RSS

Countable and Uncountable nouns


It's important to distinguish between countable and uncountable nouns in English because their usage is different in regards to both determiners and verbs.

Countable nouns
Countable nouns are for things we can count using numbers. They have a singular and a plural form. The singular form can use the determiner "a" or "an". If you want to ask about the quantity of a countable noun, you ask "How many?" combined with the plural countable noun.
Singular          Plural
one dog           two dogs
one horse         two horses
one man           two men
one idea           two ideas
one shop          two shops
Examples

  •     She has three dogs.
  •     I own a house.
  •     I would like two books please.
  •     How many friends do you have?

Uncountable nouns
Uncountable nouns are for the things that we cannot count with numbers. They may be the names for abstract ideas or qualities or for physical objects that are too small or too amorphous to be counted (liquids, powders, gases, etc.). Uncountable nouns are used with a singular verb. They usually do not have a plural form.
Examples

  •     tea
  •     sugar
  •     water
  •     air
  •     rice
  •     knowledge
  •     beauty
  •     anger
  •     fear
  •     love
  •     money
  •     research
  •     safety
  •     evidence

We cannot use a/an with these nouns. To express a quantity of an uncountable noun, use a word or expression like some, a lot of, much, a bit of, a great deal of , or else use an exact measurement like a cup of, a bag of, 1kg of, 1L of, a handful of, a pinch of, an hour of, a day of. If you want to ask about the quantity of an uncountable noun, you ask "How much?"
Examples

  •     There has been a lot of research into the causes of this disease.
  •     He gave me a great deal of advice before my interview.
  •     Can you give me some information about uncountable nouns?
  •     He did not have much sugar left.
  •     Measure 1 cup of water, 300g of flour, and 1 teaspoon of salt.
  •     How much rice do you want?

Tricky spots
Some nouns are countable in other languages but uncountable in English. They must follow the rules for uncountable nouns. The most common ones are:
accommodation, advice, baggage, behavior, bread, furniture, information, luggage, news, progress, traffic, travel, trouble, weather, work
Examples

  •     I would like to give you some advice.
  •     How much bread should I bring?
  •     I didn't make much progress today.
  •     This looks like a lot of trouble to me.
  •     We did an hour of work yesterday.

Be careful with the noun hair which is normally uncountable in English, so it is not used in the plural. It can be countable only when referring to individual hairs.
Examples :


  •     She has long blond hair.
  •     The child's hair was curly.
  •     I washed my hair yesterday.
  •     My father is getting a few grey hairs now. (refers to individual hairs)
  •     I found a hair in my soup! (refers to a single strand of hair)
Sumber : http://www.edufind.com/english-grammar/countable-and-uncountable-nouns/

Sentence Pattern : Subject, Verb, Complement, Modifiersumber

A Sentence is the basis for intelligible communication in the English language . Sentence Pattern is sentences are made up of at least two of these four basic parts : subject, verbs, complement, and modifier.
1.    Subject
Subject is thing or person that performs or responsible for the action of a sentence and normally precedes the verb.
example :
· I went to a restaurant last night

2.    Verb
verb is kalimat yang menunjukkan suatu pekerjaan atau aktifitas.
example :
· Jane reading that book

3.    Complement
Complement is answer the question what or whom, It actually like noun or noun phrase.
Example :
· He was smoking a cigarette
question : What was he smoking ?
answer : a cigarette
4.    Modifier
Modifier is answer the question when, where or how, modifier explain time, place, or manner from a action.
Example ;
· We ate dinner at seven o’clock.
When did we eat dinner?
answer : of time
sumber : https://astridpurnamasary.wordpress.com/2015/04/17/sentence-pattern-subject-verb-complement-modifier/

Universitas Gunadarma

Universitas Gunadarma

Entri Populer