Countable nouns are nouns that can be singular and plural, for example: a meeting – meetings or one file – two files.
Uncountable nouns are substances or concepts that cannot be divided into separate elements, and therefore they cannot be counted. They are treated as singular nouns though, for example: information (but not an information) or traffic (not traffics). Among uncountable nouns we find: substances (air, water, coffee, paper), activities (sleep, work, research), abstract ideas (life, health, time, progress), human feelings (happiness, anger, respect, hope), groups of items (furniture, luggage), etc.
Quantifiers used with countable nouns include: a/an, a few, many, a number of, several, a large number, a great number, etc. For example: Several partners were involved in the project.
Quantifiers used with uncountable nouns include: a little, a bit of, much, a large amount of, a piece of, etc. For example: I can give him some advice on the project.
Some quantifiers can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns: no/none, not any, some/any, a lot of, plenty of, lots of, etc. For example: He has a lot of things to do this week. and He doesn’t have a lot of experience.
Some nouns can be countable and uncountable, but then their meaning changes. For example:
– We had a great time at our teambuilding on Saturday. (countable, experience)
Do you have time to finish this report? (uncountable, abstract idea)
– I’d like a coffee, please. (countable, a cup of coffee)
Coffee keeps you awake at night. (uncountable, substance)
– The Times is an excellent paper. (countable, a newspaper)
The scale model of the bridge is made of paper. (uncountable, substance)
A. Underline the correct option.
1. There is not enough light/lights in our office.
2. Jack has a lot of work/works to do this month.
3. Peter Marshal is a millionaire and he owns a lot of business/businesses.
4. I’m stuck with this project. I need help/a help.
5. My first boss gave me some very useful advice/advices that I used later in my career.
6. Their company wants to sue us for damage/damages as a result of our failure to launch a successful campaign.
7. I’ve found several interesting pieces of information/many interesting informations on our new competitor.
8. How much time/many times has the CEO flown to Vienna this year?
9. Exercise facility/facilities in our hotel include a gym and a swimming pool.
10. We’ll have to buy a lot of machinery/machineries for the new factory.
Key: 1. light, 2. work, 3. businesses, 4. help, 5. advice, 6. damages, 7. several interesting pieces of information, 8. many times, 9. facilities, 10. machinery
B. Correct the mistakes in the following sentences and questions.
1. There are much flights from London to other destinations.
2. I’d like to change some moneys but I don’t know how much the commission is.
3. How much projects can you handle at once?
4. How many information can we find on our competitors?
5. In my CV I listed all the relevant work experiences.
Key: 1. many flights, 2. some money, 3. many projects, 4. much information, 5. work experience
C. Choose the phrase which best completes each sentence.
1. _______ have we got before the meeting?
a. How much time
b. How much times
c. How many times
2. The receptionist at the front desk gave me two _______.
a. information
b. informations
c. pieces of information
3. _______ do you have in the bank? Is it enough to buy a flat?
a. How much money
b. How much moneys
c. How many money
4. Can I borrow _______ from you? I’ve left mine at home and I want to write some notes.
a. a paper
b. a piece of paper
c. a slice of paper
5. Only _______ have access to this information.
a. a few people
b. a few peoples
c. a little people
Key: 1a, 2c, 3a, 4b, 5a
