8
Food
C ountable and u n c o u n ta b le nouns I Q u a n tifie rs w ith co u n ta b le and u n co u n ta b le nouns
Countable nouns:
Objects, ideas and people that can be counted are called countable nouns. We can use articles
and num bers w ith countable nouns. They can be sin g u la r or plural.
Approxim ately 2000 calories per day are necessary
fo r women to give them enough energy.
If you w ant specialist advice on food, the
person you should see is a nutritionist.
Uncountable nouns:
Abstract ideas, qualities and m aterials that cannot be counted are called uncountable nouns. We
cannot use the indefinite a rticle o r num bers w ith uncountable nouns. They are usually singular.
Rice is the main ingredient of many
tra d itio n a l Asian dishes.
The doctor advised against eating food such
as cheese, which is high in fat.
Exceptions:
There are exceptions to the rules above.
1
Making uncountable nouns countable. By using a countable quantifying expression we can
change a noun from uncountable to countable:
tea - a pot of tea, advice - a bit of advice, rice - a
bowl of rice, coffee - a cup of coffee
She ordered two cups of coffee.
