This English tutorial is focusing on Countable nouns vs uncountable nouns or in other words:”How much” and “How many”. There are exercises to help you practice at the end of this lesson.
nouns can be put into different categories such as plural and singular, but also countable and countable.
Countable nouns = we can count them
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Dialogue
Hi guys welcome back I’m Julia your online teacher and I’m here to present
you with the content of today’s lesson lesson 12. Which is countable nouns vs.
uncountable nouns so this grammar point in theory is quite straightforward. Some
nouns you can count and others you can’t but I think that to learn this grammar
point properly in a more effective way if you prefer is to learn the words such
as: much, many, fewer, less, with lots of examples. So that it becomes like second
nature you will remember them through examples and not just the theory. Okay
because it’s not something that is that easy when you’re having a conversation.
It’s not uncommon for me to hear my learners make mistakes and confuse much
and many. So really do repeat out loud I know I say this a lot but if you get
used to hearing it I said properly when you’re making mistakes you will also
detect it, you know that doesn’t sound right.
Okay so that’s for the grammar point but do you follow the order of the lesson, do
start off with a dialogue. In today’s story there are lots of uncountable
nouns and countable nouns that are introduced in the dialogue after that
focus on the pronunciation and the spelling of the key words of today.
That’s the vocabulary part then you can look at the details of today’s grammar
point before moving on to the questions and answers and the recap part of the
video with me. Okay guys so if throughout this video something is quite new quite
difficult do not forget to turn on the subtitles so they exist in English and
in many languages. If you need subtitles in a different language that we don’t
already have, let us know you might be in luck we might be adding if your language
to the subtitles soon. So do let us know if you need that and if you have any
doubts and your questions post your comments below.
In English preferably so that we can actually help you and provide you with
feedback or answers. Okay guys well that’s about it for today so I’m going
to let you study. I hope that you enjoy this lesson and I will see you in the
final part of the video. Bye for now.
how much, how many
countable and uncountable nouns
1/ English Sentence Practice with countable nouns vs uncountable nouns.
MAN: The dog runs in the park. I have a dog. There are many dogs in the park.
WOMAN: They run in the park because it is safe.
MAN: It is not safe to run on the road. There are many cars on the road. There is too much traffic.
GIRL: I have many friends, I have one, two, three friends.
MAN: I do not have much time. I can count my many friends but I can’t count time.
WOMAN: I have many tasks and I have too much work. I can count my tasks. I clean, I cook, I learn. I can’t count my work.
MAN: If I can count something, I can say “many”. If I can’t count something, I say “much”. One, Two, Three…
OTHER MEN: Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve. How much time?
WOMAN: How many minutes?
MAN: I learn English with my teacher.
GIRL: I run in the park with my dog.
WOMAN: There are many students at my school. There is not much work today.
English Vocabulary
2/ Vocabulary Practice
- the dog runs
- in the park
- Many
- many dogs
- safe
- to be safe
- it is not safe
- a road roads
- on the road
- much
- too much traffic
- a friend friends
- to have many friends
- much time
- to count
- I can count
- to count something
- a task – tasks
- to clean
- to cook
- to learn
- time
- minutes
- How much time?
- How many minutes?
- there is
- there are
- many students
- at school
- not much work
- One, Two, Three
- Four, Five, Six
- Seven, Eight, Nine
- Ten, Eleven, Twelve
English Grammar
“Many” or “much”?
Countable nouns vs uncountable nouns, nouns can be put into different categories such as plural and singular, but also countable and countable.
Countable nouns = we can count them
They have a singular and a plural form.
i.e.
“car” is a countable noun
a car
cars, two cars…
The car is mine.
The cars are his.
Uncountable nouns = we can’t count them
They only have one form, the singular form. They do not have a plural form so they always use a singular verb. They cannot use the articles “a”, “an” or a number (one, two, three…) before them.
i.e.
“butter” is an uncountable noun
butter
butters (does not exist)
a butter (does not exist)
two butters (does not exist)
Countable nouns vs uncountable nouns; Countable nouns are very common (a sister, a classroom, a friend, a teacher…). So how can I recognise uncountable nouns?
Uncountable nouns are often:
- abstract ideas: love, beauty…
- liquids or gases: water, milk, air, coffee…
- materials: wood, gold, paper…
- food (certain foods generally cut into small parts): bread, cheese, pasta…
- made of smaller parts: sugar, rice…
- others: advice, work, news, furniture, information, luggage, money…
When we are talking about a large or small quantity we can use “lots of” or “a lot of” with countable nouns vs uncountable nouns:
- “language” is a countable noun: I speak lots of languages. I speak a lot of languages. / I don’t speak lots of languages. I don’t speak a lot of languages.
- “coffee” is an uncountable noun: I drink lots of coffee. I drink a lot of coffee. / I don’t drink lots of coffee. I don’t drink a lot of coffee.
We can also use “many” with countable nouns and “much” with uncountable nouns, when talking about a large or small quantity (in a positive or a negative statement):
- “lesson” is a countable noun: I have lots of English lessons. I have a lot of English lessons. > I have many English lessons./ I don’t have lots of English lessons. I don’t have a lot of English lessons. I don’t have many English lessons.
- “work” is an uncountable noun: I have lots of work. I have a lot of work. > I have much work. / I don’t have lots of work. I don’t have a lot of work. I don’t have much work.
English Speaking Practise
Questions and Answers
When do you say “many”?
I say “many” when I can count.
What do you mean?
There are many cats. I can count cats, one, two, three.
Can I count “work”, one work, two works?
No, you cannot count “work”.
So, do I say “many work” or “much work”?
You say “much work”.
Do you have much money?
No, I don’t.
And who do you learn English with?
I learn English with my teacher.
Where do you run?
I run in the park.
Why do you run in the park?
I run in the park because it is safe.
Are there cars in the park?
No, there are no cars in the park that is why I run in the park.
Are there many students at school?
Yes, there are many students at school.
Lesson Recap with Julia
Hi guys! Welcome back!
Let’s do the recap of lesson 12 together!
Let’s start off with something super easy: counting.
Then we look at the grammar point together. We’ll do a quick recap and then we’ll look at today’s vocabulary.
So let’s start off with counting.
Count with me from one to twelve!
- one
- two
- three
- four
- five
- six
- seven
- eight (Be careful here with the spelling)
- nine
- ten
- eleven
- twelve
So there are no major pronunciation difficulties there. It’s more the spelling that can cause problems.
Do practise! I know it’s easy and so I don’t want to sound patronising. But do practise because I think that for example “eight” and “twelve” aren’t that easy to spell, to write.
So practise writing them.
Now let’s look at the grammar point countable and uncountable nouns!
Let’s start off with “uncountable”:
When it’s an uncountable noun, we will use “much” or “how much?”:
time, energy, work…
We’re going to say:
how much time?
how much work?
how much energy?
When it’s countable, we’re going to use “many”, “how many?”
How many friends?
how many students?
how many times?
Try to write some sentences. Create some sentences. For example:
there is too much traffic
there are too many colours here
Try to make some sentences to practise countable and uncountable nouns. You can use the vocabulary from this video, from your lesson also. But you can also experiment and try new sentences, new words and see if you get it right.
is it countable? is it uncountable? Generally it’s quite logical. But you will also identify that logic and apply it through practice.
So get some practice!
Finally let’s look at today’s vocabulary:
So here’s one of my favourites: “minute“
And the plural is: “minutes“.
Repeat after me:
minute – minutes
A few easy words:
to cook
to clean
a roadside
a park
Last word for today:
task – tasks
That’s not easy so repeat after me!
task – tasks
Once more:
task – tasks
Thanks for watching this video! That’s all for today!
I’ll see you soon! Bye bye!
Exercises Lesson 12
Comprehension Practice
Vocabulary Practice
Grammar Practice
