THE NOUN PHRASE
The noun phrase is
a group of words that ends with a noun. It can contain determiners (the, a,
this, etc), objectives, adverbs, and nouns. It CANNOT begin with a preposition.
Remember that both subjects and complements are generally noun phrases.
COUNT
AND NON-COUNT NOUNS
A count noun is one
that can be counted.
Example :
Book –> one
book, two book, three book,...
Student –> one
student, two student, three student,...
Person –> one
person, two person, three person,...
A non-count noun is
one that cannot be counted.
Example :
Milk –> you
cannot say one milk, two milks,...
It is possible;
however, to count of some non-count nouns if the substance is placed in a
countable container.
glass of milk – one
glass of milk, two glass of milk,..
Some determiners
can be used only with count or non-count nouns, while others can be used with
either. Memorize the words in the following chart.
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WITH COUNT NOUNS
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WITH NON-COUNT NOUNS
|
|
a(n), the, some, any
this, that, these, those
none, one, two, three...
many
a lot of
a large (number of), a great (number of)
(a) few
fewer . . . than
more . . . than
|
the, some, any
this, that
none
much (usually in negatives or
questions)
a lot of
a large amount of
(a)
little
less . . . than
more . . . than
|
It is very
important to know if a noun is count or non-count. Be sure that you know the
plurals of irreguler count nouns. The following list contains some irreguler
count nouns that you should know.
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Person – People
Foot – feet
Woman – women
|
Child – children
Mouse – mice
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Tooth – teeth
Man – men
|
The following list
contains some non-count nouns that you should know.
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Sand
News
Measles
Food
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Soap
Mumps
Information
Economics
|
Physics
Air
Meat
Advertising
|
Mathematics
Politics
Homework
Money
|
*Note : Altough advertising
is a non-count noun, advertisement is a count noun. If you wish to speak of
one particular advertisement, you must use this word.
Subject Area
Reviews
Ø There are too many advertisements during television shows.
There is too much advertising
during television shows.
Some non-count nouns, such as food, meat, money and sand, may be used as count nouns in
order to indicate different types.
Ø This is one of foods that my doctor has forbidden me to
eat. (indicates a particular type of
food)
Ø He studies meats. (for example, beef, pork, lamb, etc)
The word time
can be either countable or non-countable depending on the context. When it
means an occasion, it is countable. When it means a number of hours, days,
years, etc, it is non-countable.
Ø We have spent too much time on this homework. (non-count)
Ø She has been late for class six times this semester. (count)
