COUNTABLE / UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

Be careful with these words, they are usually uncountable in English

Advice Bread Furniture Hair Information News Weather Work
Can I talk to you? I need some advice
I’m going to buy some bread.
They’ve got some very nice furniture in their house
Silvia has got very long hair
I’d like some information about hotels in London
Listen! I’ve some good news
It’s nice weather today
Do you like your job? (Job = posto de traballo (countable))
Yes, but it’s hard work (Work = traballo / actividade (uncountable))

MUCH, MANY, A LOT OF, (A) LITTLE, (A) FEW

Much, (a) little: uncountable nouns
Many, (a) few: countable nouns
Much milk (a) little wine
Many cars (a) few eggs
A lot of, lots of: uncountable and plural countable nouns
A lot of milk lots of rice
A lot of cars lots of books
A lot / lots: a great quantity or number

Much, many, a lot (of)

Much, many: mostly in questions and in negative sentences
How much milk have we got?
We haven’t got much milk
Has he got many books?
He hasn’t got many books
A lot (of), lots (of), plenty (of): in affirmative sentences
We’ve got a lot of milk
There’s lots of rice left
He’s got plenty of books

NO, NONE
We use no before a noun (= “not a” or “not any). We can use no before singular countable nouns,
plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns.
There’s no lock on the door
There are no letters for you today
We’ve got no milk
None is a pronoun.
“How much milk have we got?” “None”
None of + my, this, the, etc / object pronoun (us, them, etc)
None of my friends have seen the film
None of the photographs were very good
None of us have any money
When we use none of with a plural noun, the verb can be singular or plural (the singular verb is
more formal)
None of my friends have / has seen the film
Complete the sentences using much, many, a lot (of), a little or a few. Sometimes more
than one answer is possible
1. I know _________ people in London, but not many
2. We’ve got _________ coffee left, but not much
3. He earns _________ money in his job
4. She’s got _________ classical music records
5. We had _________ wine with our meal, but not very much
6. Have we got _________ potatoes left?
7. How _________ money did you spend on holiday?
8. I didn’t enjoy the party on Saturday very _________. There were too _________ people there,
and there wasn’t _________ food or drink, so everybody was hungry and thirsty

Choose the correct answer

1. I’m sorry, but I’ve got very a little/little money at the moment. I’m afraid I can’t lend you any
2. He has very a few/few friends and he gets rather lonely
3. She has a few/few friends in London and she’s very happy there.
4. It is an extremely poor country: it has a few /few natural resources and a little/little good
agricultural land
5. Would you like a little/little more wine? There’s still a little/little left in the bottle
6. It won’t take long to drive into town. There’s very a little/little traffic on the road at this time of
the day
7. I think Peter went out a few/few minutes ago
8. It’s a very boring little town; there’s very a little/little to do there

Complete the sentences using no or none

1. _________ of my family are rich
2. Unfortunately, there were _________ tickets left for the concert
3. He’s so serious. He’s got _________ sense of humour
4. I’ve got _________ idea what I’m going to do when I leave school
5. _________ of the students failed the examination
6. I haven’t got any money at the moment, _________ at all
7. My friends and I would all like go to the concert, but _________ of us has got a ticket

INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
An indefinite pronoun does not refer to any specific person, thing or amount. It is vague and "not
definite".
Most indefinite pronouns are either singular or plural. However, some of them can be singular in one
context and plural in another.
Notice that a singular pronoun takes a singular verb AND that any personal pronoun should also
agree (in number and gender). Look at these examples:
 Each of the players has a doctor.
 I met two girls. One has given me her phone number.
Similarly, plural pronouns need plural agreement:
 Many have expressed their views.

Plural
Both, few, many, others, several
John likes coffee but not tea. I think both are good.
Few have ever disobeyed him and lived.
Many have come already.
I’m sure that others have tried before us.
They all complained and several left the meeting.

Singular
Another, anybody / anyone, anything, anywhere, each, either, everybody / everyone, everything,
everywhere, nobody / noone (no-one / no one), nothing, nowhere, one, somebody / someone,
something, somewhere, the other
That ice-cream was good. Can I have another?
Each has his own thoughts.
Do you want tea or coffee? I don’t mind. Either is good for me.
We can start the meeting because everybody has arrived.
One was tall and the other was short.
The compounds of some and any behave in the same way as some and any, that is to say,
some-, in affirmative sentences and, any-, in negatives and questions, although we use some- in
the interrogative to offer something, to ask for something or when we expect a positive response.
I saw somebody there.
I did not see anybody there.
Did you see anybody there?
Would you like something better?
The compounds of any can also be used in affirmative sentences, but their meaning changes:
"every" or "it does not matter which / who":
You can take any pencil.
Anybody can do it. It's very easy.
I will like anything / either of them that you choose.
Instead of I did not see anybody there, we can say I saw nobody there, but we cannot use two
negative words: *I did not see nobody there.

Plural / singular
All, any, more, most, none, some. For indefinite pronouns that can be singular or plural, it depends
on what the indefinite pronoun refers to.
All is forgiven / All have arrived
Is any left? / Are any coming?
There is more over there / More are coming
Most is lost / Most have refused
They fixed the water so why is none coming out of the tap? / I invited five friends but none
have come.
Here is some / Some have arrived

Complete the following sentences according the word in the parenthesis:

1. ________ one of us is a good friend of ______ one of you. (cada)
2. __________ can do this, it is so easy. (cualquiera)
3. Is there _________ here? (alguien)
4. There are ______________ you can hide of your own guilt. (algun lugar)
5. Did we like __________ about the subject? (cada cosa, todo)
6. I saw _________ that I knew in the party. (nadie, no-persona)
7. ___________ makes me angrier than that! (nada, no-cosa)

Fill in the gaps with somebody, anybody, nobody, something, anything, nothing,
somewhere, anywhere or nowhere.
1. I know __________ about this issue that you may find interesting, but if I tell you, you must
promise to keep it (a) secret.
2. __________ lives here. There is no water.
3. I spent the night __________ near the beach.
4. __________ could have jumped over this wall, and stole your rake. It's very low.
5. __________ scares him. He's very brave.
6. There is __________ to park here. Let's go __________ else to park.
7. Would you like __________ to wash your hands?
8. May I have __________ for dessert, please?
9. They took him __________ in London, and he never returned.
10. Please don't leave __________ behind at home. We'll be away for a fortnight.
11. She needs __________ to love. She's very lonely.
12. They will not sing __________ in this city. They said that they would never come back.
13. There isn't __________ you can do to help them. __________ can help them.
14. We do not need __________ else to run this department. We can do it ourselves.
15. __________ is ringing the bell. Go and see who it is.
16. __________ phoned while we were out, but they did not leave a message.
17. __________ tells me that there is __________ fishy going on.
18. They are looking for __________ to settle down and have children. They want to find a quiet
place to lead a quiet life.
19. "Where would you like to stay?"
"__________ will do provided it is a clean place."
20. "Is there __________ at home?"
"I don't think there is __________. Mum and dad must have gone out."
ANSWERS
Put a circle around the uncountable nouns below
Cheese snow
Advice tea
Petrol news rain
Sugar homework
Tennis luggage information
Coffee money
Toast water
Bread milk
Complete the sentences using much, many, a lot (of), a little or a few. Sometimes more
than one answer is possible
1. I know a few people in London, but not many
2. We’ve got a little coffee left, but not much
3. He earns a lot of / a little money in his job
4. She’s got a lot of / a few classical music records
5. We had a little wine with our meal, but not very much
6. Have we got many / a few potatoes left?
7. How much money did you spend on holiday?
8. I didn’t enjoy the party on Saturday very much There were too many people there, and there
wasn’t much food or drink, so everybody was hungry and thirsty

Choose the correct answer

1. I’m sorry, but I’ve got very a little/little money at the moment. I’m afraid I can’t lend you any
2. He has very a few/few friends and he gets rather lonely
3. She has a few/few friends in London and she’s very happy there.
4. It is an extremely poor country: it has a few /few natural resources and a little/little good
agricultural land
5. Would you like a little/little more wine? There’s still a little/little left in the bottle
6. It won’t take long to drive into town. There’s very a little/little traffic on the road at this time
of the day
7. I think Peter went out a few/few minutes ago
8. It’s a very boring little town; there’s very a little/little to do there

Complete the sentences using no or none

1. none of my family are rich
2. Unfortunately, there were no tickets left for the concert
3. He’s so serious. He’s got no sense of humour
4. I’ve got no idea what I’m going to do when I leave school
5. none of the students failed the examination
6. I haven’t got any money at the moment, none at all
7. My friends and I would all like go to the concert, but none of us has got a ticket

Complete the following sentences according the word in the parenthesis:

1. Each one of us is a good friend of each one of you. (cada)
2. Anyone can do this, it is so easy. (cualquiera)
3. Is there anybody here? (alguien)
4. There are somewhere you can hide of your own guilt. (algun lugar)
5. Did we like everything about the subject? (cada cosa, todo)
6. I saw nobody that I knew in the party. (nadie, no-persona)
7. Nothing makes me angrier than that! (nada, no-cosa)

Fill in the gaps with somebody, anybody, nobody, something, anything, nothing,
somewhere, anywhere or nowhere.
(Please remember that instead of anybody, nobody and somebody, you may use anyone, no-
one and someone respectively.)
1. something
2. Nobody (Nothing is also possible if we wish to make it more drastic.)
3. somewhere
4. Anybody
5. Nothing / Nobody (The first alternative may be better, but it depends on the context.)
6. nowhere, somewhere
7. something
8. something
9. somewhere
10. anything
11. somebody
12. anywhere
13. anything, Nobody
14. anybody
15. Somebody
16. Somebody
17. Something, something
18. somewhere
19. Anywhere
20. anybody, anybody