20- Uncountable

Question 1

Water

Answer 1

A bottle of water

Question 2

Milk

Answer 2

A carton of milk

Question 3

Chocolate

Answer 3

A bar of chocolate

Question 4

Cheese

Answer 4

A piece of cheese

Question 5

Rice

Answer 5

A bowl of rice

Question 6

Perfume

Answer 6

A bottle of perfume

Question 7

Coffee

Answer 7

A cup of coffee

Question 8

Music

Answer 8

A piece of music

Question 9

Tennis

Answer 9

A game of tennis

Question 10

Meat

Answer 10

A cut of meat
A slice of meat

Question 11

Food

Answer 11

• Food is usually uncountable:
There was not enough food for everyone.
✗Don’t say: enough foods
• Food is used as a countable noun when talking about particular types of food:
The doctor advised her to avoid fatty foods.
Butter is a healthy food.

Question 12

Wood

Answer 12

a piece of wood
He made a bench out of pieces of wood.

a plank of wood (=a long thin flat piece)
The shed was constructed from some old planks of wood.

a block of wood
I used a block of wood to knock the pole into the ground.

Question 13

Paper

Answer 13

COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 1:
material in the form of thin sheets that is used for writing on, wrapping things etc

PHRASES

a sheet of paper
Each recipe was written down on a separate sheet of paper.

a piece of paper
Can I have another piece of paper?

a scrap/slip of paper (=a small piece)
He scribbled Pamela’s address on a scrap of paper.

a pad of paper (=many sheets of paper fixed together at one edge)
Chris took out a pad of paper and started writing.

ADJECTIVES/NOUN + PAPER
writing/note paper (=good quality paper for writing letters)
Can you fetch me a piece of writing paper and a pen?
plain paper (=with nothing written or printed on it)
The package was wrapped in plain brown paper.
lined paper (=printed with horizontal lines, for writing)
a note written on lined paper
wrapping paper (=coloured paper for wrapping presents)
He carefully removed the wrapping paper so it wouldn’t tear.
tissue paper (=very thin paper for wrapping things)
All the clothes were wrapped in tissue paper.
recycled paper (=paper made from waste paper)
The envelopes are made from 100 percent recycled paper.

COMMON ERRORS
► Don’t say ‘write on a paper’. Say write on a piece of paper.

COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 2:
a newspaper
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + PAPER
a local paper
You could try putting an advert in the local paper.
a national paper
The story had been in all the national papers.
a daily paper
Which of these daily papers do you usually read?
a Sunday paper
I only get a Sunday paper if I’ve got lots of spare time.
an evening paper
Ian usually buys an evening paper on his way home.
a tabloid paper (=one with small pages, especially one without much serious news)
Don’t believe everything you read in the tabloid papers.
a broadsheet paper (=one with large pages, usually one containing serious news)
Tabloid newspapers are usually about half the size of a broadsheet paper.
a quality paper British English (=one intended for educated readers )
Readers of quality papers, such as the Telegraph and the Guardian, are mainly employed in professional jobs.

Question 14

Soup

Answer 14

A bowl of soup

Question 15

Bread

Answer 15

A loaf of bread

Question 16

Honey

Answer 16

A jar of honey

Question 17

Jam

Answer 17

A jar of jam

Question 18

Furniture

Answer 18

• Furniture is an uncountable noun and is not used in the plural. You say:
The house has some beautiful old furniture.

✗Don’t say: The house has some beautiful old furnitures.

• Furniture is always followed by a singular verb:
The furniture was in good condition.

• When talking about one chair or table, you say a piece of furniture or an item of furniture:
There was only one piece of furniture in the room.

Question 19

Work

Answer 19

GRAMMAR: Comparisonwork
• In this meaning, work is always an uncountable noun.
• You say:
It may be hard for older people to find work.
✗Don’t say: find a work
job
• Job is a countable noun.
• You say:
I applied for a job as a reporter.
✗Don’t say: I applied for a work.
• You say:
Her first job was in London.
✗Don’t say: Her first work was in London.

Question 20

Research

Question 21

Experience

Answer 21

1 KNOWLEDGE/SKILL [uncountable] knowledge or skill that you gain from doing a job or activity, or the process of doing this
experience of/in/with

2 KNOWLEDGE OF LIFE [uncountable] knowledge that you gain about life and the world by being in different situations and meeting different people, or the process of gaining this
in somebody’s experience
In his experience, women did not like getting their feet wet and muddy.

3 SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS [countable] something that happens to you or something you do, especially when this has an effect on what you feel or think
childhood experiences
experience of/with
This was my first experience of living with other people.

experience for
Failing an exam was a new experience for me.

I had a similar experience last year.
The two children in this story have been through a lot of bad experiences.
Parachuting is quite an experience.

memorable/unforgettable experience
This romantic evening cruise is a memorable experience.

religious experience (=a situation in which you feel, hear, or see something that affects you strongly and makes you believe in God)

Question 22

Homework

Question 23

Experience

Answer 23

Countable = something that happened to you
I visited that place and I had really good experience

Uncountable = knowledge & skill in sth
He has a lot of work experience

Question 24

Parking

Answer 24

Uncountable

Question 25

Shampoo

Answer 25

Uncountable

Question 26

Toothpaste

Answer 26

Uncountable

Question 27

Make-up

Answer 27

Uncountable

Question 28

Equipment

Answer 28

Uncountable