murphy english grammar in use with answers 3e hq - 151
Countable and uncountabie 2
M a n y nouns can be used as countable or uncountabie nouns, usually with a difference in m eaning. Compare:
Countable
• D id you hear a noise just now? (= a specific noise) • I b ought a páper to read. (= a newspaper) • T here's a hair in my soup! (= one single hair) • Y ou can stay with us. There is a spáre r oom. (= a room in a house) • I h ad some interesting experiences while I was travelling. (= things that happened to me) • E njoy your trip. Have a good time!
Uncountabie
• I c an't work here. There's too much noise. (not t oo many noises) • I need some páper to write on. (= materiál for writing on) • Y ouVe got very long hair. {not h airsi (= all the hair on your head) • Y ou can't sit here. There isn*r room. (= space) ~ T hey offered me the job because I had a lot of experience. (not experiencesI • I c an't wait. I haven*t got time.
Coffee/tea/juice/beer etc. (drinks) are normally uncountabie: • I d on't like coffee very much. B ut you can say a coffee (= a cup of coffee), two coffees (= two cups) etc. : • T w o coffees and an orange juice, please. T he following nouns are usually uncountabie: a ccommodation advice b aggage b ehaviour bread chaos damage furniture i nformation l uck luggage n ews p ermission progress scenerv traffic weather w ork
Y ou cannot use a/an with these nouns: • I 'm going to buy some bread. or
... a l oaf of bread. (not a bread)
• E njoy your holiday! I hope you have good weather. (not a g ood weather) These nouns are not usually plurál (so we do not say 'breads', 'furnitures' etc): EJ W here are you going to put all your furniture? (not furnitures) • Let me know if you need more information. (not i nformations) N ews is uncountabie, not plurál: • T he news was very depressing. (not T he news were) T ravel (noun) means 'travelling in generál' (uncountabie). We do not say 'a travel' to mean a trip or a journey: • T hey spend a lot of money on travel. • We had a very good trip/journey. (not a g ood travel) C ompare these countable and uncountabie nouns:
Countable
• • • ~ • • I 'm looking for a job. W hat a beautiful view! I ťs a nice day today. We had a lot of bags and cases. T hese chairs are mine. T haťs a good suggestion.
Uncountabie
Z • • • F m looking for work. (not a w ork) W hat beautiful scencry! I ťs nice weather today. We had a lot oř baggage/luggage
• T his řurniture is mine. • T haťs good advice.
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Countable and uncountabie 1 - * Unit 69
American English -* Appendix 7
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