English III - Session 05

ENGLISH IIIENGLISH III

Topic:

Staying in

In this session we are going to describe:

Count and uncount nouns.A and an.Some and any.Nouns and adjectives.

Content

Count nounsCount nouns

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Count nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more count nouns:

•dog, cat, animal, man, person•bottle, box, liter•coin, note, dollar•cup, plate, fork•table, chair, suitcase, bag

Count nounsCount nouns

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Count nouns can be singular or plural:

•My dog is playing.•My dogs are hungry.

We can use the indefinite article a/an with count nouns:

•A dog is an animal.

Count nounsCount nounsNow, look around the room or the classroom you're in at this moment. Name some things that you can count including the things that are part of the room itself.Examples:desks, chairs, flag, clock, computers, keyboards, projector, books, bookcases, pens, notebooks, backpacks, lights, floor, wall, ceiling, windows, door, chalkboard, etc.

Uncount nounsUncount nouns

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Uncount nouns are substances, concepts, etc. that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or "liters of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncount nouns:

•music, art, love, happiness•advice, information, news•furniture, luggage•rice, sugar, butter, water•electricity, gas, power•money, currency

Uncount nounsUncount nouns

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We usually treat uncount nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:•This news is very important.•Your luggage looks heavy.

We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncount nouns. We cannot say "an information" or "a music". But we can say a something of:•a piece of news•a bottle of water•a grain of rice

Nouns that can be count and Nouns that can be count and uncountuncountSometimes, the same noun can be count and uncount, often with a change of meaning.

Count nouns

Nouns that can be count and Nouns that can be count and uncountuncount

Some tipsSome tips

Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are usually uncount. But if we are thinking of a cup or a glass, we can say (in a restaurant, for example):

•Two teas and one coffee please.

A or An

A and an are indefinite articles. But how do we know when to say ‘a’ and when to say ‘an’?

The rule is really very simple. It depends on the sound at the start of the following word. (It does not depend on the way we write the following word, it depends on the way we say it.)

A

AN

The importance of sounds

Normally, we pronounce consonant letters with a consonant sound, and vowel letters with a vowel sound. But there are some exceptions. The rule about a or an is still the same. You just need to think about the sound, not the writing. Look at these examples:

A and An: exercisesComplete the following sentences with ‘a’ or ‘an’

1. There is ____ new English book on the desk.2. She's reading ____ old comic.3. They've got ____ idea.4. He is drinking ____ cup of coffee.5. The girl is ____ pilot.6. Leipzig has ____ airport.7. This is ____ expensive bike.8. Look! There's ____ bird flying.9. My father is ____ honest person.10. My friend likes to be ____ astronaut.

A and An: exercisesComplete the following sentences with ‘a’ or ‘an’

1. There is a new English book on the desk.2. She's reading an old comic.3. They've got an idea.4. He is drinking a cup of coffee.5. The girl is a pilot.6. Leipzig has an airport.7. This is an expensive bike.8. Look! There's a bird flying.9. My father is an honest person.10. My friend likes to be an astronaut.

Some and AnyThe words some and any are used for count and uncount nouns. In general, we could say that some means a few / a little and any means none in negative clauses or a few / a little in questions.

SomeCount and uncount nouns

Some

Any

Some and any: exercisesComplete the following statements with ‘some’ or ‘any’. 1.He has ______ sandwiches.2.There are ______ boys in the room.3.There isn’t ______ water in the glass.4.There is ______ milk in the bottle.5.Are there ______ oranges in the basket?6.I have ______ money.7.Is there ______ tea in the cup?8.She has ______ flowers in her hand.9.I don’t have ______ apples.10.There aren’t ______ bananas on the basket.

Some and any: exercisesComplete the following statements with ‘some’ or ‘any’. 1.He has some sandwiches.2.There are some boys in the room.3.There isn’t any water in the glass.4.There is some milk in the bottle.5.Are there any oranges in the basket?6.I have some money.7.Is there any tea in the cup?8.She has some flowers in her hand.9.I don’t have any apples.10.There aren’t any bananas on the basket.

Noun and adjective forms

'She is intelligent' or 'she is intelligence'?

Let's take a look at the adjective form of nouns. These words will help you to build your vocabulary and will, hopefully, stop you from using the wrong word in the wrong context. It makes your English sound very strange when you use an adjective instead of a noun (or vice-versa). Take a look at this, mostly complete, A-Z and then choose the correct words to complete the five sentences below.

Noun and adjective forms

Noun Adjective

Anger AngryBeauty BeautifulCraziness CrazyDanger DangerousEase EasyFamiliarity Familiar Guilt GuiltyHapiness HappyIntelligence Intelligent

Noun and adjective forms

Noun Adjective

Kindness KindLuck LuckyMisery MiserableNature NaturalOffence OffensivePain PainfulQuestion QuestionableRomance RomanticStrenght Strong

Noun and adjective forms

Noun Adjective

Truth TrueUgliness UglyViolence ViolentWarmth WarmYouth YoungZeal Zealous

Noun and adjective exercises

1. She's the most ___ person I have ever met. a. intelligence b. intelligent2. To have ___ is important when you gamble. a. luck b. lucky3. It was nice to see the animals in their ___ environment. a. nature b. natural4. I have a ___ in my shoulder. a. painful b. pain5. Not everything you read in the newspaper is ___. a. true b. truth

Noun and adjective exercises

1. She's the most intelligent person I have ever met.2. To have luck is important when you gamble.3. It was nice to see the animals in their natural environment.4. I have a pain in my shoulder.5. Not everything you read in the newspaper is true.

Conclusions

Checklist

Count nouns:Office – offices , pen - pens …Uncount nouns:Rice, salt, furniture …

A / anSome / any

Nouns and adjetives:Truth – true, danger - dangerous …

Bibliography

Mascull, B. (2005) Best Practice Pre-intermediate Coursebook. Heinle Cengage Learning.

Electronic referencesImages•http://blog.marketamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/shutterstock_132012515.jpg

•http://www.belvedereoffice.co.uk/gfx/Belvedere-Eco-Office-Desk.jpg•https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRmgzd8o9YTUEbqdFxR72M-olxfqCXi2PTH8ZYZZUfL1kJefrZu•http://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/images/rawmilk/milk_home.jpg•http://www.amaze.org.au/uploads/2012/05/newspaper.jpg•http://www.drifterandthegypsy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/thisorthat_coffeetea.jpg•http://www.speechtechnologygroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Pronouciation-image.jpg•http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aqJidVaZrGI/UNIIfnS_tuI/AAAAAAAAAhA/b4gkx3VDvMY/s1600/Dibujo.jpg•http://grammaropolis.com/images/slides/adjectiveIntroTOC.png•http://f0.bcbits.com/img/a3069347731_10.jpg