You are on page 1of 17

English Teacher: OANA AVRAM University of Craiova

Countable vs. uncountable nouns


A noun can be countable or uncountable. Countable nouns can be "counted", they have a singular and plural form. For example: A book, two books, three books ..... An apple, two apples, three apples .... Uncountable nouns cannot be counted. This means they have only a singular form. It also means that they do not take a/an before them. Non-count nouns are often substances (such as sand, coffee, wine, water or rice) which cannot be easily counted, or they may be large abstract ideas such as "nature", "space" or "entertainment". The notion of countable and uncountable can be confusing. Some supposedly uncountable nouns can behave like countable nouns if we think of them as being in containers, or one of several types. This is because 'containers' and 'types' can be counted. Believe it or not each of these sentences is correct: Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two coffees a day. (Here coffees refers to the number of cups of coffee) You could write; "Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two cups of coffee a day." The coffees I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian. (Here coffees refers to different types of coffee) You could write; "The types of coffee I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian." The category of countable nouns comprises all the nouns which show plural marking (both regular, such as book-books, and irregular child-children) as well as a group of unmarked plurals (sheep, deer) which nevertheless behave syntactically like the former. Uncountable nouns semantically refer to an undifferentiated mass, they have no number marking and always take singular verbs. Singular countable nouns require a determiner to form a grammatical NP, whereas uncountable nouns do not. countable: Book is cheap. uncountable: Bread is cheap. NEVER countable: A sheep is grazing in the field. uncountable: A furniture is expensive. NEVER The use of articles with nouns seems to be an applicable criterion in the analysis of their countability in the eighteenth century, as the usage did not differ remarkably from that of Present-Day English. One difference is, according to linguists, that abstract nouns were used without an article more often than today, particularly when the marking of (in)definiteness or reference was of little importance. Uncountable and countable nouns also differ in the choice of indicators of quantity, much and many. Much is used with the singular of mass nouns (much sugar), whereas many is used with the plural of countable nouns (many dogs). Other indicators of quantity used with uncountable nouns are the amount of and little, in the cases where countable nouns take the number of, several, few. The category of uncountable nouns corresponds largely with the category of singularia tantum. Linguists include in this group all the nouns, which have no plural form. One of the linguists divides such nouns into konkreta which include such nouns as money, honey, milk, garlic, mint, sugar, wheat, rye, etc., and abstrakta consisting of youth, music, beauty, etc. The only point of discord between the two classifications is the treatment of news, which, according to Graband, belongs to the group called pluralia tantum on the grounds of the '-s' ending. News behaves syntactically like abstrakta and is semantically close to it, therefore it is discussed alongside this category in the present study. Some nouns may be used in either mass or countable sense, for example: countable: Have one of these cakes. 1

uncountable: Have a piece of my birthday cake. In this case the distinction is to some extent based on semantic grounds: a big cake which can be divided into portions functions as a mass noun, whereas a small cake an indivisible unit functions as a countable noun. English has for a long time displayed the tendency to allow mass nouns to be used as countables, meaning 'a portion of', 'a variety of' or 'an instance of'. Such a situation often occurs as regards nouns referring to food or other commodity, such as 'a variety of' or 'a portion of': 'What breads/coffees/flours/milks can you get in the local supermarket?' 'I'll have two teas, please.' In Present-Day English abstract nouns can be used with an indefinite article when a particular event or state is in focus: 'I would never have any one eat but what he likes and when he has an appetite' Examples of common uncountable nouns: (= no plural, no a/an) information, evidence, progress, news, scenery, work, logic, permission, traffic, furniture, chaos, permission, advice, behaviour, research, technology (pl. in the case of 'the new technologies') 'mass' nouns : money, cash, mathematics, linguistics, politics, athletics, mumps etc. substances : milk, petrol, sugar, oil Occasionally, nouns can be countable/uncountable, depending on the context so there is a change in meaning. Example: uncountable Advances in technology mean that Western medicine is highly expensive and highly specialised: a large amount of money may be spent on treating a relatively small number of conditions (for example: kidney machines, life support systems). Example: countable The new technologies of advanced ceramics and polymers have contributed to Japanese leadership in fields where synthetic materials can be substituted for natural minerals, thereby offsetting the Japanese disadvantages of few natural resources and cutting down the need to import large quantities of raw materials. ('monies' - banking jargon - usually 'funds') I bought a paper (= newspaper, countable) I bought some paper (= paper for writing on - uncountable) I had many interesting experiences during my time at Sussex (= things which happened to an individual - countable) Experience of economic upturn was limited in the 1980's (uncountable - knowledge of something happening in general).

English Teacher: OANA ILIE Lexis School

About prepositions
The most common prepositions (simple and compound) are:aboard "about," "above," according to, "across," across from, "after," "against," ahead of, "along," along side, along with, amid, "among," apart from, "around," aside from, as of, "at," atop, baring, because of, "before," "behind," "below," "beneath," "beside," besides, "between," "beyond," "but," "by," by means of, concerning, considering,"despite," "down," "during," "except," "for," "from," "in," in addition to, in back of, in front of, in lieu of, in place of, in regard to, "inside," in spite of, instead of, "into," in view of, "like," "near," nearby, next to, "of," "off," "on," on account of, "onto," on top of, opposite, "out," out of, "outside," awing to, "over," "past," per, prior to, regarding, round, "since," "through," "throughout," "till," "to," together with, "toward (s)," "under," "underneath," "until," unto, "up," "upon," "with," "within," and "without."

Into vs. In to and Similar Problems


Many words that are prepositions may be adverbs. This can be confusing when the prepostion to follows on or in or when the preposition on follows up. The words into, onto, and upon followed by an object are prepositions. The pairs in to, on to, and up on followed by an object are each made up of an adverb followed by a preposition. The meanings and the grammatical relationships are different from when they are single word prepositions. Examples: He ran in to the building. (The adverb in modifies ran; to the building tells where he ran in.) He ran into the building. (He collided with the building; or, into the building tells us where he ran.) Up on the housetop, reindeer pause... (High on top of the house...) The toy fell upon the ground. (Here upon refers just to the relative relationship between the toy and the ground, it has nothing to with height. Things seldom fall up...) The car turned onto Main Street. (The car turned; onto Main Street tells us where the car turned.) He turned on to Tchaikovsky. (The adverb on modifies turn; to Tchaikovsky tells us to whom he turned on.) Prepositions of time: at two o'clock on Wednesday in an hour, in January; in 1992 for a day Prepositions of place: at my house in New York, in my hand on the table near the library across the street under the bed between the books

English Teacher: OANA STANCULESCU ILIE Lexis School The Uses of the English Tenses. Short Tabel and Instructions of their Use
Type of Tense Simple Type of Action Expressed - actions occurring at regular intervals - general truths, or situations existing for a period of time - non-continuous actions - continuous, ongoing actions - non-continuous actions completed before a certain time - continuous, ongoing actions completed before a certain time

Continuous Perfect Perfect Continuous

The Formation of the Indicative Mood of the Active Voice


Tense Simple Present Present Continuous Present Perfect Present Perfect Continuous Simple Past Past Continuous Past Perfect Past Perfect Continuous Simple Future Future Continuous Future Perfect Future Perfect Continuous Auxiliary do/does * am/is/are have/has have/has been did * was/were had had been will (shall) **** will (shall) be will (shall) have will (shall) have been Verb Form bare infinitive ** present participle past participle present participle bare infinitive *** present participle past participle present participle bare infinitive present participle past participle present participle

The Formation of the Subjunctive Mood of the Active Voice


Tense Simple Present Present Continuous Present Perfect Present Perfect Continuous Simple Past Past Continuous Past Perfect Past Perfect Continuous Auxiliary do * be have have been did * were had had been Verb Form bare infinitive present participle past participle present participle bare infinitive *** present participle past participle present participle

The Formation of the Indicative Mood of the Passive Voice


Tense Auxiliary 4 Verb Form

Simple Present Present Continuous Present Perfect Present Perfect Continuous Simple Past Past Continuous Past Perfect Past Perfect Continuous Simple Future Future Continuous Future Perfect Future Perfect Continuous

am/is/are am/is/are being have/has been have/has been being was/were was/were being had been had been being will (shall) **** be will (shall) be being will (shall) have been will (shall) have been being

past participle past participle past participle past participle past participle past participle past participle past participle past participle past participle past participle past participle

The Formation of the Subjunctive Mood of the Passive Voice


Tense Simple Present Present Continuous Present Perfect Present Perfect Continuous Simple Past Past Continuous Past Perfect Past Perfect Continuous Auxiliary be be being have been have been being were were being had been had been being Verb Form past participle past participle past participle past participle past participle past participle past participle past participle

* In the Simple Present and Simple Past tenses of the Active Voice, the auxiliaries are used only for emphasis, and for the formation of questions and negative statements. Auxiliaries are never used with the Simple Present or Simple Past of the verb to be. ** When used without the auxiliary, the third person singular of the Simple Present, in the Indicative Mood of the Active Voice, has the ending s. *** When used without the auxiliary, the Simple Past form of the verb is used. For regular verbs, and for many irregular verbs, the Simple Past has the same form as the past participle. **** The other modal auxiliaries could, may, might, must, should and would form conjugations in the same way as will and shall.

The Active Voice of the Verb to show


5

Simple Past: showed Past Participle: shown

Indicative Mood
Simple Present I show you show he shows she shows it shows we show they show Present Continuous I am showing you are showing he is showing she is showing it is showing we are showing they are showing Present Perfect I have shown you have shown he has shown she has shown it has shown we have shown they have shown Present Perfect Continuous I have been showing you have been showing he has been showing she has been showing it has been showing we have been showing they have been showing Simple Future I will (shall) show you will show he will show she will show it will show we will (shall) show they will show Simple Past I showed you showed he showed she showed it showed we showed they showed Past Continuous I was showing you were showing he was showing she was showing it was showing we were showing they were showing Past Perfect I had shown you had shown he had shown she had shown it had shown we had shown they had shown Past Perfect Continuous I had been showing you had been showing he had been showing she had been showing it had been showing we had been showing they had been showing Simple Conjugation with Would I would show you would show he would show she would show it would show we would show they would show 6

Future Continuous I will (shall) be showing you will be showing he will be showing she will be showing it will be showing we will (shall) be showing they will be showing Future Perfect I will (shall) have shown you will have shown he will have shown she will have shown it will have shown we will (shall) have shown they will have shown Future Perfect Continuous I will (shall) have been showing you will have been showing he will have been showing she will have been showing it will have been showing we will (shall) have been showing they will have been showing

Continuous Conjugation with Would I would be showing you would be showing he would be showing she would be showing it would be showing we would be showing they would be showing Perfect Conjugation with Would I would have shown you would have shown he would have shown she would have shown it would have shown we would have shown they would have shown Perfect Continuous Conjugation with Would I would have been showing you would have been showing he would have been showing she would have been showing it would have been showing we would have been showing they would have been showing

Subjunctive Mood
Simple Present I show you show he show she show it show we show they show Present Continuous I be showing you be showing he be showing she be showing it be showing we be showing they be showing Simple Past I showed you showed he showed she showed it showed we showed they showed Past Continuous I were showing you were showing he were showing she were showing it were showing we were showing they were showing

Present Perfect I have shown you have shown he have shown she have shown it have shown we have shown they have shown Present Perfect Continuous I have been showing you have been showing he have been showing she have been showing It have been showing we have been showing they have been showing

Past Perfect I had shown you had shown he had shown she had shown it had shown we had shown they had shown Past Perfect Continuous I had been showing you had been showing he had been showing she had been showing it had been showing we had been showing they had been showing

The Verb to be and The Passive Voice of The Verb to show


Indicative Mood
Simple Present I am you are he is she is it is we are they are Present Continuous I am being you are being he is being she is being it is being we are being they are being Present Perfect I have been you have been he has been she has been it has been we have been they have been Simple Present I am shown you are shown he is shown she is shown it is shown we are shown they are shown Present Continuous I am being shown you are being shown he is being shown she is being shown it is being shown we are being shown they are being shown Present Perfect I have been shown you have been shown he has been shown she has been shown it has been shown we have been shown they have been shown

Present Perfect Continuous have been being you have been being he has been being she has been being it has been being we have been being they have been being Simple Past I was you were he was she was it was we were they were Past Continuous I was being you were being he was being she was being it was being we were being they were being Past Perfect I had been you had been he had been she had been it had been we had been they had been Past Perfect Continuous I had been being you had been being he had been being she had been being it had been being we had been being they had been being Simple Future I will (shall) be

Present Perfect Continuous I have been being shown you have been being shown he has been being shown she has been being shown it has been being shown we have been being shown they have been being shown Simple Past I was shown you were shown he was shown she was shown it was shown we were shown they were shown Past Continuous I was being shown you were being shown he was being shown she was being shown it was being shown we were being shown they were being shown Past Perfect I had been shown you had been shown he had been shown she had been shown it had been shown we had been shown they had been shown Past Perfect Continuous I had been being shown you had been being shown he had been being shown she had been being shown it had been being shown we had been being shown they had been being shown Simple Future I will (shall) be shown 9

you will be he will be she will be it will be we will (shall) be they will be Future Continuous I will (shall) be being you will be being he will be being she will be being it will be being we will (shall) be being they will be being Future Perfect I will (shall) have been you will have been he will have been she will have been it will have been we will (shall) have been they will have been Future Perfect Continuous I will (shall) have been being you will have been being he will have been being she will have been being It will have been being we will (shall) have been being they will have been being

you will be shown he will be shown she will be shown it will be shown we will (shall) be shown they will be shown Future Continuous I will (shall) be being shown you will be being shown he will be being shown she will be being shown it will be being shown we will (shall) be being shown they will be being shown Future Perfect I will (shall) have been shown you will have been shown he will have been shown she will have been shown it will have been shown we will (shall) have been shown they will have been shown Future Perfect Continuous I will (shall) have been being shown you will have been being shown he will have been being shown she will have been being shown it will have been being shown we will (shall) have been being shown they will have been being shown

Subjunctive Mood
Simple Present I be you be he be she be it be we be they be Present Continuous I be being you be being he be being 10 Simple Present I be shown you be shown he be shown she be shown it be shown we be shown they be shown Present Continuous I be being shown you be being shown he be being shown

she be being it be being we be being they be being Present Perfect I have been you have been he have been she have been it have been we have been they have been Present Perfect Continuous I have been being you have been being he have been being she have been being it have been being we have been being they have been being Simple Past I were you were he were she were it were we were they were Past Continuous I were being you were being he were being she were being it were being we were being they were being Past Perfect I had been you had been he had been she had been it had been we had been 11

she be being shown it be being shown we be being shown they be being shown Present Perfect I have been shown you have been shown he have been shown she have been shown it have been shown we have been shown they have been shown Present Perfect Continuous I have been being shown you have been being shown he have been being shown she have been being shown it have been being shown we have been being shown they have been being shown Simple Past I were shown you were shown he were shown she were shown it were shown we were shown they were shown Past Continuous I were being shown you were being shown he were being shown she were being shown it were being shown we were being shown they were being shown Past Perfect I had been shown you had been shown he had been shown she had been shown it had been shown we had been shown

they had been Past Perfect Continuous I had been being you had been being he had been being she had been being it had been being we had been being they had been being

they had been shown Past Perfect Continuous I had been being shown you had been being shown he had been being shown she had been being shown it had been being shown we had been being shown they had been being shown

12

Table of English Tenses Tense Simple Present Affirmative/Negative/Question A: He speaks. N: He does not speak. Q: Does he speak?

Use action in the present taking place once, never or several times facts actions taking place one after another action set by a timetable or schedule action taking place in the moment of speaking action taking place only for a limited period of time action arranged for the future

Signal Words always, every , never, normally, often, seldom, sometimes, usually if sentences type I (If I talk, ) at the moment, just, just now, Listen!, Look!, now, right now

Present Progressive

A: He is speaking. N: He is not speaking. Q: Is he speaking?

Simple Past

A: He spoke. N: He did not speak. Q: Did he speak?

action in the past taking place once, never or several times actions taking place one after another action taking place in the middle of another action

yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Friday if sentence type II (If I talked, ) when, while, as long as

Past Progressive

A: He was speaking. N: He was not speaking. Q: Was he speaking?

action going on at a certain time in the past actions taking place at the same time action in the past that is interrupted by another action

Present Perfect Simple

A: He has spoken. N: He has not spoken. Q: Has he spoken?

putting emphasis on the result action that is still going on action that stopped recently finished action that has an influence on the present action that has taken place once, never or several times before

already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now

13

the moment of speaking Present Perfect Progressive A: He has been speaking. N: He has not been speaking. Q: Has he been speaking? putting emphasis on the course or duration (not the result) action that recently stopped or is still going on finished action that influenced the present

all day, for 4 years, since 1993, how long?, the whole week

Past Perfect Simple

A: He had spoken. N: He had not spoken. Q: Had he spoken?

action taking place before a certain time in the past sometimes interchangeable with past perfect progressive putting emphasis only on the fact (not the duration)

already, just, never, not yet, once, until that day if sentence type III (If I had talked, )

Past Perfect Progressive

A: He had been speaking. N: He had not been speaking. Q: Had he been speaking?

action taking place before a certain time in the past sometimes interchangeable with past perfect simple putting emphasis on the duration or course of an action

for, since, the whole day, all day

Future I Simple

A: He will speak. N: He will not speak. Q: Will he speak?

action in the future that cannot be influenced spontaneous decision assumption with regard to the future

Future I Simple (going to) Future I Progressive

A: He is going to speak. N: He is not going to speak. Q: Is he going to speak? A: He will be speaking. N: He will not be speaking. Q: Will he be speaking?

decision made for the future conclusion with regard to the future

in a year, next , tomorrow If-Satz Typ I (If you ask her, she will help you.) assumption: I think, probably, we might , perhaps in one year, next week, tomorrow in one year, next week, tomorrow

action that is going on at a certain time in the future action that is sure to happen in the near future

14

Future II Simple

A: He will have spoken. N: He will not have spoken. Q: Will he have spoken? A: He will have been speaking. N: He will not have been speaking. Q: Will he have been speaking? A: He would speak. N: He would not speak. Q: Would he speak?

action that will be finished at a certain time in the future

by Monday, in a week for , the last couple of hours, all day long

Future II Progressive

action taking place before a certain time in the future putting emphasis on the course of an action

Conditional I Simple

action that might take place

if sentences type II (If I were you, I would go home.)

Conditional I Progressive A: He would be speaking. N: He would not be speaking. Q: Would he be speaking?

action that might take place putting emphasis on the course / duration of the action

Conditional II Simple

A: He would have spoken. N: He would not have spoken. Q: Would he have spoken? A: He would have been speaking. N: He would not have been speaking. Q: Would he have been speaking?

action that might have taken place in the past

if sentences type III (If I had seen that, I would have helped.)

Conditional II Progressive

action that might have taken place in the past puts emphasis on the course / duration of the action

15

English Teacher: OANA AVRAM TAG Questions


Tag questions (or: question tags) are a grammatical structure in which a declarative statement or an imperative is turned into a question by adding an interrogative fragment (the "tag"). The term "tag question" is generally preferred by American grammarians, while British ones prefer "question tag". In most languages, tag questions are more common in colloquial spoken usage than in formal written usage. They can be an indicator of politeness, emphasis, or irony. They may suggest confidence or lack of confidence; they may be confrontational or tentative. Some examples showing the wide variety of structure possible in English are: Open the window, will you? She doesn't really want that, does she? You'd better stop now, hadn't you? So you thought it would be a good idea to reprogram the computer, did you? It's quite an achievement, isn't it, to win a Nobel prize! Oh I must, must I? I just adore Beethoven, don't you? I'm coming with you, all right? You've been there, right? Easier said than done, eh? You went there, no? Some languages have a fixed phrase for the tag question, such as French n'est-ce pas? ("is it not?"). English tag questions, when they have the grammatical form of a question, are untypically complex, because they vary according to four factors: the choice of auxiliary, the negation, the intonation pattern and the emphasis.

Auxiliary
The English tag question is made up of an auxiliary verb and a pronoun. The auxiliary has to agree with the tense, aspect and modality of the verb in the preceding sentence. If the verb was in the perfect tense, for example, the tag question uses has or have; if the verb was in a present progressive form, the tag is formed with am, are, is; and if the sentence has a modal verb, this is echoed in the tag: He's read this book, hasn't he? He read this book, didn't he? He's reading this book, isn't he? 16

He reads a lot of books, doesn't he? He'll read this book, won't he? He should read this book, shouldn't he? He can read this book, can't he?

Negation
English tag questions may contain a negation, but need not. When there is no special emphasis, the rule of thumb often applies that a positive sentence has a negative tag and vice versa: She is French, isn't she? She's not French, is she? These are sometimes called "balanced tag questions". However, it has been estimated that in normal conversation, as many as 40% of tags break this rule. "Unbalanced tag questions" (positive to positive or negative to negative) may be used for ironic or confrontational effects: Do listen, will you? Oh, I'm lazy, am I? Jack: I refuse to spend Sunday at your mother's house! Jill: Oh you do, do you? We'll see about that! Jack: I just won't go back! Jill: Oh you won't, won't you? Patterns of negation can show regional variations. In North East Scotland, for example, positive to positive is used when no special effect is desired: This pizza's fine, is it? (standard English: This pizza's delicious, isn't it?)

17

You might also like