examples of countable and uncountable nouns

 

Countable Nouns

Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable nouns:

Los sustantivos contables son fáciles de reconocer. Son cosas que podemos contar. Por ejemplo: “pluma” Podemos contar plumas. Podemos contar una pluma, dos, tres ó más plumas. Aquí hay más sustantivos contables:

• dog, cat, animal, man, person
• bottle, box, litre
• coin, note, dollar
• cup, plate, fork
• table, chair, suitcase, bag

Countable nouns can be singular or plural:

Los sustantivos contables pueden ser singular o plural.

• My dog is playing.   Mi perro está jugando
• My dogs are hungry.  Mis perros están hambrientos.

We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:

Podemos  usar artículos indefinidos a/ an artículos contables

• A dog is an animal.   Un perro es un animal.

When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:

Cuando un sustantivo contable es singular, podemos usar una palabra como a/the/my/this con esto:

• I want an orange. (not I want orange.) Yo quiero una naranja.
• Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)  Donde está mi bote?

When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:

Cuando  un sustantivo contable es plural, lo podemos utilizar solo:

• I like oranges.   Me gustan las naranjas.
• Bottles can break.  Las botellas se pueden romper

We can use some and any with countable nouns:

Podemos usar some y any con sustantivos contables:

• I've got some dollars.  Tengo algunos dólares.
• Have you got any pens? Tienes algunas plumas?

We can use a few and many with countable nouns:

Podemos utilizar few y many con sustantivos contables:

• I've got a few dollars.  Tengo pocos dolares.
• I haven't got many pens. Tengo muchas plumas.

"People" is countable. "People" is the plural of "person". We can count people:

Gente es contable. La gente es el plural de persona. Podemos contar gente.

• There is one person here.  Hay una persona aquí
• There are three people here.   Hay 3 personas aquí.

Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns:

Los sustantivos incontables son sustanciales, conceptos, etc… Que no podemos dividir ni separar en elementos. No podemos “contarlos” Por ejemplo, No podemos contar “leche”. Podemos contar “botes de leche” o “litros de leche”. Aquí hay algunos sustantivos incontables:

• music, art, love, happiness
• advice, information, news
• furniture, luggage
• rice, sugar, butter, water
• electricity, gas, power
• money, currency

We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:

Podemos usualmente tratar los sustantivos incontables como singulares. Usamos un verbo singular. Por ejemplo:

• This news is very important.  Esta noticia es muy importante
• Your luggage looks heavy.  Tu equipaje se ve pesado

We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say "an information" or "a music". But we can say a something of:

Usualmente utilizamos artículos indefinidos a/an con sustantivos incontables. No podemos decir “ una información” ó “una música”. Pero podemos decir  algo de .

• a piece of news     un pedazo de noticias
• a bottle of wáter    una botella de agua.
• a grain of rice   un grano de arroz.

We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:

Podemos usar some y any con sustantivos incontables:

• I've got some money.  Tengo algo de dinero.
• Have you got any rice?  Tienes algo de arroz?

We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:

Podemos usar  un poco y mucho con sustantivos in  contables:

• I've got a little money.  Tengo un poco de dinero.
• I haven't got much rice. Yo no tengo mucho arroz.

Uncountable nouns are also called "mass nouns".

Los sustantivos Incontables también son llamados  “sustantivos masivos”

Here are some more examples of countable and uncountable nouns:

Countable	Uncountable
dollar	money
song	music
suitcase	luggage
table	furniture
battery	electricity
bottle	wine
report	information
tip	advice
journey	travel
job	work
view	scenery

 

 

NOW COMPLETE THE RULES :

Much/some/many/a lot of/any

•        We use ___many____________ to talk about a large quantity.

•        We use _____some__________ with countable and uncountable nouns and ____a lot of____ with uncountable nouns.

•        We generally use _____much_____________and ______a lot_______________in questions and negative statements.

•        We generally use _______Many________ in positive statements.

 

 

 

Exercise on much and many

Principio del formulario

Exercise 1

Decide whether you have to use much or many.

1.       much many cars

2.       much many music

3.       much many pictures

4.       much many flowers

5.       much many milk

6.       much many numbers

7.       much many money

8.       much many tea

9.       much many girls

10.    much many  water

Final del formulario