Questions tagged [countable-nouns]

Countable nouns can be modified by a quantity.

Countable nouns can be modified by a quantity, for example:

One chair. Two chairs.

Compare with .

239 questions
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Society as a countable noun

Macmillan Dictionary gives the following example sentence for the word "society" as a countable noun: "Good writing still has a place in contemporary society." I know "society" can be used both as a countable and uncountable noun but if it is used…
Summer
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When did "learnings" become an accepted countable noun?

"Learnings"? In 2006, it was a joke word, meant to suggest crude ESL. In 2007, it's actually being used in the New York Times. Was that the black day when it changed over? NYT excerpt: “We’re going to learn so much about our readers,” Mr. Smith…
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"an entertainment"

I'm reading Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death and I came across an interesting usage of the word entertainment. "The first is that on television, religion, like everything else, is presented, quite simply and without apology, as an…
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How to treat a plural count noun?

The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (Page 335) says: A count noun denotes a class of individuated entities of the same kind. Boy, for example, denotes the class of boys. The individual entities are atomic in the sense that they cannot be…
JK2
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around town or around towns?

"Recently, many housing estates around town have seen a dip in home valuations." This is the first sentence of an article. Is it because town has a specific meaning so singular form (uncountable) is used in this example? Are there other common…
Lone Ly
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Traffic or Traffic jam which is countable

Why is 'traffic' an uncountable noun while 'traffic jam' is a countable noun? I have asked many people and also googled but didn't get a satisfactory answer
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Is the noun “faculty” countable?

I know that the noun faculty can be both singular and plural, but I’m confused whether it’s countable or uncountable when used in sentences like this one: Many international faculty have difficulties with. . . .
Irrr
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How do we count "gales"

I'm wondering how we can actually count "gales". When do we use the singular form and when do we use the plural form? Here're two examples I've found: Hundreds of old trees were blown down in the gales. (Cambridge Dictionary) The gale blew down…
Ana
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Potential vs A Potential

Are (a) and (b) both grammatically correct and if so how can they both be correct at the same time? (a) She has potential. (b) She has a potential. I was always under the impression that (a) was correct and (b) was not but I was told recently that…
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Do you add 's' after countable nouns following numbers other than 1?

For countable nouns you add 's' for non single quantity e.g. 1 hour, 2 hours, -1 degree, -2 degrees What about 0 hour(s)? 0.5 hour(s)? 1.5 hour(s)?
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Is "vector" countable?

I was wondering if "vector" is countable or not. I've been using it in plural form (vectors) but I don't know if that is correct.