Countable and Uncountable (I'm Starving!)
Rory is home from school. He's hungry, as usual!
When there is one of something we put a or an in front of the noun.
-
a lemon
​
When a noun starts with a, e, i, o, or u, it gets an.
-
an onion
Is there anything to eat? All I can see is a lemon and an onion in the fridge!
Seriously, Mac! I need to eat! I AM STARVING!
OK! Don’t panic, Rory! Ehh... look for eggs.
Some things are easy to count, like…
-
one lemon
-
two onions
-
three eggs
We call these countable nouns.
Eggs…where are the eggs?
I definitely saw eggs!
When there is more than one countable thing, we make it a plural by adding an s for most nouns.
-
egg….eggs
-
lemon….lemons
-
onion….onions
When we aren’t specific about the number of things, we use some or any. Any is for the negative and questions.
-
There are some eggs.
-
Are there any eggs?
-
There aren’t any eggs.
Are there any eggs? ….Nope, I don’t see any eggs…Oh, I think I see some eggs at the back!
I told you!
How many eggs are there?
With countable nouns we also use many in how many?
​
-
How many eggs are there?
-
How many lemons do you need?
-
How many books do you have?
-
How many clouds do you see?
Let me see... there are two eggs!
Great! Now, look in the cupboard for flour.
Flour is not easy to count. So we call it an uncountable noun. Here are a few more examples of uncountable nouns…
-
sugar
-
milk
-
salt
-
chocolate
-
water
Is there any flour?... Let me see…. No, there isn’t any flour…. Oh wait, yes, I have some flour!
Excellent! Let me check the recipe.
For uncountable nouns we generally don’t use the plural.
-
flour….. flours
-
sugar…. sugars
-
butter… butters
And we use the singular of the verb.
-
There is some flour.
-
Is there any flour?
-
No, there isn’t any flour.
How much flour do we need?
300 grams. We have enough! And we have milk so we can make pancakes.
For uncountable nouns we use much in how much?
-
How much flour do we need?
-
How much butter is there?
-
How much milk is left?
-
How much chocolate did you eat?
X
X
X
Pancakes!!!! I LOVE PANCAKES! I love you, Mac!!!
Yeah, yeah! Come on! Start mixing!
...And so Mac saved Rory from a bad attack of the munchies!
-
fridge (UK English) refrigerator (US English)
-
starving: really hungry
-
panic: feel worried suddenly
-
cupboard: place with a door and shelves where you put things
-
flour: the white powder you use to make cakes
-
recipe: the instructions for making a cake or dinner
-
pancake: flat cake type food made with eggs, flour and milk
-
munchies: a need for food
Glossary
.png)
10 Questions Quiz
.png)
