Search results for 'tag:Countable nouns tag:Countable or uncountable' matching tags 'Countable nouns' and 'Countable or uncountable'

Re: Use of a plural

CalifJim — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:27:08 GMT

Anonymous
a plural version of a noun that could be either countable or uncountable.

There's no such thing as an uncountable noun in the plural. Plurality is one of the marks of countability. Once the noun is in the plural you know you are dealing with a countable noun.

Anonymous
that a person desires to use it is a good enough reason to use it or them?

Not just desire. Very accomplished writers with a fine ear for the language are able to gauge when it is useful to present an apparent uncountable in the plural -- especially when it's a matter of abstract nouns. The majority of us merely competent writers don't typically invent such novel turns of phrase.

Re: creams and detergents

Kooyeen — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:20:00 GMT

I'd say I agree with MrM. My dictionary (Longman) lists those words saying [C or U], which means they can be treated as countable or uncountable nouns, generally speaking. Anyway, even for the uncountable words it doesn't explicitly list as countable too, I think we can say uncountable nouns can often be "categorized" and used with an article. I can't be sure, but I'd say a sentence like this is ok, for example: I've never heard an English like that. = I've never heard a kind of English like that.
By the way, another reason why certain uncountable nouns are often used as countable nouns might be that lots of commercial products are sold in its own container, and uncountable product + container = countable product. A soda. A cream. But this doesn't seem to work for every product, I'm afraid.
Just my opinion.

EDIT: I just read Goodman's post, and I started to think of "waters" to mean two "portions" of water, two bottles, whatever. It seems reasonable, if you think of beers and sodas, but that's exactly the kind of thing I'm not sure about yet. So I searched the net and... I was so lucky! Look, GG says "two waters" at the restaurant, so I guess it's ok to treat it as countable in that context, like other uncountable things.
http://www.englishforums.com/English/SoupEating/clhqn/post.htm

Re: check sentences please

Mister Micawber — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:01:19 GMT

.
You need to be more careful when you type posts; use the Preview function to check yourself, so that we don't have to fix your simple mistakes.

1. We are going to hold/have a discussion on this matter now. -- I know that a certain word triggers a need for a countable or uncountable noun. Is this one of those cases?

2. Are you be able to / Can you take care of this?

3. I hope you will be able to take care of this right away.

4. Can you fix the handle of/to this door?
He went in by the main door of the house.

the word "lack" countable or uncountable

Anonymous — Fri, 09 May 2008 01:35:16 GMT

Hi there,

I am from an asian country (korea) and Korean doesn't distinguish countable or uncountable nouns so I have some problem with this concept even though I have been living in english speaking country for 10 years.

Now the word "lack" according to the online Longman dictionary is an uncountable noun, as well as a singular noun.

But we usually say "a lack of quality" or "a lack of resources".

Now we know for sure we never put "a" in front of "water" because "water" is an uncountable noun, as in "furniture" or "stuff".

So how is it that word "lack" can have an indefinite article in front of it?

Does it mean that the English language lacks logic inherently?

Thanks.

Re: countable & uncountable...

Aperisic — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:51:26 GMT

countable is something you can count, as simple as that
countable nouns have plural form (unless they are plural already)

All nouns you've mentioned are usually uncountable, but some of them may have countable meaning. Before deciding if one noun is countable or uncountable you have to know its usage i.e. precise meaning. Most of the time a noun which is considered as uncountable by definition might have countable usage in which case it is usually a shortened version (a water = a drop of water)
Uncountable nouns are uncountable because they are rarely measured. as soon as the context is such that you suspect measurement, including counting, then you might have countable usage.

First, it is absolutely essential to learn what the primary meaning of each word is and if it is countable or not. Only then you can understand the nuisance of uncountable noun becoming countable. At school and courses they teach us only uncountable usage, so this part you have to do on your own and clearly distinguish the two.

If you see uncountable noun like

accommodation
advice
baggage
bread
equipment
furniture
garbage
information
knowledge
luggage
money
news
pasta
progress
research
travel
work

used in plural it is to display differences. Some of them however are very rarely used in plural and if they are they have very restricted usage like Unclaimed Moneys Guidelines.
Because of that at the beginning you should avoid using uncountable nouns as countable. But if you find it somewhere you should know that you should go a step deeper in your understanding of the sentence.

So again all your words are uncountable, and if anybody ever asks you if furniture is countable or not, please respond "uncountable" but...

UNCOUNT.
Soup in your plate.
COUNT.
I bought four soups (four concentrate packages)

UNCOUNT.
Food in your mouth.
COUNT.
Can you really compare Kraft foods with that of your mother?
(foods - a type of food like cakes... food with certain typical ingredients)

UNCOUNT.
Metal is usually very hard.
COUNT.
We have several metals in periodic table: Li, Na, K...

UNCOUNT.
You have jam on your cheek.
COUNT.
These two jams are strawberry and peach.

UNCOUNT.
It is cold, please, put some wood.
COUNT.
Tiger Woods
Glue that two woods together (two pieces of wood)

Re: Clothes, clothing - uncountable?

Yoong Liat — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:27:12 GMT

Ter
"clothes" and "clothing", are they countable or uncountable nouns? '(Clothing' is uncountable; 'clothes' is countable.)
Do you say "How many/much clothes/cloth are/is in your wardrobe?" and "How many/much clothings/clothing are/in in your wardrobe?"

thanks.

How many clothes are there in your wardrobe?

"How many/much clothings/clothing are/in in your wardrobe?" (''Clothing' is uncountable, so the sentence is not correct.)

Clothes, clothing - uncountable?

Ter — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:07:57 GMT

"clothes" and "clothing", are they countable or uncountable nouns?

Do you say "How many/much clothes/cloth are/is in your wardrobe?" and "How many/much clothings/clothing are/in in your wardrobe?"

thanks.

Gold as a monetary unit... countable or uncountable?

Anonymous — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:55:03 GMT

I play an online game that uses gold as a monetary unit. Presumably they are doubloons or a piece of eight as it is pirate themed. It is referenced in game simply as âGoldâ.

Being that it is a monetary unit and not a quantity of substance, wouldnât that change the plural form to âGoldsâ.

Does it remain an uncountable noun even though its form has changed to countable units?

Re: Plural of Experience

Clive — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 04:39:38 GMT

Hi,

But could you say "He has experiences in many areas", or would you still use the singular term of "experience"?

Here, I'd use it as an uncountable noun, 'experience'.

In general terms, it can be used as countable or uncountable, depending on the context. That's why I answered your earlier question as to whether you can use it in the plural form with 'yes'.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: Can Willingness noun be a countable noun? Why?

Yoong Liat — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:23:19 GMT

Grammar Geek wrote:

Well, wait, let's not answer too quickly. Certainly you can say "a willingness" -- IF you then qualify it with what type of willingness.

A willingness to succeed

A willingness to provide the necessary funds

etc.

However, you can't just say "He showed a willingness" unless you say what "he" was willing to do.

Hi Barbara

It's a very good point. I didn't realize that.

'Money' is an uncountable noun. We cannot say "one money". Similarly, we cannot say "one news". Basically, this is how we decide whether a noun is countable or uncountable.