Noncount and Mass Nouns

2023-05-27

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1
  • Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about noncount and mass nouns.
    • 2
  • Dear Learning English,
    • 3
  • Thank you so much for your excellent programs.
    • 4
  • How do we know how to use the singular and plural of some nouns like "effort" vs."efforts?" Both show in people's writing.
    • 5
  • For some nouns, it is very hard to know if they should be used in the singular or plural, like "experience" or "faculty."
    • 6
  • Thank you,
    • 7
  • Lily
    • 8
  • Dear Lily,
    • 9
  • Thank you for your question. These words are in a group called "mass" or "noncount" nouns.
    • 10
  • These nouns are not counted as individual things.
    • 11
  • They present problems even for native speakers of English sometimes.
    • 12
  • While there are many noncount and mass nouns, we will provide some general rules to help you use them.
    • 13
  • Noncount and mass nouns do not have a plural form.
    • 14
  • For example, sand or milk would be difficult to count.
    • 15
  • Particles of sand are too small and numerous, and milk is a liquid.
    • 16
  • Mass nouns or noncount nouns can describe abstract concepts like "advice."
    • 17
  • In some cases, "faculty" is a collective noun, not a mass noun.
    • 18
  • Collective nouns describe many individuals who form a group. For example, the "faculty" is made up of individual teachers.
    • 19
  • However, if you hear the word "faculties," it often is describing a person's powers of the body or mind.
    • 20
  • The teacher aimed to develop the students' faculties of critical thought.
    • 21
  • Noncount nouns are always singular. There are no plural forms of noncount nouns.
    • 22
  • Sometimes nouns can be both mass and count nouns.
    • 23
  • Many people use "effort" and "experience" as mass nouns, while describing a concept,
    • 24
  • but they can become plural when talking about repeating or multiple attempts (efforts) or individual experiences.
    • 25
  • Her boss noticed her efforts on the project over the past few weeks. (repeating or multiple attempts)
    • 26
  • The vacation package offers many different experiences like snorkeling, swimming in the ocean or hiking in the rainforest.
    • 27
  • Another example of a noun that can be a mass or count noun is "paper."
    • 28
  • The teacher collected the students' final papers. (count noun referring to the students' individual pieces of writing)
    • 29
  • I need to buy some paper for the printer. (mass noun)
    • 30
  • Since noncount nouns cannot be counted, numbers are not used with them.
    • 31
  • We need to add other words if we want to talk about an amount of a noncount noun. We use words like "types," "slices" or "pieces."
    • 32
  • Kelly always has four types of cheese in her refrigerator.
    • 33
  • The teacher handed the student three pieces of paper to take his test on.
    • 34
  • I eat two slices of bread in the morning.
    • 35
  • Lastly, we do not use the indefinite articles "a" or "an" with noncount or mass nouns. We do use the definite article "the."
    • 36
  • The rising water flooded the town.
    • 37
  • Please let us know if these explanations and examples helped you, Lily.
    • 38
  • What questions do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
    • 39
  • And that's Ask a Teacher.
    • 40
  • I'm Faith Pirlo.
    • 1
  • Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about noncount and mass nouns.
    • 2
  • Question:
    • 3
  • Dear Learning English,
    • 4
  • Thank you so much for your excellent programs.
    • 5
  • How do we know how to use the singular and plural of some nouns like "effort" vs. "efforts?" Both show in people's writing.
    • 6
  • For some nouns, it is very hard to know if they should be used in the singular or plural, like "experience" or "faculty."
    • 7
  • Thank you,
    • 8
  • Lily
    • 9
  • Answer
    • 10
  • Dear Lily,
    • 11
  • Thank you for your question. These words are in a group called "mass" or "noncount" nouns. These nouns are not counted as individual things.
    • 12
  • They present problems even for native speakers of English sometimes. While there are many noncount and mass nouns, we will provide some general rules to help you use them.
    • 13
  • Noncount and mass nouns do not have a plural form. For example, sand or milk would be difficult to count. Particles of sand are too small and numerous, and milk is a liquid.
    • 14
  • Mass nouns or noncount nouns can describe abstract concepts like "advice."
    • 15
  • In some cases, "faculty" is a collective noun, not a mass noun. Collective nouns describe many individuals who form a group. For example, the "faculty" is made up of individual teachers.
    • 16
  • However, if you hear the word "faculties," it often is describing a person's powers of the body or mind.
    • 17
  • The teacher aimed to develop the students' faculties of critical thought.
    • 18
  • Noncount nouns are always singular. There are no plural forms of noncount nouns.
    • 19
  • Sometimes nouns can be both mass and count nouns. Many people use "effort" and "experience" as mass nouns, while describing a concept, but they can become plural when talking about repeating or multiple attempts (efforts) or individual experiences.
    • 20
  • Her boss noticed her efforts on the project over the past few weeks. (repeating or multiple attempts)
    • 21
  • The vacation package offers many different experiences like snorkeling, swimming in the ocean or hiking in the rainforest.
    • 22
  • Another example of a noun that can be a mass or count noun is "paper."
    • 23
  • The teacher collected the students' final papers. (count noun referring to the students' individual pieces of writing)
    • 24
  • I need to buy some paper for the printer. (mass noun)
    • 25
  • Since noncount nouns cannot be counted, numbers are not used with them. We need to add other words if we want to talk about an amount of a noncount noun. We use words like "types," "slices" or "pieces."
    • 26
  • Kelly always has four types of cheese in her refrigerator.
    • 27
  • The teacher handed the student three pieces of paper to take his test on.
    • 28
  • I eat two slices of bread in the morning.
    • 29
  • Lastly, we do not use the indefinite articles "a" or "an" with noncount or mass nouns. We do use the definite article "the."
    • 30
  • The rising water flooded the town.
    • 31
  • Please let us know if these explanations and examples helped you, Lily.
    • 32
  • What questions do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
    • 33
  • And that's Ask a Teacher.
    • 34
  • I'm Faith Pirlo.
    • 35
  • Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.
    • 36
  • ______________________________________________________________________
    • 37
  • Words in This Story
    • 38
  • faculty - n. the group of teachers in a school or college
    • 39
  • abstract - adj. relating to or involving general ideas or qualities rather than specific people, objects, or actions
    • 40
  • concept -n. an idea about how something work or what it is
    • 41
  • snorkeling - n. the act of swimming underwater with a tube to get air for breathing
    • 42
  • type -n. a particular kind or group of things
    • 43
  • refrigerator - n. an electric device that keeps food cold
    • 44
  • _______________________________________________________________________
    • 45
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    • 46
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