COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

Countable nouns / uncountable nouns

• The majority of nouns in English are countable nouns. That means they can be in singular and plural. E.g. a cat / three cats, an apple /five apples.

• However, some nouns in English don’t have a plural form. These nouns are called uncountable nouns.

• Some typical uncountable nouns are:• Abstract things: music, art, love, happiness• Liquids: water, milk, shampoo, oil.• Some foods: rice, sugar, salt, fish, meat.• Other words: electricity, gas, power, money, advice.

There is / There are

• We use there is for singular nouns:• There is a cat in this

room.

• We use there is for uncountable nouns, too:• There is some milk in the

fridge

There is / There are

• We use there are with plural nouns.

• There are three cats in this room!

Negative forms:

• There isn’t a cat in this room.

• There isn’t any milk in the fridge.

• There aren’t any cats in this room.

Interrogative forms:

• Are there any cats in this room?

• Yes, there are / No, there aren’t.

• Is there a cat in this room?

• Yes, there is /No, there isn’t.

• Is there any milk in the fridge?

• Yes, there is /No, there isn’t.

A/ an

• We use a with words that begin with a consonant:

• A cat / a friend / a house

• We use an with words that begin with a vowel.

• An apple / an orange

We use a/an with singular countable nouns.

Some

• With countable plural nouns:• There are some cats in this

room.

• With uncountable nouns:

• There is some milk in the fridge.

We use some in affirmative sentences:

Any

• With countable plural nouns:• Are there any cats in this

room?• No, there aren’t any cats in

this room.

• With uncountable nouns:

• Is there any milk in the fridge?

• No, there isn’t any milk in the fridge.

We use any with negative and interrogative () sentences:

A lot of

• We use a lot of with countable and uncountable words,

• And in affirmative , negative

and interrogative

sentences.

• There are a lot of cats!

• There isn’t a lot of milk!

• There aren’t a lot of tomatoes.

• Is there a lot of money?

Many

• We use many with countable nouns.• We use many in

afirmative , negative and interrogative sentences.

• There aren’t many tomatoes in my garden.

Much

• We use much with uncountable nouns.• We usually use much in

negative interrogative sentences.

• There isn’t much milk in the fridge.

A lot of Many Much

Countable Plural

Uncountable

Countable Plural

Countable Plural

Uncountable

Countable Plural uncountable

Countable Plural

uncountable

Countable Plural Uncountable

A /an Some Any

Singular Countable

Countable plural

Uncountable

Singular Countable

Countable Plural

Uncountable

Singular Countable

Plural

uncountable