Deep Dive
What are uncountable nouns in English?
Uncountable nouns are nouns that cannot be counted, such as water, money, and research. They often represent abstract concepts, liquids, gases, or groups of items.
Why are some nouns uncountable in English?
Uncountable nouns often represent abstract concepts, liquids, gases, or groups of items, making them difficult to quantify individually.
What are examples of uncountable nouns related to activities?
Examples include travel, work, and homework, which are typically treated as uncountable nouns in English.
How can you use 'a piece of' with uncountable nouns?
You can add 'a piece of' to uncountable nouns like information or advice to make them countable in certain contexts, e.g., 'a piece of information' or 'two pieces of advice'.
What are some examples of group nouns that are uncountable?
Examples include accommodation (places to stay), fruit, food, and weather, which are treated as singular and uncountable in English.
Why are subjects like physics and economics considered uncountable?
Despite ending in 's', subjects like physics and economics are treated as uncountable nouns in English, requiring singular verbs.
What is the rule for using uncountable nouns with articles?
Uncountable nouns do not use articles 'a' or 'an'. Instead, they are used with 'some', e.g., 'some advice' rather than 'an advice'.
What are some examples of uncountable nouns related to liquids and gases?
Examples include water and air, which are treated as uncountable nouns in English.
What are some examples of uncountable nouns related to feelings and ideas?
Examples include happiness, education, and history, which are treated as uncountable nouns in English.
How can you identify uncountable nouns in English?
Uncountable nouns often belong to categories like activity words, information words, or group words. If a noun fits into one of these types, it is likely uncountable.
Shownotes Transcript
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Hello and welcome to 6 Minute Vocabulary. I'm Neil. And I'm Catherine. And in this show we're talking about uncountable nouns. Yes, we are. So that's nouns that you can't count, like water, money and research. We'll show you plenty of examples. And we'll also bring you a top tip for recognising uncountable nouns.
But let's start by listening to Colin. He's a travel agent. While you listen, think about this question. What might you need from your bank before you go abroad? Here's Colin. It's time to start planning your summer travel. Do some research before you go. Are there good reviews of the accommodation? How much baggage can you take? And what's the best way to take money abroad?
Do you need to get some advice from your bank? Will the traffic be bad on the way to the airport? So, that was Colin. We asked you, what might you need from your bank before you go abroad? And the answer is, you might need some advice. That's right, some advice. Advice means ideas and suggestions about what to do. Now, did you notice that advice is
is not plural. We never say advices in English because advice is an uncountable noun. You can't make advice plural like you can in some other languages. And with uncountable nouns, we don't use articles a or an. We say some advice, not an advice. Now listen out for three more uncountable nouns in this clip.
It's time to start planning your summer travel. Do some research before you go. Are there good reviews of the accommodation? And the uncountable nouns in that clip were travel, research and accommodation. And activities like travel, work and homework are usually uncountable.
Information words like research, information and advice are uncountable too. Yes, they're not usually plural in English but we can add the words 'a piece of' to lots of uncountable nouns if we like, so we can say 'a piece of information' or 'two pieces of advice'. That's right.
The other uncountable noun in that clip was accommodation. Accommodation means places to live or spend the night, like rooms, flats and houses. So, accommodation describes the group of places that you can stay, like flats, houses, student halls of residence. And group words are often uncountable, so there's no plural form. Fruit, food and weather are group words too. We don't usually say fruits –
foods and weathers. That's right. Now let's have another clip. Can you spot any more uncountable nouns? How much baggage can you take? And what's the best way to take money abroad? Will the traffic be bad on the way to the airport? And we had baggage, money and traffic.
In some languages, these words are often plural. But not in English. In English, they are all group words. That's right. So, baggage means a group of bags. It's money for coins or notes. And traffic for cars, lorries and buses. And we're talking about uncountable nouns. We've seen that some activity nouns are uncountable and some group nouns are uncountable –
Shall we now talk about more types of uncountable nouns, Catherine? Go on then. So, we've got liquids and gases. Water and air are uncountable. Yes, they are. Materials and substances like wood and salt are uncountable too. Then there are words for feelings and ideas. So, happiness and education.
Education. And also subjects like history and biology. That's right, but be careful with subjects like physics or economics. Yes, they end with the letter s, so they look plural, but in fact they're usually uncountable too. So we use them with a singular verb, just like other uncountable nouns. Physics is complicated. And economics isn't easy.
And it's quiz time. Number one. Is the word furniture countable or uncountable? And the answer is it's uncountable. It's a group word, like baggage. It means things like tables and chairs. Very good. And number two. Is this sentence correct or wrong? Please can you give me some information?
That is not correct. Information is uncountable, so it's some information without an S, not some informations. Very good. And the last one, which is correct? And the answer is...
A. It was beautiful weather on Saturday. And that's the end of the quiz. Well done to you if you got them all right. But before we go, here's a tip. When you see a noun, think carefully about whether it belongs to one of these types. Activity words...
information words or group words. If it does, then it's probably uncountable. There's more about this at bbclearningenglish.com. Join us again for more 6 Minute Vocabulary. Bye. Bye.
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I don't have my passport, I don't have my phone, I don't have my bank cards, I have nothing. The passport being taken, the being in a house and not feeling like they can leave...
You just get sucked in so gradually.
And it's done so skillfully that you don't realize. And it's like this, the secret that's there. I wanted to believe that, you know, that whatever they were doing, even if it seemed gross to me,
was for some spiritual reason that I couldn't yet understand. Revealing the hidden secrets of a global yoga network. I feel that I have no other choice. The only thing I can do is to speak about this and to put my reputation and everything else on the line. I want truth and justice.
And for other people to not be hurt, for things to be different in the future. To bring it into the light and almost alchemise some of that evil stuff that went on and take back the power. World of Secrets, Season 6, The Bad Guru. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.