Questions tagged [countable-nouns]
Countable nouns can be modified by a quantity.
172
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Patient, countable or noncountable [migrated]
"The company works with hospitals to develop VR games for patients. And we make sure that they’re re-orientable, so that the patient, whether they’re lying down or sitting up can enjoy them. VR is ...
3
votes
1answer
49 views
Is “the most amount of {countable things}” ever an acceptable replacement for “the greatest amount of {countable things}”?
A recent BBC article reads in part,
Yellowstone officials say bison can run up to 30mph (50km/h) and are the animal responsible for the most amount of injuries within the park.
The phrase “the ...
1
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1answer
26 views
Why “attention to detail” over “attention to details”
Why are people more likely to say "attention to detail" over "attention to details"?
I understand both are grammatically correct. But what slight difference between them, if there is any, makes it ...
-1
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1answer
43 views
'Too much' with countable noun [closed]
He has too much friend.
Is this correct?
If so, what is rule for using much for countable noun or should I use many instead?
Please clarify.
10
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3answers
2k views
Why do Americans say “less than five people”? [duplicate]
I thought "people" is countable, so we should say "fewer than five people"?
Being in the US for many years, I rarely hear people saying "fewer than," even with countable nouns like "people."
I ...
2
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3answers
83 views
Can “Targetings” be a plural form of “Targeting” as a noun?
I understand words like "surrounding" can be "surroundings", or "binding" can be "bindings".
But is it appropriate with "targeting" as a noun?
Here is a recent headline - "UN chief calls for probe ...
0
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1answer
35 views
Is one-way communication a countable or uncountable noun?
I was wondering whether one-way communication is a countable or uncountable noun. I've seen both usages (e.g. The Guardian leaning more towards uncountable while The New York Times is more towards ...
2
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2answers
70 views
Why does the word “shop” behave like a non-count noun in phrases like “set up shop”?
The word "shop" seems to behave like a non-count noun in phrases like "set up shop", "shut up shop" and "close up shop". There's no article ("a"), no plural ending ("-s"). Dictionaries, such as Oxford ...
0
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1answer
63 views
Countable and Uncountable Nouns in a List [duplicate]
Since "information" is an uncountable-noun and "references" is a countable noun, which sentence is correct?
Please let me know if any additional information or references are needed.
Please let ...
1
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3answers
58 views
Why do U.S. Americans say “a good value” (using indefinite article “a”)
Take this example from the Airbnb website: "What would have made this listing a better value?"
This souds absolutely horrible and incorrect to my Australian ears (I would omit the "a"). I've also ...
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2answers
71 views
What meaning of/phrase based on the verb to call is used in “I call [noun]” (for instance bull****) and considerations with count nouns?
Sometimes you hear people say something like "I call [noun]", mostly with bullshit ("I call bullshit"; and there's also a question on the site with shenanigans). It feels like an opinionated statement ...
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1answer
48 views
Is “you have so many double standards” idiomatic and if not, why and what would be?
The noun double standard is countable. Looking at some ngram you can see the plural form used for titles (to mean something like the topic of...) or when there's a number preceding it (i.e. referring ...
2
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2answers
48 views
Since 'few' is used for countable nouns and 'less' is for uncountable nouns
Since 'few' is used for countable things and 'Less' is for uncountable things then why do we say;
I have less than 2 days/months/years.
?
Yes, time is an uncountable concept but we sure can count ...
1
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2answers
42 views
Translation, rotation, scalation?
I'm programming a math library and it never ocurred to me before now that most mathematicians say "translation, rotation, scale" to refer to these transformations. Problems arise when I want to ...
22
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9answers
7k views
Why is it correct to say “fewer calories” when calories are continuous? [duplicate]
This question, "Discrete Units of a Continuous Quantity", asks whether units of a continuous quantity should be spoken of as discrete or continuous.
The top answer states
The rule is simple, and ...
0
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1answer
16 views
Question on “work” follows with a verb
I am writing to inquire the correctness of the following sentence:
both work rely on this technique
Or
both work relies on this technique.
While the first one seems more grammarly correct, I do ...
0
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1answer
39 views
Is “…taken to be scholarly authority” missing a preposition or an article?
The sentence is from Harold Bloom's book Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human.
This chronology, necessarily tentative, partly follows what is generally taken to be scholarly authority.
I find ...
3
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2answers
692 views
Glasses - countable or uncountable noun?
Is word glasses countable or uncountable?
Are these sentences correct?
These glasses (referring to one pair of glasses) are my favourite!
I have quite a few glasses in my drawer, however, my favourite ...
2
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3answers
181 views
Is 'public' a mass noun?
Does anyone know which kind of noun 'public' is?
Is it a common noun or a collective noun?
1
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1answer
59 views
When is “culture shock" uncountable?
According to Oxford Learner's, Wiktionary, and Cambridge dictionaries, “culture shock" is both countable and uncountable, but I've never seen or heard the word used in a way which shows it to be ...
1
vote
1answer
182 views
Nouns that can be both count and noncount nouns
I would like to ask how people who are familiar with English interpret these sentences regarding the nouns that can be both count and noncount nouns.
(1) I have to make more cake/cakes to offer a ...
0
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3answers
43 views
How much or many the scores [closed]
Is the below sentence correct? Grammarly does not take it a mistake.
"There you can see how much the scores will change."
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2answers
54 views
“Nuance” as a mass noun?
To my knowledge the noun "nuance" is a count noun. I just lighted upon this sentence from an article by Anne McClintock. Is "nuance" ever a mass noun? Or should it simply be pinned on editing?
...
2
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1answer
212 views
Is “king” an adjective or a mass noun in this usage? [duplicate]
I have been curious about a usage of the word "king".
a country where football is king (Oxford Dictionaries Online)
In mergers and acquisitions, cash is king. (Cambridge)
This is a very ...
1
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2answers
83 views
(When) should I use the countable or uncountable Life?
The problem came up when I wanted to make some corrections to one’s paper.
… when someone is successful in their lives, …
Which I thought it should be life.
Here are some examples from ...
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5answers
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Do native speakers of major English varieties actually say “a software” or “softwares”?
So I've looked up the word "software" around, and I've learned that -ware words are uncountable, and there's even a claim at the Wiktionary entry for this word that "a software" or "softwares" are a ...
0
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4answers
229 views
Not specifying the amount that you eat/drink
You don't need to specify the amount that you eat/drink for some things:
I drink cranberry juice.
I eat fried chicken.
I eat bread with butter.
You can't do this for other things:
I ...
0
votes
1answer
75 views
“news in letters” Is this a countable phrase?
......As a result, the news in letters was already out of date when people received it.
1) Is it better to use "were" in this case as we are talking about news in several letters?
2) also should I ...
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2answers
303 views
When did “learnings” become an accepted countable noun?
"Learnings"? In 2006, it was a joke word, meant to suggest crude ESL.
In 2007, it's actually being used in the New York Times. Was that the black day when it changed over?
NYT excerpt:
“We’re ...
4
votes
4answers
5k views
Is “Too Much People” possible when I want to get the feeling of uncountable people?
Of course the rule is countable = many
Uncountable = much
But I see in some contexts that it's possible to exist this sense when I can't count in a way that it's exaggerated.
"There were too much ...
2
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2answers
226 views
Is the word “vandalism” countable?
I am a regular editor on Wikipedia and one of the things I do often is dealing with so-called "vandalism". I do this on many different language versions of Wikipedia and found out that in these other ...
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2answers
543 views
cake as countable noun [closed]
I’ve always had trouble with noncountable nouns.
I understand that cake, bread, food can be either noncountable and noncountable depending on the context.
I’m writing about different professions and ...
1
vote
2answers
639 views
“Quota” - “how much” or “how many”?
If something is countable (e.g. disk space) but is limited by some quota. What you will ask: "how much" or "how many" quota do I have?"
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1answer
1k views
My favorite food is apples. Is it ok? [duplicate]
My favorite food is apples.
Or my favorite food are apples.
1
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1answer
5k views
Is traffic a countable noun or an uncountable noun?
Example sentence:
"Not much/many traffic passes this way."
0
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1answer
85 views
Why is it grammatically incorrect to say 'I watch much television' although it is an uncountable noun (in this context)?
In the grammatically correct sentence, 'I watch a lot of television', the noun 'television' is an uncountable noun. However, it is grammatically incorrect to say 'I watch much television' with the ...
0
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4answers
897 views
Is “potential” a countable noun?
Is "potential" a countable noun? Consider these sentences:
The teachings are dispensed according to the audience's potentials?
The teachings are dispensed according to the audience's levels of ...
0
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1answer
201 views
Is “power politics” countable or uncountable?
My sentence is
The Cold War period in South-Asia was a period marked by changing power dynamics and a large amount of power-politics
My grammar check tool says that I should use "a large number ...
1
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1answer
305 views
Can I say I'll have “a tea”? [closed]
I know it's perfectly grammatical for native speakers to say "I'll have a latte/ a beer / a coke" etc. But is "tea", typically served in a cup, also countable?
5
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3answers
174 views
Why is it “the loss of American life” as opposed to “the loss of American lives”?
The noun life when denoting "a way or manner of living" (MW) or "living things considered together" is used in singular, but when it means "the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being ...
0
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1answer
3k views
'There are' or 'there is' [duplicate]
OK so I was writing a sentence to explain that there are three holes at the same angular position on a wheel (different radii).
I started to write; 'there are more than one hole at each angular ...
1
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1answer
2k views
Countable/uncountable nouns Rice vs Stars [closed]
How is rice and sugar uncountable while star is not? Counting grains of rice and crystals of sugar is not practical, yes. But isn't counting stars nearly impossible?
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2answers
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Is “surroundings” a plural noun or a mass noun that just happens to take the form of a plural?
I personally interpret “surroundings” as at least a plural-only noun but possibly just a noun whose plural form is much more common than its singular form in modern usage.
But on a forum I frequent, ...
1
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1answer
76 views
-ness words as count nouns?
I came across this sentence in a book:
He was astonishingly humble, exhibited great charitableness and such a sweetness and meekness that he would often shed tears at a sad story.
It seems strange ...
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1answer
425 views
Is “Positive manner” a countable noun?
Developing mental strength is about improving your ability to regulate your emotions, manage your thoughts, and behave in a positive manner, despite your circumstances.
Is "positive manner" a ...
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1answer
1k views
Is the word 'space' a countable noun? [closed]
There's some space in the parking lot
There's a few spaces in the parking lot
Would this make space countable?
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4answers
318 views
Is WTF singular? uncountable?
More specifically, can someone analyze grammar of and recommend which of the following is correct:
One WTF less
vs.
One WTF fewer
If it matters, the intention was to imply that if one instance ...
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2answers
114 views
Trying to pair amid/among properly with sound/sounds
I want to make sure that I'm using amid and among properly. As I understand it, amid is for uncountable nouns, and among is for countable nouns.
My sentence was originally:
The three enjoyed their ...
0
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1answer
156 views
Scientific “control” as uncountable noun
I am wondering if the scientific control can be used as an uncountable noun.
For example,
One tube was used as control while the other received 0.1 pg/ml of PMA.
vs
One tube was used as the ...
2
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1answer
3k views
“Eat more fruit(s) and vegetables” Is there a BE and AE difference?
This earlier question Is using “fruits” as the plural of “fruit” acceptable? has a number of answers as to whether fruit can be in the plural form fruits.
The consensus of the answers there seems to ...
