Problem: Students make uncountable nouns plural and/or confuse noun-verb agreement.
Remedy: Learn common uncountable nouns and how to make them countable if required.
Common Examples: (Notice the corresponding singular form of the verbs agreeing with them)
* The news was bad.
* My information is wrong.
* This equipment is faulty.
* This is the only apparatus we were given.
* My advice has been ignored.
* The furniture was damaged.
* The feedback from the survey has been collected.
* That evidence is false!
* That accommodation was unsuitable.
* He has a lot of experience of this kind of work. (The plural is possible but rare.)
* Furniture manufacture brings in much-needed income. (The plural is possible but rare.)
* His research is detailed (The plural is possible but rare.)
Notes: Did you recognize that the verbs are all singular in their agreement. They can be made countable by using “piece of” or “item of” ”, as in “These pieces of evidence are important”. But they are more usually used in the uncountable form.
Guided Practice:
Put suitable words in the following gaps:
* Here _______ the latest news.
Please write your answer here:[ANSWER]
* The apparatus _______ been set out ready for the practical chemistry test. [ANSWER]
* This information _______ given to you last week. [ANSWER]
* He always _______ me bad advice. [ANSWER]
* The teacher's feedback _______ going to be given at the end of the lesson. [ANSWER]
* The research _______ being conducted in Taiwan at the moment. [ANSWER]
When you've written your sentences, scroll down to see if they're the same as the suggested answers............
[ADVERT]
Solutions:
* Here is the latest news.
* The apparatus has been set out for the practical chemistry tense.
* This information was given to you last week.
* He always gives me bad advice.
* The teacher's feedback is going to be given at the end of the lesson.
* The research is being conducted in Taiwan at the moment.
(Notes: If you need help understanding any of these, consult Verb Tense Quiz 1, Verb Tense Quiz 2 and Passive Voice Structures.)
Other uncountables:
Foods or materials: chocolate, cheese, milk, beer, mercury (a metal which is liquid at room temperature), iron, etc. As with the above, these can be made countable.
Guided Practice:
Make the following countable by filling in the gaps with a suitable word:
* He drank a _______ of beer every lunchtime.[ANSWER]
* Give me a _______ of chocolate. [ANSWER]
* There were six news _______ in the bulletin. [ANSWER]
* He put five _______ of mercury in his hand. [ANSWER]
* The gym bought five new _______ _______equipment. [ANSWER]
When you've written your sentences, scroll down to see if they're the same as the suggested answers............
[ADVERT]
Solutions:
* He drank a bottle of beer every lunchtime.
* Give me a piece of chocolate.
* There were six items in the news bulletin.
* He put five drops of mercury in his hand.
* The gym bought five new pieces of equipment.
Photo Album
Language note: There are a number of linking devices highlighted in the following passage. These will be discussed in more detail elsewhere on this site.
The photo shows a number of works of art, displayed in the entrance hall of the museum, which portray a kind of nightmare vision of the future. An ice-cream van has been covered in grafitti; the giant ice-cream cone on the roof has fallen over and spilled its contents over the roof and bonnet of the vehicle. A little boy looks into a sweet dispensing machine inside which there is a giant spider, while nearby there is a policeman in riot gear.
Ironically, he is sitting on a child's rocking horse, thus creating a bizarre and uncomfortable contrast. The horse is moving constantly, rocking back and forth in a kind of perpetual motion. Against the far wall there is a woman who is modelled in the ancient Greek style. Far from being old-fashioned, however, she is texting on her mobile phone, as well as carrying armfuls of shopping bags.
Photo: Banksy exhibition, City Museum in Bristol, South West England.
Do you get it?
Vocabulary:
fishing rod - see picture. What's the man holding?
"Give a man a fish and he can eat for a day. Give him a fishing rod and he can feed himself for life."
And how about this?
Or this?
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