Search results for 'tag:Countable nouns tag:Expressions' matching tags 'Countable nouns' and 'Expressions'

Re: majority

Clive — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 23:42:55 GMT

Hi,
I think I asked this a long time ago and Nona answered something like this.

a majority of discussion -- (to indicate) specific
the majority of discussion -- (to indicate) conceptual

Can you tell me about these more? Off-hand, I just see these as indefinite and definite (a chair/the chair, a group of people/the group of people). So, I'd better let Nona explain what she had in mind.

In what context would you want to use this expression without the article 'the' before the word 'discussion'?

Anyway, let me add this extra comment.
Some people argue that 'majority' should only be used with countable nouns, and prefer 'most of the discussion'.

However, many people do say things like 'a/the majority of the discussion', 'a/the majority of the work', etc.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: NOUN

Avangi — Sat, 31 May 2008 14:11:13 GMT

Hi Believer, I'm not brave enough or knowledgeable enough to give you a definitive answer. For starters, I'm not familiar with the implications of your expression, "a typical (known-to-be??) uncountable noun."

I think I can imagine situations where the semantic meaning of what's in quotes would have a bearing on it's "countable-ness," and others where it would not. In Yankee's example, the semantic meaning is an integral part of the meaning of the sentence. And yet by changing a few words in the sentence surrounding the quote (and leaving the quote untouched) we can change it from countable to uncountable.

- A.

Re: Some questions

CalifJim — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 07:08:06 GMT

1) The committee changed its recommendations because__ the privous ones were too difficult for most people to follow

a) that felt that

b) it felt that

--> The answer is a but I don't understand why it's not the other

The correct answer is b, so there is a mistake in the answer key. they felt is also correct. Was that choice a?

2) Attending every class is important__ in college

a) for the sucess

b) for success

The answer is b but I don't know why it's not a

success is an abstract uncountable noun, so it occurs without an article.

3" I'm tired of taking the bus to work every day"

"I wish I had a car so that I___ give you a ride"

a) can

b) could

---> The answer is b but I don't understand why it's not a

have or has goes with can; had goes with could.

If I have a car, I can give you a ride.

If I had a car, I could give you a ride.

4) She worked __ day and read books at night

a) during the

b) at

--> The answer is a, I don't understand why it's not b since I think this sentence is a parallel sentence, so if we use a we must use during the night at the following clause

Neither at day nor at the day are correct. To make the sentence completely parallel, you need during the night, as you say. But that is not a choice in the test. You must sacrifice the parallelism for correct English. That is, if there is no correct English expression for the situation, you may have to break the parallelism. Never create incorrect grammar for the sake of parallelism. The grammar is more important than the parallelism.

uncountable nouns list

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 14:45:39 GMT

Hi,

1)Are the all the nouns listed in this message really uncountable nouns?

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

work

Obviously, uncountable nouns (especially different types of food) have forms that express plural concepts. These measurements or containers are countable:

Water - a glass of water
equipment - a piece of equipment
cheese - a slice of cheese

Here are some of the most common containers / quantity expressions for these uncountable nouns:

accommodation - a place to stay
advice - a piece of advice
baggage - a piece of baggage
bread - a slice of bread, a loaf of bread
equipment - a piece of equipment
furniture - a piece of furniture
garbage - a piece of garbage
information - a piece of information
luggage - a bag, a suitcase
money - a coin
news - a piece of news
pasta - a plate of pasta, a serving of pasta
research - a piece of research, a research project
travel - a journey, a trip
work - a job, a position

Here are some more common uncountable food types with their container / quantity expressions:

liquids (water, beer, wine, etc.) - a glass, a bottle, a gallon of water, etc.
cheese - a slice, a chunk, a piece of cheese
meat - a piece, a slice, a pound of meat
butter - a bar of butter
ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard - a bottle of, a tube of ketchup, etc.

2)Are the containers classifications true/correct?

thanks for your patience, bye

Re: having something uncountable

CalifJim — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 09:09:45 GMT

Should I just accept the fact some uncountable nouns, especially those that have abstract meanings, do not go well or don't ~~not~~ fit with a verb showing possession such as 'have'?

Yes, you probably should accept that. It's probably a lot easier to memorize idioms with have plus a noun than to establish some sort of rule about which types of uncountable nouns go with have and which don't.

have pity on someone
have mercy on someone
have trouble doing something
have difficulty doing something
have heartburn
have indigestion
have patience
have confidence in someone
have influence over/with someone
have power over someone

It seems one can't 'have' most of the emotions. These you mostly 'experience' or 'feel', not 'have'.

*have anger
*have fear
*have happiness
*have sadness
*have joy
*have grief

Nor many other abstract nouns. Often the correct expression involves 'be' rather than 'have'.

*have coldness (be cold)
*have willingness (be willing)
*have fame (be famous)
*have virtue (be virtuous)
*have caution (be cautious)
*have pride (be proud)
*have greed (be greedy)

CJ

Re: These information

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 04:27:12 GMT

Loojka wrote:
I'd say 'These information'. I might be mistaken, but I think 'information' is a mass noun, or whatever it is called, and it can be made singular by using the expression 'a piece of information'. To me it sounds similar to 'data', but 'data' has its singular form, which is 'datum'.

It can be made singular by using the expression 'a piece of information'. This shows that 'information' is an uncountable noun. To make an uncountable noun plural, we can use 'piece'. In this case, we are counting 'piece'. Similarly, we can say " ... a piece of news, etc...'

What a or what?

Anonymous — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 01:05:36 GMT

Hi,

1. When you want to express your surprise by saying "What a big apple that is," it is normally expected that for a countable noun, a person should use an article before it and for an uncountable noun, a person shouldn't use an article before the noun like "What peace of mine. I have peace in me."

Now, can I use an article in that expression to express a kind of something as in the case of uncountable nouns, especially for those used to express abstract feelings, like this?

Oh, what a happiness I am feeling this morning. My arthrisis is gone suddenly and I just receive a notice saying that they found my lost watch that has a special nostargic value. I am so happy; I can dance on my bare feet.

Re: Can "little" modify countable nouns?

Cool Breeze — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 12:37:34 GMT

Hi T

You may hear expressions like a little alterations in informal conversation but in correct English your sentence should be:

It didn't fit me at first, so I had a few alterations made.

If the alterations were so insignificant as to hardly deserve a mention, you could say: I had some small alterations made.

Little entails too much feeling to be used in the sentence. But these are OK:

a little town, a little boy

A wife may call her 50-year-old husband little: He is still a little boy. She wouldn't say: He is still a small boy.

Cheers
CB

Re: abstract/concrete nouns

Cool Breeze — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:13:23 GMT

Believer wrote:
I see cases where a countable noun is used in sentencces without any English articles because, as it seems to me, it is used in terms of how it is represented conceptually, rather than how it is categorized grammartically -- that is how it appears in dictionaries. Can you help me to understand the basis for this and the level of prevalence? Some good examples, please.

Hi Believer

You have a very theoritical approach to language, if you don't mind my/me saying so. (Absolutely no offence/offense meant.)

I'll let Jim tackle the first order etc. issue because I know nothing about it. I don't think there is a common "basis" for all the cases where a countable noun is used without a in the singular. It has taken the usage to evolve hundreds of years and there are countless different cases. In many, perhaps most cases it is impossible to say why an article is used or why it isn't used.

Here's an example:
I didn't have much chance to speak German there.

I don't know why chance is used the way it is in the sentence. It might be a good idea for you to concentrate more on learning actual English words and expressions and usage in general and less on trying to discover a magic formula that provides an explanation for every imaginable grammatical phenomenon. There is no such formula.

Look on the bright side: an English noun can have a maximum of four different forms: boy, boy's, boys and boys'. In addition to these, you may place a or the before the noun. It really couldn't be much simpler even if English were an artificial language. There are languages in which a noun has more than a hundred forms.

I hope you don't find my comments disheartening; they are certainly not meant to be that way.

Cheers
CB

Re: What am I missing?

Yankee — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 14:35:23 GMT

Hi Believer

The word 'language' is used as an uncountable noun. It does not refer to individual different laguages, but rather the general ability to communicate using any system of words (which can be spoken or written).

The word 'expression' is also used as an uncountable noun. It refers generally to the ability to express oneself, not to individual expressions.