When to Use 'Some' and Not 'A' or 'An'
2021-08-27
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1On this program, you have learned about count and noncount nouns.
2A count noun is something you can count and make plural, as in "two trees," "five girls" and so on.
3Noncount nouns are grammatically singular.
4For example, "rice" is noncount, but it is made up of many small pieces.
5You can count glasses of water but you would not normally count "waters" unless you are talking about the many kinds of water on sale in some markets.
6We can count "songs" but not "music" so "song" is a count noun while "music" is a noncount noun.
7John wrote two songs last week.
8His band plays New Age music.
9With the singular form of count nouns, we use "a" before a word that begins with a consonant sound and "an" before a word that begins with a vowel sound.
10There are exceptions, but this rule usually holds true.
11Here are examples:
12They have an office on the first floor.
13I left a banana on the table for you.
14With the plural form of count nouns, we can use "some" instead of "a" or "an."
15Some businesses have closed on my street.
16I gave her some apples to take to her mother.
17Now, let us turn to the question of noncount nouns.
18Can we use "a" or "an" or must we use "some?" Consider these examples:
19You should come inside - there is some bad weather coming.
20The children asked for some money to buy books.
21We would not say "a weather" or "a money."
22The word "some" is an adjective meaning an unspecified amount, so it goes well with noncount nouns.
23Of course, you need not use an adjective or an article with plural nouns.
24It is interesting to compare the count and noncount nouns for related ideas, like letter - a count noun - and mail, a noncount noun:
25Sandy found a letter from her sister when she pulled some mail out of the box.
26Another pair of such related words is cloud - a count noun - and weather, a noncount noun.
27There is not a cloud in the sky, so we should have some dry weather for the party.
28And every workday here at Learning English, we write a story - count noun - for you about the latest news - a noncount noun:
29The editor asked me to write a story about some news from Asia.
30To sum up, you can use "a" or "an" before singular count nouns, and "some" before plural count nouns and any noncount nouns.
31And that's Everyday Grammar!
32I'm Jill Robbins.
1On this program, you have learned about count and noncount nouns. 2(If you need to review that point, please see our article, Understanding Noncount Nouns.) 3A count noun is something you can count and make plural, as in "two trees," "five girls" and so on. Noncount nouns are grammatically singular. For example, "rice" is noncount, but it is made up of many small pieces. You can count glasses of water but you would not normally count "waters" unless you are talking about the many kinds of water on sale in some markets. 4Count nouns and some 5We can count "songs" but not "music" so "song" is a count noun while "music" is a noncount noun. 6John wrote two songs last week. 7His band plays New Age music. 8With the singular form of count nouns, we use "a" before a word that begins with a consonant sound and "an" before a word that begins with a vowel sound. There are exceptions, but this rule usually holds true. Here are examples: 9They have an office on the first floor. 10I left a banana on the table for you. 11With the plural form of count nouns, we can use "some" instead of "a" or "an." 12Some businesses have closed on my street. 13I gave her some apples to take to her mother. 14Noncount nouns and some 15Now, let us turn to the question of noncount nouns. Can we use "a" or "an" or must we use "some?" Consider these examples: 16You should come inside - there is some bad weather coming. 17The children asked for some money to buy books. 18We would not say "a weather" or "a money." The word "some" is an adjective meaning an unspecified amount, so it goes well with noncount nouns. Of course, you need not use an adjective or an article with plural nouns. 19It is interesting to compare the count and noncount nouns for related ideas, like letter - a count noun - and mail, a noncount noun: 20Sandy found a letter from her sister when she pulled some mail out of the box. 21Another pair of such related words is cloud - a count noun - and weather, a noncount noun. 22There is not a cloud in the sky, so we should have some dry weather for the party. 23And every workday here at Learning English, we write a story - count noun - for you about the latest news - a noncount noun: 24The editor asked me to write a story about some news from Asia. 25To sum up, you can use "a" or "an" before singular count nouns, and "some" before plural count nouns and any noncount nouns. 26And that's Everyday Grammar! 27I'm Jill Robbins. 28Dr. Jill Robbins wrote this lesson for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 29Here are some sentences for you to complete with a, an, or some. Write your answers in the comments. 30_____________________________________________________________ 31Words in This Story 32plural - adj. grammar: relating to a form of a word that refers to more than one person or thing 33consonant - n. a speech sound (such as /p/, /d/, or /s/) that is made by partly or completely stopping the flow of air breathed out from the mouth 34vowel - n. a speech sound made with your mouth open and your tongue in the middle of your mouth not touching your teeth, lips, etc. 35editor - n. the person at a media company who prepares (something written) to be published or used 36specify - v. to name or mention (someone or something) exactly and clearly; or to be specific about (something) 37sum up - v. to tell (information) again using fewer words 38Can you make a new sentence with "some" and a noncount noun? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.