Title: Common English Foundation
1- Common English Foundation
- Countability Articles
2Countable and Uncountable Nouns
- You are going to look at one part of an IELTS
writing task answer written by a candidate who
achieved a Band 5 score. - The examiner suggested that the major weakness of
the writing lies in grammatical accuracy of the
basic and simple sentence structures apart from
other issues.
3Warm up exerciseCambridge IELTS2. Examination
papers from the University of Cambridge Local
Examination Syndicate, CUP, 2000. (Band 5
Achiever)
- This chart show us the number of Japanese
tourists go abroad for travelling in a decade and
Australian's share of marketing for Japanese
tourists. Between 1985 and 1995 Japanese
tourists travelling abroad was dramatically
increased. - In 85 there was about 5 millions traveller go
abroad. Since 85 number of traveller went up
dramatically until 90. It was almost twice then
between 90 and 93 the number remain stateable,
which is about 12 millions. From 93 to 95 it
rose slightly. Therefore in 1995 there were
about 15 millions people went abroad.
4possible grammatical problems
- This chart show us that the number of Japanese
tourists go abroad for travelling in a decade and
Australian's share of marketing for Japanese
tourists. Between 1985 and 1995 Japanese
tourists travelling abroad was dramatically
increased. - In 85 there was about 5 millions traveller go
abroad. Since 85 number of traveller went up
dramatically until 90. It was almost twice then
between 90 and 93 the number remain stateable,
which is about 12 millions. From 93 to 95 it
rose slightly. Therefore in 1995 there were
about 15 millions people went abroad.
5- ? This chart show us that Japanese tourists go
abroad for travelling in a decade and
Australian's share of marketing for Japanese
tourists. - ? This chart shows us the number of Japanese
tourists going abroad for travelling in a decade
and Australian's share of marketing for Japanese
tourists. - ? Between 1985 and 1995 Japanese tourists
travelling abroad was dramatically increased. - ? Between 1985 and 1995 Japanese tourists
travelling abroad had dramatically increased.
6- ? In 85 there was about 5 millions traveller go
abroad. - ? In 1985 there were about 5 million
travellers going abroad. -
- ? Since 85 number of traveller went up
dramatically until 90. - ? Since 1985 the number of travellers had
gone up dramatically until 1990.
7-
- ? It was almost twice then between 90 and 93 the
number remain stateable, which is about 12
millions. - ? The number was almost twice as much then
between 1990 and 1993 and it remained stable at
12 million. - ? From 93 to 95 it rose slightly. Therefore in
1995 there were about 15 millions people went
abroad. - ? From 1993 to 1995 it rose slightly.
Therefore in 1995 there were about 15 million
people going abroad.
8Countability
- Countable nouns are sometimes preceded by a, an
or the and sometimes by quantifiers such as some,
many and others. - On the other hand, uncountable nouns are not
normally used with a/an or the plural, e.g.
information, not an information, or some
informations.
9Uncountable Nouns
- When we learn uncountable nouns, we might try to
remember them in groups associated with the same
subject area.e.g. Make a list of things related
to a trip traveling to another country. Try and
name as many uncountable nouns as you can.
10Uncountable nouns associated with traveling
- luggage/ baggage, accommodation,
- money/ currency, travel information,
- skiing equipment, soap, toothpaste,
- washing powder, paper
11Uncountable nouns abstract words
- Abstract words are often uncountable.
- She gave me some a_ _ _ _ _ on how to build up my
vocabulary. - I picked up some interesting k_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ on
that ELT course. - She's made a lot of p_ _ _ _ _ _ _ in a very
short time. - She has done some r_ _ _ _ _ _ _ on marine life.
- They've done a lot of w_ _ _ on the project.
- Here's a tip for learning vocabularyAlways make
an uncountable noun with U in your vocabulary
notebook.
12Common errors
- We had a terrible weather that we left the
camp-site and got an accommodation in town
instead. - In the North of England, most houses are made of
wood, but in the South, bricks are more common. - I love antique furnitures, but I would need an
advice from a specialist before I bought any. My
knowledges in the area are very poor. - I have a good news for you.
13Nouns that are always plural
- When I move to London, I'll have to find
lodgings. - When will the goods be delivered?
- The architect inspected the foundations before
declaring that the premises were safe. - The military authorities have established their
headquarters in the old Town Hall. - The acoustics in the new opera house are
near-perfect. - Looks are less important than personality in a
partner. - As you come to the outskirts of the village,
there are traffic-lights. - The stairs are a bit dangerous.
- A terrorist has escaped from prison. His
whereabouts are unknown.
14Words that look plural but are NOT
- Series/ News/ Means
- Politics/ Economics/ Physics/ Statistics
- Measles/ Rabies/ Diabetes/ Mumpse.g. There
was a series of programmes on TV about
Japan.e.g. Is there a cheap means of transport I
could use to get there?e.g. Statistics was
always my worst subject.
15Countable Uncountable with different meanings
- There's a hair in my sandwich, a dark one.
- It must be Helen's. She has black hair.
- Did you buy a paper this morning?
- There's no more paper in the photocopier.
- I love meeting people from different countries.
- The different peoples of Asia
- Her grandma lives in a home.
- Let's go home.
- Countable specific things
- Uncountable the idea of the thing in general
16Collective nouns
- Team/ Crew/ Company/ Government/ Class/
Cast/ Staff/ Gang/ Audience/Department/
Population/ Orchestra/Army/ Club/ Family/
Jury/ Press - Collective nouns are used to describe a group of
the same things.
17Making uncountable nouns countable
- You can make many uncountable nouns singular by
adding a bit of or a piece of. Similarly you can
make then plural with bits of or pieces of. - She bought an attractive old piece of furniture
at the auction sale. - How many pieces of luggage have you got with you?
- I head a really useful bit of information
yesterday. - Mozart wrote some wonderful pieces of music.
18Making uncountable words countable more examples
- Weather
- 1d, 2e, 3b, 4c, 5a
19Making uncountable words countable (continued)
- In a groceries store
- A _ _ _ _ of bread
- Two _ _ _ _ of chocolate
- A _ _ _ _ of toothpaste
- Two _ _ _ _ _ _ _ of milk
- Three _ _ _ _ of soap
20Articles a, an, the
-
- Articles precede a noun. Some nouns require a
definite article the, some an indefinite article
a or an, some zero article. - Ask yourself these questions in deciding which
article to use.
21Q1 Is the noun a proper noun?
- If the noun is a singular proper noun, use zero
article, e.g. Donald Tsang, Asia, Chinese New
Year. - But there are exceptions The Chinese University
of Hong Kong, the HK SAR Government, the United
Kingdom, the Opium War, etc. - If the noun is a plural proper noun, use the
definite article the, e.g. the United States, the
Philippines.
22Q2 For common nouns, does the noun have a
specific reference?
- If the noun has a specific reference, that is, it
refers to a specific object or person, use the
definite article the. - E.g. Reference outside the text
- The earth revolves around the sun.
- E.g. Reference inside the text
- Her dog gave birth. The puppies are sleeping
now. - He studied bird migration for years. The
research has paid off. - The car that had been stolen last week was found
by the police.
23Q3 For nouns without specific reference, is the
noun countable or uncountable?
- If the noun is countable and singular, use the
indefinite article a or an. - Use a before a consonant sound. e.g. a bird, a
cross, a dog. - Use an before a vowel sound. e.g. an apple, an
elephant, an hour, also, an MBA degree, an FBI
agent, - but a university, a European, a one-hour act.
24For nouns without specific reference, is the noun
countable or uncountable?
- If the noun is countable and plural, use zero
article (_) - some, several, a few, a lot of or many.
- e.g. I need _ ideas! Give me some ideas!
- He has been gone for several years.
- Here are a few good men.
- She read a lot of books during summer.
- They seem to be having many arguments.
25For nouns without specific reference, is the noun
countable or uncountable?
- If the noun is uncountable, use zero article,
some, a little or much. - e.g. I need _ information about the case.
- They are throwing away some old furniture.
- Would you like some sugar with your tea?
- I save a little money each week.
- Theres much heat in the debate.
26Other uses of articles
- (1) the adjective represents a class of
people. e.g. the old, the poor. The verb is
plural and the pronoun is they. e.g. The weak
are helpless they need support. - (2) Superlatives. e.g. Hes the best player on
the team. Try to make the best out of it.
27Uncountable nouns and quantity words
- Remember that these words are uncountable
data, advice, information, news, paper - It is therefore incorrect to say I collected
many data. He gave me two advices. I found many
information on this topic. I heard a news. I only
have one paper to write on. - Instead, make use of quantity words (such as a
lot of, a piece of) or rephrase your sentence. - Correct usage I did two pieces of research work.
I collected a lot of data. He gave me two pieces
of advice. I found a lot of information on this
topic. I heard a piece of news. I only have two
sheets of paper to write on.