Questions tagged [countable-nouns]
The countable-nouns tag has no usage guidance.
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Is "handwriting" countable or uncountable? [closed]
Which do I say?
You have good handwriting.
or
You have a good handwriting.
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This is mashed potatoes or These are mashed potatoes
This question arose in the discussion of a language learning app. Its original sentence is in Russian and it says
Это пюре а вот пицца.
The translation from the app is
This is mashed potatoes and ...
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Countable nouns must always have determiners or should be plural?
I've learnt countable nouns must always have determiners or should be plural. However, the construction pattern between A and B seems to be an exception.
There are even stories of half-trained ...
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in the sentence "there is 2 litres of milk" is 2 litres countable or uncountable?
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.
...
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Is the word "foods" countable or uncountable?
Sentence: Whole foods means food that's in its original form, straight from nature, typically whole fruits, veggies, whole grains, et cetera.
I want to know why "means" not "mean" ...
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Is it correct to use ''scores of (something)'' with uncountable nouns?
''Score of something'' means ''a lot of something.'' Although it is correct to use ''a lot of'' with uncountable nouns, I've never seen an example of ''scores of something'' used with an uncountable ...
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Is "fruit" used as a countable or uncountable noun?
I don't know if "fruit" works as a singular or a plural in these cases:
HOW MANY fruit(s) or HOW MUCH fruit do you eat a day?
Today I have had three fruit(s).
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Is there a grey area between substance noun and object noun? [closed]
Is there a grey area between substance noun and object noun?
I mean, are there any English words that mean ‘substance or object’?
If so, should I use an indefinite article, or not?
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Name is countable or uncountable?
Let's say I'm writing a story and there's a character named Jim and he sees 10 identical people who have similarities with his friend Emily, in fact, they look exactly like Emily.
What would Jim ...
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"merit": countable vs uncountable
The word "merit" seems to be used as both countable and uncountable, in both single and plural forms:
"there is no much merit" — 23k results
"the claim has no merit" — ...
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Is an adjective make uncountable noun countable?
I've mentioned in the previous question a few days ago that advice is an uncountable noun. I've seen when the noun is attached with an adjective beside it, there are some that have article a and some ...
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Error Detection in noun [duplicate]
I am confused in this sentence :
There are two scores of books (A) / which are lying (B) / unused in the library (C) / no error (D).
The answer is part (A) and error is mentioned as scores.
I am ...
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Any with singular count noun
I've been having problems with the use of any, I've read that you can use it for negative and questions with non-counts and plural count nouns, but there is an exception that you can use any with ...
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Looking for a smartphone that has "good battery backup"? Why not "a good battery backup"?
Looking for a smartphone that has "good battery backup"?
Why is it not "a good battery back up"? Why do we have to omit the article?
If you are looking for a smartphone with a ...
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There's an awareness of conspicuous consumption. Why is the article 'an' needed before awareness when awareness is an uncountable noun?
1.There's an awareness of conspicuous consumption. Why is the article "an" needed before awareness when awareness is an uncountable noun?
Greenpeace works to promote awareness of the dangers ...
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Many colours and much colour
Many colours mean many types of colour, and much colour means a large quantity of colour, is it right?
Colourful - Having much or varied colour
https://www.lexico.com/definition/colourful
user139825
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They have to have a basic understanding of computers in order to use advanced technology.how is understanding countable here?Why the article 'a' used?
1.They have to have a basic understanding of computers in order to use advanced technology.
2.Yet in the long run would a wider sense of mutual understanding make us safer?
In both cases 'a' is used ...
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Which expression is correct "Many eyes" or "a lot of eyes"? [duplicate]
Which of the below expression is correct?
Argos has many eyes.
Argos has a lot of eyes.
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How can a noun be countable and uncountable at the same time?
How can a noun be countable and uncountable at the same time?
For example 'shock'.
You can get a shock.
I'm suffering from __ shock.
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When to use singular or plural for countable words?
Main point is regarding the last sentence about the avocado. Here is an example:
"A long time ago sushi was not popular to Westerners because they did not like to eat raw fish. Alternatively, ...
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'at very high altitude', 'at very high altitudes': both are okay in this sentence?
I'd like to know and ask whether both the sentences below are correct.
At very high altitude you will have difficulty breathing.
At very high altitudes you will have difficulty breathing.
My ...
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Society: countable, uncountable, or both in this particular case?
Could you please help with the following: are both options correct? If so, which one is preferred and why?
Option 1: Our society had been gradually morphing from a very
uncivilised one to the society ...
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Could you please suggest the correct article usage here?
In the following sentence, do I need an article before "external influence"?
The juvenile being more vulnerable to (an?) external influence such as numerous marketing campaigns tend to be ...
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Why don't these countable nouns have articles in this sentence?
Why exactly don't "header" and "body" need articles in the following sentence (as per this answer)?
We've improved the visual separation between header and body in classes with ...
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Countability of the word “gameplay”
I have searched all the online dictionaries, and they all say that the word “gameplay” is uncountable. The problem is that they don’t have the up-to-date meaning of the word “gameplay”.
Can we use the ...
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“Great advancement” vs. “Great advancements”
I have seen great advancement in technology in recent times.
I have seen great advancements in technology in recent times.
What is the difference between #1, and #2? To me, both seem to mean “...
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"is proven" or "are proven" in this sentence?
This is my version:
Metallo-organic anti-wear additive system in Havoline ProDS Fully Synthetic ECO 5and ProDS Fully Synthetic LE SAE 5W-40 is proven to protect engines under a broad range of ...
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Use of "Much", "Many" and "More" in English
In the example below, I used more and much both but I can't understand the proper use-case for more, much, and many. Sometimes, it confuses that in which scenario which one is a perfect match for it. ...
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Noun both countable and uncountable
For example, gas is countable and uncountable. Then, can 'much gas' always be translated into 'many gases'? Oh, look at that! there's a cloud of many gases!
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Is it 'oils' or 'oil'?
In this sentence, is oil allowed (mass noun) or should it be oils?
Hurry and get your hands on any of our premium Shell engine oil/oils and get a free cleaner at a great price!
(This sentence would ...
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how to describe "this much" for countable noun
I could say "I have this much of time"
But for like on Facebook, i supposed it's countable: 1 like 2 like.
How to say "I have this much of likes?"
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How do native speakers distinguish countable nouns from uncountable nouns?
As an English learner (I'm Chinese), I've always been confused by the concept of countable and uncountable nouns.
For example, I understand why "water" is uncountable, but why is “paper” ...
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Why "material" is countable?
"material" has different meanings, one of which is "cloth used for making clothes, curtains, etc." according to Oxford dictionary There is an example in which material is plural
...
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"shorthand" - uncountable or not?
Cambridge dictionary lists "shorthand" as an uncountable word.
(https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/shorthand)
However, I see a lot of its usage with the indefinite article. ...
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Is sky a countable noun or an uncountable noun? [duplicate]
Is "sky" a countable noun or an uncountable noun?
We can count the sky as it is only one, but it's that people refer to as it being uncountable.
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inconsistent number?
From https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/07/health/coronavirus-exams-mcat.html
"One student said each time examinees entered or exited the test room during the nearly six-hour test, they were ...
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Equipment or equipments? [closed]
I am having a conversation with some international learners of English. I am assuming that the term equipment is singular and plural. A chat friend insists that the term equipments is the appropriate ...
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Can we say "He is a scum"?
According to dictionaries, "scum" can be used in countable or uncountable sense; but "He is a scum" sounds wrong to my ears. Can the sentences "He is a scum" and "He is scum" be used interchangeably?
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Do "I ate many noodles today" and "you should eat many vegetables" sound wrong?
According to dictionary "noodle" is a countable noun and often in plural form
I learned that we can use "many" before countable nouns.
Does "I ate many noodles today" sound wrong?
In addition, "...
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"I need to dig deeper in hard disk" VS "I need to dig deeper in the hard disk"?
I need to dig deeper in hard disk
or
I need to dig deeper in the hard disk.
Which one is right?
Is hard disk uncountable?
Is hard disk uncountable noun in the first sentence if the ...
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Much more/many more
I undestand we use many more when talking about things we can count, with countable nouns. And much more with uncountable ones. But I was wondering if there were cases where they could be ...
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Is 'optimism' countable?
Cambridge Dictionary offers the sentence below as an example of give rise to:
International support has given rise to a new optimism in the company.
Although it's shown in Cambridge Dictionary and ...
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Do you say "he is eating orange or some orange" to mean "he is eating some segments of an orange"?
or‧ange 1 /ˈɒrəndʒ $ ˈɔː-, ˈɑː-/ ●●● S1 W2 noun
1 Image of orange[countable] a round fruit that has a thick orange
skin and is divided into parts inside
Peel the oranges and divide ...
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A bit of toothpaste?
My English learner app said "a bit of toothpaste" was wrong but didn't say the reason.
Could you please tell me why?
The app test goes like this.
Choose the correct one:
a bit of ______
A)...
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"All leaves are cancelled." or "All leave is cancelled."?
How do we use the word "leave" in a sentence? Is it ever pluralized? Is it correct to say "How many days leaves do you get per year?" or "How much leave do you get per year?"
user371339
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have a friendship or have friendship
BBC: I have friendship with all the living beings
The New York Times: I have multiple doormen and I have a friendship with one of them
According to Cambridge, friendship is both countable and ...
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Which linking verb to use with countable and uncountable nouns
Here is my example:
"Cloud phone solutions work over the internet, so the only on-site hardware you would ever need (is/are) the phones."
Hardware is uncountable, but phones is countable. Is the ...
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Use of 'less' with countable nouns
Supposing that, a player is supposed to spend 60 minutes in a training session. He spends 57 minutes. We say:
You have spent less minutes.
Is it right? I feel it is not, since 'less' modifies 'an ...
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How do I know whether a noun is countable or not? [duplicate]
I'm new learner and often confused with countable nouns.
Is there any way that I can know whether a noun is a countable noun?
Thanks
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about use of an article in front of 'trim'
I'd like to ask about use of an article before the noun 'trim' when 'trim' means: "material that is used to decorate clothes, furniture, cars, etc., especially along the edges, by being a different ...
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