Is "2 litres" in the above sentence a countable noun? I have had mixed answers for this question. Some say yes, and some, no.
I have read articles, but none give me any clear answer.
Thanks a lot
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Sign up to join this communityIs "2 litres" in the above sentence a countable noun? I have had mixed answers for this question. Some say yes, and some, no.
I have read articles, but none give me any clear answer.
Thanks a lot
The noun "litre" is countable. But in the phrase "two litres of milk" is is being used in a special way, and the whole phrase is non-countable.
Normally in a noun phrase like "two packs of sugar", the headword is "pack" and this determines if the phrase is count or noncount, singular or plural. So "a pack of cards" is singular "Two packs of sugar are ..."
However some words are "units" (examples include "litre", "metre", "foot", "pound" etc.) These give the amount of a non-count substance. So while "two litres of milk" seems to be similar to "two packs of sugar", it is normally treated differently. "Two litres of milk" is normally considered non-count and singular.
Two litres of milk is enough for a family.
But beware! because sometimes "litre" can be used to mean "A container of one litre size", and that is countable. It sounds more natural with "pint" (since milk is often sold in pint bottles) to say "There are two pints of milk on the table".
So this isn't an easy question, but fortunately, as there is a lot of variation among native speakers, both count and non-count grammar is acceptable.
Whether litres are countable or not in your sentence, it should be
There are two litres of milk.
As @JamesK notes, "litres" here could be countable (if you are thinking of one litre containers) or non-countable if you are thinking of the quantity of milk, as in
A cow produces two litres of milk in a day.
That "two" need not be an integer. It might be 2.5. (Neither number is biologically right. The real number is a lot larger.)