20- Uncountable Flashcards
(28 cards)
Water
A bottle of water
Milk
A carton of milk
Chocolate
A bar of chocolate
Cheese
A piece of cheese
Rice
A bowl of rice
Perfume
A bottle of perfume
Coffee
A cup of coffee
Music
A piece of music
Tennis
A game of tennis
Meat
A cut of meat
A slice of meat
Food
• Food is usually uncountable:
There was not enough food for everyone.
✗Don’t say: enough foods
• Food is used as a countable noun when talking about particular types of food:
The doctor advised her to avoid fatty foods.
Butter is a healthy food.
Wood
a piece of wood
He made a bench out of pieces of wood.
a plank of wood (=a long thin flat piece)
The shed was constructed from some old planks of wood.
a block of wood
I used a block of wood to knock the pole into the ground.
Paper
COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 1:
material in the form of thin sheets that is used for writing on, wrapping things etc
PHRASES
a sheet of paper
Each recipe was written down on a separate sheet of paper.
a piece of paper
Can I have another piece of paper?
a scrap/slip of paper (=a small piece)
He scribbled Pamela’s address on a scrap of paper.
a pad of paper (=many sheets of paper fixed together at one edge)
Chris took out a pad of paper and started writing.
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + PAPER
writing/note paper (=good quality paper for writing letters)
Can you fetch me a piece of writing paper and a pen?
plain paper (=with nothing written or printed on it)
The package was wrapped in plain brown paper.
lined paper (=printed with horizontal lines, for writing)
a note written on lined paper
wrapping paper (=coloured paper for wrapping presents)
He carefully removed the wrapping paper so it wouldn’t tear.
tissue paper (=very thin paper for wrapping things)
All the clothes were wrapped in tissue paper.
recycled paper (=paper made from waste paper)
The envelopes are made from 100 percent recycled paper.
COMMON ERRORS
► Don’t say ‘write on a paper’. Say write on a piece of paper.
COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 2:
a newspaper
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + PAPER
a local paper
You could try putting an advert in the local paper.
a national paper
The story had been in all the national papers.
a daily paper
Which of these daily papers do you usually read?
a Sunday paper
I only get a Sunday paper if I’ve got lots of spare time.
an evening paper
Ian usually buys an evening paper on his way home.
a tabloid paper (=one with small pages, especially one without much serious news)
Don’t believe everything you read in the tabloid papers.
a broadsheet paper (=one with large pages, usually one containing serious news)
Tabloid newspapers are usually about half the size of a broadsheet paper.
a quality paper British English (=one intended for educated readers )
Readers of quality papers, such as the Telegraph and the Guardian, are mainly employed in professional jobs.
Soup
A bowl of soup
Bread
A loaf of bread
Honey
A jar of honey
Jam
A jar of jam
Furniture
• Furniture is an uncountable noun and is not used in the plural. You say:
The house has some beautiful old furniture.
✗Don’t say: The house has some beautiful old furnitures.
• Furniture is always followed by a singular verb:
The furniture was in good condition.
• When talking about one chair or table, you say a piece of furniture or an item of furniture:
There was only one piece of furniture in the room.
Work
GRAMMAR: Comparisonwork
• In this meaning, work is always an uncountable noun.
• You say:
It may be hard for older people to find work.
✗Don’t say: find a work
job
• Job is a countable noun.
• You say:
I applied for a job as a reporter.
✗Don’t say: I applied for a work.
• You say:
Her first job was in London.
✗Don’t say: Her first work was in London.
Research
Experience
1 KNOWLEDGE/SKILL [uncountable] knowledge or skill that you gain from doing a job or activity, or the process of doing this
experience of/in/with
2 KNOWLEDGE OF LIFE [uncountable] knowledge that you gain about life and the world by being in different situations and meeting different people, or the process of gaining this
in somebody’s experience
In his experience, women did not like getting their feet wet and muddy.
3 SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS [countable] something that happens to you or something you do, especially when this has an effect on what you feel or think
childhood experiences
experience of/with
This was my first experience of living with other people.
experience for
Failing an exam was a new experience for me.
I had a similar experience last year.
The two children in this story have been through a lot of bad experiences.
Parachuting is quite an experience.
memorable/unforgettable experience
This romantic evening cruise is a memorable experience.
religious experience (=a situation in which you feel, hear, or see something that affects you strongly and makes you believe in God)
Homework
Experience
Countable = something that happened to you
I visited that place and I had really good experience
Uncountable = knowledge & skill in sth
He has a lot of work experience
Parking
Uncountable
