Questions tagged [uncountable-nouns]
Questions about uncountable (non-count, mass) nouns
416 questions
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Why isn't watermelon plural in this sentence?
I don’t understand why watermelon doesn’t have plural form in this sentence :
I am making a fruit salad. I am mixing mangoes, watermelon and oranges.
If I made the watermelon in plural form, would ...
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A salad or just salad [closed]
I am wondering if I could say:
I would like to have a salad.
In a restaurant I heard a girl say to the waiter, ordering a side dish from the menu for herself:
I would like salad.
My understanding ...
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'Upshot': countable without plural form
result, effect, upshot, outcome, corollary, aftermath, product
The noun upshot, although countable, has no plural form. All the other nouns in this section are count nouns.
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Why aren't some collective nouns like 'police' and 'staff' used with numbers?
I am really confused about collective nouns.
I get the fact that many collective nouns like team, family, army can be used in both singular and plural forms (teams, families, armies) and can be used ...
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Fire (as in shooting) in plural
Is it usual to write about “fires” when one means shooting?
I was reading the RUSI report “Preliminary Lessons from Ukraine’s Offensive Operations, 2022–23”, and found that it uses the noun “fire” in ...
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Need an accessible explanation on nitty-gritty details of how semantical distinction between count vs uncount nouns works in English
Sorry if this question has been answered before, I have been unable to find anything remotely adequate on this website.
What I want: to learn patterns that allow to be better at guessing (and/or ...
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What adjective indicating number is understood when no adjective is used? [duplicate]
Take the following statement, when used within a conversation on Global Warming:
Polar bears are dying in the North.
There is no adjective to describe the number of polar bears. According to normal ...
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Detail (countable) vs detail (uncountable) vs details (plural only)
I feel like I almost grasp the fine differences between detail (countable), detail (uncountable) and details (plural only), but just almost. It's still a little difficult to spontaneously know which ...
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When countable nouns are used as noun modifiers, are they still countable? [duplicate]
For example, we know "cat" or "student" are countable nouns, they are only marked as countable in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English as well.
But are "cat" ...
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Why is the singular "dress" used in "all wearing traditional dress"? [closed]
I live in Sweden and I've recently finished a test in our English class. One specific question caught me off guard. The question is as follows:
Alma's mother, now 95, could once be found on a sunny ...
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Treating the word "grammar" in proper grammar
Driving down the road I saw a state sign that was written poorly. I said, “That’s a bad grammar.’
My wife was offended I said “a” grammar.
I can’t find an answer to see if what I said is acceptable. ...
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Which is correct? This connective tissue is "fascia" or "a fascia"?
Developers are constantly stealing words from other disciplines. One we've recently acquired is fascia, which Michael Feathers explains in a blog post:
Each section [of an orange] is covered with ...
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Using “more” with both countable and uncountable nouns
The rules for using “less” or “ fewer” are clear (although often abused):
I have less money than you. (Uncountable noun)
I have fewer bank notes than you. (Countable noun)
Why then, is there no ...
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"run for presidency" or "run for the presidency"
I have a question about "run for presidency"/"run for the presidency"
(in this case, it's about a presidential election)
He will run for the presidency.
He will run for presidency....
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"Resources" as an uncountable noun?
Which of the following is better:
How many resources (such as data and computation) are necessary to complete the process?
How much resources (such as data and computation) are necessary to complete ...
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