A, some, any – countable and uncountable nouns

Countable and uncountable nouns

You will learn about countable and uncountable nouns. but before you continue the lesson, look at the following chart and study the nouns.

Countable	Uncountable
books	money
friends	meat
teachers	juice
tables	milk

Countable nouns (count nouns):

Countable nouns have a singular and a plural form. In plural, these nouns can be used with a number- they can be counted. (That’s why they are called “countable nouns”).

Example:

1 friend, 2 friends, 3 friends…
1 book, 2 books, 3 books…

Countable nouns take many.

Example:
100 friends – many friends

Uncountable nouns (uncount / non-count nouns):

Uncountable nouns can only be used in singular. These nouns cannot be used with a number- they can’t be counted. (That’s why they are called “uncountable nouns”).

Examples:

I have a lot of money. (Not 1000 money)
I drink a lot of milk. (Not 5 milk)

Uncountable nouns take much.

Example:

 100 money – much money

Note: Of course you can count money, milk, meat; but then you would use the currency, liter, kilo, glass,…and say that you have got:

• 5 euros or dollars… (but not 5 money).
• 2 liters, pints, glasses… of milk (but not 2 milk)
• 3 kilos… of meat (but not 3 meat)
• 10 bottles of mineral water… (but not 10 mineral water)

Use of some and any

Some and any are used to state the quantity, amount of something. When using some or any, the exact number is not stated. Some and any are quantifiers.

Some and any can be used when:

1. The exact number is not known.
2. The exact number is not important or relevant.
3. Some and any are used with countable and uncountable nouns.

Study the following tables:

Interrogative	Affirmative	Negative
Are there any tomatoes in the fridge?	Yes, there are some.	No, there aren’t any.
Is there any orange juice?	Yes, there is some.	No, there isn’t any.

Offering	Responding
Would you like some coffee?	Yes please I’d like some.

Making a request	Responding
Would you mind lending me some money?	Of course here you are.

The rules of some and many:

SOME:

Use some in positive (affirmative) sentences. Some is used for both countable and uncountable nouns.

Examples:

I have some friends.(friends is countable)
I’d like some water. (water is uncountable)

ANY:

Use any for countable and uncountable nouns in:

1. interrogative sentences.
   Examples:
   Have you got any cheese? (cheese is uncountable)
   Have you got any friends? (friends is countable)
2. negative sentences.
   Example:
   He hasn’t got any cheese.
   He hasn’t got any friends in Chicago.

EXCEPTION:

Use somein questions when offering or requesting something.
Example:

• Would you like some bread? (offer)
• Can I have some water, please? (request)

Something, anything, somewhere, anywhere, someone ,anyone:

The same rules are true for something and anything, someone and anyone, and somewhere and anywhere.

Policeman:	Is there anyone at home?
Criminal:	Yes there is someone there. My friend!
Policeman:	Is there anything in your pocket?
Criminal:	Yes there is something. A gun!
Policeman:	Did you go anywhere recently?
Criminal:	Yes I went somewhere. I went to the old man’s house to steal his money.

Exercises on the theme: