Unit 5

Shopping

In This Unit:
ENGLISH 115 • Countable & Uncountable Nouns

Low-Intermediate • Quantifiers

• Some, a / an

• Any, No

• Writing: Simple Sentences

 Grammar 5.1 | Countable & Uncountable Nouns

5 English 115

There's a sandwich with

some milk for you.

In English, it is important to understand the

difference between nouns you can count, and
nouns you can’t count.

Countable Nouns
Countable nouns are things you can count. With these nouns, it is possible to say a/an one,
two, three, etc. • person • car • apple • man
• computer • fish (animal) • egg • girl

There's a laptop on the table. Three girls are playing.

She has two dogs.
Countable nouns can have singular (one) and plural (more than one) forms. Singular nouns
often follow a or an.
A / An = 1 thing or person Use an before "hour" because
Use a before consonants. Use an before vowels. the h is not pronounced.
• a bear • an umbrella Use a before "university" because
• a table • an English teacher
• a phone • an apple it is pronounced like "yuniversity“.
Plural Nouns The plural form of a countable noun usually ends in s.
Two cows are eating grass. I am playing a video game with my friends.

Spelling of Plural Countable Nouns

…s …es …ies
Add an s if there are Add es if the noun is plural If a noun is plural and ends
2 or more of a noun: and ends with s, sh, ch, or x: with y, change the y to ies:
• bananas • peaches
• eggs • classes
• ducks • buses

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 Grammar 5.1 | Countable & Uncountable Nouns

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Spelling of Plural Countable Nouns

…s …es
Add an s if there are 2 or more of a noun: Add es if the noun is plural and ends with
• bananas • eggs • ducks s, sh, ch, or x: • peaches • buses
• bears • cars • dollars • classes
…ies …ves
If a noun is plural and ends with y, change If a noun is plural and ends with f or fe, change
the y to ies: • family → families the f/fe to ves: • wolf → wolves • leaf → leaves
• city → cities

Special Nouns Some plural nouns do not end with an s.

• mouse → mice • man → men • foot → feet
• goose → geese • woman → women • child → children
• person → people • tooth → teeth • fish → fish
Uncountable Nouns
We cannot say a/an, one, two, three, etc. with uncountable nouns. They do not have singular
or plural forms. • music • love • water • sugar
• money • fish (food) • milk • information

× Please give me 30 moneys. × Could you please give me an information?

× I want to drink a water.
 Please give me money.  Could you please give me information?
 I want to drink water.

Uncountable nouns usually fall under the following categories:

Food bread, chocolate, cheese, meat, fish
Powders / Grains sugar, rice, flour
Materials plastic, metal, wood, paper
Liquids gas, water, juice, milk

Abstract Nouns love, happiness, information, hope

We can use special words to count uncountable nouns:

• a cup of coffee, tea, etc.
• a bowl of rice, soup, etc. • a piece / slice of bread, cake, etc.
• a jar of jam, honey, etc. • a bottle of juice, water, etc.
• a piece of jewelry, furniture, information • a glass of milk, juice, etc.

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 Grammar 5.1 | Countable & Uncountable Nouns

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Countable or Uncountable?
Some nouns are both countable and uncountable with little difference in meaning.
 The child is eating ice cream.  She is buying coffee.
 The child is eating an ice cream. (an ice cream cone)  She is buying a coffee. (a cup of coffee)
 I always put sugar in my tea.  I ate salad for dinner.
 I always put two sugars in my tea. (packets of sugar)  I ate a salad for dinner. (a bowl of salad)
 We heard noise outside.  There's hair in my soup!
 We heard a noise outside. (a particular sound)  That's a hair in my soup! (a strand of hair).
Sometimes, the countable and uncountable meanings of a noun are very different.

a chicken chicken a fish fish

a smoke smoke a room room

Subject Verb Agreement

If a noun is uncountable or is singular, it needs a singular verb (it). If the noun is plural, it needs
a plural verb (they). • A person is sitting. • The birds are flying. • This pizza is delicious.
A/An & Some
A and an are used with singular countable nouns. Some is used with plural countable nouns or
uncountable nouns.

We bought
I have a new computer. Let's get some food. He's riding an elephant.
some bananas.

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 Grammar 5.2 | Quantifiers

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There aren't many birds around

here during the winter.
I guess there are only a few kinds
of birds that can live in the cold.
A lot of and lots of have the same meaning. They can be used
A Lot Of & Lots Of both countable and uncountable nouns.

We spent a lot There are a lot of people on He ate lots of food There are lots of fish
of money last night. the train today. at dinner time. in the lake.
Much and many have the same meaning as a lot of and lots of.
Much & Many However, we use many only with countable nouns.
• There were many people at the party. • Are there many animals at the zoo?
• Do you have many friends on Facebook? • I have many things to do for homework tonight.
Much is used with uncountable nouns. It is common in negative sentences and questions.
In positive sentences, English speakers do not usually use much. They use a lot of or lots of.
I didn’t have much dinner There isn't much money Is there much food We spent much lots
last night. I wasn’t hungry. in my bank account. in the refrigerator? of money yesterday.

It is okay to say so much in positive sentences.

The dog has so much hair!

There's so much sugar in this tea.

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English speakers often ask questions that begin with how much or how many.
• How much pizza did you eat? • How much coffee do you drink every day?
• How many people are there on your team? • How many pairs of shoes did you buy?

(A) Few & (A) Little

A few and a little have the opposite meaning of many and much. We use a few with countable
nouns and a little with uncountable nouns.
• She only spent a few dollars. • She only spent a little money.
• We stayed there for a few hours. • We stayed there for a little while.
• Do you have a few minutes to help me? • Do you have a little time to help me?

If you say few or little without a, this means "almost none" or "almost nothing".

He has little hair. I have little energy. There were few people The good student made
Compare the differences: in the theatre. few mistakes on the test.

There are a few nice There are few nice

I have a little money. I have little money.
students in my class. students in my class.
Quantifiers as Pronouns
We can use the quantifiers a lot, lots, much, many, (a) few, and (a) little as pronouns.
This means we can use them in our sentences without nouns if the meaning is clear:

Vancouver, Canada has a lot I am so hungry because I

of rain, but Jeddah, Saudi didn't eat much today for
Arabia has only a little rain. breakfast or lunch.

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 Grammar 5.3 | Some, Any & No

5 English 115

A: Do you want something to drink?

B: Sure! Do you have any juice?
A: Yes. I think there's some in the fridge.
Some & Any
Some is used in positive sentences.
Any is used in negative sentences.

There are some There aren't any I drank some coffee I didn't drink any tea
cars on the road. cars on the road. this morning. this morning.
English speakers usually (but not always) use any in questions.
Do you want Would you like
May I have some help?
some water? some bread? Could I borrow
some money?

Use some and any with plural nouns or uncountable nouns. Use a/an with singular nouns.
• She gave me some candy. • Do you want an orange?
• I don't want a piece of cake. • She doesn't eat any meat.
• There aren't any windows in the room. • There are some books on the table.
It's possible to use any with singular nouns in English, but this gives the meaning: "It doesn't
matter which“.
Any student could answer this
question because it's so easy.
She is so smart. She can go
to any university she wants.

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 Grammar 5.3 | Some, Any & No

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No
Sometimes English speakers use no to give sentences a strong negative meaning.
• I have no idea. • There is no space to sit.
• No student will pass the test on Monday if they don't study.
In this usage, no means not any or not a.
• I have no money. = I don't have any money.
• There's no holiday in March. = There isn't a holiday in March.
• I did no exercise yesterday. = I didn't do any exercise yesterday.
negative + any positive + no
I don't have any brothers. I have no brothers.
He didn't take any photos. He took no photos.
There weren't any stores open. There were no stores open.

Some, Any, & None as Pronouns

Just like quantifiers, some and any can be used as pronouns. No cannot. Use none instead.
A: Who ate the cake? There's salt in the soup, but A: Who wants coffee?
B: Jill had some, but I didn't have any. there's none on the potatoes. B: I'll have some, please.

Something, Anything, & Nothing

These pronouns follow the same rules as above. They are indefinite pronouns. There is no
difference in meaning between …one and …body.
• something • anything • nothing
Let's go somewhere this summer. • someone • anyone • no one
• somebody • anybody • nobody
Somebody is calling you. Your phone is ringing. • somewhere • anywhere • nowhere

I didn't go anywhere last night. I just stayed home. There's nobody in the car.

It is common to start an English sentence

with nothing, nobody, no one, or nowhere. Do not confuse none with no one:
Nobody understood A: How much time do you have?
the class today. B: None. (I have no time.)
A: Whose apple is this?
B: It's no one's. You can have it.
(nobody's)
Nowhere is more
beautiful than here.

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 Writing 5.1 | Simple Sentences

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There are four types of sentences in English. The first one is called a simple sentence. A simple
sentence has one independent clause. An independent clause must have a subject, a verb, and
be a complete idea.
o Gary buys new shoes every six months.
A simple sentence can be a positive statement, a negative statement, or a question.

I really like French food. Farah and Rachel don’t have any Is your mother home?
plans for the weekend.
Subjects
The subject is who or what the sentence is about. Subjects can be singular (one person, place or
thing) and plural (more than one person, place or thing).
• Kim needs a new suit for her job. • Department stores have a lot of different things to buy.

A simple sentence usually has one subject, but sometimes it can have more than one. These are
called compound subjects.
• My mother and father bought this cake at their favourite bakery.
• Ivan, Jun Won, and Victor don’t have a lot of food for their party.
Verbs
The verb of a sentence is the action or state. These are the doing and being words of the
sentence. They also have a tense. • Uncle Randy is in the kitchen with Aunt Lynne.
• We got home at eleven o’clock last night. • My friend collects comic books and video games.

Just like with subjects, simple sentences usually have one verb, but they can also have more
than one. These are called compound verbs.
• I checked my email and shopped online. • His cooking smells strange but tastes delicious!

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 Vocabulary

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Word Part of Speech Example

appointment Noun I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow.

awesome Adjective The view from here is awesome!

bandage Noun I need to put a bandage on my cut.

blanket Noun Do you have a blanket? I'm cold.

boot Noun It's raining. You should wear boots and not shoes.

bowl Noun I always have a bowl of cereal for breakfast.

brand Noun My favourite shoe brand is Converse.

bucket Noun I need a bucket to wash my car.

cashier Noun Jane works as a supermarket cashier part time.

cause Noun, Verb Did the police explain the cause of the fire?

clerk Noun I can't find the jam in this store. Let's ask a clerk where it is.

clothes Noun They are going shopping for new clothes today.

clothing Noun The store sells clothing and jewelry for women.

clue Noun If you don't know the answer, I'll give you a clue.

comfortable Adjective The bed in my hotel room isn't very comfortable.

comic book Noun I have been reading comic books since I was a child.

complain Verb If you're not happy about the service, you should complain.

convenient Adjective It's really convenient to live so close to the park.

cost Noun, Verb It costs a lot to live near the water in this city.

department store Noun A department store sells clothing, jewelry, electronics, toys, and
many other things.

desk Noun I always keep a photo of my family on my desk at work.

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 Vocabulary

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Word Part of Speech Example

Electronics are things like computers, smartphones, digital

electronics Noun
cameras, etc..

The child loves to do dangerous and scary things. He doesn't

fear Noun, Verb
have any fear.

feature Noun, Verb There are many features of the new phone that I like.

forgetful Adjective You always forget things! Why are you so forgetful?

jacket Noun It's a bit cold outside. Maybe you should wear a jacket.

jar Noun I think there's a jar of tomato sauce in the cupboard.

low Adjective The prices are so low in this store.

order
Noun, Verb Our order has taken a very long time. Let's ask the waiter.
[food]

Let's put that painting on the wall in the living room. It will look
painting Noun
nice there.

picky Adjective It's difficult to buy clothes for her because she is so picky.

piece Noun Would you like a piece of cake?

power Noun My computer is running low on power.

price Noun Excuse me. What is the price of this?

receive Verb We didn't receive very good service at the restaurant.

Could you please remind me about the meeting later? I'm sure I'll
remind Verb
forget.

room We need to move because our apartment doesn't have enough

Noun
[space] room for all three of us.

sale Noun There's a great sale at Anthony's right now. Everything is 40% off!

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 Vocabulary

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Word Part of Speech Example

service Noun The service at this store is always very good.

shape Noun That car has a very strange shape. I don't like it.
shop Noun There are some nice shops and restaurants in my neighbourhood.
skirt Noun Margo loves to wear long skirts in the summer.
slice Noun Let's get a slice of pizza.
slim Adjective The dress is slim on me, but it's a little big on you.
soap Noun Remember to wash your hands with hot water and soap.
sponge Noun I use this sponge for cleaning the bathroom.
suit Noun You don't have to wear a suit every day at this office.
supermarket Noun Let's go to the supermarket to buy some groceries for home.

It's not really cold out, so you don't need to wear a jacket. Just
sweater Noun
wear a sweater.

You have chocolate, and I have vanilla. If you don't like yours, let's
switch Noun, Verb
switch.

When I'm at home, I usually use my tablet - not my phone - to surf

tablet Noun
the Internet.

thirsty Adjective I'm really thirsty. Do you have any water?

tight Adjective These jeans are too tight. I need a bigger size.
tissue Noun I'm bought some tissues at the store because I have a cold.
trip Verb The player fell down because the other player tripped him.
trouble Noun You will not have much trouble with this program. It's easy to use.
trust Noun, Verb Don't worry. I will be there for you. You can trust me.
try on Phrasal Verb You should try on the shoes before you buy them.
worried Adjective I'm a little worried about the problem.

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