Lifestyle

Wednesday December 7, 2005

You can’t count on it

By GUY PERRING



One of the basic difficulties in English is identifying if a noun is countable or uncountable and this is important in how you use it.

For example, the word information is uncountable, and therefore you cannot talk about two informations. If you do feel the urge to count information, then you need a counter such as two pieces of information or three bits of information.

Further examples of uncountable nouns in common use are software, accommodation, travel and work.

Uncountable nouns take the singular form of the verb so “Travel broadens the mind” and “Work saves us from boredom and need” (notice the s at the end of the verbs).

Look at the following six sentences and decide if the nouns are countable or uncountable.

Coffee tastes better when the beans are freshly ground.

He picked up his suitcase from the airport carousel.

There wasn’t any paper in the photocopier.

Fortunately, the flood didn’t cause much damage.

He doesn’t have many friends.

Luggage gets heavier as families get older.

The above also illustrate a few more guidelines regarding countable and uncountable nouns.

  • Luggage is uncountable, but luckily, has a countable alternative – suitcase. Travel can be counted too, if we refer to a trip or a journey.

  • Coffee and paper are uncountable as are many substances or materials such as gold, water and milk which can only be counted if we have bars, cups or bottles of them (e.g. bars of gold, cups of coffee, bottles of milk).

  • Damage is uncountable as are other abstract ideas, like safety and progress. We can’t say many damage, but should use much.

  • But you can have many friends since they are countable and, hopefully, you can often count on them.

    Guy Perring is Director, Professional Development Unit (PDU), at the British Council Malaysia. The PDU offers a wide range of learning opportunities from management and communications skills training to developing English skills. Contact the British Council in Kuala Lumpur at 03-27237900 or Penang at 04-2630330 or visit www.britishcouncil.org.my.

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