By Nouns, Countable or uncountable

I am one of those people who learned American English as a second language. American English dictionaries never mention anything about a particular noun being countable and uncountable. I learned mass nouns and abstract nouns, both of which are uncountable. I had thought it was up to an...

Hello, my Macmillan English Dictionary shows that (a)* word "desert" (a large area of land with few plants and little water...) can be used as countable or uncountable noun. But it does not give any example of using this noun as uncountable. Could you please give me some such...

I see it as another case of a noun which can be either countable or uncountable. Sport is healthy, but I haven't made much effort to enjoy it. Sports are healthy, but I haven't made many efforts to enjoy them.

'Effort' and 'service' can equally be countable or uncountable, Nayeem-- but it depends on the use and the context as to which may be appropriate. In the first set we have people making a described kind of effort (a sterling effort), so the countable noun is called for. In the second set,...

And if there are two microphones-- one for each of Ann and Don-- then it is: 'Ann's and Don's microphone volumes are too low.' 'Volume', like many nouns, can be either countable or uncountable in different circumstances, and here is it definitely countable, since there are obviously two of them.

uncountable nouns can be preceded by an article "a" when modified or specified. But WHY? Because we want to talk about something very specific and definite . "I had a great time" -we are specifying the particular time I spent doing that partcular thing "The supermarket is full of groceries "...

Hello Infinity. I'm a mere English learner from Japan, but could you allow me to throw my 2 cents on your question? Frankly speaking, I'd say you'd better give up the hope you could get a conclusive answer to the question. I have raised a similar question before in this forum but I could not...

For instance, "I don't have time to do this." Here, the noun "time" is uncountable. "I had a great time." In this case, is the noun in the noun phrase "a great time" countable? IS there any systematic way to explain the concept behind this? According to several grammar books I looked into,...

Could you tell me if I use the word 'backlog' correctly and if not could you correct my sentences? 1. I have a lot of backlog at my work. 2. I have to catch up on backlog at work. 3. I have to do extra work to get on with my backlog. 4. I skipped many classes so I have backlog at school. Is...

Thanks Nona, That was very useful