Academic English- Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Academic English countable and uncountable nouns review

with using nouns with general and specific meanings, determiners with countable and uncountable nouns, useful vocabulary for talking about academic writing, countable and uncountable nouns word formation, and advice on academic writing

 

1. Error correction

Label one in each pair below with a cross (X) for “wrong” and “G” for “(correct) generalisation”.

• Academic papers tend to be filled with difficult words.
• Academic literatures tend to be filled with jargons.

 

• An interesting result can be obtained from a survey like this.
• An interesting information can be produced by a research like this.

 

• Job provides wage.
• Labour produces wealth.

 

• Mammal replaced dinosaur.
• The mammal replaced the dinosaur.

 

2. Identifying general statements from the grammar and context

In each pair of sentences below, which could be used to make a general statement (G) and which could only be talking about specific/ particular things (S)? There are no mistakes this time.

• Research papers are published in academic journals
• The research papers are published in the academic journals.

 

• The dog has long lived together with the human.
• The advice became part of the legislation.

 

• Software has transformed technology.
• The software has transformed the technology.

 

• The employee has a duty to protect the corporation.
• The aforementioned employee has a duty to protect the corporation.

 

• There is a new law about that due by the end of this parliament.
• A law must be passed by both houses of parliament.

 

3. Language analysis

Circle the countable nouns and underline the uncountable nouns above.

Make rules by adding determiners and/ or “-s” or nothing to the nouns below and labelling the result with G for general, S for specific or G/ S when both meanings are possible (depending on the context).

 

+ countable noun +

+ countable noun +

+ countable noun +

+ countable noun +

 

+ uncountable noun +

+ uncountable noun +

 

Hint: The things you can add are “a/ an”, “the” and “-s”, sometimes in combination. One version has nothing added to it.

 

Which structures are not possible with countable and uncountable nouns?

NOT

+ countable noun +

+ countable noun +

+ uncountable noun +

+ uncountable noun +

 

Compare with the answers below the fold. 

----------------------------------fold, cut or cover-----------------------------------------

Suggested answers

countable noun + s – G

a/ an + countable noun – G/ S

the + countable noun – G/S

the + countable noun + s – S

 

uncountable noun – G

the + uncountable noun – S

 

NOT

a + countable noun + s X

countable noun (just countable noun with nothing added) X

a + uncountable noun X

uncountable noun + s X

 

Find examples of each of the correct ones above in the example sentences on the first page.

4. Identifying general statements from the grammar

Does each noun below have a general meaning (G), or a specific meaning (S), or is either meaning possible depending on the context (G/S)? There are no errors this time.

• abbreviations
• abstracts
• the academic journals
• the academic reference
• academic vocabulary
• the acronyms
• the advice
• the bracket
• buzzwords
• brainstorming
• chapters
• conclusions
• contractions
• counterarguments
• deadlines
• definitions
• diagrams
• documents
• editing
• errors
• the undergraduate essay
• the evidence
• the examples
• the experts
• facts
• feedback
• the final draft
• the footnote
• formatting rules
• fundamental terms
• the gaps in the research
• goals
• the guidance
• hedging
• implications of research
• the importance
• key words
• the mind map
• minority views
• mistakes
• the objectivity
• originality
• paragraphing
• the paraphrasing
• the permission
• persuasiveness
• plagiarism
• the planning
• the prior knowledge
• the proofreading
• punctuation
• readability
• the research proposal
• rhetorical questions
• section headings
• the semi-colon
• submitting
• support for your opinion
• sources
• stages
• the technical terms
• the terminology
• topics
• underlining

Hint: There are 8 G/ S ones.

 

Suggested answers

• abbreviations – G
• abstracts – G
• the academic journals – S
• the academic reference – G/ S
• academic vocabulary – G
• the acronyms – S
• the advice – S
• the bracket – G/ S
• buzzwords – G
• brainstorming – G
• chapters – G
• conclusions – G
• contractions – G
• counterarguments – G
• deadlines – G
• definitions – G
• diagrams – G
• documents – G
• editing – G
• errors – G
• the undergraduate essay – G/ S
• the evidence – S
• the examples – S
• the experts – S
• facts – G
• feedback – G
• the final draft – G/ S
• the footnote – G/ S
• formatting rules – G
• fundamental terms – G
• the gaps in the research – S
• goals – G
• the guidance – S
• hedging – G
• implications of research – G
• the importance – S
• key words – G
• the mind map – G/ S
• minority views – G
• mistakes – G
• the objectivity – S
• originality – G
• paragraphing – G
• the paraphrasing – S
• the permission – S
• persuasiveness – G
• plagiarism – G
• the planning – S
• the prior knowledge – S
• the proofreading – S
• punctuation – G
• readability – G
• the research proposal – G/ S
• rhetorical questions – G
• section headings – G
• the semi-colon – G/ S
• submitting – G
• support for your opinion – G
• sources – G
• stages – G
• the technical terms – S
• the terminology – S
• topics – G
• underlining – G

 

5. Identifying countable and uncountable nouns

Without looking above for now, add “some” and a final “-s” to the countable nouns below and just “some” to the uncountable nouns (because a final “-s” is impossible). You can use your grammar knowledge, the endings of the words, what you remember from above, or just what sounds right. If you want to check, try adding a number, “many”, “a”, etc and see if they sound okay. If not, the noun in uncountable.

abbreviation

abstract

academic journal

academic reference

academic vocabulary

acronym

advice

bracket

buzzword

brainstorming

chapter

conclusion

contraction

counterargument

deadline

definition

diagram

document

editing

error

undergraduate essay

evidence

example

expert

fact

feedback

final draft

footnote

formatting rule

fundamental term

gap (in the research)

goal

guidance

hedging

implication

importance

key word

mind map

minority view

mistake

objectivity

originality

paragraphing

paraphrasing

permission

persuasiveness

plagiarism

planning

prior knowledge

proofreading

punctuation

readability

(research) proposal

rhetorical question

section heading

semi-colon

submitting

support for opinions

source

stage

technical term

terminology

topic

underlining

Look above to help, then check your answers as a class.

 

6. Analysing countable and uncountable nouns

Without looking above for now, brainstorm example words that end with these suffixes and then identify if they are associated with countable nouns (C), uncountable nouns (U) or both (C/U). Write the words with an “-s” if that is possible. If you aren’t sure, try putting “some” in front of the noun and see if “-s” is also necessary.

Note that some words that end with these things are not examples of suffixes, e.g. “sing” is not “s” + “ing”.

-ing

 

 

 

-sion/-tion

 

 

 

-ity

 

 

 

-ance/ -ence

 

 

 

-ment

 

 

 

-ness

 

 

 

-ism

 

 

 

-ology

 

 

 

Look back at the earlier worksheets to help with this activity.

Underline U or C in U/C if both are possible but one of those two is more common.

Check your answers with the next page.

Suggested answers

Note that there may be examples of other forms that are not above.

-ing – C/U

brainstorming

editing

hedging

headings

paragraphing

paraphrasing

planning

proofreading

submitting

underlining

 

-sion/-tion – C/ U

abbreviations

conclusions

contractions

definitions

implications of the research

permission

punctuation

 

-ity – U

objectivity

originality

readability

 

-ance/ -ence – C/ U

references

evidence

guidance

importance

 

-ment - C

counterarguments

documents

 

-ness - U

persuasiveness

 

-ism - U

plagiarism

 

-ology - U

terminology

7. Matching countable and uncountable nouns

Try to think of countable words which have more or less the same meaning as the uncountable words given below or are countable examples of that thing. There were some examples in the worksheets above, but many other answers are possible. There may also be uncountable synonyms or examples, but please only write countable ones.

academic literature

 

advice/ guidance

 

brainstorming

 

editing

 

evidence/ support

 

homework

 

importance of the research

 

jargon/ terminology

 

persuasiveness

 

plagiarism

 

planning

 

prior knowledge

 

proofreading

 

punctuation

 

readability

 

research

 

vocabulary

 

Look at the previous worksheets for more ideas.

Match the words below to the words above. When there is more than one example of a word, it can go in more than one place above.

academic journals

active verb forms

brackets

calculations

colons

corrections

emails

examples

facts

facts

figures

fundamental terms

grammatical errors

ideas

implications

mind maps

mind maps

paragraph plans

paragraphs with one clear topic

questionnaires

quotes without attribution

recommendations

rhetorical questions

section headings

semi colons

short sentences

spelling mistakes

stages

statistics

statistics

surveys

technical terms

tips

undergraduate essays

words

 

Suggested answers

academic literature – academic journals

advice/ guidance – recommendations/ tips

brainstorming – mind maps/ ideas

editing – corrections

evidence/ support – statistics/ figures/ examples/ facts

homework – undergraduate essays

importance of the research – implications

jargon/ terminology – technical terms/ fundamental terms

persuasiveness – rhetorical questions

plagiarism – quotes without attribution

planning – stages/ mind maps/ paragraph plans

prior knowledge – facts/ statistics/

proofreading – spelling mistakes/ grammatical errors

punctuation – semi colons/ colons/ brackets

readability – short sentences/ active verb forms/ paragraphs with one clear topic/ section headings

research – questionnaires/ surveys/ calculations

vocabulary – words

 

8. Countable and uncountable nouns with general and specific meanings speaking – Definitions and advice on academic writing

Choose one of the words below, define it and then give your advice on that topic and/ or using that word. Does your partner understand and agree with your advice?

abbreviation

abstract

academic journal

academic reference

academic vocabulary

acronym

advice

bracket

buzzword

brainstorming

chapter

conclusion

contraction

counterargument

deadline

definition

diagram

document

editing

error

undergraduate essay

evidence

example

expert

fact

feedback

final draft

footnote

formatting rule

fundamental term

gap in the research

goal

guidance

hedging

implication of the research

importance

key word

mind map

minority view

mistake

objectivity

originality

paragraphing

paraphrasing

permission

persuasiveness

plagiarism

planning

prior knowledge

proofreading

punctuation

readability

research proposal

rhetorical question

section heading

semi-colon

submitting

support for your opinion

source

stage

technical term

terminology

topic

underlining

 

9. Countable and uncountable nouns with general and specific meanings speaking – Comparing words to speak about academic writing

Compare and contrast the words on one line below and see if your partners agree with what you say.

abbreviation/ acronym/ contraction

abstract/ summary

academic journal/ magazine

academic reference/ non-academic reference

academic vocabulary/ non-academic vocabulary

round bracket/ square bracket

buzzword/ key word

chapter/ section/ paragraph

conclusion/ summary

definition/ explanation

diagram/ figure

editing/ proofreading

undergraduate essay/ published paper

feedback/ correction

footnotes/ appendices

paraphrasing/ summarizing

rhetorical question/ ordinary question

semi-colon/ colon/ hyphen

jargon/ ordinary language

Academic Word List – countable and uncountable nouns word formation

Write “some” in front of all the words below and use the same ending with each of the words in each of the sections below to make all of them into countable nouns or all into uncountable nouns, including an “-s” if that is possible. If the root word is already a noun, try to make another noun out of it (you can’t just add an s).

accessible

available

compatible

complex

 

achieve

assign

require

 

arbitrary

aware

inappropriate

 

cite

equate

quote

 

compensate

concentrate

cooperate

deviate

 

constitute

corporate

institute

locate

 

correspond

emerge

rely

 

differentiate

discriminate

distort

 

displace

enforce

equip

involve

 

 

diverse

flexible

illegal

inevitable

 

educate

exploit

implement

 

expansion

liberal

professional

 

fund

network

offset

paragraph

 

imprecise

integrate

isolate

 

inform

liberalise

restore

 

intense

neutral

objective

uniform

 

legislate

manipulate

mediate

 

random

responsive

unique

 

Suggested answers

Uncountable

-ance/ -ence

correspond – some correspondence

emerge – some emergence

rely – some reliance

 

-ation

educate – some education

exploit – some exploitation

implement – some implementation

 

inform – some information

liberalise – some liberalisation

restore – some restoration

 

-ing

fund – some funding

network – some networking

offset – some offsetting

paragraph – some paragraphing

 

-ion

compensate – some compensation

concentrate – some concentration

cooperate – some cooperation

deviate – some deviation

 

differentiate – some differentiation

discriminate – some discrimination

distort – some distortion

 

imprecise – some imprecision

integrate – some integration

isolate – some isolation

 

legislate – some legislation

manipulate – some manipulation

mediate – some mediation

 

-ism

expansion – expansionism

liberal – liberalism

professional – professionalism

 

-ity

accessible – some accessibility

available – some availability

compatible – some compatibility

complex – some complexity

 

diverse – some diversity

flexible – some flexibility

illegal – some illegality

inevitable – some inevitability

 

intense – some intensity

neutral – some neutrality

objective – some objectivity

uniform – some uniformity

 

-ment

displace – some displacement

enforce – some enforcement

equip – some equipment

involve – some involvement

 

-ness

arbitrary – some arbitrariness

aware – some awareness

inappropriate – some inappropriateness

 

random – some randomness

responsive – responsiveness

unique – some uniqueness

 

Countable

-ations

cite – some citations

equate – equations

quote – some quotations

 

-ions

constitute – some constitutions

corporate – some corporations

institute – some institutions

locate – some locations

 

-ments

achieve – some achievements

assign – some assignments

require – some requirements

 

Countable and uncountable nouns and defining your terms writing task – Fundamental terms in my field

Plan and write an essay on “Important terms in my field”. Note the plural -s in the title, but how many terms you choose to explain is up to you as long as you write about at least two. Brainstorm and organise the information into two or three main paragraphs (= paragraphs in the body) below before you start, making sure that all things in one paragraph are related to each other and that a new paragraph means a new topic.

The essay should be written for people outside your field, explaining things that they are unlikely to know in terms that they can easily understand. Please include the planning stages below when you submit your essay. You also need to write an introduction, but a final summary or conclusion might not be necessary.

 

Brainstorming

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paragraph plan (= one sentence description of the topic of each paragraph of the main body of the essay)

 

Main paragraph 1: ___________________________________________________________

 

___________________________________________________________

 

Main paragraph 2: ___________________________________________________________

 

___________________________________________________________

 

Main paragraph 3: (optional) ___________________________________________________________

 

___________________________________________________________

 

Now write your essay.