those that can be counted.

We can use a / an before them in the singular and

numbers in the plural.
an orange two oranges
They have both singular and plural forms. a pencil four pencils
house houses an umbrella two umbrellas

We form the plural of most countable nouns by adding Some nouns dont end in s / es in the plural. They
s to the noun. have irregular forms.
door doors bird birds

Nouns ending in s, ss, ch, sh, x, take es. person people tooth teeth
fox foxes bus buses man men mouse mice
watch watches class classes
woman women louse lice
Nouns ending in o usually take es. child children goose geese
tomato tomatoes potato potatoes foot feet ox oxen
BUT Nouns ending in vowel + o, musical
instruments and abbreviations take s.
piano pianos radio radios Some nouns have the same form in the singular and
kilo kilos photo photos plural.
Nouns ending in consonant + y change the y to i
and take es. deer deer sheep sheep
cherry cherries city cities aircraft aircraft fish fish
BUT Nouns ending in vowel + y take s. species species salmon salmon
day days monkey monkeys series series trout trout
Some nouns ending in f or fe form their plural in
ves.
life lives wolf wolves Some nouns are always in the plural form, so they
BUT roof roofs safe - safes are followed by a plural verb. They usually refer to:

a whole group of people of things.

arms (=weapons), people, police, clothes,
goods, stairs, contents, surroundings

Some nouns have different forms for the masculine and things that consist of two parts.
the feminine gender. jeans, trousers, pyjamas, glasses,
binoculars, scissors, shorts, tights...
husband wife We often use a pair of and a singular verb
father mother with these nouns.
There is a pair of trousers under the bed.
son daughter
brother sister
uncle aunt Collective nouns (family, team, group, class,
audience, crew, government...) describe groups
nephew niece
of people. These nouns can go with singular and
boy girl plural verbs.
(bride)groom bride
widower widow They take a plural verb if they refer to the
host hostess members of the group individually.
waiter waitress They take a singular verb if they refer to the
steward stewardess group as a unit.
actor actress
hero heroine When a noun is used as an adjective before another
king queen noun, it is always in the singular.
prince princess a ten-pound note
duke duchess a two-day trip
 Uncountable nouns are those that cant be We cant use a / an or numbers before them.
counted.
milk a milk ten milks
bread two breads
We can use some, any, little, much before them.
They dont have a plural form. They are always There is some milk in the fridge.
followed by a verb in the singular.
This butter has a strange taste.

Uncountable nouns usually refer to:

Food meat, cheese, bread, butter, fruit, fish, chocolate, flour, salt, sugar, jam, yoghurt

Liquids water, milk, wine, oil, beer, coffee, tea, petrol

Materials wood, gold, silver, paper, glass, iron, steel, cotton, wool, metal, plastic

Abstract nouns love, justice, freedom, help, time, advice, beauty, honesty, anger, health

Natural weather, heat, snow, lightning, rain, wind, thunder

phenomena

Other nouns luggage, baggage, furniture, money, traffic, business, news, information, work

Many uncountable nouns can be counted if we use the following words before them:

cup, bottle, jar, glass, bowl, slice, bar, packet, piece, loaf, carton, can, pot, block, tube

a cup of coffee a packet of butter a bar of chocolate / soap

a bottle of wine a carton of milk a can of soda
a glass of water a slice / loaf of bread a block of wood / ice
a jar of jam a lump of sugar a tube of toothpaste
a piece of cake an ice cube / a sugar cube a piece / sheet of paper
a tin of tuna a sack of flour a bowl of rice
a kilo of meat a litre of water a sachet of tea

Many of these expressions can also be used with countable nouns.

a packet of biscuits a box of chocolates a kilo of potatoes

The expression a piece of is often used with uncountable nouns. It is used both for concrete things and for
abstract nouns.

a piece of cake a piece of advice a piece of information a piece of news

a piece of wood a piece of jewellery a piece of luggage a piece of furniture
a piece of rubbish a piece of cheese

Some nouns can be used both as countable and uncountable nouns, but with different meanings:

Uncountable
There is a lot of light in this room.
This bottle is made of glass.
She brushes her hair every morning.
This table is made of pine wood.
She likes walking in the rain.
Ive still got some work to do.
Experience is important for this job.
Countable
Please, turn on the lights.
He cant see without his glasses.
He found two hairs in his soup.
We saw a fox in the woods.
How often do the rains come in Thailand?
The motorway is closed due to road works.
We had some fascinating experiences when we visited
Japan.
 Write the plural of these nouns in the right boxes.

wife doctor month

church baby man
wolf foot
day dress photo
roof sheep kiss
elf plate
boot strawberry witch
-s -es -ies -ves irregular
leaf boy child
peach half
dish dog body
person knife potato country
box
life bird city
hero desk match
mouse party

Are these nouns countable or uncountable? Write the words in the corresponding notebook.

butter spoon knife juice

egg money

boy salt

fork plate gold

packet love

homework cup traffic

COUNTABLE UNCOUNTABLE
joke rice night

year electricity tourist

petrol news

soup car honey meat

bag food

job child
 Look at the pictures and choose words from the box to
complete the expressions, as in the example.

bottle loaf
carton box
slice packet
jar tin 4
1 bar 3 bowl

a cup of coffee 2
tube
cheesepiece (x2)
_______________
5
_______________
cup toothpaste glass
7
_______________
chocolates
pair
6 jug
_______________ sunglasses
bucket
_______________ cereal
9
_______________ bread 8 10
_______________ jam 12
_______________ orange juice
_______________ biscuits 11
_______________ cake 14
13
_______________ milk
_______________ sand
_______________ chocolate
15
_______________ bread
17
_______________ wine
16 18
_______________ lemonade
_______________ beans

Complete the sentences with a, an or some.

1. I have bought _______ onions and _______ kilo of meat at the supermarket.

2. Would you like _______ orange juice?

3. Did you get _______ present for Tony? Yes, I bought him _______ anorak.

4. Samuel had _______ spaghetti and _______ slice of apple pie for lunch.

5. There is _______ money on the table.

6. Im hungry. Im going to make _______ sandwich. Ill need _______ bread, _______ butter, _______ cheese

and _______ onion. Then Ill need _______ plate and _______ knife. You need a lot of things to make _______

sandwich. Perhaps Im not really hungry and theres _______ chocolate in the fridge.

7. I have _______ Italian penfriend. I sent her _______ pictures of my dog. She sent me _______ book. The book

has _______ information about _______ famous museums in Rome and _______ wonderful beach in Sicily. I

think my dog needs _______ holiday.

8. Can you give _______ advice, please?

9. Last Saturday I went shopping. I bought _______ lovely trousers and _______ beautiful blouse.
 Choose the correct alternative.
1. The police has / have caught the bank robbers.
2. My hair is /are too long. I need a haircut.
Complete the sentences using the
masculine or feminine form of the words
in bold type.
1. Mr Jones, a widower, married Ms Thompson, a

3. Your advice was /were very valuable. Thanks a lot! __________, last month.
4. Oxen is /are used to pull carts in some countries. 2. My niece loves basketball but my __________
5. Why are / is your clothes wet? doesnt. He likes football.
6. Milk contain / contains a lot of calcium and is / are 3. Cinderella became a princess when she married
an essential part of our diet. the __________.
7. My feet are / is cold. Could you turn on the heater? 4. My uncle and __________ live in France and I
8. The news are / is broadcast on TV every evening at visit them every summer.
9:00 pm. 5. At the end of the film, the hero dies and the
9. Did you know that wild sheep live / lives in the
__________ continues the mission.
mountains?
6. I saw a play at the theatre yesterday. Both the
10. I didnt buy the jeans because it was / they were
leading actor and leading ________ acted awful.
too expensive.
7. Mr and Mrs Hill have two children, a three-year-old
11. The bread is /are over there. Could you give me
son and a six-year-old __________.
some, please?
8. There was a wedding last Sunday. The bride was
12. The information you gave me about the trip were /
at church on time, but the __________ was late.
was incorrect.
13. There are / is always heavy traffic in the city centre.
9. My wife is a doctor and so is Mrs Blakes

14. Thunder come / comes after lightning because light __________.

travels / travel faster than sound. 10. I like this restaurant, both waiters and
__________ are very kind.

Choose the correct alternative.

Good evening lady / ladies and gentlemen / gentleman. Heres the latest news /
new. There have been robbery / robberies at four different bank / banks this week /
weeks.
The fourth robbery / robberies occurred just two hours / houres ago. Three mans /
men wearing maskes / masks entered the National Bank in Green St. at 11.20 a.m.
The bank manager / manageress, Mr Simon Parker, describes his experiences /
experience to our reporter, Tom Hardy.

Mr Parker: Well, I was having my morning coffee / coffees when they entered my office. They demanded that I
give tem all the moneys / money and golds / gold which is kept in our safes / saves.
Reporter: How did your clientes / clients react when they realised what was
going on?
Mr Parker: Well, they panicked. One of them screamed for helps / help.
Reporter: Who pressed the alarm button?
Mr Parker: My secretary did. Fortunately, the police / polices arrived very
quickly, so the robber / robbers will be brought to justice /
justices.
 ANSWER KEY

1 -s -es -ies -ves irregular

doctors churches babies wives men

months dresses strawberries wolves feet
days kisses bodies elves sheep
photos witches countries leaves children
roofs peaches cities halves people
plates dishes parties knives mice
boots potatoes lives
boys boxes
dogs heroes
birds matches
desks

COUNTABLE UNCOUNTABLE 1. a cup of coffee

2 3 2. two pieces of cheese
spoon butter 3. a tube of toothpaste
knife juice 4. a box of chocolates
egg money 5. a pair of sunglasses
boy salt 6. a bowl of cereal
fork gold 7. two loaves of bread
plate love 8. a jar of jam
packet homework 9. three glasses of orange juice
cup traffic 10. a packet of biscuits
joke rice 11. a piece of cake
night electricity 12. a carton of milk
year petrol 13. a bucket of sand
tourist news 14. two bars of chocolate
car soup 15. a slice of bread
bag honey 16. three bottles of wine
job meat 17. a jug of lemonade
child food 18. a tin of beans

4
4 1. some, a 5 1. have 6 1. widow
2. some 2. is 2. nephew
3. a, an 3. was 3. prince
4. some, a 4. are 4. aunt
5. some 5. are 5. heroine
6. a, some, some, some, an, a, a, a, some 6. contains, is 6. actress
7. an, some, a, some, some, a, a 7. are 7. daughter
8. some 8. is 8. bridegroom
9. some, a 9. live 9. husband
10. they were 10. waitresses
11. is
12. was
13. is
14. comes, travels

ladies, gentlemen, news, robberies, banks, week, robbery, hours, men, masks, manager, experience, coffee,
money, gold, safes, clients, help, police, robbers, justice.