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5.1 Count and Non-Count Nouns

She wears that necklace every day. She has beautiful jewelry.
Singular | Is there a copier in the office? What equipment does the office need?
This English assignment looks hard. The homework is pretty difficult.

She has two gold necklaces.
Plural Both copiers were broken.
The assignments took a long time.

1. Count nouns name things that can be We have a son at home and two sons in college.
counted. They have a singular and a plural This box is small. Those boxes are large.
form. To make most nouns plural, add -s or -es.*

2. Non-count nouns name things that cannot be Sugar isn’t good for your teeth.
counted. They do not have plural forms. Use
v¥ The information is interesting, isn’t it?
singular verbs and pronouns with non-count
X The informations interesting, aren’t they?
are
nouns.

3. Do not use a/an before a non-count noun. / Do you have homework tonight?
X Do you have a homework tonight?

4. An abstract noun refers to an idea or quality Feelings: anger, happiness, hate, love
rather than a physical object. Abstract nouns Ideas: beauty, friendship, intelligence
are usually non-count. School subjects: art, history, math, science

Weather: fog, rain, snow, sunshine, wind

5. Be careful! Some nouns have both count He had a long life. / Life is wonderful.
and non-count meanings. Use the context to Here’s a glass of water. / It’s made of glass.
determine if the noun is countable or not. Your horse is a beauty. / There’s beauty in nature.

“See page A2 for spelling rules for regular plural nouns.

4 Complete the paragraphs about naming traditions. Add a plural -s/es/-ies when possible.

In China, (1) girl often receive (2) name that suggest (3) beauty ____.
(For example: Mei Hua means “beautiful flower.”) (4) Boy _____ typically receive names that

represent (5) health and (6) strength ____. (For example: Gang means “strong.”) It is
customary to let some (7) time pass before celebrating a (8) birth ___.. Families have

parties called “Hundred Days” to celebrate the (9) survival of (10) baby _____ during
the first three (11) month of (12) life .

(13) Buddhist in India name (14) infant ____ when they are certain that the baby
can hear. A (15) mother writes the baby’s name on a banana leaf and covers the leaf with

(16) rice . Then, she puts the baby on the leaf and whispers the name into the child’s ear
three (17) time .

118 NOUNS, ARTICLES, AND SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
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