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1.23 Although some names of animals, birds, trees, and plants are commonly used in the singular form with plural meaning, in fact all such names can be used in this way. This is a productive feature of English. Productive features are explained in the introduction.
▲Things not usually counted: uncount nouns
1.24 Some nouns refer to general things such as qualities, substances, processes, and topics rather than to individual items or events. These nouns have only one form, are not used with numbers, and are not usually used with the determiners ‘the’, ‘a’, or ‘an’.
...a boy or girl with intelligence.
The donkey needed food and water.
...new techniques in industry and agriculture.
I talked with people about religion, death, marriage, money, and happiness.
These nouns are called uncount nouns or uncountable nouns.
▲noun-verb agreement
1.25 When you use an uncount noun as the subject of a verb, you use a singular form of the verb.
Fear begins to creep slowly into their hearts.
They believed that local democracy was essential to good government.
Electricity is potentially dangerous.
▲list of uncount nouns
1.26 Here is a list of some common uncount nouns:
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absence access age agriculture anger atmosphere beauty behaviour cancer capacity childhood china comfort concern confidence courage death democracy depression design duty earth education electricity energy environment equipment |
evil existence experience failure faith fashion fear finance fire flesh food freedom fun ground growth happiness health help history ice independence industry insurance intelligence joy justice labour |
loneliness love luck magic marriage mercy music nature paper patience peace philosophy pleasure policy poverty power pride protection purity ram reality relief religion respect safety salt sand |
security silence sleep strength snow spite status stuff teaching technology time trade training transport travel trust truth violence waste water wealth weather welfare wind work worth youth |
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