NOUNS

COUNTABLE AND
UNCOUNTABLE
Learning objective: Students
will be able to identify and use
countable and uncountable nouns.
WHAT IS A NOUN ?
 Countable nouns
 Countable nouns have a singular and a plural
form. In plural, these nouns can be used with a
number- they can be counted. (That's why they
are called "countable nouns"). Example:
 2 friends, 3 friends...
 1 book, 2 books...
 Uncountable nouns
 Uncountable nouns can only be used in
singular. These nouns cannot be used with a
number- they can't be counted. (That's why they
are called "uncountable nouns"). Examples:
 I have a lot of money. (Not 1000 money)
You say I drink a lot of milk. (Not 5 milk)
MAIN DIFFERENCES
 Making uncountable nouns
countable
 You can make most uncountable noun
countable by putting a countable expression in
front of the noun.
 For example:-
 A piece of information./ new / advice / bread
 2 glasses of water / milk
 10 litres of coffee / paint / water
 Three grains of sand / rice
 THERE IS / THERE ARE
 We use There is / There are to say that
something exists (or does not exist)

a) There is a river in my town

b) There are 600 students in this school
 c) Is there a Post Office near hear?.
Yes, there is
d) There aren`t any tomatoes
 THERE IS / ARE

 Conclusions from the table:

• With countable nouns we have two forms: singular and plural and
when we refer to uncountable nouns we only use one form.
• When we use the singular form with countable nouns we use a/an
and with plurals we use some/any.
• With the uncountable nouns we do not use a/an and we can use
some/any
• With countable nouns some/any means “an indefinite number”
• With uncountable nouns some/any means “a portion of”
 AFFIRMATIVE
 "There is" y "There are" quieren decir
"Hay" en español.  "There is" es singular y
"There are" es plural.
 There is a book. (Hay un libro.) (C.S)
 There are books. (Hay libros.) (C.P)

 There is much water. (Hay mucha

agua.) (U.)
 NEGATIVE
 El negativo es "There is not" y "There are
not" y sus contracciones.
 There is not a book.  -  There isn't a
book.
There are not books.  -  There aren't
books
 There is not any water – There isn’t any
water
 INTERROGATIVE
 Para formar una pregunta nada más
cambiamos el orden de las palabras.
 Is there a book?
    Yes, there is. /     No, there isn't.
 Are there books?
    Yes, there are.
    No, there aren't.
 Is there any milk?
Yes, there is.
no, there isn’t
 SOME / ANY
 Some y Any are used generally as
quantifiers to determinate existence or
absence.
 SOME : We use "some" in positive
sentences. We use some for both countable
and uncountable nouns.
 Example: I have some friends.
 ANY: We use "any" in negative sentences or
questions. We use any for both countable
and uncountable nouns.
 Example: Do you have any cheese?
 He doesn't have any friends in Valparaiso.
 THE END