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Nouns: Nouns #11

Dennis Oliver

Nouns #11:
Uncountable Nouns (Quantifiers #4)

	Uncountable nouns in English do not have plurals and cannot be counted in the normal way. For this reason, quantifiers are often used to "measure" them. Besides basic quantifiers (like some, any, a little, a lot of; names of containers in which items are sold; containers for serving, and measurements of weight and volume), other quantifiers are also used:

	other quantifiers		uncountable nouns
	a bar of _____		soap
	a cube / lump of _____		sugar
	a dollop of _____		mayonnaise, sour cream, whipped cream
	a loaf of _____		bread
	a pat of _____		butter
	a piece of _____		paper, pie, cake, bread, meat (beef, chicken, etc.), pizza, cheese, gum, candy
	a quire / ream of _____		paper
	a slice of _____		bread, cake, meat, meat loaf, cheese, butter
	a stick of _____		gum, butter
	a wedge of _____		cheese

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Special Notes:

Numbers are commonly used with the quantifiers
shown above:

two bars of soap

three cubes of sugar

two loaves of bread

10 pieces of paper

etc.

There are also a few quantifiers that refer to
numbers. They're also used with countable nouns:

a pair (two) of shoes / socks / hose / sandals /
boots / pants / slacks / shorts / jeans / overalls /
coveralls / eyeglasses / earrings etc.

a dozen (12) eggs / donuts / cookies

a six-pack (package of 6) of beer / soda etc.

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Notice that dozen does not use of.