Countable vs Uncountable Nouns

Some, Any, Many, Much

English One, María Luisa González Soto

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:

• 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:• My dog is playing.• My dogs are hungry.• We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:• A dog is an animal.

• We can use some and any with countable nouns:

• I've got some dollars.• Have you got any pens?• We can use a few and many with

countable nouns:• I've got a few dollars.• I haven't got many pens.

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 "liters of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns:

• 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:

• This news is very important.• Your luggage looks heavy.• 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:

• a piece of news• a bottle of water• a grain of rice• We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:• I've got some money.• Have you got any rice?• We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:• I've got a little money.• I haven't got much rice.

HOW MUCH? OR HOW MANY?

  Countable Nouns Uncountable Nouns

In questions:We use how many with plural countablenouns:-

We use how much with uncountablenouns:-

 "How many newspapers do you read every day?"

"How much paper is in the printer?"

 "How many Euros have you got?"

"How much money have you got?"

Remember it…

Cuantificador Contable Incontable

PlayMany X  

PlayMuch   X

PlaySome X X

PlayAny X X

PlayNo, none X X

PlayA lot of/Lots of X X

PlayLittle/A little   X

PlayFew/A few X  

SOME

• We usually use some in positive sentences for countable and uncountable nouns.

•                I have some friends in London.•                I usually drink some wine with my meal.

•                Sometimes we use some in a question, when we expect a positive YES answer.

•                Would you like some more tea?•                Could I have some more sugar please?

ANY

•  When asking questions and when a sentence is grammatically positive, but the meaning of the sentence

•               is negative.•                Do you have any ice cream left for me?•                My brother never does any chores.•                We use any for both countable and

uncountable nouns.•                Do you have any cheese?•                He doesn't have any friends in Paris.

MUCH - MANY• Much       It is used with uncountable nouns.•               They don't have much money to buy a

present.

• Many        It is used with countable nouns.•                I don't have many English stamps in my

collection.•

Much and Many are used to express that there is a large quantity of something.

MEASURE WORDS FoodA bowl of riceA dish of spaghettiA pound of meat/cheeseA piece of cake/pieA can of soupA box of cerealA bag of flourA carton of ice creamA jar of peanut butterA loaf of breadA slice of bread/pizzaA package of pastaA dash of saltA cube of iceA pack of gumA head of lettuce/cabbageAn ear of cornA kernel of cornA grain of wheat/saltA stalk of celeryA spear of asparagusA clove of garlic

  LiquidA teaspoon of medicineA tablespoon of vinegarA glass of waterA cup of coffeeA pint of bloodA quart of milkA half gallon of juiceA gallon of punchA tank of gasA jug of lemonadeA bottle of wineA keg of beerA shot of vodkaA drop of rain

  Personal itemsA bar of soapA tube of toothpasteA container of shampooA stick of deodorantA bottle of perfume/cologneA roll of toilet paperA ball of cottonSewing itemsA spool of threadA skein of yarnA yard/meter of ribbonA (square) foot/meter of fabric/clothStationeryA piece of paperA pad of paperA roll of tapeA stick/piece of chalkA bottle/tube of glueA jar of pasteA pair of scissors