Questions tagged [countable-nouns]
Countable nouns can be modified by a quantity.
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"Three spoonfuls of sugar" does this require the verb to be plural? [duplicate]
Which of these is correct?
Three spoonfuls of sugar is too much.
or
Three spoonfuls of sugar are too much.
I feel like the second could be correct, because there are more than one spoon. But on second ...
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Is it allowed to use "Olympic Games" like a countable noun? [closed]
I heard 'Olympic Games' is a collective noun, so it is uncountable.
When I'd like to refer to the Olympic Games held in particular year(s), can I treat it like a countable (and/or singular) noun?
...
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Registrations is or registrations are? [closed]
When announcing that people can register for an event, which is correct: "Registrations are open" or "Registration is open"? I opt for the latter every time, but I have come across ...
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Does "chromatography" have plural (chromatographies)?
Chromatography is a chemical method which can be performed in different ways. Some of main types are liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, size exclusion chromatography. Oxford dictionary ...
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Potential vs A Potential [duplicate]
Are (a) and (b) both grammatically correct and if so how can they both be correct at the same time?
(a) She has potential.
(b) She has a potential.
I was always under the impression that (a) was ...
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2
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Uncountable noun becoming countable [closed]
Can a word like violence, which is an uncountable noun, be made countable? For example, there are different types of violence such as physical violence, emotional violence, etc. In this instance, ...
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Is "word" in my examples countable or not?
merriam-webster.com:
(1) Word has it that the neighbors are moving next month.
My variants:
(2) Word on the street has it that the neighbors are moving next month.
(3) The word is that the neighbors ...
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Word choice of "much" vs "many", like "too many hours", but "too much time" [duplicate]
Why is it called:
"Too much time", but "Too many hours"?
When you Google "too much or too many" you get:
Much is always used together with an uncountable noun (like 'oil'...
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When is the word "vaccine" uncountable?
According to the Oxford Learner's Dictionary definition for vaccine:
[countable, uncountable]
a substance that is put into the blood and that protects the body from a disease
a measles vaccine
...
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Is the noun "Nash equilibrium" countable? [closed]
I am working in the field of Game theory. I use the word Nash equilibrium intensively, but I always wonder about this word countability.
I think the word Nash equilibrium should be countable. Because ...
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countable nouns and uncoutable nouns: water and an (the) apple(s) [duplicate]
"Bread and butter" can be plural and singular and it denpends on the context but how about some combinations like countable and uncountable words? For example, "(a) water and an (the) ...
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'Torment' - mass or count noun? [duplicate]
Are there any differences in grammar between the 'mass noun' torment and the 'count noun' torment.
For Example :
Waking me up all the time when I am asleep is torment. (mass noun)
Waking me up all ...
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Article usage in two sentences [duplicate]
Two sentences:
She underwent emergency surgery.
I had to undergo a medical examination when I started my new job.
Why in sentence one the article "an" is not required before "...
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In chess lingo, should pieces be preceded with the "the" article? [closed]
I've noticed many native english speakers that are professional chess players saying things like:
In this situation I can capture with pawn.
This just "sounds" very unnatural to me and I ...
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Can "wildlife" be a collective noun?
All dictionaries I have checked list the term wildlife as an uncountable noun. But there are plenty of examples that treat wildlife as a plural. Indeed, Google returns around one million search ...
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"Plaintiff" without an article
Garner's fourth edition reads we accord to plaintiff his due.
Why is this nominal indirect object used without any article at all?
OED: http://oed.com/oed2/00180661
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Is it "some MOUSE" or "Some MICE"? [duplicate]
I would like to ask a grammatical question in the following sentence. "I was happily munching away when some mouse spilled coffee on me." Why it says some mouse? But not some mice?
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History of the use of "none" for countable nouns
The concept of countable nouns seems to be rapidly disappearing from modern English (e.g. I'm seeing "the amount of people" with increasing frequency, even in reputable publications, which ...
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Determiner “(a) little” with singular countable words
Page 308 of Practical English Usage reads
We use the determiner (a) little with singular (usually uncountable)
words.
What use with singular countable words is it implying?
I know it's always ...
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is opportunity countable or non-countable?
I want to use the phrase "plenty of opportunities" in my essay, but I'm not sure whether opportunity is countable or not. Some people say that the phrase "plenty of opportunity" is ...
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a + adjective + "many" + of the + plural noun
(Countable noun) [a + adjective + ~ + of the + plural noun] a large number of persons
or things:
A good many of the beggars were blind.
https://www.wordreference.com/definition/many
Is the plural ...
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Singular / plural form of the noun ‘type’ (meaning printed letters or typeface) – what are the rules?
When is the noun type (meaning typeface or text set in type) used in singular form and when is it used in plural form?
Is it referred to as a singulare tantum?
In which case is it an uncountable noun ...
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"Two additional days" but "an additional two weeks" [closed]
[Google ngrams]
I'd like to know what are the grammatical differences between both structures, as well as one or the other predominates for days and weeks.
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Mass noun Question: "survival"(uncountable) , "struggle(countable)"
generally "survival" is uncountable, however "struggle" is countable. In my guess and definitions in dictionaries "survival" is a state and continuing sense. struggle is ...
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Using “one” with nouns whose countability is ambiguous
An ESL student produced the following sentence:
“The Western diet seems to be more unhealthy than the Japanese one.”
The use of “one” immediately struck me as awkward, but not necessarily incorrect, ...
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Is it correct to say we have five sense organs?
There is a difference in type of something and actual number of that thing as per my understanding.
Saying, we have five senses or five kinds of sense organs is okay, but when I say we have five ...
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Restrictions on ranges indicated by quantifiers in count usages
I've a query regarding common quantifiers used with count usages. I've searched in various resources such as online dictionaries, but I couldn't find out the fruitful solution.
Here is the problem:
...
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You need rest vs You need a rest
Literally as above, I encountered those sentences in my reading.
I wonder about difference between them.
Is 'You need a rest' a more emphatic suggestion than 'You need rest' in spoken English? As I ...
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Does the structure "an example of" take a plural or a singular noun or both?
For instance, are the following sentences grammatical, and do they mean the same thing or have different meanings?
Cheese is an example of protien-rich food.
Cheese is an example of a protein-rich ...
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Do you find "only belongings of somebody" a little bit wierd?
In the sentence below, do you think it is weird to say "only belongings" for "belongings" is a collective noun.
The angry mob destroyed the man's only belongings.
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Countable uncountable noun vs always singular noun
I always refer to LDOCE for definitions of words. There is additional info on the senses there. That's why I love it. But, I am still deeply confused with these noun classifications; countable ...
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Is "foreshadowing" a countable noun or uncountable noun?
In my book review, I want to express that "I find well-plotted foreshadowings, which indicate the inevitable tragedy". Is it correct or not?
By the way, should I use the word "indicate"?
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Is it okay to use the word "freedoms" in the following sentence or should I use the word "freedom"?
The laws in our country that restrict our freedoms are not legislated by evil politicians.
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Why do I need "a" in "a mere 5 percent"?
Examples (https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/mere)
Sixty per cent of teachers are women, but a mere 5 percent of women are heads and deputies.
Tickets are a mere £7.50 at the door.
...
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skin as a countable noun example
Could you please write an example where skin would be used as a countable noun?
I have just learned that it can be used both as a countable and an uncountable noun.
Thank you.
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In the following sentence, shouldn't "family" take its plural form?
Here is an excerpt from IELTS OG.:
For example, when my cousins were backpacking around the world, they were able to reassure their family and friends that....
I find the use of family in its ...
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Is it idiomatic to say "there are 5 Japanese tofus on the dish" to mean "there are 5 pieces of Japanese tofu on the dish"?
When you look for an English noun in an English dictionary, sometimes you see the noun being used as an uncountable and a countable noun. And normally, we use it as an uncountable noun when we want to ...
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Couture and canapé are just another Saturday night until you add a mask. [Why the singular 'canapé'?]
In an American TV show called 'Gossip Girl', here's a narration by Gossip Girl herself (YouTube video):
Long ago, when European royals grew bored with palace balls they took a page from the peons, ...
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Coffee or coffees in this context? [closed]
In the morning, most sales are coffees and pastries.
Coffee can be used as a countable or an uncountable noun. So what should I choose in this sentence?
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Meaning of velocity - mass noun vs countable noun
Dictionary entries like https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/velocity?q=velocity state that velocity can be a mass noun or a countable noun. What is the difference between the ...
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When is the word "Departure" countable or uncountable? [closed]
When is "Departure" a countable usage and when is it not?
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How is 'fixture' a count-noun when 'furniture' is a mass noun?
Fixture is defined in the LEXICO Dictionary as:
A piece of equipment or furniture which is fixed in position in a building or vehicle.
Here're a couple examples from the dictionary:
Cathedral ...
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"Weigh benefit(s) against risk(s)"
Both nouns can be either a count noun or a mass noun. I think individually benefit tends to be used countably more than it appears as a mass noun.
We list the potential benefits (count) of a thing. ...
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How to treat a plural count noun?
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (Page 335) says:
A count noun denotes a class of individuated entities of the same kind. Boy, for example, denotes the class of boys. The individual ...
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around town or around towns? [closed]
"Recently, many housing estates around town have seen a dip in home valuations."
This is the first sentence of an article. Is it because town has a specific meaning so singular form (uncountable) is ...
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Traffic or Traffic jam which is countable [closed]
Why is 'traffic' an uncountable noun while 'traffic jam' is a countable noun?
I have asked many people and also googled but didn't get a satisfactory answer
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Can the grammar terms, the words 'subject' and 'object', be used as uncountable nouns?
I thought the grammar terms such as 'subject' and 'object' were countable. But I notice that they can sometimes be used without any determiner.
For example, here's the first sentence of a linguistics ...
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Are mental illnesses countable?
I know that the correct phrasing for this sentence is, but I don't know why.
Many of the volunteers had already shown some early signs of mental illness.
Since the illness is unspecified, shouldn'...
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"An accuracy", "the accuracy", "accuracies", or just "accuracy"
I have been having difficulting using the word "accuracy" and I am not sure how to add an article before "accuracy". The sentence I am trying to write is "To guarantee accuracy, we ...".
I looked up ...
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Is it really correct to say that some nouns are countable and others are uncountable?
It is generally accepted practice in linguistics that common nouns are classified into count nouns (aka, countable nouns) and non-count nouns (aka, uncountable nouns or mass nouns).
For example, in ...
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