Questions tagged [uncountable-nouns]
Questions about uncountable (non-count, mass) nouns
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
0answers
25 views
I have two news for you one: one good, one bad [closed]
So, the phrase:
I have two news for you one: one good, one bad
the problem here: news is uncountable, should I say two bits of news?
Is there any kind of an idiom with a similar meaning?
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
0answers
29 views
adjective with ellipsis of blood?
I have a bit of Canadian and a bit of Japanese in me.
Do you think these 'Canadian' and 'Japanese' are adjective with ellipsis of blood, or uncountable abstract nouns meaning the inheritance or blood ...
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 ...
0
votes
0answers
37 views
Countable or uncountable
Is salad countable or uncountable?
Can I say a fruit salad?
Dictionary says it’s countable and uncountable.
Could you please explain when it’s countable and when it’s not?
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
25 views
Growth as an uncountable noun
Hi: Since growth is an uncountable noun is it followed by a plural or singular verb?
for example, in this sentence: Wage and price growth (have or has?) picked up. Should we just have or has?
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 ...
-2
votes
1answer
39 views
“war is” and “there are wars” [closed]
War is horrific. But there are wars happening in places in the world right now.
Did I make any mistakes? Thanks for your help.
-3
votes
1answer
90 views
Determiner all + uncountable noun - which of the following sentences is correct? [closed]
All water has been filtered.
or
All water have been filtered.
?
I've already searched about this especially in youtube. From what I learned, if it's an uncountable noun after determiner all, it ...
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?
...
3
votes
1answer
162 views
Is “workload” ever a countable noun? Can it also be uncountable?
Here are two sentences which have almost the same meaning that I have found in two different dictionaries:
Teachers are always complaining about their heavy workloads. (Cambridge Dictionary)
Students ...
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
50 views
use of indefinite article before many varying uncountable nouns [duplicate]
I have been trying to find a rule or set of rules to explain how 'a' and 'an' are used with uncountable nouns, mainly to understand the many exceptions that I have been thinking of recently. Consider ...
1
vote
0answers
69 views
Questions about indefinite articles before uncountable nouns
I know that you're not usually supposed to use articles before uncountable nouns but that there are sometimes exceptions to this rule. I'm a bit stumped by when the exception applies and when it doesn'...
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 ...
0
votes
1answer
57 views
Agreement between 'a lot of' + 2 uncountable nouns and the predicate
Which of the following is correct?
"A lot of paper and cardboard is recycled"
"A lot of paper and cardboard are recycled"?
It feels like the 1st sentence is correct, because we see the ...
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
0answers
39 views
What is the phrase called when a noun is either given an article or doesn't need one? [closed]
As I understand it, there are singular nouns such as cat and spaceship that need to be preceded with some kind of specifier like an article (a, an, the) or a possessive word (my, Jane's, etc.) or the ...
0
votes
2answers
68 views
Noun for something that is obvious
I think I have known this word before, but it has completely slipped my mind. It will be a bit hard to tell you what word I'm talking about, but I will try as good as I can.
Consider these sentences
...
0
votes
1answer
146 views
Where is / are your luggage? [closed]
If I have two luggages, which of the following sentences is right?
Where is your luggage?
Where are your luggage?
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.
0
votes
1answer
341 views
Use of singular or plural in “the sum of the power consumption(s)”
Should consumption/consumptions be in singular or in plural here?
The total power consumption of a circuit is the sum of the power consumption of the logic cells making up the circuit.
The total ...
0
votes
1answer
175 views
Uncountable followed by countable nouns - “is” or “are”? [duplicate]
I have a question about the following sentence:
The only artwork in evidence is/are some Greek vases and terracotta objects.
Is it "artwork" that selects the verb-form (therefore "is"), or "Greek ...
1
vote
1answer
2k views
Is traffic a countable noun or an uncountable noun?
Example sentence:
"Not much/many traffic passes this way."
4
votes
2answers
67 views
Can some kind of [uncountable_noun] outnumber another kind of [uncountable_noun]?
While talking about anonymous feedback on Stack Exchange, I wanted to say that there was more anonymous feedback than registered feedback, so I considered saying:
Anonymous feedback outnumbers ...
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
0answers
22 views
Why the article is different for the same noun “stability” in the same sentence?
" Some critics insist that this pattern produces stability but others claim such a stability prevents the flow of ideas."
Isn't "stability" an uncountable noun?
How come there is a "a" before 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 ...
0
votes
2answers
85 views
Is there a single word for the quality of doing good works for others without any selfishness? [duplicate]
Can anyone give the exact single word for the feeling/quality of doing good works for others without having any selfishness?
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?
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
0answers
47 views
Is one or ones correct when mixing countable and uncountable forms of a noun?
Is the sentence "Tanya likes coffee, especially one made by Victoria." grammatically correct and why? I've been thinking of substituting one with "ones", "those" and "that" but I am not sure which is ...
1
vote
1answer
240 views
What/such + [indefinite article] + uncountable noun (without an adjective)
I have tried to do a bit of research on the topic, but to no avail. Can uncountable nouns which are not determined by an adjective or a subordinate clause be used with the indefinite article for ...
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?
