COUNTABLE & UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS (PART 2)

Last 16th March 2013 we had a funny class about countable and uncountable nouns.

We wrote on the whiteboard a shopping list, then the students circle in blue the countable nouns and in red the uncountable nouns. Then we did this exercise:










 Then we were able to complete this grammar rule




Later we supposed that the students shared a flat and they were about to have a dinner. We used the shopping list to ask questions
Example: How many tomatoes are there in the fridge?
How much milk is there in the fridge?



Then we realized that uncountable nouns can become countable if we add a container or unit of measure. Here you can find some containers

Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady

Margaret Thatcher, the first female prime minister, died on 8th April 2013.
She was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and the Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the longest-serving British Prime Minister of the 20th century and is the only woman to have held the office. A Soviet journalist called her the "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style. As Prime Minister, she implemented policies that have come to be known as Thatcherism.


She was loved and hated. They even said she divided the country in two parts.

In this article the Telegraph analyses how the newspapers covered her death

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/9980529/Margaret-Thatcher-how-the-papers-covered-her-death.html

If you want to learn new words linked to politics and Thatcherism, watch this video

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2013/04/130410_vwitn_thatcher_legacy.shtml

COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

Can you count your friends, the chairs around your kitchen table, your books and the apples in your fridge? I think so. However I am sure you cannot count the milk you had for breakfast this morning nor the bread you made your sandwich with.
COUNTABLE NOUNS        UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
friends                                     milk
chairs                                       bread
apples

When a noun is COUNTABLE there are both singular and plural forms.
for example: There is an apple on the table. There are two apples on the table.
When a noun is UNCOUNTABLE there is only the singular form
for example: There is some pasta in the plate.
You CANNOT use A/AN with UNCOUNTABLE nouns but you MUST use SOME.
SOME can also be used with COUNTABLE NOUNS when they are plural (always in positive sentences).
for examples: There are some apples on the table.