Uncountable Nouns - English Grammar Lesson Unzählbare Substantive - Lektion in englischer Grammatik Sustantivos incontables - Lección de gramática inglesa Noms indénombrables - Leçon de grammaire anglaise Sostantivi non numerabili - Lezione di grammatica inglese 数えられない名詞 - 英文法レッスン Neįskaitomi daiktavardžiai - anglų kalbos gramatikos pamoka Niet-telbare zelfstandige naamwoorden - Engelse grammaticales Rzeczowniki niepoliczalne — lekcja gramatyki języka angielskiego Substantivos incontáveis - Lição de gramática inglesa Неисчисляемые существительные - Урок грамматики английского языка Sayılamayan İsimler - İngilizce Dilbilgisi Dersi Незлічувані іменники - урок граматики англійської мови 不可数名词 - 英语语法课 不可數名詞 - 英語文法課

Hi, I'm Martin. Welcome to Oxford Online English! In this lesson, you can learn about Cześć, jestem Marcin. Witamy w Oxford Online English! W tej lekcji możesz dowiedzieć się o

countable and uncountable nouns in English. |||名詞|| Zählbare und unzählbare Substantive im Englischen.

What's the difference between paper and a paper? Why do we say trousers are… but ||||紙|||||||||| ||||||||||||pantalones|| Was ist der Unterschied zwischen Papier und Papier? Warum sagen wir, Hosen sind … aber

news is…? Why can't you say, Can you give me an advice? |||||||||||consejo general

You'll learn the answers to all these questions in this lesson. W tej lekcji poznasz odpowiedzi na wszystkie te pytania.

Where shall we start? Wo sollen wir anfangen? 何から始めよう？

Some nouns are countable. You can count them. For example, pens are countable. You can count

them.

One pen, two pens, three pens, and so on.

Some nouns are uncountable. You can't count them. For example, water is uncountable.

One water, two waters…? No, that doesn't work. You can't count water. |||bodies of water|||||||| |||水|||||||| 水が1つ、2つ......？ いや、それはダメだ。 水を数えることはできない。

Do you know any other uncountable nouns?

You'll see more examples in the next section, but here are three: money, rice and knowledge |||||||||||||rice|| |||||||||||||米|| Sie werden im nächsten Abschnitt weitere Beispiele sehen, aber hier sind drei: Geld, Reis und Wissen

are all uncountable nouns.

Countable and uncountable nouns behave differently. They follow different rules. ||||behave||||| ||||se comportan||||| Zählbare und unzählbare Substantive verhalten sich unterschiedlich. Sie folgen anderen Regeln.

First, uncountable nouns can't be plural. That means you can't say moneys, rices or |||||||||||moneys|rice| |||||||||||お金|米|

knowledges. These forms don't exist. knowledge|||| 知識||||

Secondly, you need to use a singular verb with uncountable nouns. For example: ||||||singular|||||| 第二に、数えられない名詞には単数形の動詞を使う必要がある。 例えば、次のように：

This rice doesn't taste right. Your money is on the table. 这|||||||||| Dieser Reis schmeckt nicht richtig. Ihr Geld liegt auf dem Tisch. この米は味がしない。 金はテーブルの上にある。

His knowledge of this subject has improved significantly. |||||||显著地 |||||||considerably |||||||大幅に Sein Wissen zu diesem Thema hat sich deutlich verbessert.

Next, you can't use a or an with an uncountable noun. You can't say a rice, a money or a Als nächstes können Sie a oder an nicht mit einem unzählbaren Substantiv verwenden. Man kann nicht Reis, Geld oder a sagen

knowledge. However, you can use some or any. For example: |||||some|||| Wissen. Sie können jedoch some oder any verwenden. Zum Beispiel:

Is there any rice left? You'll need some money for the bus. Ist noch Reis übrig? Du brauchst etwas Geld für den Bus. 米は残っているか？ バス代が必要だ。

Finally, we use different words to talk about quantities with countable and uncountable Schließlich verwenden wir andere Wörter, um über Mengen mit zählbaren und unzählbaren zu sprechen

nouns. 名词(1)

With countable nouns, we use many to talk about large quantities, and few to talk about |||||many|||||quantities||small quantities|||

small quantities. Kleinmengen.

With uncountable nouns, we use much and little. |||||much||little Bei unzählbaren Substantiven verwenden wir viel und wenig.

You can use a lot of or lots of with both countable and uncountable nouns. |||a||||lots|||||||

For example:

There isn't much rice left, but There aren't many potatoes left. |||||||||potatoes| |||||||||じゃがいも| Es ist nicht mehr viel Reis übrig, aber es sind nicht mehr viele Kartoffeln übrig. 米はあまり残っていないが、ジャガイモはあまり残っていない。

There's a little money in my pocket, but There are a few coins in that small box. ||||||||||||coins|||| In meiner Tasche ist ein bisschen Geld, aber in dieser kleinen Schachtel sind ein paar Münzen. 我口袋裡有一點錢，但那個小盒子裡有幾枚硬幣。

Okay, so now you know the basics about uncountable nouns and how to use them. ||||||basics|||||||| ||||||基本||||||||

Next, an important question:

Many uncountable nouns are words for food and drink, such as pasta, meat, fruit, coffee, Viele unzählige Substantive sind Wörter für Essen und Trinken, wie Pasta, Fleisch, Obst, Kaffee,

beer or milk.

Be careful, because fruit is uncountable, but vegetables are countable. Seien Sie vorsichtig, denn Obst ist unzählbar, aber Gemüse ist zählbar.

Many collective nouns are uncountable. |collective||| Viele Sammelbegriffe sind unzählbar. 多くの集合名詞は数えられない。

Collective nouns are nouns which describe a group of objects all together. For example, |||||||||objects|||| 集合名詞は、ある物体のグループをまとめて表す名詞です。例えば

furniture, equipment, luggage or traffic. 家具||行李||交通 |equipment||| Möbel, Ausstattung, Gepäck oder Verkehr. 家具、設備、荷物、交通機関。

Finally, abstract nouns are often uncountable. For example: knowledge, information, advice |abstract||||||||| |抽象名詞||||||||| Schließlich sind abstrakte Substantive oft nicht zählbar. Zum Beispiel: Wissen, Information, Beratung

or progress. |进展 oder Fortschritt.

Okay, I have a challenge for you.

You have three groups of nouns here: food & drink, collective nouns, and abstract nouns.

I want you to pause the video and find one more uncountable noun to add to each group.

That means you need to find one uncountable food or drink noun, one uncountable collective

noun, and one uncountable abstract noun. Write down your answers.

Why are you still here? Pause the video and find your answers!

Okay, finished?

But, there's a problem.

There are many possible answers you could have here. How can you check? ここで考えられる答えはたくさんあるが、どうやって確認する？

Easy: find a dictionary. You can use an online dictionary such as Longman, or a paper dictionary ||||||||||||朗文|||| ||||||||||||Longman|||| ||||||||||||Longman|||| ||||||||||||ロングマン|||| 簡単：辞書を引く。 Longmanのようなオンライン辞書を使ってもいいし、紙の辞書を使ってもいい。

if you're feeling a bit old school. wenn Sie sich ein bisschen altmodisch fühlen. ちょっと古風な気分なら。 如果你覺得有點老派。

Look up the words you wrote down. In the dictionary, it should tell you if they're countable Schlagen Sie die Wörter nach, die Sie aufgeschrieben haben. Im Wörterbuch sollte es Ihnen sagen, ob sie zählbar sind メモした単語を辞書で調べれば、それが数えられる単語かどうかわかるはずだ。

or uncountable.

Some dictionaries do this by adding a ‘u' for uncountable or a ‘c' for countable 辞書によっては、数えられないものには「u」、数えられるものには「c」を付ける。

after the noun. Different dictionaries have different styles. |||||||styles

So now you can check your answers. Were you correct? Jetzt können Sie Ihre Antworten überprüfen. Warst du richtig?

Now, things get more complicated. Jetzt werden die Dinge komplizierter.

Why?

If nouns could only be countable or uncountable, this topic would be very simple. 如果||||||||||||| Wenn Substantive nur zählbar oder unzählbar sein könnten, wäre dieses Thema sehr einfach.

However, many nouns can be both countable and uncountable, with different meanings.

For example, paper can be countable or uncountable.

Do you know the difference? What's the difference between paper and a paper?

Paper is the material: what you write on. Papier ist das Material: das, worauf Sie schreiben.

A paper is another way to say a newspaper

Let's look at some more examples like this. Think about it: what's the difference between:

Fish and a fish? Glass and a glass?

Time and a time?

Ready? Let's look at the answers:

Fish (uncountable) means the food. You eat fish.

A fish (countable) means one whole animal, either living or dead. Compare: ||||||||活的||| |||||||ya sea|||| Ein Fisch (zählbar) bedeutet ein ganzes Tier, entweder lebend oder tot. Vergleichen:

We eat a lot of fish. --> We eat a lot of fish in general. ||||||我们||||||| Wir essen viel Fisch. --> Wir essen generell viel Fisch.

There's a fish in the toilet! --> One living fish. Da ist ein Fisch in der Toilette! --> Ein lebender Fisch. トイレに魚がいる！→生きている魚が1匹。

He ate three whole fish. --> Three whole animals. Er aß drei ganze Fische. --> Drei ganze Tiere. 魚を丸ごと3匹食べた。

What about glass and a glass? Was ist mit Glas und einem Glas? グラスとグラスは？

Glass is a material. A glass is something you drink out of. For example:

The sculpture was made of glass. Would you like a glass of water? |雕塑||||||||||| |sculpture||||||||||| |彫刻||||||||||| Die Skulptur war aus Glas. Willst du ein Glas Wasser? この彫刻はガラスでできている。 グラスに水はいかがですか？

Finally, how about time and a time? Schließlich, wie wäre es mit Zeit und Zeit?

Time is the general meaning of time. It's such a basic idea that I can't really explain 時間とは、時間の一般的な意味だ。 基本的な考え方なので、うまく説明できないが

it in more simple terms! ||更简单|| es in einfacheren Worten!

A time has a similar meaning to an occasion or a period. ||||||||occasion||| Eine Zeit hat eine ähnliche Bedeutung wie ein Anlass oder ein Zeitraum.

Look at some examples:

I don't have much free time. How much time will you need to finish this? Ich habe nicht viel Freizeit. Wie viel Zeit benötigen Sie, um dies zu beenden? 自由な時間があまりないんだ。 これを完成させるのにどれくらいの時間が必要ですか？

There have been many times when I wanted to give up. ha habido|||||||||| Es gab viele Male, in denen ich aufgeben wollte.

We had a good time at their barbecue. |||||||烧烤聚会 Wir hatten eine gute Zeit bei ihrem Barbecue.

Can you see the difference now?

So, there are many nouns which can be both countable and uncountable, often with different

meanings.

There are too many examples to explain them all here, but I will give you one general

idea which might be helpful.

Often, when a noun can be countable or uncountable, the uncountable noun has a general or collective

meaning. The countable noun has a specific meaning.

For example, think about the word hair. It can be countable or uncountable.

Hair (uncountable) has a general meaning. It means, for example, the stuff that grows |||||||||||||grows Haar (unzähligen) hat eine allgemeine Bedeutung. Es bedeutet zum Beispiel das Zeug, das wächst

on your head. ||head

Hair (countable) has a more specific meaning. Haar (zählbar) hat eine spezifischere Bedeutung.

Have you ever made the mistake in English where you say something like:

My friend Jacob has a long hair.

If you say this, you mean that your friend has one long hair. That's probably not what Wenn Sie das sagen, meinen Sie, dass Ihr Freund ein langes Haar hat. Das ist es wohl nicht

you wanted to say, right?

Instead, say:

My friend Jacob has long hair. Mein Freund Jacob hat lange Haare.

To really understand countable and uncountable nouns, you'll have to remember a lot of

information. However, this basic idea can help you: uncountable nouns are more general

and abstract; countable nouns are more specific.

In this lesson, we've talked about countable nouns, uncountable nouns, and nouns which

can be both.

There are a few strange nouns, which don't fit cleanly into any of these categories. |||||||||干净地|||||类别 |||||||||cleanly||||| Es gibt ein paar seltsame Substantive, die in keine dieser Kategorien passen.

For example, we said at the beginning that uncountable nouns can't be plural. You can't

say rices or knowledges. |米饭|| ライスとかノウハウとか。

That's generally true, but there are some uncountable nouns which can only be plural.

They are:

police clothes 警察的| けいさいふく

trousers scissors |剪刀 |scissors |tijeras Hosenschere

You can't make these nouns singular. You can't say one police or one trouser. |||||||||||||裤子 |||||||||||||trouser

Remember to use a plural verb with these nouns. For example:

The police have interviewed all the witnesses. These trousers don't fit well. ||||||证人|这些|裤子||| |||interviewed|||witnesses||||| ||||||testigos||los pantalones||| Die Polizei hat alle Zeugen befragt. Diese Hose sitzt nicht gut.

Careful with the scissors—they're sharp. Sei vorsichtig mit der Schere – sie ist scharf.

Another strange word is news. It's uncountable and singular, even though it ends with ‘s'. Ein anderes seltsames Wort sind Nachrichten. Es ist unzählbar und singulär, obwohl es auf 's' endet.

So, don't say:

The news are depressing at the moment. Die Nachrichten sind im Moment deprimierend. 今は憂鬱なニュースばかりだ。

Instead, say: Sagen Sie stattdessen:

The news is depressing at the moment. |||depressing||| 今のところ、ニュースは憂鬱だ。 目前這個消息令人沮喪。

Finally, there are some collective nouns like staff, team or crew. Some of these are uncountable ||||||||||crew|||||

(like staff), and others can be countable, like team or crew.

These nouns are generally made plural in British English. In the UK, we say: ||||||||English|||||

The staff aren't happy with the new uniform. The team are playing well at the moment. Die Mitarbeiter sind mit der neuen Uniform nicht zufrieden. Die Mannschaft spielt im Moment gut.

However, in the US, these collective nouns are often singular. In the US, you might hear: In den USA stehen diese Sammelbegriffe jedoch oft im Singular. In den USA hört man vielleicht:

The staff isn't happy with the new uniform. The team is playing well at the moment.

Both are possible, but try to be consistent. If you make these nouns plural, then they

should always be plural. If you make them singular, you should always make them singular. sollte immer im Plural stehen. Wenn Sie sie singulär machen, sollten Sie sie immer singulär machen.

That said, native speakers aren't always consistent. Don't worry about it too much, 那么|话虽如此|母语||||||||||

and don't be surprised if you hear both forms.

Okay, we have one more thing to do.

The point of uncountable nouns is that you can't count them.

But sometimes you need to. |有时|||

What can you do?

Take an uncountable noun you saw earlier: rice.

There's no way to count rice directly. Rice can never be countable. You can never say

three rices.

But, sometimes you need to count things, even if they're uncountable. How can you count

rice?

Actually, there are many ways to do it.

Rice is made up of single grains of rice. Here is one grain of rice. 米饭|||||单个|米粒|||这里|||一粒|| ||||||grains||||||grain|| ||||||granos|||||||| Reis besteht aus einzelnen Reiskörnern. Hier ist ein Reiskorn.

You can also have a bag of rice, a packet of rice, or a portion of rice. ||||||||||||或||一份|| |||||||||packet||||||| Sie können auch eine Tüte Reis, eine Packung Reis oder eine Portion Reis haben. 您也可以吃一袋米、一包米或一份米。

By adding a noun + of, you can make an uncountable noun countable. Indem Sie ein Substantiv + von hinzufügen, können Sie ein unzählbares Substantiv zählbar machen.

Let's see how this works in some example sentences:

There was a single grain of rice left at the bottom of his bowl. 那里|||||||||||||碗 Am Boden seiner Schüssel war ein einziges Reiskorn übrig.

Can you get two of those big bags of rice? We'd like three portions of rice, please. 能|||||||||||||份||| |||||||bags||||||portions||| Kannst du zwei von diesen großen Säcken Reis bekommen? Wir hätten gerne drei Portionen Reis, bitte.

Like with rice, there are often many different nouns you can add to make an uncountable noun

countable. contable

That's the good news. The bad news is that you need to add different nouns depending Das ist die gute Nachricht. Die schlechte Nachricht ist, dass Sie je nach Substantiv unterschiedliche Substantive hinzufügen müssen

on the uncountable noun you're using. auf dem unzählbaren Substantiv, das Sie verwenden.

Let's practice this so you can see what I mean. Lassen Sie uns das üben, damit Sie sehen, was ich meine.

Here are five uncountable nouns. How could you make them countable? Hier sind fünf unzählbare Substantive. Wie könnte man sie zählbar machen?

advice bread Beratung Brot

money furniture Geld Möbel

coffee

Think about your answers.

Ready? Let's look together. |一起||

You can give someone a piece of advice, or two pieces of advice if you're feeling generous. |||||||||||||||感觉| ||||||||||||||||generous Du kannst jemandem einen oder zwei Ratschläge geben, wenn du großzügig bist. 如果您慷慨的話，您可以給某人一條建議或兩個建議。

Add a piece of to make advice countable. Fügen Sie ein Stück hinzu, um Ratschläge zählbar zu machen.

A piece of is very useful, because you can use it to make many uncountable nouns countable.

You can also have a piece of bread. With bread you have other possibilities: a loaf of bread |||||||||||||||一条|| |||||||||||||||loaf|| |||||||||||||||pan|| Sie können auch ein Stück Brot haben. Mit Brot hat man andere Möglichkeiten: einen Laib Brot

or a slice of bread. ||||面包 oder eine Scheibe Brot.

What about money? You can have a sum of money or an amount of money. For example, you could ||||||一笔|一笔|||||一笔|||||| 錢呢？你可以有一筆錢，也可以有一筆錢。例如，您可以

say:

He lost a large amount of money trying to play the stock market. 他|失去||大量|||||||||股市 |||||||||||stock| Er verlor eine große Menge Geld beim Versuch, an der Börse zu spielen. 他在尝试炒股时损失了大量的钱。

For furniture, you could say a piece of furniture or possibly an item of furniture, although |||||||||||一个|||| Bei Möbeln könnte man jedoch ein Möbelstück oder möglicherweise ein Möbelstück sagen 对于家具，你可以说一件家具或者可能是一项家具，尽管

this is very formal, and not common. 这（1）|||||| 这非常正式，并且不常见。

Finally, what about coffee? You can have a cup of coffee, a packet of coffee, a spoonful ||||||||||||一包||||一勺 ||||||||||||||||spoonful ||||||||||||||||cucharada

of coffee, or a pot of coffee. ||||壶|| ||||olla|| Kaffee oder eine Kanne Kaffee.

In all of these cases, there are other possible answers. However, these are the most common In all diesen Fällen gibt es andere mögliche Antworten. Dies sind jedoch die häufigsten

ones.

So, that's it for this class. Check out the full version of this lesson on our website:

Oxford Online English dot com. You can read the text and practise with our quiz.

Thanks for watching and see you next time!