Basic English Grammar, Countable, Vs Uncountable, Etc

7/30/2019 Basic English Grammar, Countable, Vs Uncountable, Etc

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English Teacher:

Associate Professor: Oana Stanculescu Ilie University of Craiova

Countable vs. uncountable nounsA noun can be countable or uncountable. Countable nouns can be "counted", they have a singular

and plural form. For example:A book, two books, three books .....

An apple, two apples, three apples ....

Uncountable nouns cannot be counted. This means they have only a singular form. It also means

that they do not take a/an before them. Non-count nouns are often substances (such as sand, coffee, wine,

water or rice) which cannot be easily counted, or they may be large abstract ideas such as "nature",

"space" or "entertainment".

The notion of countable and uncountable can be confusing. Some supposedly uncountable nouns

can behave like countable nouns if we think of them as being in containers, or one of several types.

This is because 'containers' and 'types' can be counted.

Believe it or not each of these sentences is correct:

Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two coffees a day.(Here coffees refers to the number of cups of coffee)

You could write; "Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two cups of coffee a day."

The coffees I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian.

(Here coffees refers to different types of coffee)

You could write; "The types of coffee I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian."

The category of countable nouns comprises all the nouns which show plural marking (both

regular, such as book-books, and irregular child-children) as well as a group ofunmarked plurals

(sheep, deer) which nevertheless behave syntactically like the former. Uncountable nouns semantically

refer to an undifferentiated mass, they have no number marking and always take singular verbs. Singular

countable nouns require a determiner to form a grammatical NP, whereas uncountable nouns do not.

countable: Book is cheap.

uncountable: Bread is cheap. NEVERcountable: A sheep is grazing in the field.

uncountable: A furniture is expensive. NEVERThe use of articles with nouns seems to be an applicable criterion in the analysis of their

countability in the eighteenth century, as the usage did not differ remarkably from that of Present-Day

English. One difference is, according to linguists, that abstract nouns were used without an article more

often than today, particularly when the marking of (in)definiteness or reference was of little importance.

Uncountable and countable nouns also differ in the choice of indicators of quantity, much and

many. Much is used with the singular of mass nouns (much sugar), whereas many is used with the

plural of countable nouns (many dogs). Other indicators of quantity used with uncountable nouns are theamount ofand little, in the cases where countable nouns take the number of, several, few.

The category of uncountable nouns corresponds largely with the category of singularia tantum.

Linguists include in this group all the nouns, which have no plural form. One of the linguists divides such

nouns into konkreta which include such nouns as money, honey, milk, garlic, mint, sugar, wheat, rye,

etc., and abstrakta consisting ofyouth, music, beauty, etc. The only point of discord between the two

classifications is the treatment of news, which, according to Graband, belongs to the group called

pluralia tantum on the grounds of the '-s' ending. News behaves syntactically like abstrakta and is

semantically close to it, therefore it is discussed alongside this category in the present study. Some nouns

may be used in either mass or countable sense, for example:

countable: Have one of these cakes.

uncountable: Have a piece of my birthday cake.In this case the distinction is to some extent based on semantic grounds: a big cake which can be

divided into portions functions as a mass noun, whereas a small cake an indivisible unit functions as

a countable noun. English has for a long time displayed the tendency to allow mass nouns to be used as

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countables, meaning 'a portion of', 'a variety of' or 'an instance of'. Such a situation often occurs as

regards nouns referring to food or other commodity, such as 'a variety of' or 'a portion of':

'What breads/coffees/flours/milks can you get in the local supermarket?'

'I'll have two teas, please.'

In Present-Day English abstract nouns can be used with an indefinite article when a particular event

or state is in focus:

'I would never have any one eat but what he likes and when he hasan appetite'

Examples of common uncountable nouns: (= no plural, no a/an)

information, evidence, progress, news, scenery, work, logic, permission, traffic, furniture, chaos,permission, advice, behaviour, research, technology (pl. in the case of 'the new technologies')

'mass' nouns : money, cash, mathematics, linguistics, politics, athletics, mumps etc.

substances : milk, petrol, sugar, oil

Occasionally, nouns can be countable/uncountable, depending on the context so there is a change

in meaning.

Example: uncountable

Advances in technology mean that Western medicine is highly expensive and highly specialised: a

large amount of money may be spent on treating a relatively small number of conditions (for example:

kidney machines, life support systems).

Example: countable

The new technologies of advanced ceramics and polymers have contributed to Japanese leadershipin fields where synthetic materials can be substituted for natural minerals, thereby offsetting the

Japanese disadvantages of few natural resources and cutting down the need to import large quantities of

raw materials. ('monies' - banking jargon - usually 'funds')

I bought a paper (= newspaper, countable)

I bought some paper (= paper for writing on - uncountable)

I had many interesting experiences during my time at Sussex (= things which happened to an

individual - countable)

Experience of economic upturn was limited in the 1980's (uncountable - knowledge of

something happening in general).

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About prepositionsThe most common prepositions (simple and compound) are:aboard "about," "above,"

according to, "across," across from, "after," "against," ahead of, "along," along side,

along with, amid, "among," apart from, "around," aside from, as of, "at," atop,

baring, because of, "before," "behind," "below," "beneath," "beside," besides, "between,"

"beyond," "but," "by," by means of, concerning, considering,"despite," "down," "during,"

"except," "for," "from," "in," in addition to, in back of, in front of, in lieu of, in place

of, in regard to, "inside," in spite of, instead of, "into," in view of, "like," "near,"nearby, next to, "of," "off," "on," on account of, "onto," on top of, opposite, "out,"

out of, "outside," awing to, "over," "past," per, prior to, regarding, round, "since,"

"through," "throughout," "till," "to," together with, "toward (s)," "under," "underneath,"

"until," unto, "up," "upon," "with," "within," and "without."

Into vs. In to and Similar ProblemsMany words that are prepositions may be adverbs. This can be confusing when the prepostion to

follows on orin or when the preposition on follows up.

The words into, onto, and upon followed by an object are prepositions.

The pairs in to, on to, and up on followed by an object are each made up of an adverb followed by

a preposition. The meanings and the grammatical relationships are different from when they are singleword prepositions.

Examples: He ran in to the building.

(The adverb in modifies ran; to the buildingtells where he ran in.)

He ran into the building.

(He collided with the building; or, into the buildingtells us where he ran.)

Up on the housetop, reindeer pause...

(High on top of the house...)

The toy fell upon the ground.

(Here upon refers just to the relative relationship between the toy and the ground, it has nothing to

with height. Things seldom fall up...)

The car turned onto Main Street.

(The car turned; onto Main Streettells us where the car turned.)

He turned on to Tchaikovsky.

(The adverb on modifies turn; to Tchaikovsky tells us to whom he turned on.)

Prepositions of time:

at two o'clock

on Wednesday

in an hour, in January; in 1992

for a day

Prepositions of place:

at my house

in New York, in my hand

on the table

near the library

across the street

under the bed

between the books

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The Uses of the English Tenses. Short Tabel and Instructions of their Use

Type of Tense Type of Action Expressed

Simple - actions occurring at regular intervals

- general truths, or situations existing for a period of time

- non-continuous actions

Continuous - continuous, ongoing actions

Perfect - non-continuous actions completed before a certain time

Perfect

Continuous- continuous, ongoing actions completed before a certain time

The Formation of the Indicative Mood of the Active Voice

Tense Auxiliary Verb Form

Simple Present do/does * bare infinitive **

Present Continuous am/is/are present participlePresent Perfect have/has past participle

Present Perfect Continuous have/has been present participle

Simple Past did * bare infinitive ***

Past Continuous was/were present participle

Past Perfect had past participle

Past Perfect Continuous had been present participle

Simple Future will (shall) **** bare infinitive

Future Continuous will (shall) be present participle

Future Perfect will (shall) have past participleFuture Perfect Continuous will (shall) have been present participle

The Formation of the Subjunctive Mood of the Active Voice

Tense Auxiliary Verb Form

Simple Present do * bare infinitive

Present Continuous be present participle

Present Perfect have past participle

Present Perfect Continuous have been present participle

Simple Past did * bare infinitive ***Past Continuous were present participle

Past Perfect had past participle

Past Perfect Continuous had been present participle

The Formation of the Indicative Mood of the Passive Voice

TenseAuxiliary Verb Form

Simple Present am/is/are past participle

Present Continuous am/is/are being past participle

Present Perfect have/has been past participlePresent Perfect Continuous have/has been being past participle

Simple Past was/were past participle

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Past Continuous was/were being past participle

Past Perfect had been past participle

Past Perfect Continuous had been being past participle

Simple Future will (shall) **** be past participle

Future Continuous will (shall) be being past participle

Future Perfect will (shall) have been past participle

Future Perfect Continuous will (shall) have been being past participle

The Formation of the Subjunctive Mood of the Passive Voice

TenseAuxiliary Verb Form

Simple Present be past participle

Present Continuous be being past participle

Present Perfect have been past participle

Present Perfect Continuous have been being past participle

Simple Past were past participle

Past Continuous were being past participle

Past Perfect had been past participlePast Perfect Continuous had been being past participle

* In the Simple Present and Simple Past tenses of the Active Voice, the auxiliaries are used only

for emphasis, and for the formation of questions and negative statements. Auxiliaries are never used with

the Simple Present or Simple Past of the verb to be.

** When used without the auxiliary, the third person singular of the Simple Present, in the

Indicative Mood of the Active Voice, has the ending s.

*** When used without the auxiliary, the Simple Past form of the verb is used. For regular verbs,

and for many irregular verbs, the Simple Past has the same form as the past participle.

**** The other modal auxiliaries could, may, might, must, should and would form conjugations

in the same way as will and shall.

The Active Voice of the Verb to show

Simple Past: showed

Past Participle: shown

Indicative Mood

Simple PresentSimple Past

I show I showedyou show you showed

he shows he showed

she shows she showed

it shows it showed

we show we showed

they show they showed

Present Continuous Past Continuous

I am showing I was showing

you are showing you were showing

he is showing he was showing

she is showing she was showing

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it is showing it was showing

we are showing we were showing

they are showing they were showing

Present Perfect Past Perfect

I have shown I had shown

you have shown you had shown

he has shown he had shownshe has shown she had shown

it has shown it had shown

we have shown we had shown

they have shown they had shown

Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous

I have been showing I had been showing

you have been showing you had been showing

he has been showing he had been showing

she has been showing she had been showingit has been showing it had been showing

we have been showing we had been showing

they have been showing they had been showing

Simple Future Simple Conjugation with Would

I will (shall) show I would show

you will show you would show

he will show he would show

she will show she would show

it will show it would showwe will (shall) show we would show

they will show they would show

Future Continuous Continuous Conjugation with Would

I will (shall) be showing I would be showing

you will be showing you would be showing

he will be showing he would be showing

she will be showing she would be showing

it will be showing it would be showing

we will (shall) be showing we would be showing

they will be showing they would be showing

Future Perfect Perfect Conjugation with Would

I will (shall) have shown I would have shown

you will have shown you would have shown

he will have shown he would have shown

she will have shown she would have shown

it will have shown it would have shown

we will (shall) have shown we would have shownthey will have shown they would have shown

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Future Perfect Continuous Perfect Continuous Conjugation with Would

I will (shall) have been showing I would have been showing

you will have been showing you would have been showing

he will have been showing he would have been showing

she will have been showing she would have been showing

it will have been showing it would have been showing

we will (shall) have been showing we would have been showing

they will have been showing they would have been showing

Subjunctive Mood

Simple PresentSimple Past

I show I showed

you show you showed

he show he showed

she show she showed

it show it showed

we show we showed

they show they showed

Present Continuous Past Continuous

I be showing I were showing

you be showing you were showing

he be showing he were showing

she be showing she were showing

it be showing it were showing

we be showing we were showing

they be showing they were showing

Present Perfect Past Perfect

I have shown I had shown

you have shown you had shown

he have shown he had shown

she have shown she had shown

it have shown it had shown

we have shown we had shown

they have shown they had shown

Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous

I have been showing I had been showing

you have been showing you had been showing

he have been showing he had been showing

she have been showing she had been showing

It have been showing it had been showing

we have been showing we had been showing

they have been showing they had been showing

The Verb to be and The Passive Voice of The Verb to show

Indicative MoodSimple Present

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Simple Present

I am I am shown

you are you are shown

he is he is shown

she is she is shown

it is it is shown

we are we are shown

they are they are shown

Present Continuous Present Continuous

I am being I am being shown

you are being you are being shown

he is being he is being shown

she is being she is being shown

it is being it is being shown

we are being we are being shown

they are being they are being shown

Present Perfect Present Perfect

I have been I have been shown

you have been you have been shown

he has been he has been shown

she has been she has been shown

it has been it has been shown

we have been we have been shown

they have been they have been shown

Present Perfect Continuous Present Perfect Continuoushave been being I have been being shown

you have been being you have been being shown

he has been being he has been being shown

she has been being she has been being shown

it has been being it has been being shown

we have been being we have been being shown

they have been being they have been being shown

Simple Past Simple Past

I was I was shown

you were you were shown

he was he was shown

she was she was shown

it was it was shown

we were we were shown

they were they were shown

Past Continuous Past Continuous

I was being I was being shownyou were being you were being shown

he was being he was being shown

she was being she was being shown

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it was being it was being shown

we were being we were being shown

they were being they were being shown

Past Perfect Past Perfect

I had been I had been shown

you had been you had been shown

he had been he had been shownshe had been she had been shown

it had been it had been shown

we had been we had been shown

they had been they had been shown

Past Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous

I had been being I had been being shown

you had been being you had been being shown

he had been being he had been being shown

she had been being she had been being shownit had been being it had been being shown

we had been being we had been being shown

they had been being they had been being shown

Simple Future Simple Future

I will (shall) be I will (shall) be shown

you will be you will be shown

he will be he will be shown

she will be she will be shown

it will be it will be shownwe will (shall) be we will (shall) be shown

they will be they will be shown

Future Continuous Future Continuous

I will (shall) be being I will (shall) be being shown

you will be being you will be being shown

he will be being he will be being shown

she will be being she will be being shown

it will be being it will be being shown

we will (shall) be being we will (shall) be being shown

they will be being they will be being shown

Future Perfect Future Perfect

I will (shall) have been I will (shall) have been shown

you will have been you will have been shown

he will have been he will have been shown

she will have been she will have been shown

it will have been it will have been shown

we will (shall) have been we will (shall) have been shownthey will have been they will have been shown

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Future Perfect Continuous Future Perfect Continuous

I will (shall) have been being I will (shall) have been being shown

you will have been being you will have been being shown

he will have been being he will have been being shown

she will have been being she will have been being shown

It will have been being it will have been being shown

we will (shall) have been being we will (shall) have been being shown

they will have been being they will have been being shown

Subjunctive Mood

Simple PresentSimple Present

I be I be shown

you be you be shown

he be he be shown

she be she be shown

it be it be shown

we be we be shown

they be they be shown

Present Continuous Present Continuous

I be being I be being shown

you be being you be being shown

he be being he be being shown

she be being she be being shown

it be being it be being shown

we be being we be being shown

they be being they be being shown

Present Perfect Present Perfect

I have been I have been shown

you have been you have been shown

he have been he have been shown

she have been she have been shown

it have been it have been shown

we have been we have been shown

they have been they have been shown

Present Perfect Continuous Present Perfect Continuous

I have been being I have been being shown

you have been being you have been being shown

he have been being he have been being shown

she have been being she have been being shown

it have been being it have been being shown

we have been being we have been being shown

they have been being they have been being shown

Simple Past Simple PastI were I were shown

you were you were shown

he were he were shown

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she were she were shown

it were it were shown

we were we were shown

they were they were shown

Past Continuous Past Continuous

I were being I were being shown

you were being you were being shownhe were being he were being shown

she were being she were being shown

it were being it were being shown

we were being we were being shown

they were being they were being shown

Past Perfect Past Perfect

I had been I had been shown

you had been you had been shown

he had been he had been shownshe had been she had been shown

it had been it had been shown

we had been we had been shown

they had been they had been shown

Past Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous

I had been being I had been being shown

you had been being you had been being shown

he had been being he had been being shown

she had been being she had been being shownit had been being it had been being shown

we had been being we had been being shown

they had been being they had been being shown

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Table of English Tenses

Tense Affirmative/Negative/Question Use Signal Words

Simple Present A: He speaks.

N: He does not speak.

Q: Does he speak?

action in the

present taking place

once, never or several

times

facts

actions taking

place one after another

action set by a

timetable or schedule

always,

every ,

never,

normally,

often, seldom,sometimes,

usually

if sentences

type I (If I

talk, )

Present Progressive A: He is speaking.

N: He is not speaking.

Q: Is he speaking?

action taking

place in the moment of

speaking

action taking

place only for a limited

period of time

action arranged

for the future

at the moment,

just, just now,

Listen!, Look!,

now, right now

Simple Past A: He spoke.

N: He did not speak.

Q: Did he speak?

action in the past

taking place once, never

or several times

actions taking

place one after another

action taking

place in the middle of

another action

yesterday, 2

minutes ago, in

1990, the other

day, last Friday

if sentence

type II (If I

talked, )

Past Progressive A: He was speaking.

N: He was not speaking.

Q: Was he speaking?

action going on at

a certain time in the past

actions taking

place at the same time

action in the past

that is interrupted by

another action

when, while,

as long as

Present Perfect Simple A: He has spoken.

N: He has not spoken.Q: Has he spoken?

putting emphasis

on the result action that is still

going on

action that

stopped recently

finished action

that has an influence on

the present

action that has

taken place once, never

or several times beforethe moment of speaking

already, ever,

just, never, notyet, so far, till

now, up to

now

Present Perfect

Progressive

A: He has been speaking.

N: He has not been speaking. putting emphasis

on the course or duration

all day, for 4

years, since

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Q: Has he been speaking? (not the result)

action that

recently stopped or is

still going on

finished action

that influenced the

present

1993, how

long?, the

whole week

Past Perfect Simple A: He had spoken.

N: He had not spoken.

Q: Had he spoken?

action takingplace before a certain

time in the past

sometimes

interchangeable with

past perfect progressive

putting emphasis

only on the fact (not the

duration)

already, just,

never, not yet,

once, until that

day

if sentence

type III (If I

had talked, )

Past Perfect Progressive A: He had been speaking.

N: He had not been speaking.

Q: Had he been speaking?

action taking

place before a certain

time in the past

sometimes

interchangeable with

past perfect simple

putting emphasis

on the duration or course

of an action

for, since, the

whole day, all

day

Future I Simple A: He will speak.

N: He will not speak.

Q: Will he speak?

action in the

future that cannot be

influenced

spontaneous

decision

assumption with

regard to the future

in a year,

next ,

tomorrow

If-Satz Typ I(If you ask her,

she will help

you.)

assumption: I

think,

probably, we

might ,

perhaps

Future I Simple

(going to)

A: He is going to speak.

N: He is not going to speak.

Q: Is he going to speak?

decision made for

the future conclusion with

regard to the future

in one year,

next week,

tomorrow

Future I Progressive A: He will be speaking.

N: He will not be speaking.

Q: Will he be speaking?

action that is

going on at a certain

time in the future

action that is sure

to happen in the near

future

in one year,

next week,

tomorrow

Future II Simple A: He will have spoken.

N: He will not have spoken.Q: Will he have spoken?

action that will be

finished at a certain timein the future

by Monday, in

a week

Future II Progressive A: He will have been

speaking. action taking for , the last

couple of

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N: He will not have been

speaking.

Q: Will he have been

speaking?

place before a certain

time in the future

putting emphasis

on the course of an

action

hours, all day

long

Conditional I Simple A: He would speak.

N: He would not speak.

Q: Would he speak?

action that might

take place

if sentences

type II

(If I were you,

I would gohome.)

Conditional I Progressive A: He would be speaking.

N: He would not be speaking.

Q: Would he be speaking?

action that might

take place

putting emphasis

on the course / duration

of the action

Conditional II Simple A: He would have spoken.

N: He would not have spoken.

Q: Would he have spoken?

action that might

have taken place in the

past

if sentences

type III

(If I had seen

that, I wouldhave helped.)

Conditional II Progressive A: He would have been

speaking.

N: He would not have been

speaking.

Q: Would he have been

speaking?

action that might

have taken place in the

past

puts emphasis on

the course / duration of

the action

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TAG QuestionsTag questions (or: question tags) are a grammatical structure in which a declarative statement or

an imperative is turned into a question by adding an interrogative fragment (the "tag"). The term "tag

question" is generally preferred by American grammarians, while British ones prefer "question tag".

In most languages, tag questions are more common in colloquial spoken usage than in formal

written usage. They can be an indicator ofpoliteness, emphasis, orirony. They may suggest confidence or

lack of confidence; they may be confrontational or tentative. Some examples showing the wide variety of

structure possible in English are:

Open the window, will you?She doesn't really want that, does she?

You'd better stop now, hadn't you?

So you thought it would be a good idea to reprogram the computer, did you?

It's quite an achievement, isn't it, to win a Nobel prize!

Oh I must, must I?

I just adore Beethoven, don't you?

I'm coming with you, all right?

You've been there, right?

Easier said than done, eh?

You went there, no?

Some languages have a fixed phrase for the tag question, such as French n'est-ce pas? ("is it not?").

English tag questions, when they have the grammatical form of a question, are untypically

complex, because they vary according to four factors: the choice of auxiliary, the negation, the intonation

pattern and the emphasis.

AuxiliaryThe English tag question is made up of an auxiliary verb and a pronoun. The auxiliary has to agree

with the tense,aspect and modality of the verb in the preceding sentence. If the verb was in the perfect

tense, for example, the tag question uses has orhave; if the verb was in a present progressive form, the

tag is formed with am, are, is; and if the sentence has a modal verb, this is echoed in the tag:

He's read this book, hasn't he?

He read this book, didn't he?He's reading this book, isn't he?

He reads a lot of books, doesn't he?

He'll read this book, won't he?

He should read this book, shouldn't he?

He can read this book, can't he?

NegationEnglish tag questions may contain a negation, but need not. When there is no special emphasis, the

rule of thumb often applies that a positive sentence has a negative tag and vice versa:

She is French, isn'tshe?

She's notFrench, is she?

These are sometimes called "balanced tag questions". However, it has been estimated that innormal conversation, as many as 40% of tags break this rule. "Unbalanced tag questions" (positive to

positive or negative to negative) may be used for ironic or confrontational effects:

Do listen, willyou?

Oh,I'm lazy, am I?

Jack:I refuse to spend Sunday at your mother's house! Jill: Oh you do, do you? We'll see about that!

Jack:I just won't go back! Jill: Oh you won't, won'tyou?

Patterns of negation can show regional variations. In North East Scotland, for example, positive to

positive is used when no special effect is desired:

This pizza's fine, is it? (standard English: This pizza's delicious, isn't it?)

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_(linguistics)#Classification_by_purposehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperative_moodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interrogativehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politenesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emphasishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auxiliary_verbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspecthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modalityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_(linguistics)#Classification_by_purposehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperative_moodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interrogativehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politenesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emphasishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auxiliary_verbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspecthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modalityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland

Documents

Basic English Grammar, Countable, Vs Uncountable, Etc