OXFORD PRACTICE GRAMMAR 77 A CARTON OF MILK, A PIECE OF INFORMATION, ETC a carton of milk two tins of soup kilo of sugar a piece/slice of bread a loaf of bread Milk, soup, etc are uncountable nouns. We cannot use a or a number in front of them. We do not usually say a milk or two soups. But we can say a carton of milk or two tins of soup. Here are some more examples. a tin of paint a bottle of water a box/packet of cereal a jar of jam a tube of toothpaste a glass of water a cup of coffee We can also use this structure with a plural noun after of. a packet of crisps a box of matches three kilos of potatoes a collection of pictures B A piece of information Advice, information and news are uncountable nouns. We cannot use them with a/an or in the plural. Can I give you some advice? NOT an-advice We got some information from the tourist office, NOT some informations That's wonderful news! NOT a wonderful news But we can use piece of, bit of and item of. Can I give you a piece of/a bit of advice? There are two pieces/bits of information we need to complete the questionnaire. There's a bit of /an item of news that might interest you. These nouns are uncountable in English, although they may be countable in other languages: accommodation, baggage, behaviour, equipment, fun, furniture, homework, housework, litter, luck, luggage, progress, rubbish, scenery, traffic, travel, weather, work Some countable nouns have similar meanings to the uncountable nouns above. COUNTABLE There aren't any jobs. It's a long journey. There were sofas and chairs for sale. We've booked a room. I've got three suitcases. UNCOUNTABLE There isn't any work. Travel can be tiring. There was furniture for sale. We've booked some accommodation. I've got three pieces of luggage. CARTON, TIN, ETC MEASUREMENTS a carton of orange juice a kilo of cheese five metres of cable twenty litres of petrol half a pound of butter a bar of chocolate a loaf of bread PIECE, SLICE, ETC a piece of wood a piece/slice of bread a piece/sheet of paper 77 EXERCISES 1 A carton of milk (A) What did Tom buy at the supermarket? Use of. Milk 0.35 Milk 0.35 ► two cartons of milk 1 kilo flour 0.85 ► a kilo of flour Jam 0.95 1 Matches 0.39 2 Bread 0.65 3 Bread 0.65 4 Chocolate 0.95 5 5 kilos potatoes 1.59 6 Breakfast cereal 1.38 7 Mineral water 0.74 8 Mineral water 0.74 Toothpaste 0.89 Total £10.48 2 Countable and uncountable nouns (B) Complete the sentences. Put in a/an or some. I really ought to do some housework. The people who camped in the field have left .………. I've been working on the business plan. I've made .… The visitors are here for two nights. They're looking for That shop has……………. nice sofa. You'll have to pay extra for the taxi because you've got . The flat is quite empty. I need………… . furniture. I can't possibly fit this guitar into……………. suitcase. You need ……………. luck to win at this game. rubbish. progress. accommodation. luggage. 3 Countable and uncountable nouns (B) You are talking about the holiday you had with a friend. Use these words: accommodation, awful journey, beautiful scenery, chair, fun, good weather, meal. You have to decide whether you need to put a/an or not. ? (It was quite easy to book a place to stay.) Booking accommodation was quite easy. ? (There was nothing to sit on in your room.) But my room wasn't very nice. It didn't even have a chair in it. 1 (You were in a beautiful part of the country.) It was a lovely place, though. There was all around us. 2 (The weather was good.) And we had………………………… . while we were there. 3 (One evening you went to a restaurant with some other people.) One evening we had . with some people we met. 4 (You enjoyed yourselves at the disco.) We went to a disco. We had .……………………… there. 5 (Travelling home was awful.) We had home last Saturday. . OXFORD PRACTICE GRAMMAR 77 A CARTON OF MILK, A PIECE OF INFORMATION, ETC a carton of milk. PIECE, SLICE, ETC a piece of wood a piece/slice of bread a piece/sheet of paper 77 EXERCISES 1 A carton of milk (A) What did Tom buy at the supermarket? Use