Grammar: Countable or uncountable? Singular or plural?

What can you see in the picture? Which are countable and which are uncountable?

Countable nouns are things we can count. ("That's a piece of cake", says Tarek. "Yes, Tarek. It is," says Ryan.)

 So ......

bananas    oranges    carrots    tomatoes

But things like

bread   pasta   cheese   oil    milk

are uncountable. We cannot have two pastas, please and we cannot order three breads. We can't count these nouns so they will always be singular.

We can count countable nouns so they can be singular or plural

We cannot count uncountable nouns so they are always singular

We have many uncountable nouns and they do not all talk about food. Other common uncountable nouns include

trousers    jeans    news    information    traffic     space    advice    accommodation   weather   work

Remember: all these uncountable nouns are singular even though some of them look plural.

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We can make the uncountable nouns countable by adding phrases:

a pair of trousers     a piece of information   a queue of traffic    a loaf of bread    a bowl of pasta

(Tarek: A piece of cake?

Ryan: Yes, Tarek.)

two pairs of trousers    three pieces of information   four queues of traffic   five loaves of bread         six bowls of pasta

What nouns do these describe?

a tin of ...       a can of ....    a bottle of ...    a pair of ...  a pint of ...   a jar of ...  a tube of ...  a roll of ..

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We often don't know the exact amount or exact quantity, but we want to talk about large or small amounts. Look at the pictures below:

How many people are there?

 

     There are many/a lot of people in this picture

                                                         There are some people in this picture

                                                                                                       There are a few people in this picture

People is a plural noun. When we use plural nouns, we ask how many are? We can use many, some, a few to describe the amount.

Look at the pictures below:

How much bread is there?

     There is much/a lot of bread in this picture                                                           

                                                           There is some bread in this picture

                                                                                                          There is a little bread in this picture

Bread is a singular, uncountable noun. When we use singular nouns, we ask how much is? We can use much, some, a little to describe the amount.

Be careful: we don't really use much in positive sentences. We usually use much in negative sentences. We use a lot of/ lots of to say much:

    There is a lot of bread in this picture

                                                                                                       There isn't much bread in this picture

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We use some in positive sentences and any in negative sentences:

There aren't any people

There isn't any bread

We usually use any in questions.....

Is there any bread?  Are there any people? Do you have any brothers and sisters?  Have you seen any good films recently?

but we can use some in questions when we are asking for things or offering things...

Would you like some help?  Can I have some bread, please?  Could you give me some information?

Try this exercise here:

http://elt.oup.com/student/headway/preint/a_grammar/unit04/hwy_preint_unit04_1?cc=gb&selLanguage=en

If you want more practise, look in the Study Centre for a book called English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy. Look at units 69,70, 85 and 87