Larisa Lubimova – English Grammar with Kudjo. Part 4 Понятная и забавная грамматика для детей и взрослых (страница 18)

countable — a person who likes telling and hearing gossip

uncountable — untrue stories about other people’s private lives

19. jam

сountable — many vehicles stuck together in traffic, or a difficult situation

uncountable – sweet food that’s made from fruit

20. land

countable — a country or region

uncountable – the earth’s surface

21. nature

countable – the basic character of a person or an animal

uncountable – all living things and their habitats

22. noise

countable — a particular sound

uncountable — loud or unpleasant sound

23. toast

countable — the act of drinking to someone’s happiness

uncountable — sliced bread browned in a toaster

24. youth

countable — a young man

uncountable — the time in someone’s life when they’re young

EXERCISE 3

Complete the sentences using the noun in bold in the form of a countable (in plural or with the article a) or an uncountable noun:

1 experience

a Kudjo had never had such ***** before he got to the hidden lab.

b Kudjo had no ***** in communicating with scientists, needless to say, with insane ones.

2 danger

a Frankly speaking, he was smelling ***** there, but he couldn’t turn back.

b If only he had known that real ***** was next to him!

3 light

a There was no ***** underground, which was going to make the walk scarier.

b Fortunately, the lynx had little *****, which was enough to let them see where to go.

4 noise

a The most striking was ***** because even the noise of the forest couldn’t be heard underground.

b Suddenly Kudjo heard strange ***** as if a metal object clattered on the stone floor.

5 gossip

a The lynx pretended not to hear anything and started telling Kudjo some ***** about the scientist quite loudly.

b Kudjo didn’t expect her to be such *****.

6 room

a Listening to her rumours, Kudjo didn’t notice that their journey had ended up in spacious *****.

b There was enough ***** for more than ten Kudjos.

7 wood

a The only object in this room was a large cage made of *****.

b It reminded Kudjo about the trap in ***** and made him a bit suspicious.

8 freedom

a No sooner had he thought it was a right place to deprive animals of ***** than the lynx pushed him into the cage and locked it.

b Who gave her such ***** to do what she likes?

9 time

a Kudjo tried to get out of the cage dozens of *****, in vain.

b To his horror he realised that he didn’t know how much ***** he would have to spend locked in.

10 failure

a He cursed himself for his stupid gullibility, which brought his plans to *****.

b He couldn’t help admitting being complete *****.

11 memory

a He tried to evoke recent ***** so as to understand where he had made a mistake but he couldn’t.

b He blamed his poor ***** and fell asleep in despair.

PLURAL NOUNS

Some nouns are always plural and take a plural verb: archives, belongings, movables, clothes, congratulations, thanks, brains (intellect), nuptials, tidings, contents, earnings, goods, outskirts, premises, remains, surroundings, arms, ashes (of a dead cremated body), barracks, headquarters, (good) looks, riches, stairs, wages, breadcrumbs, leftovers, dregs, eatables, (dis) likes, blues, hysterics, condolences, creeps, jim-jams, shenanigans, guts (bowels, courage), pains (take pains), mores, odds, whereabouts, smithereens etc.

Some nouns for things with two parts (often clothes, tools or equipment) also end in -s and are always plural. They include: pyjamas, trousers, jeans, dungarees, overalls, pants, shorts, tights, scissors, pliers, tongs, nippers, tweezers, binoculars, glasses, spectacles, goggles, headphones, earphones, scales, compasses, braces, handcuffs, etc.

Some nouns can have a different meaning when they are in the plural:

air — atmosphere

airs – arrogance, self-importance

custom — a habit, tradition

customs – the place at a port, airport, or border where travellers’ bags are looked at to find out if any goods are being carried illegally

force – strength or energy

forces — an organised military force