Professional Documents
Culture Documents
nouns; articles
Countable and uncountable nouns, a(n), the and no article,
special uses of articles
Context listening
nYou are going to hear four people talk about their jobs. Look at
the pictures and guess what jobs they do.
1 2
3 4
n Look at the nouns in your answers to Exercise 3 and compare them with the nouns in
your answers to Exercise 4. Can you say how they are different?
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Countable and uncountable nouns; articles 1 0
Grammar,.
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1 0 Countable and uncountable nouns; articles
We use the with the names of: We do not use the with the names of:
oceans, seas and rivers: lakes:
the Pacific, the Black Sea, the Danube Lake Garda
regions continents, most countries, states, cities, towns
the Far East, the Midlands and villages:
groups of islands Europe, France, Florida, Rome
the Philippines
A but we say the Netherlands, The Hague
countries that include a word such as Republic,
most buildings and places such as schools,
Kingdom, States or Emirates:
universities, stations and airports that use the
the United States, the People's Republic of China, the
name of their town in the name
United Arab Emirates
Manchester Airport, Cardiff station, Edinburgh
deserts and mountain ranges:
Castle, Durham University, Chelmsford High School,
the Kalahari, the Alps Wembley Stadium
We say: the sea, the coast, the seaside, the country(side),
A but when the name includes of we use the
the mountains, the hills:
the University of Rome, the Museum of London
My parents spend their holidays on the coast, burl
prefer walking in the mountains.
Fixed expressions
Some fixed expressions use the and some have no article
We travel by train/bus. (not by-the-trainibas)
We have lunch/dinner, but if there is an adjective, we use a:1 had a big breakfast today.
We listen to the radio. but We watch television.
We play the guitar. (= a musical instrument) but We play tennis. (= a sport).
We go to the cinema or the theatre.
We say My mother is at work but My mother 15 at the office (= the office where she works)
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Countable and uncountable nouns; articles 1 0
Peter spent a lot of time in hospital as a child. Dr Dibble has an office in the hospital and
(= he was a patient) another at home. (= she works there)
This also applies to at church, in prison, at college and at university, but we always say the mosque, the temple
Jobs
We use a(n) when we talk about someone's occupation:
I'm a doctor. (not An tint, )
She's a website designer.
I'm a student
Online
We say the Internet and the web but Wildpedia, Facebook, Twitter.
Definitions
We use a(n) to give a definition of something
A department store is a shop which sells a wide range of goods. (not
Exclamations
We use a(n) with a singular noun in exclamations:
What an exciting film! (not What ekcitingfilm0
What a gorgeous dress!
but no article if the noun is uncountable or plural:
What fun! (not What-trim!)
What lovely flowers!
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1 0 Countable and uncountable nouns; articles
Grammar exercises
Ell Match the phrases on the left with the uncountable nouns on the right. Some of the phrases match
more than one noun.
A glass
1 a tube of meat
2 a sheet of paper
3 a drop of news
4 a bar of E rice
5 an item of F oil
6 a grain of toothpaste
7 a slice of chocolate
bread
Complete the diagram with the words that belong in each group.
accommodation advice cheese coffee experience experiment glass ban hobby homework
information journey leisure luck luggage meat scenery time traffic vegetable
PANCAKE RECIPE
To make (1) - pancakes, you need 100 grams
of flour, (2) --- egg, a little milk and 25 grams
of butter. Beat (3) egg with (4)
flour. Add (5) milk until you have
(6) smooth mixture. Heat (7)
butter in (8) frying pan. Pour (9)
large spoonful of (10) mixture into
(11) pan and cook for about (12) minute. Turn (13) pancake over
and cook a little longer. Serve hot, with (14)— sugar and (15) lemon juice.
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Countable and uncountable nouns; articles 1 0
4 Fill in the gaps with the words in brackets, adding a or the where necessary.
We've got some important visitors flying in from the West Indies next week. Can you meet
them at '(West Indies, Birmingham Airport)
xx Freda
6 GO Choose the correct words (or - for no article) in these sentences by Cambridge First students.
I thought that he would eat all the food because it / they looked really nice.
2 If I have to give you an / - advice, I think you should give up sport for now.
3 Yesterday I finished work early and did some shopping / shoppings.
4 I would like to have some information / informations about the courses that you are offering.
5 I think I will sell the bedroom furniture / fumitures when I move house.
6 We should feel - / a respect for the man who invented this machine.
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II
Exam practice
Reading and Use of English Part 4
For questions 1-6, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence,
using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words,
including the word given. There is an example at the beginning (0).
0 The hotel staff had permission to use the tennis courts on Mondays.
ALLOWED
The hotel staff were o.thotwe4 to pay tennis on Mondays.
1 Alison loves to buy presents for her grandchildren.
PLEASURE
Alison presents for her grandchildren.
2 My boss advised me which computer I should buy.
GAVE
My boss choosing a computer.
3 We've been queuing for an hour and we still have another hour to wait.
WAITING
By the time we get to the front of the queue we
two hours.
4 Although Toby keeps his room tidy he seldom cleans it.
EVER
Toby keeps his room tidy cleans it
5 Can you tell me precisely how much money was stolen?
EXACT
Can you tell me that was stolen?
6 The announcer began the news with a story about the prince's visit.
ITEM
The first a story about the prince's visit.
Exam tip
Contracted words like they've count as two words
so make sure you don't write more than five words.
Grammar focus task
Which of these nouns from the exam task are countable (C), which are uncountable (U) and which can
be both (B)? Use your dictionary if you need to.
1 permission 4 queue 7 item
2 pleasure 5 room 8 news
3 advice 6 money
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