Questions tagged [countable-nouns]
Countable nouns can be modified by a quantity.
21
votes
9answers
6k 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
votes
1answer
13 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
votes
1answer
18 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
votes
3answers
82 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
votes
3answers
52 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
vote
1answer
30 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
47 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
votes
3answers
37 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."
1
vote
2answers
45 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
votes
1answer
112 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
vote
2answers
72 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 ...
15
votes
5answers
2k views
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
votes
4answers
220 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
0answers
35 views
countable vs uncountable noun - easy way to tell [duplicate]
I understand you don't use an article in front of uncountable nouns (e.g. money, evidence, equipment etc).
I still get confused sometimes when determining whether a noun is countable or uncountable ...
0
votes
1answer
46 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
116 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 ...
0
votes
0answers
25 views
get all of the space / get all space / get the whole space?
Which one should be used when talking about say cloud storage, but with a poetic allusion to outer space.
The noun space has more than one meaning, some of them are countable and some uncountable ...
2
votes
2answers
148 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 ...
1
vote
2answers
232 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
1answer
259 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?"
1
vote
1answer
752 views
My favorite food is apples. Is it ok? [duplicate]
My favorite food is apples.
Or my favorite food are apples.
1
vote
1answer
2k views
Is traffic a countable noun or an uncountable noun?
Example sentence:
"Not much/many traffic passes this way."
0
votes
1answer
62 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
votes
4answers
412 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
votes
1answer
124 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
vote
1answer
128 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
votes
3answers
166 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
votes
1answer
1k 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
vote
1answer
1k 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?
3
votes
2answers
1k views
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
vote
1answer
60 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 ...
-1
votes
1answer
249 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 ...
-1
votes
1answer
718 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?
4
votes
4answers
283 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 ...
1
vote
2answers
76 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
votes
1answer
102 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
votes
1answer
2k 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
181 views
If a word comes with 'a' or 'an', does it mean it's a countable noun? [duplicate]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_articles#Indefinite_article
The indefinite article of English takes the two forms a and an. Semantically, they can be regarded as meaning "one", usually ...
1
vote
1answer
286 views
Countable vs Uncountable: “charge” and “payment”
I've noticed that the word 'charge' is marked in the Macmillan Dictionary as both countable and uncountable in the same meaning:
charge [COUNTABLE/UNCOUNTABLE] an amount of money that you have to ...
-1
votes
1answer
44 views
“Solution for business” or “Solution for businesses” [closed]
I'm wondering which slogan for a business is more correct:
"Solution for business" or "Solution for businesses"?
For example, in a company that created an innovative security product:
"Security ...
1
vote
1answer
895 views
How much vs how many
Is the usage of "how much" in this context, correct?
And if it isn't, is this expression "this is too much car for me to handle?" correct?
So when can "how much" be used with countable nouns and vice ...
2
votes
0answers
184 views
Can countable nouns become uncountable by usage? [closed]
The words speaker and hearer are countable nouns according to the Cambridge Dictionary. And a countable noun should either used plural or be with an article.
But I see many use these words without ...
0
votes
1answer
48 views
Using “The” in an example - usage rules
This was written in a recent political debate on social media - I took the meaning, but several others did not understand the meaning.
"If the NFL Owner asks his employees to stand, that's it"
The ...
0
votes
0answers
211 views
Mass nouns v uncount nouns
On the pages of this very forum, I came across a discussion on the nature of nouns like cheese becoming cheeses.
The discussion boiled down to whether virtually all count/mass nouns have the ability ...
1
vote
2answers
653 views
Does English have any singularia tantum besides mass nouns?
Singularia tantum and pluralia tantum are, respectively, nouns that have only a singular form and nouns that have only a plural form.
In English, we have a handful of pluralia tantum that are mass ...
2
votes
1answer
189 views
Mixing countability; how to correctly say “there is plenty of rice, earthquakes and typhoons”?
In this question I wrote the following sentence, knowing full well that it has problems.
Where I live right now there is plenty of rice, earthquakes and typhoons.
Both earthquake and typhoon are ...
2
votes
3answers
3k views
“I often buy fruit” vs “I often buy fruits”?
These are the grammar guidelines:
To say things in general,
we can use an uncount noun with no article.
Eg: I like cheese
or
we can use a plural count noun with no article.
...
0
votes
1answer
202 views
“such intention” vs. “such an intention”
"Intention" is a countable word, so I think we should say:
Trainers intend to help the participants, or they are employed based on
such an intention.
But the word has been frequently used ...
1
vote
1answer
87 views
why should I remove 'a' here?
A native English speaker has revised my writing. He changed
This has been added as a future work.
to
This has been added as future work.
I wonder, why I should remove a ?
3
votes
3answers
303 views
Is “fulfilment” pluralized to “fulfilments”?
Where I work, we use the term "fulfilment" to mean the way the product is delivered to the end user. But a co-worker and I are having a disagreement on whether "fulfilment" needs an to have an "s" ...
