Countable and Uncountable Nouns

 

Study the following dialogue: Mother. We have run out of rice, flour, butter and a few other things

Father All right, I'll make a shopping list. Let me get a piece of paper and a pen. Now we need some sugar, tea and milk, right? We also need ten kilos of rice and half a litre of cooking oil. Anything else?

Can you pick out the nouns in the dialogue above?

These nouns can be divided into two groups. Nouns such as list, piece pen, kilo, etc are called countable nouns, while nouns such as rice, flour, butter, paper, sugar, milk etc. are called uncountable nouns.

Countable nouns refer to things that can be counted and they have singular as well as plural forms: for example, a pen/two pens, a piece/ten pieces, etc. Uncountable nouns, such as rice. sugar, milk, etc refer to things that cannot be counted, although some of them can be measured (in kilograms, litres, etc.). Usually, uncountable nouns do not take plural forms such as rices. sugars, etc., although in some special cases, which we will explain later, they can take plural forms (eg sugars, teas, etc.).

We can use numbers (one, two, three, etc.) with countable nouns and say things like one pen. Two pens, etc. But we cannot use numbers with uncountable nouns-that is, we cannot say things like one milk, two milks, etc. Also, we can use the indefinite article (a/an) with countable nouns (e.g., a pen, an egg, etc.) but not with uncountable nouns. Usually we cannot say things like a rice, a sugar, etc., although this is possible in some special cases, which we will deal with later.

Generally, quantifiers (words and expressions which express quantity) such as some a little, a lot of, etc. are used with uncountable nouns. For example:

Activity: Imagine that you went with a friend on a week-long camping trip You

supplies (food, matches, candles, etc.) with you, hot you find that moet of f

have been used up by the third day. Ask your friend so tell you what supplies

with him/her, and then tell your friend what things are left with you The following is the list of supplies which you took on the trip. You will have to decide w these supplies have been completely used up and which are still left, and the quentes a

remain.

Follow this pattem:

A: Is there any sugar left? B: Yes, we still have about a kilogram of sugar.

A: What about soap?

B: I'm afraid there's no soap left.

or

Yes, we have four cakes of soap left.

List of supplies taken on the camping trip salt

rice

bread

soap

tea

sugar

torch

SECTION 3

bandages

chewing gum

condensed milk

match box

milk

chocolate

toothpaste

antiseptic cintment

batteries

Nouns which can be countable as well as uncountable

Look at the sentence below: 1. a. Our science teacher wrote a paper on the effects of the cyclone

b. Books are printed on paper.

2. a. Yesterday I bought an iron, (for ironing clothes)

b. Iron is stronger than wood. (metal)

Look at the use of paper and iron in the above examples. They are used both as countable and uncountable nouns, with different meanings. When paper and iron are used as countable nous (as in la and 2a), they refer to particular objects. But when they are used as uncountable nouns

(as in 1b and 2b), they refer to some material or substance.

Countable and Uncountable Nous

Several other nouns can be used in this way Here are t

3. a Could I have a glass of wate b. Glass is brittle.

4. a. Our journey to Badrinath was a wonderful experience

b. He has enough experience for the job.

5. a. The boy ate a whole chicken!

b. Would you like some more chicken? 6. a. The old man had a boiled egg for breakfast

b. There's egg on your face.

7. a. The boy picked up a stone and threw it at the leopard. b. They used stone to build their houses

Some uncountable nouns can be used, in special cases, as countable nouns without any change

in meaning. Look at the following examples:

8.

a. Tea is grown in Darjeeling

b. This shop sells teas from different parts of India.

c. I have just bought a new tea from the Nilgiris.

In Sentence (a), tea is used as an uncountable noun, and it refers to a substance. In Sentences (b and (c), tea is used with the same meaning, but now it is used as a countable noun. Here, us means "different kinds of tea", and a tea means "a certain kind of tea".

Here are some more examples of uncountable nouns becoming countable, with the meaning

"different kinds of a certain substance".

a. The best woods are produced in Assam.

b. I have ordered three new cements from the factories in Gujarat.

Food and drink as countables

Words which refer to food and drinks (e.grice, milk, tea, etc.) are ordinarily treated as uncountable.