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OXFORD PRACTICE GRAMMAR 77 A CARTON OF MILK, A PIECE OF INFORMATION, ETC a carton of milk two tins of soup kilo of sugar a piece/slice of bread a loaf of bread Milk, soup, etc are unc

OXFORD PRACTICE GRAMMAR

77 A CARTON OF MILK, A PIECE OF INFORMATION, ETC

a carton of milk two tins of soup kilo of sugar a piece/slice of bread a loaf of

bread

Milk, soup, etc are uncountable nouns We cannot use a or a number in

front of them We do not usually say a

milk or two soups But we can say a carton of milk or two tins of soup

Here are some more examples

a tin of paint

a bottle of water

a box/packet of cereal

a jar of jam

a tube of toothpaste

a glass of water

a cup of coffee

We can also use this structure with a plural noun after of

a packet of crisps a box of matches three kilos of potatoes a collection of

pictures

B A piece of information

Advice, information and news are uncountable nouns We cannot use them with a/an or in the plural

Can I give you some advice? NOT an-advice

We got some information from the tourist office, NOT some informations That's wonderful news! NOT a wonderful news

But we can use piece of, bit of and item of

Can I give you a piece of/a bit of advice?

There are two pieces/bits of information we need to complete the

questionnaire

There's a bit of /an item of news that might interest you

These nouns are uncountable in English, although they may be countable in other languages:

accommodation, baggage, behaviour, equipment, fun, furniture,

homework, housework, litter, luck,

luggage, progress, rubbish, scenery, traffic, travel, weather, work

Some countable nouns have similar meanings to the uncountable nouns above

COUNTABLE

There aren't any jobs

It's a long journey

There were sofas and chairs for sale We've booked a room

I've got three suitcases

UNCOUNTABLE

There isn't any work

Travel can be tiring

There was furniture for sale

We've booked some accommodation I've got three pieces of luggage

CARTON, TIN, ETC MEASUREMENTS

a carton of orange juice a kilo of cheese five metres of cable twenty litres of petrol half a pound of butter a bar of chocolate

a loaf of bread

PIECE, SLICE, ETC

a piece of wood

a piece/slice of bread

a piece/sheet of paper

77 EXERCISES

1 A carton of milk (A)

What did Tom buy at the supermarket? Use of

Milk 0.35

Milk 0.35 ► two cartons of milk

1 kilo flour 0.85 ► a kilo of flour

Jam 0.95 1

Matches 0.39 2

Bread 0.65 3

Bread 0.65 4

Chocolate 0.95 5

5 kilos potatoes 1.59 6

Breakfast cereal 1.38 7

Mineral water 0.74 8

Mineral water 0.74

Toothpaste 0.89

Total £10.48

2 Countable and uncountable nouns (B)

Complete the sentences Put in a/an or some

I really ought to do some housework

The people who camped in the field have left ………

I've been working on the business plan I've made …

The visitors are here for two nights They're looking for

That shop has……… nice sofa

You'll have to pay extra for the taxi because you've got

The flat is quite empty I need………… furniture

I can't possibly fit this guitar into……… suitcase

You need ……… luck to win at this game

rubbish

progress

accommodation

luggage

3 Countable and uncountable nouns (B)

You are talking about the holiday you had with a friend Use these words:

accommodation, awful journey, beautiful scenery, chair, fun, good weather, meal

You have to decide whether you need to put a/an or not

? (It was quite easy to book a place to stay.)

Booking accommodation was quite easy

? (There was nothing to sit on in your room.)

But my room wasn't very nice It didn't even have a chair in it

1 (You were in a beautiful part of the country.)

It was a lovely place, though There was all

around us

2 (The weather was good.)

And we had……… while we were there

3 (One evening you went to a restaurant with some other people.)

One evening we had with some people

we met

4 (You enjoyed yourselves at the disco.)

We went to a disco We had ……… there

5 (Travelling home was awful.)

We had home last Saturday