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

Re: Is it compulsory to use articles, a, an, and the, with only countable nouns?

Ant_222 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:39:24 GMT

Jackson6612
Let me rephrase it again, even indefinite article the is used with countable nouns or the nouns which are acting as counting nouns.

What's "indefinite article the"?

Jackson6612
So it means if some non-countable noun is acting as a countable noun then it has to be an uncountable because there are two main types of nouns: countable and uncountable.

Sure. Isn't it a tautology? Dictionaries describe "happiness" as an uncountable noun, but in specific contexts (like GG's example) it may be used as a countable noun, which I have called playing a "countable" role, or, to be more correct, the role of a countable noun. So, what the dictionaries say doesn't always 100% correspond to reality.

Jackson6612
You said, pour the water onto the tea. Does that mean though water is an uncountable noun but in that particular example it is working as a countable noun?

Actually I used that example to show you a usage of an uncountable noun as an uncountable noun. "The" "defines" "water". It indicates that it is not any water, but that very water that has just been boiled. Water is still uncountable here, although it is "restricted" (specific).

Jackson6612
You said, it denotes a specific instance of that general category. I would have written: ...it denotes a specific type/kind/sort of that general category at some particular time. Would that also mean the same thing?

Well, I think it is a matter of one's Weltanschauung, and personally I prefer "instance" because, as distinct from "type", which, as any unit of classification, is abstract by nature, is real to the same extent as that which it has been derived from:

A is a type/sort of B â here A is not as real as B,

A is an instance of B â A is not less real (material) than B

Jackson6612
In a good detergent, a is standing along a countable noun but detergent in itself is not a countable noun. Then, what does make it a countable noun in that particular sentence?

At last, you have asked a specific question. By "detergent" the speaker didnt' mean the "matter" or "substance" itself, but, rather, a type or sort (or brand) of it. "Tide" is one detergent, and "Surf" is another. In this sense, they are countable.

Jackson6612
Can you, please, provide me some example sentences in which there is no need to use articles with certain countable/uncountable nouns with whom articles would be used in other sentences.

Countable: http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhyNoArticleHere/ggjmr/post.htm

As for uncountable, you have already seen them: "Water boils at 100 centigrades (at the "standard" atmospheric pressure)" â here "water" refers to the verty substance, and the sentence is true for all water in the world.

Re: Is it compulsory to use articles, a, an, and the, with only countable nouns?

Jackson6612 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:36:54 GMT

Ant_222
Jackson6612
Ant, you mean that even article the is used with countable nouns or the nouns which are acting as countable nouns.

Yes, but it can be used with uncountable nouns as well. Countable (along the lines of GG's example): "The happiness that he had now was something he had never experiences before".

Uncountable: "Boil a litre of water, put 25 g of tea into an earthenware pot, pour the water onto the tea".

Jackson6612
And would you please give a short explanation of the underlined part

When you specify the properties of something referred to by a noun that usually has an abstract, categorical or very general meaning, that automatically changes the meaning of it so that it denotes a specific instance of that general category. For example, in GG's sentence, instead of the general happiness you have a specific happiness, experienced by a specific person.

Hi Ant,

In one of the last posts you said: What I wanted to say is, whenever the indefinite article is used, the following noun is either countable or plays a "countable" role.

Question 1:
Emphasis is on the whenever. This is the same thing I said above. Let me rephrase it again, even indefinite article the is used with countable nouns or the nouns which are acting as counting nouns. So it means if some non-countable noun is acting as a countable noun then it has to be an uncountable because there are two main types of nouns: countable and uncountable. You said, pour the water onto the tea. Does that mean though water is an uncountable noun but in that particular example it is working as a countable noun?

Question 2:
You said, it denotes a specific instance of that general category. I would have written: ...it denotes a specific type/kind/sort of that general category at some particular time. Would that also mean the same thing?

Question 3:
Example: Wash it in hot water with a good detergent...
In a good detergent, a is standing along a countable noun but detergent in itself is not a countable noun. Then, what does make it a countable noun in that particular sentence?

Question 4:
Can you, please, provide me some example sentences in which there is no need to use articles with certain countable/uncountable nouns with whom articles would be used in other sentences.

Thank you for helping so patiently.

Re: creams and detergents

Goodman — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:19:09 GMT

Mr. Miclawer,

I wasnât going to expand this pluralization discussion on âcreamsâ and âwinesâ.
But it really bothered the heck out of me for two reasons.
1) I really wanted to find out if I was really blowing hot air on this subject
because of my misunderstanding of this topic, and 2) if there is another side of the usage
I am not aware of.
This is perhaps not relevant to the discussion but to establish my point, I think it needs
to be said. Mrs. Milton whom I learned English from was an excellent English teacher who
also had taught for 5 years at the Beijing University, which is a top University in China, by
invitation of the Government. Many of her students had landed positions working for the
Chinese Government and the U.N. as translators and interpreters. I was very blessed to be
among her students. Most of my English foundation was learned from her. And I was really
surprised to see your examples pluralizing âcreamâ and âwineâ. By your earlier examples, which I
compared with the information found on the WEB, I must ask this question. Am I to understand
that itâs completely grammatical to say in a restaurant âmay I have 2 waters and soups?â. I know
we hear that all the time but if we are discussing the whether a particular usage is grammatically
correct, running into this type of scenario is inevitable. Here are some âsupportsâ you had
asked for which may not may not be validated to your satisfaction. No doubt, you are the
English authority and perhaps possess âsuperiorityâ over many frequented this forum and I donât
mean to sound like challenging your examples, let alone to waste anymore of your time.
Nonetheless, as a serious learner, Iâd owe the real answers to myself and the learners if I just
accepted your answers as given. I may be wrong with my search result and you are correct.
And If so, here is my âadvanced apologyâ.

Nouns only countable nouns can be either singular or plural. ... He had some ice cream on
his face. He had an ice cream. mass. countable ...
www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/tta/wc/nouns.htm - 21k - Cached - Similar pages

http://ajaja.paradoxinc.org/Basic/Grammar/CountAndNoncount.ht

Liquids: beer, milk, coffee, blood, cream, juice, honey, gasoline, oil, shampoo, soup, tea, water, wine.

Solids and semi-solids: Bread, butter, cheese, ice, ice cream, lettuce, toast, meat, beef, chicken, fish, ham, lamb, pork, chalk, 
copper, cotton, glass, gold, iron, , soap, tin, toothpaste, wood, wool,

http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/grammar/countnon.html

A Revision of the RulesThe exceptions require that the rule for pluralizing be revised: count nouns and nouns used 
in a count sense can be pluralized; noncount nouns and nouns used in a noncount sense cannot.

	Pluralizes with -s	Does not Pluralize
Count Noun	X
Count Use	X
Noncount Noun		X
Noncount Use		X

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080425090142AAom2ui

Answers (4)

If coffee is an uncountable noun, cream certainly is by common sense. Thus the rule applies.

Â· Answerer 1

Many nouns can be used as countables or uncountables. It depends on whether you are thinking of a substance or
a single serving or object made of the substance. So:

Beer is fattening (uncountable - the substance)
Don't drink more than three beers a day. (Countable - servings)

I love chocolate (uncountable - the substance)
Get me a box of chocolates (countable - individual pieces)

A vase made of blown glass (uncountable - the substance)
A glass of wine (A single piece / artifact)

Coffee gives me indigestion (the substance - uncountable)
I need at least three coffees to wake up on a morning (countable - individual servings)

2 months ago

http://www3.law.cuny.edu/wc/students/multilingual/articles.html

Uncountable nouns often refer to drinks and food, other general substances, or concepts (meat, tea, steel, information, justice):

Examples of Uncountable Nouns in English:

Food and Drink: bacon, beef, beer, bread, butter, cabbage, candy, cauliflower, chicken, chocolate, coffee, corn,
cream, fish, fruit, juice, lettuce, meat, milk, oil, pasta, rice, salt, spinach, sugar, tea, water, whiskey, wine, yogurt.
General Substances: air,cement, clay, coal, copper, dirt, dust, foam, gasoline, gold, ice, leather, paper, petroleum,
plastic, rain, rubber, silver, soap, steel, wood, wool.
Abstract nouns: abandonment, access, adultery, advice, alimony, anger, anguish, arson, authentication, beauty, capacity,
conduct, confidence, courage, deprivation, desperation, discretion, employment, empowerment, evidence, extortion, fortune,
fun, happiness, health, honesty, housing, information, insurance, intelligence, intent, knowledge, land, love, malice, negligence,
poverty, privacy, real estate, sadness, satisfaction, strength, truth, wealth.
Others: biology, clothing, darkness, equipment, furniture, gossip, homework, jewelry, luggage, machinery, mail, money, music,
news, poetry, pollution, research, scenery, traffic, transportation, violence, weather, weight, work.

Some uncountable nouns (except for concepts) can be turned into countable nouns by preposing a phrase to them
(two bottles of wine, a bar of soap, a piece of information, an act of violence, a burst of anger, a piece of evidence).

e.g. The defendant's lawyer is sure the judge will accept new evidence in this case.

vs. The defendant's lawyer is sure the judge will accept three new pieces of evidence in this case.

Some uncountable nouns can be used in the plural, but their meaning changes:

experience / experiences: e.g., He had to rely on experience / I lived unforgettable experiences

some question

Believer — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 22:09:20 GMT

Hi,

1. Sometimes I have to look very closely to identify whether the writer meant to say a typical kind something (or just something) or a lot of something when that person used the word "some"in front of countable nouns. Do you have some guidelines to help me make the distinctions easily? Sorry I can't think of any good examples off my head but maybe this ?

Some example will do.

Some examples will do.

I want some material in that box.

I want some materials in that box.

2. Which one is right?

Whom is this purse belong to?

Who is this purse belong to?

Re: On &quot;data&quot; pronunciation

My2sense — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 13:05:09 GMT

Anonymous wrote:

A Psychology professor at UC Berkeley said that dah-ta (like "dad") is the singular, while day-ta (like "today") is the plural. In other words, you would say "these day-ta", but "this dah-ta."

I haven't heard this from any other source, and I've also heard another Psychology professor at UC Berkeley say "day-ta" for singular. When I've worked with people who process data on a regular basis (in Psychology research labs), we almost always use the plural form, so I haven't had much chance to see how someone would pronounce the singular form.

Honestly, this is some petty stuff that doesn't matter, though it's one of those things that makes you curious because you want to know what is "correct". I have the same feelings toward the who/whom controversy--it doesn't matter enough for me to know how to use it, but I still want to know which is "correct".

I think the only way to resolve this issue is to hit up the Oxford English Dictionary or a professor of English who really knows the nitty gritty.

Honestly, this is some petty stuff that doesn't matter, though it's one of those things that makes you curious because you want to know what is "correct". I have the same feelings toward the who/whom controversy--it doesn't matter enough for me to know how to use it, but I still want to know which is "correct".

So true! Suffice to say it can be pronounced either way.

From askoxford: Strictly speaking, data is the plural of datum, and should be used with a plural verb (like facts). However, there has been a growing tendency to use it as an equivalent to the uncountable noun information, followed by a singular verb. This is now regarded as generally acceptable in American use, and in the context of information technology. The traditional usage is still preferable, at least in Britain, but it may soon become a lost cause.

Re: Grammatical questions

MrPedantic — Tue, 01 Feb 2005 00:12:45 GMT

Hello Guest

Since this is for an exam, I don't feel I should give detailed replies. But you may wish to consider:

1. Why the following sentences are ungrammatical:

a) Never watch I television.
b) Which programmes watched you?

Look up Inversion in your grammar book.

a) Would you like an information?
b) He hasn't read much book.

Look up Count Nouns and Uncountable Nouns.

2. What is the grammatical difference between forms such as "my" and "mine", or "their" and "theirs"?

Look up Possessive Determiners and Possessive Pronouns.

3. How might the following contrast be accounted for?
a) They have referred to the book. c) He went to the station.
b) The book has been referred to. d) The station was gone to.

Look up Present Perfect Tense, Past Perfect Tense.

4. How can the contrast between c) and f) be explained?
a) She spoke to the manager. d) She put on a coat.
b) Who did she speak to? e) What did she put on?
c) To whom did she speak? f) On what did she put?

Look up Interrogative Pronouns.

Why not work on these ones first, and post your suggestions, after looking up the relevant sections? If you're still having trouble, we'll then give you more help, and go on to your other questions.

MrP

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

Re: Is it compulsory to use articles, a, an, and the, with only countable nouns?

Re: Is it compulsory to use articles, a, an, and the, with only countable nouns?

Re: creams and detergents

Mr. Miclawer,

Nouns only countable nouns can be either singular or plural. ... He had some ice cream on his face. He had an ice cream. mass. countable ...www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/tta/wc/nouns.htm - 21k - Cached - Similar pages

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080425090142AAom2ui

Answers (4)

some question

Re: On &amp;quot;data&amp;quot; pronunciation

Re: Grammatical questions

Nouns only countable nouns can be either singular or plural. ... He had some ice cream on
his face. He had an ice cream. mass. countable ...
www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/tta/wc/nouns.htm - 21k - Cached - Similar pages

Re: On "data" pronunciation