Page 150 - English Grammar in Use

Unit
69 Countable and uncountable 1

A A noun can be countable or uncountable:
Countable Uncountable
I eat a banana every day. I eat rice every day.
I like bananas. I like rice.

Banana is a countable noun. Rice is an uncountable noun.
A countable noun can be singular (banana) An uncountable noun has only one form (rice).
or plural (bananas). There is no plural.
We can use numbers with countable nouns. We cannot use numbers with uncountable
So we can say one banana, two bananas nouns. We cannot say ‘one rice’, ‘two rices’
etc. etc.

Examples of nouns usually countable: Examples of nouns usually uncountable:
Kate was singing a song. Kate was listening to music.
There’s a nice beach near here. There’s sand in my shoes.
Do you have a ten-pound note? Do you have any money?
It wasn’t your fault. It was an accident. It wasn’t your fault. It was bad luck.
There are no batteries in the radio. There is no electricity in this house.
We don’t have enough cups. We don’t have enough water.

B You can use a/an with singular countable We do not use a/an with uncountable nouns.
nouns: We do not say ‘a sand’, ‘a music’, ‘a rice’.
a beach a student an umbrella
But you can often use a … of. For example:
a bowl / a packet / a grain of rice
You cannot use singular countable nouns alone You can use uncountable nouns alone
(without a/the/my etc.): (without the/my/some etc.):
Do you want a banana? I eat rice every day.
(not want banana) There’s blood on your shirt.
There’s been an accident. Can you hear music?
(not There’s been accident)
You can use plural countable nouns alone:
I like bananas. (= bananas in general)
Accidents can be prevented.

C You can use some and any with plural You can use some and any with uncountable
countable nouns: nouns:
We sang some songs. We listened to some music.
Did you buy any apples? Did you buy any apple juice?
We use many and few with plural countable We use much and little with uncountable
nouns: nouns:
We didn’t take many pictures. We didn’t do much shopping.
I have a few things to do. I have a little work to do.

Countable and uncountable 2 ➜ Unit 70 children / the children ➜ Unit 75 some and any ➜ Unit 85
138 many/much/few/little ➜ Unit 87