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Countable nouns with a/an and some
Countable nouns with a/an and some
Countable nouns can be singular or plural:
A dog => dogs
A child/=> some children
The evening => the evenings
This party =>these parties
An umbrella =>two umbrellas
Before singular countable nouns you can use a/an:
• Goodbye! Have a nice evening.
• Do you need an umbrella?
You cannot use singular countable nouns alone (without a/the/my etc.):
• She never wears a hat. (Not 'She never wears hat')
• Be careful of the dog. (Not 'Be careful of dog')
• What a beautiful day!
• I’ve got a headache.
We use a/an... to say what kind of thing or person something/somebody is:
• A dog is an animal.
• I'm an optimist.
• Tim's father is a doctor.
• Are you a good driver?
• Jill is a really nice person.
• What a lovely dress!
We say that somebody has a long nose / a nice face / a strong heart etc.:
• Jack has got a long nose, (not 'the long nose')
In sentences like these, we use plural nouns alone (not with 'some'):
• Dogs are animals.
• Most of my friends are students.
• Jill's parents are really nice people.
• What awful shoes!
• Jack has got blue eyes, (not 'the blue eyes')
Remember to use a/an when you say what somebody's job is:
• Sandra is a nurse, (not 'Sandra is nurse')
• Would you like to be an English teacher?
You can use some with plural countable nouns. We use some in two ways:
i) Some = a number of / a few of / a pair of:
• I've seen some good films recently, (not 'I've seen good films')
• Some friends of mine are coming to stay at the weekend.
• I need some new sunglasses. (= a new pair of sunglasses)
Do not use some when you are talking about things in general
• I love bananas, (not 'some bananas')
• My aunt is a writer. She writes books, (not 'some books')
Sometimes you can make sentences with or without some (with no difference in meaning):
• There are (some) eggs in the fridge if you're hungry.
ii) Some = some but not all
• Some children learn very quickly, (but not all children)
• Some police officers in
Put in a/an or some where necessary. If no word is necessary, leave the space empty (-).
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