Countable and uncountable nouns: The Grammar Gameshow Episode 27

Hello, and welcome to today’s Grammar Gameshow!

I’m your host, Will!

I am rubber,

you’re glue.

It bounces off me and sticks to you.

And of course, let’s not forget Leslie,

our all-knowing voice in the sky.

Hello, everyone!

Tonight we’re going to ask you three questions about…

Countable and uncountable nouns.

Those people, things, and places

that tell us what we’re talking about!

OK! Now, let’s meet our contestants!

Hello, all. My name is Bill.

And contestant number two?

It’s nice to meet you. I’m Yun.

Nice to see you again Bill.

You’re making quite a name for yourself in this show.

And welcome Yun.

OK, let’s get going, and don’t forget

you can play along at home too.

Here is our first question.

Nouns in English can be divided into

countable and uncountable.

But,

what are the basic differences between them?

Countable nouns can be counted.

Uncountable nouns can’t.

Or not can’t, they can…

but we don’t usually…

I mean who really wants to sit there

and count grains of rice?

Leslie?

Correct!

Countable nouns can be divided into singular and plural.

A chair, two chairs, three chairs.

Uncountable nouns cannot.

With countable nouns we ask how many and use words

such as a lot, many and a few.

With uncountable nouns, we use how much

and words such as a lot, much and a little.

All clear on that?

Let’s have an alphabet battle to check.

It’s simple.

Challenge each other to give examples of

countable and uncountable nouns

following the order of the alphabet.

Yun, you can go first. Ready? Go!

Uncountable.

A for Art.

Correct!

Countable.

B for Beds.

Correct!

Countable.

C for cars.

Correct!

Uncountable.

D for danger.

Correct!

Countable.

Elephants.

Correct!

Uncountable.

Fish.

Correct!

But,

fish is countable!

wait... er…

fishes?

Oi!

What was…

sorry I was thinking about something else...

She’s cheating!

Cheating!

Well, I didn’t see anything.

That is a very serious accusation you’re making.

Do you have any evidence?

Roll up her sleeve!

I can’t, I’m afraid!

I can no longer touch the contestants after that

unfortunate chainsaw-related game show accident

in episode 37

... but that was such a long time ago.

Leslie?

Fish?

Fish is both countable and uncountable

depending on whether you mean the animal

– I see three fish –

or the food

– I eat lots of fish.

This is not the only noun like this, so be careful!

Well done! I think Yun did better,

so twelve points for you.

On to our second round,

and this is a double-trouble round of

two questions about uncountables.

Here we go!

Question one.

If uncountable nouns cannot be counted,

how then can we count them?

Can’t we use a container to make them countable?

Correct!

She’s doing it again!

Eh?

Yes, you’re right!

Time for our second uncountable question

… now that’s a paradox of words!

Fruit is an uncountable noun.

How then is this sentence correct?

There were at least 12 fruits on offer.

It’s an irregular plural

that refers to the different types of thing

in the same category.

Correct!

Will!

She’s cheating!

So, you keep saying, but do you have any evidence?

I literally just filmed it on my phone.

What are you doing there?

You could be blog-tubing the answers!

Put that away!

Tut, tut, tut!

Leslie?

Tut, tut, tut, Bill!

To make an uncountable noun countable

we need to use a container.

This is an expression commonly using a and of.

For example,

a piece of cake

or a cup of coffee.

Secondly,

some nouns, such as fruit and fish,

have an irregular plural

– fruits and fishes.

We use these when we are referring to a number

of different types of thing

from the same category.

For example,

the shop sells three fruits

– apples, bananas and oranges!

Well done, Yun! Another fantastic round

and another ten points.

OK on to our fi…

Look!

Hang on a minute! Before we go any further…

Can you just please keep an eye on her?

Please?

Oh, very well.

If for no other reason than

it's not nice to see a grown man beg

... except for Leslie, of course.

Round three!

Have a look at these sentences

and tell me why the noun used in each one

is special in some way.

The news was reported.

The species is extinct.

The team play well.

The staff are unhappy.

In A the noun news is uncountable.

However, many people may see the ‘s’ at the end,

and think that it is a plural. Oh no!

There is no singular or plural. News is uncountable!

Correct!

I’m just guessing here, but the noun species in B

is unusual because it’s singular and has no plural form.

So, just to say again,

the noun species

singular and plural forms are the same.

Correct!

In C the noun team is a collective.

This means it can be singular or plural.

It depends on the speaker.

Correct!

I’m going to go out on a limb here,

but the noun staff in D,

is singular…

just like news.

So, just to repeat that.

Staff is a collective noun

that takes plural verb form.

Correct!

It’s the audience!

They’re…

no, it’s…

someone’s coughing!

Bill, sometimes people cough.

It’s not illegal.

Maybe the stress of four wins is beginning to show.

Leslie?

Nice!

English has some irregular nouns

which you need to be careful of!

Some nouns,

such as species, fish and sheep

are the same whether they are singular or plural.

Some nouns,

such as news and mathematics,

always take a singular verb.

Some nouns,

such as staff and police,

are collective,

and so are always plural

And finally,

there are some collective nouns,

such as team, government and family,

which can be either singular or plural

depending on whether you mean a single unit

- it -

or a group of individuals

- they.

Well done! Three points each!

And that brings us to the end of today’s

Grammar Gameshow.

Let’s count out the points…

And the winner is…

Yun!

Or

at least it would be

if she hadn’t been blatantly cheating this whole time!

What!?

Don’t you think I don’t see everything that

goes on around here?

I see all and I hear all.

Incidentally Bill, you might want to go to the doctor.

Your stomach’s been making some quite...

biological noises.

Why didn’t you say something before?

Well, it’s your stomach Bill…

Oh!

You mean about the cheating.

Well,

I’ve got a time slot to fill.

Bye bye, Yun.

Release the disappointed parents.

And Bill?

No one likes a snitch.

It looks like we’ll need two more contestants.

Thanks for joining us.

Say goodbye, Leslie

Sağol, Leslie.

See you next time.