GRAMMAR AND USE OF ENGLISH
2.4 Accuracy with articles anger, courage, chaos), and some of them can be used in
the plural with a slightly different meaning (e.g.: life, hope,
Countable nouns trouble, worry, experience, work, evil):
Most nouns are countable and have singular and plural Is there life on the Moon?
forms. We can use a/an with countable nouns in the singular, We lead busy lives.
but not in the plural:
This treatment offers hope to thousands.
a book, two books; an animal, two animals
They had high hopes of success.
Uncountable/mass nouns with no plural form I’ve been having (some) trouble (= difficulty) checking my
Uncountable nouns have no plural form and are used with email.
a singular verb. They are often referred to as mass nouns There were a lot of teething troubles (= problems) with the
because they refer to things we think of as a ‘mass’ rather system at first.
than individual items. I was frantic with worry (= feeling anxious) about my exams.
Uncountable nouns often refer to substances: bread, salt, Many students have financial worries (= problems).
water, metal, etc. Many uncountable nouns also refer to This position requires a lot of experience (= knowledge,
abstract ideas/concepts, mental states or emotions: advice, skills).
education, happiness, information, knowledge, learning, It was one of the most enjoyable experiences (= specific
progress, reluctance, tolerance, etc. moments in life) of our holiday.
Use of articles with abstract nouns A lot of people can’t find work (= a job) these days.
Have you read all the works (= pieces of writing) of
When we refer to an abstract concept in general, we don’t
Shakespeare?
use an article:
Money is the root of all evil (= wickedness, immorality).
Knowledge is power.
Procrastination is one of my evils. (= sins, bad actions)
Money can’t buy happiness.
Time is money.
Some abstract nouns can be preceded by an indefinite
1 Complete the text with the, a/an or Ø (no article).
article (a/an) when referring to a specific situation/example.
In these cases, the noun is usually qualified by an adjective,
a determiner (a lot of/a little) or a defining relative clause: 1
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Knowledge is power. (abstract concept in general) states that 2 Ø education is 3 a fundamental
A (good) knowledge of Maths is important in this job. human right and is essential for 4 the exercise
(specific example) of all other human rights. Yet millions of children
He was a man of great learning. (abstract concept in general) and adults still lack educational opportunities.
A little learning is a dangerous thing. (specific example) In fact, millions of children around the world,
We want our children to have the best chance of happiness. primarily in Africa and Asia, are deprived of
(abstract concept in general) 5
Ø access to schools, mainly in consequence
I felt a happiness that I had never known before. of 6 Ø poverty.
(specific situation)
The best way schools can prepare students
He agreed to help us, but only with reluctance.
for the 21st century is to make sure they have
(abstract concept in general)
I felt a certain reluctance to tell my friends what had
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the knowledge, skills and ability to achieve
happened. (specific situation) their full potential. Students should grow up
independent, self-reliant and self-confident to
However, these nouns are not countable nouns. It is not
be able to face the challenges of 8 Ø ever-
possible to say, e.g.:
changing life conditions. 9 A good education
each knowledge/two educations/some reluctances
should also prepare students to understand
We can also use a preceding definite article (the) when the and cope with differences of opinion in 10 a
meaning of the noun is qualified to refer to a specific type or diverse society. It is also about learning how to be
instance. We do this by means of a defining relative clause or 11
a good citizen. 12 The education system
preposition of + noun phrase:
often seems to neglect 13 the development
The knowledge that I gained on my field trip was invaluable. of those qualities and this is partly because of
The happiness of millions of people is at stake. 14
an obsession with exam results. Schooling for
exams is very different from developing 15 an
Abstract nouns with plural forms
appetite for learning. End-of-course exams on a
Many abstract nouns don’t have a plural form (e.g.: single day test 16 Ø recall and memory, rather
information, violence, peace, knowledge, justice, progress, than the range of skills young people need today.
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