need some
Information about the bus schedule.

6. I want to write a letter. I have a pen, but I need some paper _

7. Plates and bowls are called dish

8. Married sex are called wives.

9. There are a lot of trees and bush in the park.

10. Bob is studying. He has a lot of homework to do.

11. My dictionary has 437 pages

12. This puzzle has 200 size _

13. A piece of paper has four centimeter

14. Mountains are high, and valley

are low.

15. When the temperature is around 35°C (77°F), I'm comfortable. But I don't like
weather very hot _
16. thief steal things: money, jewelry, cars, etc.
17. strawberry are small, red, sweet, and delicious.