UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE PRE INTERMEDIATE

 

ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE PRE INTERMEDIATE UNIT 86 UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

 

A Common uncountable nouns One of the problems with uncountable nouns is that many of them are countable in other languages. Common mistakes   I need information. (NOT I need an information.) (no indefinite article) I need some information. (NOT I need informations.) (no plural form) The homework was difficult. (NOT The homework were difficult.) (use with a singular verb) • You can put all that rubbish in the bin over there. [things that you throw away because you do not want them] • Is there any more news about the man who was injured? • She gave me some good advice about buying a car. [what you think someone should do] • Do the children get pocket money [money that parents give regularly to their children]? • You need a lot of equipment for camping, e.g. tent, sleeping bag, torch, things for cooking, etc. [the things that are used for a particular activity] • We sold the furniture [tables, chairs, armchairs, etc.]. • The scenery is really beautiful. [the natural beauty you see around you] • My knowledge of Russian is limited. [what I know about it] • She’s worked very hard and I believe she is making progress [improving / getting better]. • Can you take the dog? We haven’t got any room in our car. [empty space] • Would anyone like some more toast? • The children’s behaviour was terrible: they were climbing all over the furniture and making a lot of noise. [the way you do and say things]   B Uncountable nouns in dictionaries Dictionaries show countable nouns with a (C) and uncountable nouns with a (U). Some nouns can be countable with one meaning, and uncountable with another. experience (U) [the knowledge you get from doing a particular job or activity] She’s got a lot of experience of working with children. experience (C) [something that happens to you that affects the way you feel] I had so many fantastic experiences on my trip to Thailand and Japan. chance (U) [luck] Lotto is a game of chance. chance (C) [the opportunity to do something] He’s had several chances to go abroad, but he’s just not interested. C Making uncountable nouns countable You can make some uncountable nouns singular. Sometimes we do this with a word like piece (for advice, equipment, toast, furniture, news), but in spoken English we often use a bit (infml) with most uncountable nouns. a good piece of advice                    an interesting bit of news another piece of toast                    just a bit of rubbish   EXERCISES 86.1 Correct the mistakes. 1 I need some informations. ___________ information _______________ 2 Our teacher has a news about the trip. ________________________ 3 She gave me some good advices. ________________________ 4 Her progress are very good. ________________________ 5 We had a lot of homeworks yesterday. ________________________ 6 The furnitures were very old. ________________________ 7 I have no experiences of using these equipments. ________________________ 8 I need to improve my knowledges of this new technology. ________________________ 86.2 Make the uncountable nouns countable. 1 I did some homework. I did _________a bit of homework.________________ 2 It’s useful equipment. It’s ______________________________________________. 3 It was good advice. It was ______________________________________________. 4 Do you want some more toast? Do you want ______________________________________________. 5 She’s making progress. She’s making ______________________________________________. 6 There’s some rubbish on the floor. There’s ______________________________________________. 7 I gave them some pocket money. I gave them ______________________________________________. 8 I heard some news this morning. I heard ______________________________________________. 86.3 Complete the dialogues. 1 A: Have you been given all the details? B: No, I need more ________ information ________________. 2 A: She hasn’t worked there long enough. B: No, she needs more __________________. 3 A: Is your flat big enough? B: No, we need more __________________. 4 A: Does she know what to do when she leaves school? B: No, she needs some __________________. 5 A: Don’t you think the room looks empty? B: Yes, we need more __________________. 6 A: Is his English getting better? B: No, he isn’t making any __________________. 86.4 Complete the sentences. The first letter has been given to help you. 1 I asked my teacher for some a____dvice______ about grammar books. 2 I’ve had some great e___________________ when I’ve travelled on my own. 3 If we give him another c___________________, I’m sure he’ll be able to do it. 4 That stuff over there is r___________________; just throw it in the bin. 5 We camped on the hill above the lake because the s___________________ is so beautiful. 6 I don’t know what’s wrong with Celia, but her b___________________ was very strange this morning. 7 Do you have any e___________________ of working with computers? 8 I don’t have any k___________________ of this subject; you’d better ask Fariah. 86.5 Use a dictionary to find out if these nouns are countable or uncountable. Keep a record of them in your notebook. transport luggage suitcase pasta traffic accident

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