Countable nouns can be singular or plural:
a dog a child the evening this party an umbrella dogs some children the evenings these parties 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 Britain carry guns, but most of them don't.
EXERCISES
70.1 What are these things? Try and find out if you don't know.
1. an ant? _It's an insects._
2. ants? bees? _They're insects._
3. a cauliflower?
4. chess?
5. a violin? a trumpet? a flute?
6. a skyscraper?
7. Earth? Mars? Venus? Jupiter?
8. a tulip?
9. the Rhine? the Nile? the Mississippi?
10 a pigeon? an eagle? a crow?
Who were these people?
11. Beethoven? _Has was a composer._
12. Shakespeare?
13. Albert Einstein?
14. Washington? Lincoln? John Kennedy?
15. Marilyn Monroe?
16 Elvis Presley? John Lennon?
17. Van Gogh? Renoir? Gauguin?
70.2 Read about what these people do and say what their jobs are. Choose one of these jobs:
driving instructor interpreter journalist nurse pilot plumber travel agent waiter
1. Stella looks after patients in hospital. _She's a nurse._
2. George works in a restaurant. He brings the food to the tables. He ---
3. Mary arranges people's holidays for them. She ---
4. Ron works for an airline. He flies aeroplane. ---
5. Linda teaches people how to drive. ---
6. Dave fits and repairs water pipes. ---
7. Jenny writes articles for a newspaper. ---
8. John translates what people are saying from one language into another, so that they can understand each other. ---
70.3 Put in alan or some where necessary. If no word is necessary, leave the space empty(-).
1. I've seen some good films recently.
2. What's wrong with you? Have you got _a_ headache?
3. I know a lot of people. Most of them are - students.
4. When I was --- child, I used to be very shy.
5. Would you like to be --- actor?
6. Do you collect --- stamps?
7. What --- beautiful garden!
8. --- birds, for example the penguin, cannot fly.
9. I've been walking for three hours. I've got --- sore feet.
10. I don't feel very well this morning. I've got --- sore throat.
11. It's a pity we haven't got --- camera. I'd like to take --- photograph of that house.
12. Those are --- nice shoes. Where did you get them?
13. I'm going shopping. I want to buy --- new shoes.
14. You need --- visa to visit --- countries, but not all of them.
15. Jane is --- teacher. Her parents were --- teachers too.
16. Do you enjoy going to --- concerts?
17. When we got to the city centre --- shops were still open but most of them were closed.
18. I don't believe him. He's --- liar. He's always telling --- lies.
70.1
3 It's a vegetable.
4 It's a. game.
5 They're musical instruments.
6 It's a (tall/high) building.
7 They're planets.
8 It's a flower.
9 They're rivers.
10 They're birds.
12 He was a writer/a dramatist a playwright.
13 He was a scientist/a physicist.
14 They were American presidents/presidents of the United States.
15 She was an actress/a film actress/a film star.
16 They were singers/musicians.
17 They were painters/artists.
70.2
2 He's a waiter.
3 She's a travel agent.
4 He's a pilot.
5 She's a driving instructor.
6 He's a plumber.
7 She's a journalist.
8 He's an interpreter.
70.3
4 a 5 an
6 - (collect stamps)
7 a 8 Some
9 - (I've got sore feet.)
10 a 11 a ... a
12 - (Those are nice shoes.)
13 some
14 a visa ... some countries
15 a teacher. Her parents were teachers too.
16 - (going to concerts)
17 some
18 a liar ... always telling lies
