#countable uncountable nouns

[mokeymokey]

Just pondering how "feta cheese" and "pita bread" are a beautifully symmetrical pair of exemplary opposites as linguistic artefacts cause like "pita bread" is famously redundant ("pita" already being a word that means bread or pastry or some kind of baked product); whereas the expression "feta cheese" is in fact less redundant in Greek than it is in English, since in English "feta" is only ever a type of cheese, but in Greek "φέτα" on its own can also just mean "slice", so it's sometimes useful to clarify. You could classify many compound loans in language as being "pita bread"-type or "feta cheese"-type

[noa-ciharu]

Hi! I have a bit of a random question and I really hope it doesn't come off rude because I'm genuinely super curious! Do you speak any language besides English? I follow for your CLAMP content but I love languages, and I noticed you tend to leave articles off when you write, like for example you wrote "on battlefield" instead of "on the battlefield" in a FuuKam 💖 post earlier. You can ignore this if you don't feel comfy answering!

Hi :D I don't mind the question really, especially since articles have always been bane of my existence 😭 I do have a C1 degree in English but if you ask me where I'm supposed to put the and where not, I can't tell with absolute certainty :< I just follow instinct

You're right, English is my second language. I'm Serbian (technically I was born in Montenegro but back in the day those were same country. Also Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro share language just with slight differences) and our language doesn't have articles nor anything similar. It's a gendered language with 7 cases where you write words as you read them. So you can guess how much people here struggle with pronunciation when first learning English 😂

[english-mirror]

[trolledu]

[deutschhaven]

Measurement Nouns in German

It is true that nouns are names of people, animals, places, things and ideas. These nouns can be big or small, countable or uncountable, measurable or immeasurable etc. What I find very interesting is the phenomenon of using one noun to measure another. Why and how this is done in German, you’ll find out in this post. Content in this post1. Why are nouns measured?2. How to measure nouns in…

[deliasamed]

Noun exercises

Noun Definition & Exercises:

 Common nouns refer to general, ordinary things or entities (e.g., dog, city). Proper nouns refer to specific, individual entities (e.g., Max, New York). Singular nouns refer to one person, place, thing, or idea (e.g., book, car). Plural nouns refer to more than one person, place, thing, or idea (e.g., books, cars). Countable nouns can be counted and have both singular and plural forms (e.g., chair, book). Uncountable nouns cannot be counted individually and usually don't have plural forms (e.g., water, happiness). Abstract nouns refer to intangible concepts, feelings, or qualities (e.g., love, honesty). Concrete nouns refer to tangible, physical objects or entities (e.g., table, tree). Collective nouns refer to groups or collections of people or things (e.g., family, team). Possessive nouns indicate ownership or possession of something (e.g., John's car, the dog's leash). Material nouns refer to substances or materials from which things are made (e.g., wood, metal). Compound nouns are formed by combining two or more words to create a new noun (e.g., toothbrush, breakfast).         Instructions: Please, do the exercises without seeing the Answers. If you are unable to find an answer, you can check the answers provided below after attempting all the blanks.    

  Exercises with Answers:

  Complete the Sentences with Various Types of Nouns:   Instructions: Fill in the blanks with the appropriate type of noun from the options provided in parentheses.   - The ---- (abstract) of her speech touched the hearts of everyone in the audience. - My grandmother's antique ---- (possessive) is displayed proudly in the living room. - The children played with their new ---- (concrete) in the backyard. - The ---- (collective) of geese flew gracefully across the evening sky. - We need to buy more ---- (material) to finish building the new deck. - His ---- (compound) consists of peanut butter, jelly, and bread. - The ---- (abstract) of time is a concept that often puzzles philosophers. - The ---- (possessive) favorite toy was lost somewhere in the house. - The ---- (concrete) outside my window is blooming beautifully in the spring. - Our school's ---- (collective) gathered to celebrate the end of the academic year.   Answers: emotion, clock, toys, flock, lumber, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, concept, child's, garden, community           Abstract and Concrete Nouns Test:   Instructions: Choose the correct answer for each question and circle out. Write the letter of the correct answer on the line provided.   What type of noun is "happiness"? - a) Abstract - b) Concrete - c) Proper - d) Collective     Answer: a) Abstract         Identify the concrete noun in the following list: - a) Love - b) Sky - c) Mountain - d) Honesty     Answer: c) Mountain         Which of the following is an abstract noun? - a) Dog - b) Ocean - c) Joy - d) House     Answer: c) Joy         Select the concrete noun: - a) Trust - b) Tree - c) Freedom - d) Beauty     Answer: b) Tree         "Friendship" is an example of a(n) ___________ noun. - a) Abstract - b) Concrete - c) Collective - d) Proper     Answer: a) Abstract         Which noun is concrete? - a) Wisdom - b) Sun - c) Laughter - d) Honesty     Answer: b) Sun         Choose the abstract noun: - a) Car - b) River - c) Fear - d) Cloud     Answer: c) Fear         Identify the concrete noun: - a) Intelligence - b) Table - c) Justice - d) Peace     Answer: b) Table         "Team" is a(n) ___________ noun. - a) Abstract - b) Concrete - c) Collective - d) Proper     Answer: c) Collective         Which noun is concrete? - a) Dream - b) City - c) Kindness - d) Truth     Answer: b) City           Identifying Nouns Exercise Instructions: Circle the nouns in each sentence and define the type of each noun.   - The dog barked loudly at the cat in the garden. - Sarah's books were neatly stacked on the shelf. - Happiness is a state of mind that everyone strives for. - The children played with their toys in the playground. - The mountains were covered in a blanket of snow. - John's car broke down on the highway. - The team celebrated their victory with a party.     Answers: - dog (common, singular, countable, concrete), cat (common, singular, countable, concrete), garden (common, singular, countable, concrete) - Sarah's (proper, singular, possessive), books (common, plural, countable, concrete), shelf (common, singular, countable, concrete) - Happiness (abstract, uncountable) - children (common, plural, countable, concrete), toys (common, plural, countable, concrete), playground (common, singular, countable, concrete) - mountains (common, plural, countable, concrete), snow (common, uncountable, concrete) - John's (proper, singular, possessive), car (common, singular, countable, concrete), highway (common, singular, countable, concrete) - team (common, singular, collective, concrete), victory (common, singular, uncountable, abstract)             Noun Categorization Exercise: Instructions: Categorize the following words into appropriate noun categories: Proper, Common, Abstract, Concrete, Compound, Possessive, Collective. London, chair, love, river, mother's, team, happiness, treehouse, cat, mountain   Answers: - London - Proper - Chair - Common, Concrete - Love - Abstract, Common - River - Common, Concrete - Mother's - Possessive - Team - Common, Collective - Happiness - Abstract, Common - Treehouse - Compound, Concrete - Cat - Common, Concrete - Mountain - Common, Concrete             Completing Noun Phrases Exercise: Instructions: Write the appropriate noun in the below-mentioned phrase.   - Underneath the ____________ tree, the children enjoyed their picnic and shared stories. - She found her ____________ book lying forgotten on the library shelf. - The ____________ happiness she felt upon hearing the news was indescribable. - New York is a bustling ____________ city that never sleeps. - The ____________ team celebrated their victory with cheers and high-fives. - We gazed up at the towering ____________ mountain, feeling small in its presence. - With a wag of its tail, the ____________ dog greeted its owner at the door. - Their ____________ love for each other was evident in every gesture and glance. - The old ____________ house at the end of the street had an air of mystery about it. - The vastness of the ____________ ocean stretched out before us, a sight to behold.       Answers: - Apple - Fiction - Pure - New York - Soccer - Rocky - Golden Retriever - Unconditional - Victorian - Pacific               Plural-Only Noun Exercise: Instructions: Fill in the blanks with the appropriate plural-only form of the noun.   - She bought a pair of ____________ for the upcoming event. - The students handed in their ____________ at the end of the class. - His collection of ____________ is quite impressive. - They admired the beautiful ____________ displayed in the museum. - We need to buy new ____________ for the winter season.   Answers: - She bought a pair of trousers for the upcoming event. - The students handed in their assignments at the end of the class. - His collection of binoculars is quite impressive. - They admired the beautiful paintings displayed in the museum. - We need to buy new gloves for the winter season.               Singular-Only Noun Exercise: Instructions: Fill in the blanks with the appropriate singular-only form of the noun.   - She offered him some ____________ before his presentation. - The company's ____________ has been steadily increasing over the past year. - The teacher's ____________ greatly impacted the students' understanding of the topic. - His ____________ in the stock market helped him secure his financial future. - We often listen to classical ____________ while studying.       Answers: - She offered him some advice before his presentation. - The company's progress has been steadily increasing over the past year. - The teacher's teaching greatly impacted the students' understanding of the topic. - His investment in the stock market helped him secure his financial future. - We often listen to classical music while studying.         Noun exercises What is a Noun? How to use it? Count and noncount Nouns The Case of the Noun: the Common and the Possessive Case of the Noun Table of Irregular Verbs THE IMPERATIVE MOOD AND NON-FINITE FORMS OF “TO BE” Conditional sentences: Mixed and Implied Read the full article

[literaryvein-reblogs]

more commonly confused words

this time, with examples

affect vs. effect

Usually affect is a verb meaning "to influence," and effect is a noun meaning "result." But effect occasionally is used as a verb meaning "to bring about."

Example: Social activities may affect your grades, but the effect should be small!

than vs. then

Than is used to indicate a difference between two things and is usually used in the phrases “more than” or “less than.” Then indicates a sequence of events or items.

Example: The data indicates that Americans work more hours than Europeans.

Example: Add the butter then the sugar to make the cookie dough.

farther vs. further

Farther refers to additional distance, and further refers to additional time, amount, or other abstract matters.

Example: You may be further from an "A" than you think, so when you study, go no farther than the best place to concentrate.

loose vs. lose

Loose means that something is not firmly in place or could be removed easily. Lose means to no longer have something or to have misplaced it.

Example: This bracelet is loose on my wrist; I hope I don't lose it again.

its vs. it’s

Its is the possessive of “it,” and unlike other possessives, does not use an apostrophe. It’s is the contraction of “it is” or “it has” and is never used to mark the possessive. 

Example: It’s been many decades since the college changed its graduation requirements.

less vs. fewer

Less refers to bulk amounts and uncountable items, or nouns that can’t be quantified by just putting a number in front of them. Fewer refers to countable items, or nouns that can be quantified just using a number.

Example: After inventory, there are fewer guavas and less flour than we ordered.

entitled vs. titled

Entitled means to have a right to do or have something. Titled refers to the name or label of something.

Example: I feel entitled to own this book, because it is titled “Dimitri” and that’s my name also.

between vs. among

Between is used when two things are concerned (the word comes from "by twain" in Middle English), while among is used when more than two things are concerned.

Example: Between you and me, these mistakes are common among all of us.

feel vs. think

In common usage, feel means to sense, to be emotionally affected by something, or to have a general or thorough conviction. Think means to use reason or to examine with the intellect.

Example: I think that you can write better than you have, though I feel encouraged by the improvements in your writing.

which vs. that

Use that in restricting (limiting) clauses: "The rocking chair that creaks is on the porch." In this sentence, one rocking chair is singled out from several – the one that creaks.

Use which in nonrestrictive (in effect, parenthetic) clauses: "The rocking chair, which creaks, is on the porch." In this sentence, the fact that the rocking chair creaks is tossed in; it is not added for the purpose of identifying the one chair out of several. 

Important Note: Use who for people, in both restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses.

A technique that can improve your writing is proofreading, which can show you unintentional errors.

since vs. because

Since is often used to mean because: "Since you ask, I'll tell you." Its primary meaning, however, relates to time: "I've been waiting since noon." Most people now accept since in place of because; however, when since is ambiguous and may also refer to time ("Since he joined the navy, she found another boyfriend"), it is better to say because or after, depending on which you mean.

Example: Because you are intelligent and careful, your writing has improved since the beginning of this course.

commonly confused words part 1

[tanadrin]

My brother linked me this wonderful document of EU-isms in English. One big sticking point the author points out is nouns that are countable/uncountable in English but the other way around in another European language. Occasionally pronunciation as well--i.e., pronouncing "cabinet" as "cabinay."

One example he cites that must be extremely annoying is the way "concerned" means two different things depending on whether it comes before or after a noun: "the concerned official" vs "the official concerned [with something]." I actually have no idea what's happening grammatically there, or whether there are any other words that do that.

Also I did not know that "actor" in the generic sense (as in "state actor") was a particularly North American expression.

Other highlights:

In English, the term ‘Anglo-Saxon’ is generally used to describe a member of any of the West Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons and Jutes) that settled in Britain from the 5th century AD. ... Furthermore, the Anglo-Saxon language ceased to exist in the 12th century (I am ill-informed about Brussels, but the last known speaker in Luxembourg was St Willibrord, 658-73922). This term is particularly inapplicable (and, I gather, irritating for those concerned) when used to describe the Irish, Scots and Welsh, who partly base their national identities on not being descended from the Anglo-Saxons (everybody seems to have forgotten about the poor Jutes), and verges on the ridiculous when used to include West Indians or people like the incumbent US president, who, in EU terminology, would be the leader of the Anglo-Saxon world.

Every now and then a job advertisement appears, saying, for example, that the Commission is looking for a ‘head of sector to animate 12 staff members’. Looking in the Oxford online dictionary for a clue as to what this might mean, we can probably exclude the fact that the person in question will be expected to: ‘bring [the staff members] to life’, or ‘give [them] the appearance of movement using animation techniques’. This means that we are left with ‘giving them inspiration, encouragement, or renewed vigour’, which also sounds a trifle unlikely. Actually the new employee will probably find that he/she will just be expected to lead a team.

[sigmaleph]

why does 'water'?

i hate the phrase "these data" so much. data is not a count noun! it is a mass noun! thus "this data" as in "this water" or "this stuff"

[theyuniversity]

We use “fewer” for countable nouns:

fewer cats

fewer pens

fewer cars

fewer typos

We use “less” for uncountable/mass nouns:

less air

less water

less money

less milk

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[linguistics-and-such]

Why can't you count corn and sand?

Nouns like "corn" and "sand" are known as "uncountable nouns", or "mass nouns". They usually indicate that the noun in question is made up of a large number of something. For example, corn is made up of many kernels, and sand is made up of many grains.

If you want to count a mass noun, you usually have to do it indirectly with a unit of measurement. For example, you can say "four cobs of corn" or "ten grains of sand", but you don't tend to say "four corns" or "ten sands".

Unlike countable nouns, mass nouns cannot be modified with an indefinite article ("a" or "an"). Something like "a corn" or "a sand" is considered ungrammatical.

Countable nouns typically take the adjective "many" and plural verbs. "How many cats are there?"

Meanwhile, mass nouns typically take the adjective "much" and singular verbs. "How much money is there?"

In older English, countable nouns used to take "fewer" and "fewest", while mass nouns used to take "less" and "least". "There are fewer cats here now" and "There is less money here now." However, in modern English, "fewer" and "fewest" are rarely used, and "less" and "least" are considered correct for countable nouns as well: "There are less cats here now."

Note that mass nouns are not the same thing as countable nouns that have identical declensions for their singular and plural forms. The words "deer", "fish", and "sheep" don't change when made plural, but they can still be counted directly - eg, "one deer", "five fish", "seven sheep", etc. They can also still take indefinite articles - eg, "a deer", "a fish", etc. Furthermore, they are modified by "many" when plural, not "much"- eg, "many deer", "many sheep", etc.

As a fun side-note, all nouns in Japanese are mass nouns. In fact, counting can be quite difficult in Japanese due to the sheer number of counting suffixes they have, as well as the irregular declensions of certain numbers before the suffix is added:

* hitotsu (１つ) = one general thing

* hitori (１人) = one person

* ippiki (１匹) = one small animal

* ittou (１頭) = one large animal

* ichiwa (１羽) = one bird / one rabbit

* ichinichi (１日) = one day

* isshuu (１週) = one week

* hitotsuki (１月) = one month

* ichinen (１年) = one year

* issai (１才) = one year old

* ippon (１月) = one long and thin object

* ichimai (１枚) = one thin and flat object

* ikko (１個) = one small object

* hitotabi / ichido (１度) = one occurrence

* ikkai (１回) = one occurrence

* ikkai (１階) = one storey

* hitobako (１箱) = one box

* ippai (１杯) = one glassful / one spoonful

* issatsu (１冊) = one book

[laalaaisqueen]

I always use these same generators when I write-part 1

[biggaybunny]

My unforgivable flaw is I really do get bothered when people mix up similar terms but it's not because I think people need to speak "proper" english it's because I crave clarity both in my ability to communicate with others and how they communicate with me, because I am *really* bad with both those things. Even I have adopted using "literally" to just be another intensifier but it frustrates me when I have to interrupt my train of thought to double check the person I'm speaking to knows I mean literally literally when I'm trying to use it that way.

And sometimes it's just because it makes me happier when there's a 1-to-1 correspondence between meaning and word, or because they provide more organization to language. Yes I know what you mean when you say there are less people around than this morning even though what you mean is that there are fewer people around than this morning but isn't it neat that we have separate descriptors for countable and uncountable nouns?? Doesn't that classification change your perspective?? What do you mean you've never thought about it. What's wrong with you.

[trolledu]

Where are the rivers and lakes?

[ilearhmajeste]

み 目薬 ラーク

牧場鳥

FIREWHIRL

Noun

1578, from coppice, by contraction, originally meaning “small wood grown for purposes of periodic cutting”.

copse (plural copses)

A coppice: an area of woodland managed by coppicing (periodic cutting near stump level).

Synonyms: mott

Any thicket of small trees or shrubs, coppiced or not.

Synonyms: thicket, bush, orchard

Any woodland or woodlot.

Synonyms: stand, wood, woods

随 燃 凄い

Noundressage

(uncountable) The schooling of a horse.

(uncountable) An equestrian sport in which the horse and rider perform a test of specific movements in an arena, and are judged on the horse's obedience, acceptance of the bridle and of the rider's aids, gaits, impulsion, and the harmony between horse and rider.

(countable) An event or competition of the sport of dressage.

I'm competing in two dressages and a jumping show this weekend.

brain

The control center of the central nervous system of an animal located in the skull which is responsible for perception, cognition, attention, memory, emotion, and action.

Synonyms: harns, Thesaurus:brain

A part of the brain, especially associated with particular mental functions, abilities, etc.

(informal) An intelligent person.

Synonyms: Thesaurus:genius

She was a total brain.

(plurale tantum) A person who provides the intelligence required for something.

He is the brains behind the scheme.

(in the plural) Intellect. ▼ show

She has a lot of brains.

(in the singular) An intellectual or mental capacity.

Gerald always acts like he doesn't have a brain.

I'm competing in two dressages and a jumping show this weekend..

By analogy with a human brain, the part of a machine or computer that performs calculations.

The computer's brain is capable of millions of calculations a second.

(slang, vulgar, uncountable) Oral sex. ▼ show

(informal, slang) Mind.

I have too much on my brain today.

A loose compartment of a backpack that straps on over the top opening.

Chinese Fire Drill For Real This Time