My dictionary doesn't have that designation, but I'm sure you're correct about its meaning. If you need help in understanding the difference between countable and uncountable nouns, you might try typing "countable" in the

I know some nouns can be either countable or uncountable. when I look for something in my dictionaries, I can notice a subtle difference between nouns. Some nouns have their definitions starting with " " In OALD7, and other nouns have

Hi, Could we have used the singular verb "differs" in your sentence? I think you are using the word "usage" as an uncountable noun. What is the difference between yours and this? New and old equipment needs (need?) to be fixed.

I recall "in times of crisis" to be a rather common usage, especially at the beginning of a sentence, yet my English teacher says that, because crisis is a countable noun, the correct phrase should be "in times of a crisis," or

Hi Anon You're right that the word "treacheries" is occasionally used, however the singular, collective form is far more commonly used. I suppose you may also run into an occasional usage of "a treachery" as well, but I

The volcano erupted; the bomb exploded; the car crashed; the man fell. Although "the man fell" is grammatically in the active voice, it has a passive sense. For this reason, it doesn't seem very natural to me to say that a man

The word effort is frequently used as an uncountable noun. However, for that sentence, I'd probably say "You need to make more of an effort." By that I would basically mean "You need to try harder." It's very general.

Hi Anon The Cambridge Dictionary generally includes the notations "C" and "U" for countable and uncountable nouns. Keep in mind that some nouns have both countable and uncountable usages. Here is the Cambridge entry for the

This post is addressed to upper-level language learners and language teachers. It may not make much sense to those of you who have not studied formal grammar intensively. * * * In Greece, we only have two real problems with getting the principles

My son has asked me to tap into the collective wisdom of aue - here is his request: Here's ... - but the essence of the question should be clear. (For anyone who is not familiar with Lego, see http://www.lego.com/eng/) I am replying here since