Countable and uncountable nouns; articles 10

B Grammar
1 Countable and uncountable nouns
Countable nouns:
● can be singular:
a company, a job, a biscuit
● or plural:
many companies, few jobs, some biscuits
Uncountable nouns:
● cannot be plural:
health, advice, luggage, scenery (not healths, advices, luggages, sceneries)
● take a singular verb:
Petrol is expensive. Exercise is good for you.
● use expressions like a piece of to refer to quantity:
a piece of furniture, a piece of advice, a sum of money, a litre of petrol (not a furniture, an advice,
a money, a petrol)
! News is uncountable and takes a singular verb, even though it looks plural. We say:
an item / a piece of news (not a news)
Many nouns can be countable and uncountable, but with different meanings:
These grammar exercises are easy! (= tasks for practising grammar)
Exercise is good for you. (= taking exercise in general)
The gallery was showing works by several artists. (= paintings, sculptures, etc.)
I don’t enjoy hard work. (= the activity of working)
The French produce some wonderful cheeses. (= different types of cheese)
Do we have any cheese in the fridge? (= cheese in general)

2 a(n), the and no article

Means: Introduces: Use it with:

a(n) ● one of many ● a person/thing we haven’t identified before singular countable
● anyone/anything like ● an unspecific person/thing nouns
this ● a general type of person/thing

the ● the particular one(s) ● a person/people/thing(s) we have singular countable

● the only one(s) mentioned before nouns
● someone/something that is unique plural countable
● someone/something that the speaker and nouns
listener already know about uncountable nouns
no article ● all of these ● things/people in general plural countable
● the quantity is ● a general type of substance, quality, etc. nouns
uncertain or uncountable nouns
unimportant

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10 Countable and uncountable nouns; articles

Compare the use of articles in these sentences:

There’s a supermarket in most towns nowadays. (= one of many that exist)
We buy most of our food from the local supermarket. (= one particular supermarket near our house)
Have you got a pen? (= one of many that exist)
The pen is on the table. (= the only pen here; the only table here)
I don’t like the music my brother plays. (= that particular music)
Music helps me to concentrate when I’m working. (= any music)
We planted the trees in our garden five years ago. (= the particular trees in our garden)
Trees are easily damaged by pollution. (= all trees; any pollution)
Trees are good for the environment. (= all trees; the only environment we have)
The cheese is in the fridge. (= the cheese you need; the only fridge here)
I like cheese. (= all kinds of cheese)
People used to believe the moon was a goddess. (= people in general; the moon that goes round this planet;
one of many goddesses)

3 Special uses of articles

Look out for special uses of articles. Here are some common examples.
Places

We use the with the names of: We do not use the with the names of:
● oceans, seas and rivers: ● lakes:
the Pacific, the Black Sea, the Danube Lake Garda
● regions: ● continents, most countries, states, cities, towns
the Far East, the Midlands and villages:
● groups of islands: Europe, France, Florida, Rome
the Philippines ! but we say the Netherlands, The Hague
● countries that include a word such as Republic, ● most buildings and places such as schools,
Kingdom, States or Emirates: universities, stations and airports that use the
the United States, the People’s Republic of China, the name of their town in the name:
United Arab Emirates Manchester Airport, Cardiff station, Edinburgh
● deserts and mountain ranges: Castle, Durham University, Chelmsford High School,
the Kalahari, the Alps Wembley Stadium
We say: the sea, the coast, the seaside, the country(side), ! but when the name includes of we use the:
the mountains, the hills: the University of Rome, the Museum of London
My parents spend their holidays on the coast, but I
prefer walking in the mountains.

Fixed expressions
Some fixed expressions use the and some have no article:
We travel by train/bus. (not by the train/bus)
We have lunch/dinner. but if there is an adjective, we use a: I had a big breakfast today.
We listen to the radio. but We watch television.
We play the guitar. (= a musical instrument) but We play tennis. (= a sport).
We go to the cinema or the theatre.
We say: My mother is at work. but My mother is at the office. (= the office where she works)

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 Countable and uncountable nouns; articles 10
! We use the or no article before some places, with a difference in meaning:
The children are at school now. (= they are students there)
My father is at the school now. (= he is visiting it)

Peter spent a lot of time in hospital as a child. Dr Dibble has an office in the hospital and
(= he was a patient) another at home. (= she works there)
This also applies to at church, in prison, at college and at university, but we always say the mosque, the temple.
Jobs
We use a(n) when we talk about someone’s occupation:
I’m a doctor. (not I’m doctor)
She’s a website designer.
I’m a student.
Publications and organisations
We use the for most newspapers:
The Australian, The Guardian, The Dartmouth Chronicle
and many organisations, in words or initials:
the UN / United Nations, the BBC / British Broadcasting Corporation, the WHO / World Health Organisation
but not for most magazines:
Vogue, Wired, Sports Illustrated
or companies:
Volkswagen, Apple, Microsoft, Gucci
Online
We say the internet and the web but Wikipedia, Facebook, Twitter.
Definitions
We use a(n) to give a definition of something:
A department store is a shop which sells a wide range of goods. (not Department store is …)
Exclamations
We use a(n) with a singular noun in exclamations:
What an exciting film! (not What exciting film!)
What a gorgeous dress!
but no article if the noun is uncountable or plural:
What fun! (not What a fun!)
What lovely flowers!

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 10 Countable and uncountable nouns; articles

C Grammar exercises
1 Match the phrases on the left with the uncountable nouns on the right. Some of the phrases match
more than one noun.

A glass
1 a tube of B meat
2 a sheet of C paper
3 a drop of D news
4 a bar of E rice
5 an item of F oil
6 a grain of G toothpaste
7 a slice of H chocolate
I bread

2 Complete the diagram with the words that belong in each group.

accommodation advice cheese coffee experience experiment glass hair hobby homework
information journey leisure luck luggage meat scenery time traffic vegetable

Always countable Can be countable or uncountable Always uncountable

vegetable hair luggage

3 Complete the recipe with a, an, the or – (for no article).

PANCAKE RECIPE
To make (1) — pancakes, you need 100 grams
of flour, (2) egg, a little milk and 25 grams
of butter. Beat (3) egg with (4)
flour. Add (5) milk until you have
(6) smooth mixture. Heat (7)
butter in (8) frying pan. Pour (9)
large spoonful of (10) mixture into
(11) pan and cook for about (12) minute. Turn (13) pancake over
and cook a little longer. Serve hot, with (14) sugar and (15) lemon juice.

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 Countable and uncountable nouns; articles 10
4 Fill in the gaps with the words in brackets, adding a or the where necessary.
1 We’ve got some important visitors flying in from the West Indies next week. Can you meet
them at ? (West Indies, Birmingham Airport)
2 How long does it take to sail across from to
? (Mediterranean, Naples, Corsica)
3 My brother’s idea of a holiday is trekking across or exploring
. Personally, I’d rather explore and do some
shopping! (Sahara, Andes, Paris)
4 Have you met Cora’s new boyfriend? He’s from .
(ski instructor, Switzerland)
5 What ! Our train broke down and there was no wifi so I couldn’t
even use . Luckily, another passenger lent me a magazine called
. It had an article about some new software that
has developed. (terrible journey, internet, Computer User, Microsoft)

5 Correct the mistakes in this email.

Hi Monique
a
We had great trip to the France last weekend. We went
to little hotel that you recommended and it was very
pleasant. Foods at the hotel weren’t so good, as you
warned us, but we strolled down to city centre on
Saturday evening and had lovely meal there. In fact,
we ate so much for the dinner that we didn’t want a
breakfast on Sunday! Thanks again for the advice.
The Wikipedia gave us some good informations about
the town, but your local knowledge really helped.
Now I must unpack and do the washings. Here is
/wphoto
a/w
a G10.4of the hotel to remind you.
photo

xx Freda

6 Choose the correct words (or – for no article) in these sentences by Cambridge First students.

1 I thought that he would eat all the food because it / they looked really nice.
2 If I have to give you an / – advice, I think you should give up sport for now.
3 Yesterday I finished work early and did some shopping / shoppings.
4 I would like to have some information / informations about the courses that you are offering.
5 I think I will sell the bedroom furniture / furnitures when I move house.
6 We should feel – / a respect for the man who invented this machine.

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 Exam practice
Reading and Use of English Part 4
For questions 1–6, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence,
using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words,
including the word given. There is an example at the beginning (0).

0 The hotel staff had permission to use the tennis courts on Mondays.
ALLOWED
The hotel staff were allowed to play tennis on Mondays.
1 Alison loves to buy presents for her grandchildren.
PLEASURE
Alison presents for her grandchildren.
2 My boss advised me which computer I should buy.
GAVE
My boss choosing a computer.
3 We’ve been queuing for an hour and we still have another hour to wait.
WAITING
By the time we get to the front of the queue we
two hours.
4 Although Toby keeps his room tidy he seldom cleans it.
EVER
Toby keeps his room tidy cleans it.
5 Can you tell me precisely how much money was stolen?
EXACT
Can you tell me that was stolen?
6 The announcer began the news with a story about the prince’s visit.
ITEM
The first a story about the prince’s visit.

Exam tip
Contracted words like they’ve count as two words
so make sure you don’t write more than five words.
Grammar focus task
Which of these nouns from the exam task are countable (C), which are uncountable (U) and which can
be both (B)? Use your dictionary if you need to.
1 permission U 4 queue 7 item
2 pleasure 5 room 8 news
3 advice 6 money

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