Hello I'm Emma from mmmEnglish!
Now, you might already know that there are two
types of English nouns, countable
and uncountable nouns.
Knowing the difference between these nouns is really important
and I can tell you right now that so
many of the English grammar mistakes that you're making
are to do with these different types of nouns.
They affect the way that you use other words in English,
words like articles
and much and many,
some and any,
a little, a few!
Learning how to use uncountable and
countable nouns with these words will really,
dramatically improve your English grammar.
In this video, I'm going to focus on countable nouns
but I've made another lesson
that's all about uncountable nouns.
You can check it out up there or
you can wait to the end of this lesson
and I'll link to it there.
Okay! Some nouns are countable
which means really simply, you can count them.
You can say that there are three, five or ten of
these different nouns.
For example, this is an apple
and I've got three apples here.
They have singular and plural forms.
Countable nouns have singular and plural forms,
which means that you can use the articles 'a' or 'an'
with the singular form of these nouns.
A lemon, an apple, a glass.
Okay, so I said an apple and a lemon there, didn't I?
So, what's the difference?
Well, 'a' or 'an' is just like saying that there is one of something,
so it's used with a singular noun,
never in the plural form.
We use 'a' in front of a noun that starts with a consonant sound.
A banana, a cup, a plate, a potato, a lemon.
We use 'an' in front of a noun that starts with a vowel,
a vowel sound, like an apple, an orange or an hour
Now, hour's a little tricky. It starts with a consonant
and actually it starts with a vowel sound.
So, we're talking about letters or sounds.
This word starts with a consonant letter
but the first sound that you hear when it's pronounced
is a vowel sound: ow, ow, hour.
Not 'hhhhour'
So, because it starts with a vowel sound,
you need to use the article 'an'.
So, what about plural countable nouns?
When you have a plural countable noun,
you can use the word 'some' if you're not being specific,
you don't know exactly how much or you
don't want to say exactly how much, use 'some'.
Or, you can use the number and be exact.
You can say 'some potatoes' or 'two forks' or 'three glasses'.
Most English nouns are countable,
but there are so many nouns outside of the kitchen, right?
Like day and week and hour, minute, task,
appointment, activity.
So, let's recap on countable nouns.
They can be singular or plural.
You can use the articles 'a' and 'an'
when talking about these nouns, when they're singular.
You can use 'some' with plural nouns when you don't want to be specific.
Or, you can just use the number to say exactly how many!
Like I said, the majority of English nouns are countable nouns
and the way to find out is to check your dictionary.
Every dictionary will say whether the noun is countable or uncountable.
You'll see a little [u] or a little [c] next to the noun
and it's really important that you get into the habit of using these nouns correctly.
They are treated very differently in English sentences.
Remember that the words you can use with them are quite different.
And this is how so many English mistakes are made,
particularly with grammar! So, you really must start paying attention
to the type of noun that you're using
and how it affects the other words in your sentences.
Now I've created a cheat sheet to help you
practise and study these differences
between countable and uncountable nouns
and how to use them effectively.
You can download it right here.
I hope that you enjoyed this lesson
and that you learnt a few things about countable nouns.
Don't forget that you can watch the other lesson
that's about uncountable nouns, right here.
And of course make sure that you subscribe
so that you find out whenever I release a new lesson
to help you with your English grammar, your
English speaking skills, your confidence
in English. All of these things, I make lessons about.
You can check out some of those on this playlist, right here.
That's it for today but I'm so pleased
that you could join me. Bye for now!