You will learn about countable and uncountable nouns.

but before you continue the lesson,

look at the following chart and study the nouns.

Countable nouns have a singular and a plural form. In plural, Countable Uncountable
these nouns can be used with a number- they can be counted.
(That's why they are called "countable nouns").
books money
1 friend, 2 friends, 3 friends...
1 book, 2 books, 3 books... friends meat
Countable nouns take many: 100 friends – many friends.
teachers juice
Uncountable nouns can only be used in singular. These nouns cannot be used with a
number- they can't be counted. (That's why they are called "uncountable nouns"). tables milk

I have a lot of money. (Not 1000 money)

I drink a lot of milk. (Not 5 milk)

Uncountable nouns take much: 100 money – much money

Note: Of course, you CAN count money, milk, meat; but then you would use the currency, liter, kilo, glass,...and say
that you have got:

▪ 5 euros or dollars... (but not 5 money).

▪ 2 liters, pints, glasses... of milk (but not 2 milk)
▪ 3 kilos... of meat (but not 3 meat)
▪ 10 bottles of mineral water... (but not 10 mineral water)

"Much", "many", and "a lot of" indicate a large quantity of something, for example "I have a lot of friends " means I have
a large quantity of friends. Much, many, and a lot are quantifiers.

How much money have you got? I haven't got much money.

I have got a lot.

I have got a lot of money.

How many students are in the classroom? There aren't many.

There are a lot.

There are a lot of/lots of students.

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 • a lot, a lot of, lots of with countable and
uncountable nouns.

"How many students are there in the

• Much with uncountable nouns. (money,
bread, water...)
How much money/bread/water...is there?
• Many with countable nouns. (students,
desks, windows...)
How many students/teachers/desks... are
there?
classroom?" "There are a lot."
"How many students are there in the
classroom?" "There are a lot of / lots
of students"..
In formal written English:
It is also possible (and preferable) to
use many and much rather than a lot of, lots of and a
lot in formal written English.

There are many students.

Much time was spent on studying.

So, if you're speaking or writing to friends (informal),

• Much with uncountable nouns. (money, bread,
use a lot, a lot of, lots of. But if you want to be
water...)
more formal, perhaps it is preferable to
I haven't got much money/bread/water...
use much and many.
• Many with countable nouns. (students, desks,
windows...)
There aren't many students/teachers/desks... In affirmative sentences with so, as or too, we also
use much / many.

"Carla has so many friends.” / "She

In spoken English and informal writing we tend to use: has as many friends as Sue." / "Kevin
has too much money."

Summary:

Interrogative Negative Affirmative

How many books are there? There aren't many. There are a lot.

There are a lot of books.

There are lots of books.

There are many books (formal)

How much money have you got? I haven't got much. I've got a lot.

I've got a lot of money.

I've got lots of money.

I have got much money (formal)

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 • The expressions a little and a few mean some or enough.

• The expressions (very) little and (very) few mean hardly any or not enough.

A little, a few, (very) little and (very) few are quantifiers

Examples Meaning

I've got a little money. I'm going to the cinema. some/enough

I've got a few friends. We meet everyday.

I've got (very) little money. I need to borrow some. hardly any / not enough

I've got (very) few friends. I need to make new friends.

THE RULES:

Affirmative sentences:
A little, a few, (very) little and (very) few are generally used in affirmative statements, not negatives or questions.

Countable and uncountable nouns:

1. A little and (very) little are used with uncountable nouns (money, bread, water...)
2. A few and (very) few are used with countable nouns (friends, tables, teachers..)

Meaning:

1. A little and a few means: some or enough.

"I have got a little money" : I have got some money. It's enough for me to do what I want.

"I have got a few friends" : I have got some or enough friends. We meet every day.

2. (Very) little and (very) few mean; hardly any or not enough.

I have got (very) little money : I have got hardly any. / I haven't got enough. / I'll borrow some from my friend.

I have got (very) few friends: I have got hardly any. / I haven't got enough. / I need to make new friends.

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 Many students can agree that one of the times that they look forward to the most is the
summer! The sun is out, the weather is great, there’s no homework, and you can do
whatever you want! Unless, of course, you have summer school or a summer job.

But some students like having a summer job. It’s a great opportunity to earn their own money and
gain valuable work experience.

Brian and Marni talk about taking on seasonal work. Find out more in today’s English lesson about how
some students spend their summer vacations.

Dialogue

Brian: Marni, have you ever had a summer job before?

Marni: Of course I’ve had a summer job. I’ve had a multitude of summer jobs.

Brian: Really? Did you find that to be stressful because you weren’t actually taking a vacation or taking a
break?

Marni: Sometimes you kind of wish I could be lazy and casual all summer. And just go with the flow. But
ultimately, it’s nice to have that opportunity to make some money.

Brian: One of my favorite summer jobs was actually, after taking a break from school, I’d go back and I was
a painter for the school district. So I would still be at campus. But painting all of the doors, and the exteriors,
and the classrooms. It was fun because I got to see my teachers and everyone who worked at the school in a
totally different light.

Marni: That would be kind of a neat situation. Seems like you probably gained some valuable experience.
Bet you’re a pretty good painter now.

Brian: Yeah. It totally helped me. And now I can paint walls seamlessly.

Marni: I always think of seasonal work, too. Sometimes it’s nice when the Christmas season, or the holiday
season, to pick up a little extra money there, too. And think of summer that way.

Brian: As long as you don’t waste it. It’s a great way to save up money and have a savings account for later.

Marni: It’s true. Yeah. Let’s go get some summer jobs.

In conclusion:

Marni has had many summer jobs. She’s always liked having seasonal work because it was a great way to
earn extra money. Even though she did sometimes wish that she could just be lazy, in the end she liked
making money.

Brian has also worked summer jobs. His favorite summer job was to help paint the buildings at his school.

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 He learned a lot of skills and is now a great painter. He also agrees with Marni and says
that seasonal work is a great way to earn money.

Have you ever had a summer job? Did you like working during your school break?

Grammar Point

Countable and uncountable Nouns

Marni says, “Of course I’ve had a summer job. I’ve had a multitude of summer jobs.” She uses a countable
noun.

Countable nouns are nouns you can count. They are individual units, and they can be cut into parts. Some
examples of count nouns include tree, house, boy, girl, country, city, or in Marni’s example, job.

Countable nouns can be pluralized. We can have three trees, two girls, or many ideas. It is possible to use
the articles a and an with count nouns, when there is only one of them. For example, “I met a cute
boy today,” or, “That’s an interesting idea.”

Uncountable nouns are nouns that can’t be counted or broken into parts. These nouns cannot be
pluralized. They have no plural form. Liquids such as coffee or water, concepts such as love or peace, and
collective nouns such as furniture or luggage are all examples of uncountable nouns.

Uncountable nouns cannot be used with the articles a or an. To show the quantity of a uncountable noun,
we use expressions like some, much, less, a lot of, a little of, etc. For example, “I have a lot of furniture in
my house,” or, “This guidebook doesn’t include much information about French culture.”

With uncountable nouns, we cannot use the expressions “a few,” “many,” “both,” “several,” “one of,” or “a
couple of.”

Which is correct, “There is so much traffics today,” or, “There is so much traffic today”?

Quiz

How many summer jobs has Marni worked? During the busy holidays, some stores will hire __
workers.
A. Marni has had three summer jobs.
A. opportunity
B. She has never worked in the summer.
B. seasonal
C. She has worked many summer jobs.
C. stressful
D. Marni takes classes in the summer.
D. gained
What was Brian’s favorite summer job?
Which is the incorrect sentence?
A. He was a summer school teacher.
A. I have three favorite basketball teams.
B. Brian worked with his mom at her restaurant.
B. How many busses are running at this time?
C. He painted buildings at his school.
C. Niki is taking too many class and is so busy.
D. Brian worked in an office.
D. Lena took so many pictures at the party.

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 she / he is not she / he isn't
I / you /we / they have I / you /we / they've
she / he has she / he's
they have they've
A contraction refers to a I had I'd
shortened form of a word, syllable, or word
group, created by omission of internal letters I would I'd
which are replaced by an apostrophe.
I will I'll
Examples: I do not I don't

▪ I am = I'm he does not he doesn't

▪ He is = He's I did not I didn't
Contractions should not be confused with: I have not I haven't

1. Abbreviations which consist of a letter I had not I hadn't

or group of letters taken from the word I cannot I can't
or phrase as in Dr for Doctor
2. Clipping which is the word formation I could not I couldn't
process consisting in the reduction of a I will not I won't
word to one of its parts as in spec for
speculation. I would not I wouldn't
3. Acronyms which is an abbreviation
I should not I shouldn't
formed from the initial components in
a phrase or a word I must not I mustn't
(example: FBI, Benelux, radar)
There is There's

A list of contracted forms in Where is Where's

English Who is Who's
Here is a list of some examples of contraction
in English:

Full Forms Contracted forms

I am I'm
you / we / they are you / we / they're
she / he is she / he's
I am not I'm not
you / we / they are you / we / they
not aren't
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