LEARNER'S ENGLISH GRAMMAR 2004 by Masaya Oba

3-1  [Noun(N): Proper Noun(Npro), Countable Noun(Nc), and Uncountable Noun(Nu)]
     There are many major morphemes in English. Among them are those that signify a person, a thing, a name, etc. We call this group or its member a noun or N in this book.
     A noun (N) can refer to various referents. These referents may be a concrete thing that we can actually see and touch or an abstract thing that we can recognize only as a concept. In this book we divide nouns into the following three types:

  (i)Proper Noun(Npro): Proper Names of Persons, Mountains, Rivers, etc.
     (1)  John,  Mississippi,  London,  Broadway,  English,
          Friday,  April,  Sony,  Volkswagen, etc.

  (ii)Countable Noun(Nc): General Names of Persons and Things.
     (2)  book,  cat,  tree,  house,  coin,  hand,  teacher,
          hour,  fact,  idea, etc.

 (iii)Uncountable Noun(Nu): Names of Liquid, Gas, Unit, Concept, etc.
     (3)  water,  milk,  rain,  blood,  mud,  garbage,  air,
          aroma,  steam,  snow,  butter,  sugar,  rice,  money,
          traffic,  advice,  food,  baggage,  furniture,  information,
          hospitality,  rudeness,  gravity, etc.

     A proper noun (Npro) has a unique referent, and the first letter of a proper noun is written in a capital letter. (cf. 1-4)
     The other nouns are divided into two groups. The countable noun (Nc) is used for things which usually have clear boundary in meaning and so can be counted. The uncountable noun (Nu) has no concrete boundary in meaning and so cannnot be counted.

3-2  [In Between Proper Noun (Npro) and Countable Noun (Nc)]
     Proper nouns are not counted unless more than one person, city, etc., have the same name.

     (4)  There are two Johns in our class.
     (5)  The Bakers have two Volkswagens.

When a noun starts with either a capital letter or with a small letter, the first is a proper noun (Npro), and the second is a countable noun (Nc).

     (6)a. Mother(My mother)                  (Npro)
        b. a mother(a female parent)          (Nc)
     (7)a. Johnia male called John)          (Npro)
        b. the johnia lavatory)              (Nc)
     (8)a. God ithe maker and ruler of the world)   (‚mpro)
        b. a godia maker and ruler of a particular  (‚mc)
           part of the world or nature)

3-3 [Countable Noun(Nc) vs Uncountable Noun(Nu)]
The major difference between a countable nouniNcjand an uncountable noun (Nu) is that the former, having a clear-cut boundary in meaning, can be counted, while the latter, having no boundary, can not. A "poem", for instance, is a piece of work, while "poetry" is a category. So most native speakers of English feel that the one can be counted, while the other can not.

     (9)a.  one poem
        b.  two poems
    (10)a. *one poetry
        b. *two poetries

Thus, in English, "poem" is a countable noun (Nc) and "poetry" is an uncoutable noun (Nu).
     The feeling of countability, however, varies from language to language. The English "tear", for instance, is counted, but in some other languages its counterpart is not. On the other hand, "news" in English is uncountable, which is not the case in many other languages.

3-4  [many + Nc    vs    much + Nu]
     When the quantity expressed by a countable noun (Nc) increases sufficiently, the pattern "many + Nc" is used. When the quantity expressed by an uncountable noun (Nu) increases sufficiently, the pattern "much + Nu" is used.

     (11)a. many cats
         b. many hospitals
         c. many mountains
         d. many dishes
     (12)a. much water
         b. much sugar
         c. much knowledge
         d. much furniture

     Notice that countable nouns are in plural form after "many", while uncountable nouns stay in singular form after "much". Plural forms will be discussed further in 7-2 to 7-4.

3-5  [In Between Nc and Nu]
     Some nouns apparently are a countable noun (Nc) and an uncountable noun (Nu) at the same time.

     (13)a.  She showed me many kindnesses.  (Quirk  p.286)
         b.  She showed me much kindness.
     (14)a.  She was quite a beauty in her day.
         b.  She had great beauty in her day.
     (15)a.  Two ice creams, please.  (Genius)
         b.  Two scoops of ice cream, please.
     (16)a.  I always have a coffee at this time of the morning.
                                           (Brown & Miller,p242)
         b.  I always have much coffee over the weekend.

These are the cases where one form carries two meanings. Thus, nouns such as underlined parts in (13a)-(16a) are all countable, while those in (13b)-(16b) are all uncountable.

3-6 [Counting ‚mu?]
Uncountable nouns are usually uncountable. However, when we want to count them, we have to use a vessel or a unit making clear the boundary.

   (i)  a piece, a bit, etc.
     (17)a.  a piece/bit of [cake/paper/advice/furniture]
         b.  a drop of [water/dew/oil/vinegar]
         c.  a grain of [sand/salt/rice]
         d.  a strip of [cloth/land/wood]
  (ii)  a lump, etc.
     (18)a.  a lump of [sugar/coal]
         b.  a stick of [dynamite/chalk/celery]
         c.  a head of [cabbage/lettuce]
         d.  a bar of [gold/soap/chocolate]
 (iii)  a vessel, a container, etc.
     (19)a.  a glass of [beer/milk/orange juice]
         b.  a cup of [tea/coffee]
         c.  a bottle of [wine/champagne/whisky]
         d.  a tube of [toothpaste/glue/paint]
         e.  a spoonful of [honey/salad oil/sugar]
  (iv)  a measure, a scale, etc.
     (20)a.  a yard of [carpeting/ribbon]
         b.  a pound of [butter/coffee/meat/flour]
         c.  a quart of [milk/ice cream]
         d.  an acre of [land/orchard]

When we count uncountable nouns as in the above, we must be aware of the collocation, that is, the appropriate idiomatic combination.

     (21)a.  a blade of grass
         b. *a sword of grass
     (22)a.  an ear of corn
         b. *a nose of corn
     (23)a.  a set of furniture
         b. *a team of furniture

3-7 [Collocations of Countable Nouns]
Countable nouns are by definition countable by themselves. However, they are often counted by using another countable noun signifying a group, a container, and so on.

     (24)a. two cigarettes
         b. a pack of cigarettes
     (25)a. two cards
         b. a deck of cards

Here again the idiomatic collocation holds.

     (26)a. a  [crowd/*flock/*herd] of people
         b. a  [flock/*crowd/*herd] of birds
         c. a  [herd/*crowd/*flock] of cattle

Be sure to note the difference in forms after "of" with respect to countable nouns and uncountable nouns. The countable noun(Nc) changes to a plural form. Naturally, the uncountable noun(Nu) does not change.

     (27)a. two bunches of bananas
         b. two sacks of potatoes
         c. two sets of tires
         d. two strings of pearls
     (28)a. two pieces of advice
         b. two bottles of wine
         c. two gallons of gas
         d. two jars of honey