COUNTABLE AND

UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

Countable Nouns

Countable nouns are easy to recognize.
They are things that we can count. For
example: "pen". We can count pens. We
can have one, two, three or more pens.
Here are some more countable nouns:

dog, cat, animal, man, person
bottle, box, litre
coin, note, dollar
cup, plate, fork
table, chair, suitcase, bag

Countable nouns can be singular or
plural:

My dog is playing.
My dogs are hungry.
I have got one egg.
I have got two eggs.
We can use the indefinite article a/an with
countable nouns:

A dog is an animal.
Im waiting for a bus.

When a countable noun is singular, we
must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:

I want an orange. (not I want orange.)
Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)

When a countable noun is plural, we can
use it alone:
I like oranges.
Bottles can break.
We can use some and any with countable
and uncountable nouns:
Some is used in ...
Any is used in ..
I've got some dollars.
Have you got any pens?



Some people arrived.
I bought some milk.
Did you meet any friends in the city?
I didnt have any water.

Practice
Complete the sentences with a, an, some or any.
1.- Would you like cup of coffee?
2.- There is . Butter in the fridge.
3.- Can I make . telephone call?
4.- There werent in the house.
5.- There are .. children at the door.
6.- She wants .. glass of water.
7.- They dont have ..... friends in the village.
8.- I bought lemonade yesterday.
9.- Have you got ..watch?
10.- Shed like new perfume.
11.- Were getting new car soon.
12.- There isnt ...shampoo in the bathroom.
13.- Id like .. apple , please.
14.- The house hasnt got .furniture.
15.- Would you like . orange juice.
16.- Ive got bananas and apple.
17.- Did you bring .. bread?
18.- Id like .. water, please.
19.- Sorry , I havent got .. matches.
20.- I asked the waiter for .. Tea.


We can use a few and many with plural
countable nouns:

I've got a few dollars.
Ive got a few friends.
I haven't got many pens.
They havent got many friends.

We can use a little and much with
uncountable nouns:

I've got a little money.
I haven't got much rice.
Ive got a little milk.
Wehavent got much time

Write a few, a little , much or many to complete these
sentences . Dont use some, any or a lot of.
1.- Theres some food but not drink.
2.- ... people arrived before the party started , but not many.
3.- Theres not .coffee in the cup.
4.- She hasnt got friends.
5.- Im sorry, I havent got .. Time.
6.- The receptionist didnt give me .. Information.
7.- I can lend you money until tomorrow.
8.- I asked him to put . milk in my coffee.
9.- Ive seen her . Times this year but not very often.
10.- We only have .. petrol left.
11.- She started feeling ill only .days before the exam.
12.- Not.. People come here in the winter.





13.- Did they pay you .. money for working there?
14.- There arent towns in this part of Peru.
15.- I didnt drink .wine at the party
16.- There are only . people at the beach.
17.- I didnt have opportunity to talk to him.
18.- The bank only lent me money.
19.- Can I ask you questions?
20.- The journey was a short one , it didnt take . time.
21.- Only students are going to fail the exam.
22.- I dont think people will come tonight.
23.- I havent done .. work today.
24.- I gave the cat . milk.
25.- I dont think Ive made .. mistakes.



A lot of some / any Much / Many A few / A little
Underline the correct item.

1.- Are you hungry? There is a little / a few roast beef left.
2.- I cant make a cake. We havent got much / any eggs.
3.- There is a few / a lot of sugar in the cupboard.we dont need
to buy any.
4.- Can I have some / much milk for my coffee?
5.- We need a few / much more peppers to make the dish.
6.- Weve got a lot of / a little bananas so you dont have to buy
any.
7.- There isnt many / much food left . Well have to go shopping.
8.- This restaurant offers a few / a little vegetarian dishes.
"People" is countable. "People" is the plural
of "person". We can count people:

There is one person here.
There are three people here.

Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns are substances,
concepts etc that we cannot divide into
separate elements. We cannot "count"
them. For example, we cannot count
"milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or
"litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk"
itself.
Here are some more uncountable nouns:
music, art, love, happiness
advice, information, news
furniture, luggage
rice, sugar, butter, water
electricity, gas, power
money, currency

We usually treat uncountable nouns as
singular. We use a singular verb. For
example:

This news is very important.
Your luggage looks heavy.

We do not usually use the indefinite article
a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot
say "an information" or "a music". But we
can say a something of:

a piece of news
a bottle of water
a grain of rice

We can use some and any with
uncountable nouns:

I've got some money.
Have you got any rice?

Countable Uncountable
dollar money
song music
suitcase luggage
table furniture
battery electricity
bottle wine
report information
tip advice
journey travel
job work
view scenery

Nouns that can be Countable
and Uncountable
Sometimes, the same noun can be
countable and uncountable, often with a
change of meaning.
Countable Uncountable
There are two hairs in my
coffee!
hair I don't have much hair.
There are two lights in our
bedroom.
light
Close the curtain. There's
too much light!
Shhhhh! I thought I heard
a noise.
noise
It's difficult to work when
there is too much noise.
Have you got a paper to
read? (= newspaper)
paper
I want to draw a picture.
Have you got some paper?
Our house has seven
rooms.
room
Is there room for me to sit
here?
We had a great time at the
party.
time
Have you got time for a
coffee?
Macbeth is one of
Shakespeare's greatest
works.
work I have no money. I need
work!
Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are
usually uncountable. But if we are thinking of
a cup or a glass, we can say (in a
restaurant, for example):

Two teas and one coffee please.

HOW MANY OR HOW MUCH


______________ books are there on the desk?
______________ water is there in the glass?
______________ computers are there in the laboratory?
______________ mistakes are there in your exam?
______________ sugar is there on the floor?
______________triangles did you bring?
______________bones do we have?
______________students are there in the classroom?
______________credit cards do you have?
______________money did you ask?
Exercises
I.- UNDERLINE THE CORRECT WORD IN EACH
SENTENCE
Are there a/any people at the bus station?
Look at this shirt!. Can I borrow an/some iron?
Did you buy a/some magazine?
Could you buy a/some bread at the market?
There aren t any/some payphones near here
She brings some/any balls to play
You need some/any glue to fix that work
We don t have any/some sandwiches left
XII PLACE ANY OR SOME IN THE
FOLLOWING SENTENCES
There isnt _______ money
There arent _________ new clothes.
There are __________ pencils.
There arent _______ more apples.
Threre is _______ milk on the table.
There arent ____ curtains.
There are ______ other options.

III.- There is / isnt / There are / arent
___________ any jam in the fridge.
___________ a firefighter waiting outdoors
___________ eggs in the box.
___________ information in the newspaper.
___________ many English programmes installed .
___________ someone strange at the door.
___________ many holidays this year
___________ four cars in the house. (negative)
___________ milk in the bottle.
___________ a person in the house.
___________ water in the bottle.
___________ a letter on the table.
___________ 4 apples in the living room. (negative)
___________ some information in the computer.
___________ twelve months in a year.
___________ five chairs in the room.(negative)
_____________ a woman in the house
_____________ any leaves on the tree
_____________ some eggs in the barn
_____________ a book on the shelf
_____________ some books
_____________ pretty children
_____________ an old woman
_____________ any interesting books left
Quiz
1.- Put in a / an or some.
1.I read. book and listened to .. music.
2.I need .. money . I want to buy food.
3.We met interesting people at the party.
4.Im going to open window to get .. fresh air.
5.She didnt eat much for lunch anly . apple and
bread.
6.We live in .. big house. Theres nice garden with
. beautiful trees.
7.Im going to make a table . First I need wood.
8.Listen to me carefully . Im going to give you .advice.
9.I want to write a letter . I need paper and .. pen.
10.Id like to eat .cookies.
1.- Circle the correct answer
1.-Id like some / any help.
2.- There arent some / any letters for you.
3.- Have you got some / any brothers or sisters?
4.- Shes got some / any interesting friends.
5.- Are there some / any restaurants near here?
6.- Im having some / any problems with my car.
7.- I didnt have some / any breakfast today.
8.- We need some / any more milk.
9.- he hasnt done some / any work for ten years.
10.- Do you know some / any Americans?
3.- Put in much or many

1.- She doesnt speak English.
2.- She doesnt buy clothes.
3.- I havent got time.
4.- Do you play football?
5.- There arent .. people here.
6.- Are there Americans in your company?
7.- We dont have .. rain in Summer.
8.- I dont eat . meat.
9.- Have you travelled to .. countries.
10.- We dont go to films.
Put in a little or a few.

1.- I know . English.
2.- And I speak .. words in English.
3.- Ill be on holiday in . days.
4.- Can you give me . help?
5.- Ann will be ready in . minutes .
6.- Could I have . more coffee?
7.- Id like to ask you .. questions.
8.- Im having .. trouble with the police.
9.- The soup needs more salt.
10.- Im going away for ..weeks.

The Simple Present is often found with such
words or expressions as:
alway
s
often
sometim
es
Once a
week
never
usuall
y
every day
twice a
week
Adverbs of
Frequency
Adverbs of Frequency tell us how
often something happens.
These are :
Always (100%)
Usually (75%)
Often ( 50%)
Sometimes ( 25 %)
Seldom (10%)
Never (0%)
Adverbs of Frequency go before the main verb
but after auxiliary verbs and the verb To-be .
Examples :
1.- We are never late for University.
2.- She always arrives late for work.
3.- She is usually early for University.
4.- Do you often go swimming?
5.- I dont usually get up late on Sundays.
6.- I sometimes have lunch at the university.
7.- They never work on Sundays.

The adverbs often, usually, sometimes and
occasionally can go at the beginning of a
sentence.Sometimes I go swimming.Often we
surf the internet.
Sometimes these adverbs are put at the end of
the sentence.
We read books occasionally.
The adverbs rarely and seldom can go at the
end of the sentence.
He eats fish very seldom.
The position of adverbs in sentences
We can put adverbs in different positions in sentences.
There are three main positions but also a lot of
exceptions.
In English we never put an adverb between the verb
and the object.
We often play handball. - CORRECT
We play often handball. - WRONG
The three main positions of adverbs in English
sentences
1) Adverb at the beginning of a sentence
Unfortunately, we could not see Mount Snowdon.
2) Adverb in the middle of a sentence
The children often ride their bikes.
3) Adverb at the end of a sentence
Andy reads a comic every afternoon.
Prepositions on Time
We use Prepositions on time to say when
something happens.
We use at with:
The Time : at 6 oclock., at 7 : 30 , etc.
Holidays : at Christmas, at the weekend.
The expressions : at night, at noon , at midday, at
midnight.
We use on with :
days : on Monday ; on Tuesday, on weekdays.
Dates : on 10th July, etc.
We use in with :
Months : in April, in May,etc.
Seasons: in the winter, in the Spring, etc.
years : in 2000, in 1989, etc.
The expressions : in the morning, in the
afternoon, in the evening.
Adverbs of Frequency
Rewrite the sentences and put the adverbs in
correctly.
1.- I have been to London. (often)
2.- Have you been to Boston? (ever)
3.- He plays golf on Sundays. (sometimes)
4.- The weather is bad in November. (always)
5.- It rains in California. (never)
6.- We have fish for dinner. (seldom)
7.- She will see him. (rarely)
8.- Peter doesn't get up before seven. (usually)
9.- They do not play tennis on Sundays. (always)
10.- Mary watches TV. (hardly / ever)
Exercises.
Put the words in order to make
sentences
1.- never / early / to bed /Chris / on Fridays/ goes
2.-at /the gym/ Mary / goes /noon / sometimes / to
3.- in / eat / Ben and Jane/ a /restaurant / seldom
4.- at / Carol / always / work / finishes/ 5 pm
5.- go / usually / we / on /dancing /Saturdays
6.- with / often / he / his/ / goes /on/ friends /picnics
7.- for / work / They / late / never / are
8.- in / cold / It / often / is / March
Make true sentences about
yourself using The Adverbs of
Frequency
1.- work on Saturdays
2.-make my bed
3.- go to the cinema
4.- cook dinner
5.- eat in restaurants


6.- travel by plane
7.-watch thrillers
8.- study subjects
9.- be late for English
class.
10.- clean my room