A.
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
B.
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.
C. 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?
D. 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 (see also Unit 74):
* 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.
Answer
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
