Skill 40 : Distinguish Countable and Uncountable Nouns

1. Countable nouns adalah kata benda yang dapat dihitung, yang dapat menunjukkan kuantitas atau jumlah.
   Contohnya : kata benda pen dapat dihitung one, two, atau three pens.

For example : computer -two computers, table-four tables, student –many students, box –three boxes.
Benda-benda yang ada di sekitar kita umumnya adalah benda yang dapat dihitung. 
Contoh kata benda yang dapat dihitung: 
1. cat, 
2. dog, 
3. man, 
4. baby, 
5. person, 
6. animal, 
7. bottle, 
8. box, 
9. coin, 
10. cup,
11. plate, 
12. table, chair, bag, glass, book, house, etc. 
Contoh countable nouns dalam kalimat:
a. I have to brothers, Jhon and Michael.
b. I've got a problem with the bicycle.
c. Do you like these photos?
d. I'm going out for five minutes.



Countable nouns dapat berbentuk singular maupun plural.
- My cat is playing.
- My cats are hungry.
Countable nouns yang singular dapat didahului dengan kata this, that, every, each, either, dan neither, sedangkan yang plural biasanya didahului kata these, those, some, any, enough, dan zero article. Lihatlah contoh sebelumnya.






Countable nouns dapat diawali oleh a, an (indefinite article) untuk singular dan the (definite article) untuk singular maupun plural.

Jika countable nouns berbentuk singular, maka penggunaan kata seperti a, an, the, my, this, dsb. harus digunakan.
- I want an orange. (tidak bisa dikatakan I want orange.)
- Where is my bottle? (tidak bisa dikatakan Where is bottle?)
Tetapi, jika countable nouns berbentuk plural, maka kata benda itu dapat berdiri sendiri:
- I like oranges.
- Bottles can break.

2. Uncountable nouns (disebut juga mass nouns) adalah kebalikan dari countable nouns, yaitu kata 
     benda yang tidak dapat dihitung.
    Contohnya kata benda water. Kata benda tersebut tidak bisa dikatakan a water atau two water, 
     tetapi lebih tepat digunakan bersama dengan kata benda lainnya yang dapat dihitung, 
     misalnya a glass of water atau two glass of water.

Contoh kata benda yang tidak dapat dihitung: sand, air, rice, sugar, cheese, tea, coffee, advice, assistance, fun, money, music, art, love, etc.
Contoh uncountable nouns dalam kalimat:
- Can I have some water?
- Shall we sit on the grass?
- The money is much better in my new job.
- I love art.
- Would you like some tea?

Perhatikan tentang penggunaan Much dan Many pada countable dan uncountable nouns di bawah ini.
Much dan many yang sama-sama berarti banyak, biasa digunakan untuk menyatakan jumlah pada countable dan uncountable nouns.

1.  Many digunakan untuk countable nouns dan terletak mendahuluinya,

2.  Much digunakan untuk uncountable nouns.
Contoh:
- How many years have you lived in Tanjung Karang?
- He didn’t have much fun at the  Pondok Indah Mall.
- I haven't got many pens.
- I haven't got much friedrice.

Terkadang uncountable nouns diperlakukan singular yang akhirnya juga menggunakan verba singular.
- This news is very important.
- Your luggage looks heavy.

Indefinite article a, an tidak umum dipakai pada uncountable nouns.
- a piece of news (bukan a news)
- a bottle of water (bukan a water)
- a grain of rice (bukan a rice)

Jadi, harus diberi kata keterangan di depannya. Perhatikan contoh lainnya berikut ini.
- There has been a lot of research into the causes of this disease.
- He gave me a great deal of advice before my interview.
- They've got a lot of furniture.
- Can you give me some information about uncountable nouns?
Uncountable nouns juga sering digunakan tanpa article (zero article)
- Poetry is beautiful.
- Sugar is sweet.
- Experience is the best teacher.

Uncountable nouns dapat didahului dengan kata some, any, enough, this, that, dan much. Dan karena bukan countable nouns maka tidak dapat didahului dengan kata these, those, every, each, either, and neither. Lihat lagi catatan dan contoh di atas.

Secara Umum, uncountable nouns tidak dapat dibuat menjadi plural, kecuali jika disertai oleh jenis kata lainnya.
- There are new wines being introduced every day.
- The waters of the Atlantic are much warmer this time of year.
- The Dutch are famous for their cheeses

Skill 40 :  Distinguish Countable and Uncountable Nouns

±   In English nouns are classified as countable or uncountable.

±   Countable Nouns : -   Nouns that can be counted, such as : book, pencil

-  Can come in quantities of one, two, or a hundred,   

    etc

±   Uncountable Nouns:  -       Nouns that cannot be counted, because they come in some indeterminate qauntity or mass, such as milk, happiness etc

                                           -     Are often liquid items, such as water, oil, shampoo.

                                           -    Can also refer to abstract ideas, such as security, friendship, or hope.

±   It is important for us to recognize the difference between countable and uncountable nouns when we come across such key words as much and many

Example :     He has seen  many  foreign  films

                     He didn’t have  much fun at the movies

The following chart lists the key words that indicate to us whether a noun should be countable or uncountable :

Key words for Countable and Uncountable Nouns
For Countable Nouns	many        number         few          fewer
For Uncountable Nouns	much        amount         little         less

Exercise  40 :

Indicate if the sentences are correct ( C ) or incorrect ( I ) !

1.        He received little notice that the bill would have to be paid in full . ( C / I )

2.            The police  had few opportunities to catch the thief who had committed a large amount of crimes . ( C / I )

3.            You will  have fewer problems with your income taxes if you get professional help. ( C / I )

 
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