The usage of 'how much'?
I typed in the following sentence in Grammarly and it keeps telling me that I had a problem with the subject-verb agreement:How much of each tea makes up the mixed tea is not known. (My incorrect...
View ArticleIs it "tiny amount" or "tiny amounts"?
Can we use tiny amounts of something? Or are we have to use only in singular form, such as "tiny amount of any liquid"?I've seen people use small amounts and/or a small amount of something, but I can't...
View ArticleCommon noun and article, determiners
Should we use articles and determiners before a singular-count common noun all the time? Are there exceptions?For example:A teacher plays an important role.but why fish lives in water?
View ArticleMood: countable or uncountable
Some dictionaries, such as Cambridge dictionary, show that mood is a countable noun.The drink had put him in an amiable mood.Other dictionaries, such as Macmillan dictionary, show that mood can be...
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A new type of drugs or a new type of drug
In the grammar textbook I've been reading, there is a class of partitive constructions called 'Partition in respect of quality' with an example as below:a new kind of computer→ new kinds of...
View ArticleUsing "fashion" countably vs. uncountably: "in (a) timely/similar/dramatic...
I have always thought fashion is countable when used to signify a particular manner (e.g., I will get that done in a timely fashion), but I just encountered these sentences in the Oxford Dictionaries...
View Articleturn their ambition/ambitions into reality/a reality
Since 'ambition' and 'reality' can be either countable or uncountable, do I have to use them both countably like Sentence 1 or I can use one of them countably while the other one uncountably like...
View ArticleSo, the sentence "I read book" is wrong, isn't it?
Found this information on the internetUncount nounsYou cannot say a/an with an uncount noun. You cannot put a number in front of an uncount noun. (You cannot make an uncount noun plural.) You use an...
View ArticleIs there any rule that there should always be an article before a singular,...
Sentence is -For a long time, paracetamol has been recommended as a first-line drug in pain management guidelines.On Google, I found that "paracetamol" is a common noun and is also a singular...
View ArticleWhat type of nouns are 'cattle', 'staff' and 'jeans'?
I was taught that there are four types of nouns:singular countable: journey, sheep, childplural countable: journeys, sheep, childrensingular uncountable: travel, water, fruitplural uncountable:...
View ArticleIs it not many variety or not much variety?
Is it very confusing when we have to decide many or much on things we're not sure whether it's countable or cannot be counted. Money can be counted, but still it is with much? So who decides the logic?
View ArticleCan I use some other + single noun
I wrote a sentence I got a maximum grade from Mathematics, Physics, Biology, and some other subject I don’t remember., but Grammarly thinks it's an agreement mistake and suggests changing to some other...
View ArticleIs it right that common nouns after "the whole" are countable and after "the...
Trying to understand when I need to use "the whole" before common nouns and when "the whole of the", I came across the following rule on wordreference.com:If a singular common noun is countable, we...
View Articlea ... quantity of + plural countable nouns
I learned that "a ... quantity of ..." is typically followed by uncountable nouns.I'd like to know whether there are restrictions on it when it is followed by plural nouns.For example:a large quantity...
View ArticleDo you need {some/any} scissors? Yes. Do you have {some/any}?
A: Do you need _____ scissors?B: Yes. Do you have _____?a. any/anyb. any/somec. some/anyd. some/someMy answer is b. any/some. Is that correct?Or is it choice c. some/any because some scissors = a pair...
View ArticleHow many beans vs How much beans?
When talking about beans, lentils or chickpeas should they be considered as countable or uncountable?Would a person normally say "How many beans should I cook?" or "how much beans should I cook?"...
View ArticleIn the sentence "She says she has no friends," the number of friends is zero,...
In the sentence"She says she has no friends", even though the number of friends is zero (less than two), why is "friends" still plural?As an English learner, I have learnt the rule that if a countable...
View ArticleIf 'Social Media' is uncountable and plural, why do we say 'Social media is...'?
This all began when I saw Grammarly giving me a red line on the verb has. My sentence, as I remember roughly, was...Social media has all potential to make your products and services popularThe...
View ArticleIs "language" countable or uncountable here?
I saw this essay question on a website (not a credible site). I think language is countable here because it's about foreign languages. But the question uses it uncountably. So, should language or...
View ArticleWhen can we omit the article in front of a countable word in singular?
In the sentence below, there is no "the" in front of former President. I am wondering what is the grammar rule for that?Under Smith and his successor, Douglas, Canada sought closer trade and energy...
View Article"making noise" or "make a noise"?
I was beginning to get confused on this sentence structure. I wager a noise is not singular or is it?Stop making a noise Stop making noiseWhich of these is a good way to present this situation?
View ArticleWhat article (if any) to use with the word 'subculture'?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the word 'subculture' is countable, which means it should be used with an article. However, I often see it used without any. For example:Much of the available...
View ArticleAre the Zero Article and the Definite Article Sometimes Interchangeable in...
Consider the following two quotes containing the noun phrase 'Nike Dunks' (a collection of shoes), in which we assume that we are referring to the entire category of these shoes, not a specific...
View Article{ "He" in "He left" is subject. } — The countable noun "subject" has no...
The textbook "The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language", page 67:There is one guard outside.It’s clear that it’s a forgery.In the existential example, the dummy (semantically empty) pronoun...
View ArticleWhy isn’t there any article before this countable noun?
There was chaise longue at the end of the dressing room, and Clea crept to it now and lay down, pulling her knees up to her chin.(Clea & Zeus Divorce by Emily Prager,p.54)I don’t find out why there...
View ArticlePractical usage of countable and uncountable nouns
My question is about some nouns that can be countable or uncountable depending on context. Nouns: potato, carrot, onion, tomatoes, etc. What would be correct in everyday speech: I need to buy...
View Article"fewer than 1000 km" or "less than 1000 km"?
Which option is correct? "fewer than 1000 km" or "less than 1000 km"?I know that "less" is used for uncountable quantities and "Fewer" is used for countable items. But I don't know if a kilometer is...
View ArticleWhy do we say "I love cake" but "I love cars"?
Why do some nouns need to be in the plural for that structure to work, while some are ok in the singular? E.g.: I love pizza, I love beef, etc. I always thought it was a matter of countable x...
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What does this "singular" mean?
I saw these from an online dictionary, they are several meanings about the word "hand".And from what have I known, nouns are classified into two kinds, the countable nouns and the uncountables, and the...
View ArticleSkin(of fruit/vegetable). Countable or uncountable?
Skin - [countable, uncountable] the outer layer of some fruits and vegetables (Oxford Dictionary)I can't understand how it can be both countable and uncountable. What is the difference?A chemical found...
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