Page 177 - DENG401_Advance Communication Skills

Advanced Communication Skills

Notes 9.3.3 Nouns used as Countable as well as Uncountable

Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of meaning.

Example:
Countable Uncountable
There are two hairs in my tea! hair I don't have black hair.
There are two lights in our dining-room. light Draw the curtain. There's too much light in the
room!
I thought I heard a noise. noise It's difficult to concentrate when there is too much
noise.
Do you have a paper to read? (= paper I want to write a note. Have you got some paper?
newspaper)
Our house has eight rooms. room Is there room for me to sit here?
We had a great time at the party. time Do you have time for a coffee?
Merchant of Venice is one of work I have no money. I need work!
Shakespeare's greatest works.

Note Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are usually uncountable.

But if we are thinking of a cup or a glass, we can use them as countables.

Example: Two teas and one coffee please.

9.4 Writing Names with and without "the"

You must have seen that sometimes the names are written with "the" preceding them and
sometimes, they are written without it. Let us see when to use "the"
1. We use "the" to talk about geographical points on the globe.

Examples: The North Pole, The Equator
2. We use "the" to talk about rivers, oceans and seas

Examples: The Nile, The Ganges, The Indian Ocean
3. We also use "the" before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a particular
thing.

Examples: The rain, The Sun, The World, The Earth, the White House
4. We use "the" before the names of famous people when they are used as an adjective.

Example: Sachin Tendulkar is considered as the Michael Jordan of cricket.
5. We use "the" in front of the names of the countries where they indicate multiple areas or
contain the words (state(s), kingdom, republic, union). Kingdom, state, republic and union
are nouns, so they need an article.

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