Questions tagged [uncountable-nouns]
Questions about uncountable (non-count, mass) nouns
394
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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 ...
4
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4
answers
2k
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Is the phrase "source code" intrinsically plural? [closed]
If we're talking about the phrase "source code", isn't that naturally and implicitly plural?
Consider the following sentence:
All of the source code for this project is in a public GitHub ...
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1
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1
answer
52
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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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1
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145
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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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0
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38
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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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2
answers
55
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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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1
answer
34
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Making uncountable nouns plural vs regular plural nouns [duplicate]
There are several different types of happiness.
There are many different kinds of government.
There are many types of golf balls.
Since we are talking about different types of happiness would you ...
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0
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33
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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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2
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1
answer
38
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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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225
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Is "luggage" becoming a countable noun?
When I learned English, I learned that "luggage" an uncountable noun, meaning the collection of all your bags and suitcases (and/or their contents). From https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/...
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Is it correct to say, "The king gifted him with a generous amount of gold, horses and chariots"? [duplicate]
Is it correct to say...
The king gifted him with a generous amount of gold, horses and chariots
Not sure whether 'amount' can be used here, since 'horses' and 'chariots' are listed with an ...
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2
answers
207
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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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0
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41
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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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192
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The definite article before dark, darkness, light
Why is there a definite article before the words darkness and light in the sentence below:
But as is so often true, the darkness lingers longer than the light.
And why is the expression in the dark/...
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2
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68
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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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2
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86
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"Numbers": mass noun
Garner reads
Although enough modifies either count nouns or mass nouns, enough
stamina, sufficient should modify only mass nouns, so the usage
problem can be solved by making it sufficient numbers of....
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2
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121
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Is it painting or paintings when we refer to it as a form of art?
Cinematography is a form of visual arts with motion pictures.
Photography is a form of visual arts with static pictures.
But how does one refer to a form of visual arts that consists of paintings ...
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0
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29
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"What a grand and intoxicating foolishness" and "what grand intoxicating foolishness" [duplicate]
Innocence, foolishness, lunacy, such nouns aren't countable, right? So both of these sentences are right. But which way would you rather use such a sentence? I know google favors the latter, but I ...
0
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1
answer
39
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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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3
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86
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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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2
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4
answers
200
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Using the indefinite article before "rain"
I have recently learned the use of the indefinite article before uncountable nouns to talk about an unspecific instance. Can I use "a heavy rain" in the following sentence to communicate ...
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3
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2
answers
735
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Mass noun equivalent of 'music' for 'movies'
Do we have a mass noun equivalent like 'music' but for 'movies'?
If not, what nature of the meaning of 'music' makes it a mass noun as opposed to countable nouns like 'movies'?
I was wondering why ...
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3
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3
answers
573
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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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0
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39
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What is the difference between an "uncountable noun" and an "adjective" [duplicate]
In the word "afternoon tea"(the tea that is served in afternoon) the word 'afternoon' is an uncountable noun as OALD shows.
In the word "English countryside"(the countryside that ...
1
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0
answers
25
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About the usage of "so small" [duplicate]
Recently, I have been reading a book about TOEFL grammar.
I came across this multiple-choice problem:
I have _______ money left.
(A) a great number
(B) so small
(C) only a little
(D) only a few
The ...
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1
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152
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How to express in physics if some value depends on a variable? Dependence, or dependency? And what about the plural? [duplicate]
In physics, people very often measure some values which depend on some variable, say the air temperature as a function of time. I think the verb depend is used correctly, since dictionaries define &...
0
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1
answer
91
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few/little/some software (in plural) [duplicate]
I would like to say:
Available calculation methods are limited to few software. With "few", I mean 3 programs. However, "software" is an uncountable noun. "Some" and &...
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1
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47
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possessive referring to behavior of multiple actors
In
"Alice and Bob's contrary behavior served to"
vs
"Alice's and Bob's contrary behavior served to"
Usually the choice between the two forms hinges on whether the two actors ...
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0
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30
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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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3
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92
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Word for "many" for mass nouns
I'm looking for a strong size modifier like "numerous", "countless", or "copious" that I can use to modify a mass noun. I know of plenty of options that involve several ...
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0
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34
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Lead to (the) confusion where
Don’t listen to multiple perspectives, it will eventually lead to the confusion where it’s hard to focus.
Does using the definite article here make sense? We generally don’t use the definite article ...
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1
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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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"People" was not to be preceded by a number, as in "Fewer than 30 people showed up"
From WordReference I discovered the following usage note
At one time, some usage guides maintained that people could not be
preceded by a number, as in Fewer than 30 people showed up.
WordReference
...
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0
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72
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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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0
answers
66
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Correct possessive: "my genius" or "my ingeniosity"?
I have stumbled across the usage of "genius" as a possessive on two seperate occassions:
A meme featuring Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear saying:
Sometimes my genius is... it's almost ...
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2
answers
337
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value: singular vs plural [duplicate]
"Wall Street banks had made billions of dollars on complex investments backed by mortgages whose value now plunged."
In this sentence, why was the word "value" used as a singular ...
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1
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60
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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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4
answers
100
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Free hand: uncountable
Free hand [countable; singular]
Unrestricted freedom or
authority: They gave the director a free hand to cut the budget
wherever she wanted
https://www.wordreference.com/definition/free%20hand
...
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2
votes
1
answer
76
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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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1
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44
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"(...) afford stuff for a good joke to anybody, (...)" - what does it mean?
I'm not sure what does Melville exactly mean by afford stuff for a good joke to anybody in chapter five of Moby-Dick.
However, a good laugh is a mighty good thing, and rather too scarce a good thing; ...
- 1,148
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0
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30
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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:
...
-3
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1
answer
1k
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Which one is right: "there are a lot of content" or "there is a lot of content"? [closed]
Which one is right?
There are a lot of content.
There is a lot of content.
A friend of mine said "there are a lot of content in TikTok app" and I corrected him saying "there is" which lead to an ...
0
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1
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4k
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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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1
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1
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219
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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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2
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230
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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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0
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89
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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.
2
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1
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252
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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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0
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1k
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What is the difference between use and usage?
Can use and usage be written interchangeably?
Does use include usage under its scope?
Does usage has more specific meaning attached to it?
If there is any difference, tell me one striking difference ...
0
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3
answers
324
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plural subject with uncountable noun "impetus"
"Free education and health care are among the other impetus".
Here the subject is plural, and I want to use it with impetus. However, impetus is uncountable. What is the correct form of that sentence?...
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