(L~I I nau sume rea. @) I had two cups of tea. (c) I ate some toast. (d) I ate one piece of toast. lo menuon a speclnc quanury or a noncount noun, speaKers use units of measure such as m cups of or me piece ojf A unit of measure usually describes the container (a cup of, a bowl of), the amount (a pound of, a quart of),* or the shape (a bar of soap, a sheer of paper). I 11 -7 USING UNITS 01: IM~<ASUIIII WITH NONCOUN?' NOUNS 1 L 'Wdght measure: ow pound = 0.45 kilograms/hilos. liquid measure: one quam = 0.95 litreafliters; four quaw = one gallon = 3.8 liues~liters. EXERCISE 16. Units of measure with noncount nouns. (Chart 11-7) Directions: What units of measure are usually used with the following nouns? More than one unit of measure can be used with some of the nouns. PART I. YOU are going to the store. What are you going to buy? Choose from these units of measure. 1 bag both bm can * (tin) jar 1 1. a cadav of olives 2. a box of crackers 3. a of mineral water 4. a of jam or jelly 5. a of tuna fish 6. a of soup 7. a of sugar 8. a of wine 9. a of corn 10. a of peas 11. a of flour 12. a of soda pop 13. a of paint 14. a of breakfast cereal *a can in Amaican English = a tin in British English. 324 CHAPTER 11 pm 11. You are hungry and thirsty. What are you going to have? Choose from these units of measure. . , 3. bowl mP glass piece slice 15. a chp/dass of green tea 16. a bowl of cereal 17. a of candy 18. a of bread 19. a of apple pie 20. a of orange juice 21. a of soup 22. a of cantaloupe 23. a of beer 24. a of noodles 25. a of mineral water 26. a of popcorn 27. a of cheese 28. a of rice 29. a of strawberries and ice cream EXERCISE 17. Wrltlng actlvlty: count and noncount nouns. (Charts 11-1 - 11-7) Directions: In several paragraphs, describe the perfect meal. Use your imagination. If you use the name of a dish that your reader is probably unfamiliar with, describe it in parentheses. For example: Illy goisg to iwgise F6r yo& the pedect weal. I aly 6s a tevvace high as a hillside is Nepal. Uhes 1 look o~+, 1 see show-carppeA whstairs is the Aistasce. The valley below is hazy asA beahti$d. I'm with my &esAs 01ga asA Robevto. The table has a while tablecloth asA a vase 04 bhhe Flowevs. Illy goiv to eat a11 oF lyy Favovite kisAs 4 4ooA. Evst the waitev is goisg to bviv escavgots. (Escargots eve ssaik cooked is bht+ev asA seasoseA with gavlic asA athev hevbs.) Etc. CountINoncount Nouns and Articles 325 11-8 GUIDELINES FOR ARTICLE USAGE h USING A OR 0 (NO ARTICLE) USING A OR SOME ,., A dog makes a good pet. @) A banana is yellow. o (c) A mcil contains lead. z I I (d) 0 Dogs make good pets. (e) 0 Bananas are yellow. ( I (g) 0 Fruit is good for you. A speaker uses a with a singul- count noun when she is maldng a generalization. In (a): The speaker is talking about any dog, all dogs, dogs in general. A speaker uses no article (0) with a plural count noun when she is making a generalization.* In (d):The speaker is talking about any dog, aU dogs, dogs in general. Note: (a) and (d) have the same meaning. A speaker uses no article (0) with a noncount noun when she is making a generalization. In (&:The speaker is talking about any fruit, all fruit, fruit in general. (j) I saw a dog in my yard. [k) Mary ate a banana. :I) I need a pcil. [m) I saw some dogs in my yard. :n) Mary bought some bananas. (0) Bob has somopencils in his pocket. $) I bought some&uit. :q) Bob drank some coffee. :r) Would you like to listen to some music? *Sometimes a speaker uses pn nrprrssion of quantity (e.g., ahnost dl, most, some) when she makes s gcncralhation: Almm dl dogs ntalrr gwd pnr. Most dog, an Smne &@ haw shon hait. 326 CHAPTER 1 l A speaker uses a with a singular count noun when she is talking about one thing (or person) that is not specific. In (j): The speaker is saying, "I saw one dog (not two dogs, some dogs, many dogs). It wasn't a specific dog (e.g., your dog, the neighbor's dog, that dog). It was only one dog out of the whole group of animals called dogs!' A speaker often uses some* with a plural count noun when she is talking about things (or people) that are not specific. In (m):The speaker is saying, "I saw more than one dog. They weren't specific dogs (e.g., your dogs, the neighbor's dogs, those dogs). The exact number of dogs isn't important (two dogs, five dogs); I'm simply saying that I saw an indefinite number of dogs." A speaker often uses some* with a noncount noun when she is talking about something that is not specific. In (p):The speaker is saying, "I bought an indeiinite amount of fruit. The exact amount (e.g., two pounds of fruit, four bananas, and two apples) isn't important. And I'm not talking about specific fruit (e.g., that fruit, the fruit in that bowl.)" USING THE (s) Did you feed the dog? (t) I had a banana and an apple. I gave the banana to Mary. (u) The pencil on that desk is Jim's. (v) The 8un is shining. (w) Please close the door. (x) Mary is in the kitchen. (y) Did you feed the dogs? (2) I had some bananas and apples. I gave the bana?zas to Mary. (aa) The pencib on that desk are Jim's. (bb) Please turn off the lights. (CC) Thefruit in this bowl is ripe. (dd) I drank some coffee and some milk. The c&e was hot. (ee) I can't hear you. The is too loud. (ff) The air is cold today. The is used in front of (1) singular count nouns: the dog. (2) plural count nouns: the dogs. (3) noncount nouns: thefiuit. A speaker uses the (not a, 0, or aomo) when the speaker and the Listener are thinking about the same specific person@) or thin&). In (s): The speaker and the listener arc thinking about the same specific dog. The listener knows which dog the speaker is talking about: the dog that they own, the dog that they feed every day. There is only one dog that the speaker could possibly be talking about. In (t): A speaker uses the when she mentions a noun the second time. First mention: I had a banana . . . . Second mention: I gave the banana . . . . In the second mention, the listener now knows which banana the speaker is talking about: the banana the speaker had (not the banana John had, not the banana in that bowl). *In addition to somr, a speaker might use d, a&, a lot of, ex., with n plml count noun, or a El*, a lo: of, a,, with a noncoun; n0.m. (See Chart 11-5, p. 318.) - I . . , LC . Count/Nonmunt Nouns and AMcles 327 EXERCISE 18. Count and noncount nouns. (Chart 11-8) Dkcti012~: Discuss Speaker A's use of articles in the following dialogues. Why does Speaker A use a, some, the, or O? Discuss what both Speaker A and Speaker B are thinking about. DIALOGUE 1: _ch L A dog makes a good pet. B: I agree. lIALOGUE 4: r: Dogs make good pets. B: I agree. lIALoGUE 7: r: Fruit is good for you. B: I agree. L: I saw a dog in my yard. lUUK;UE 5: L: I saw some &gs in my yard. IIALOGUE 8: ,: I ate somefruit. 828 CHAPTER 11 B: Oh? B: Oh? B: Oh? L: Did you feed the dog? B: Yes. L: Did vou feed the dm? B: Yes. h: Zkfrvit in this bowl is ripe. B: Good. CountlNoncount Nouns and Artlcles 329 EXERCISE 19. THE vs. AIAN. (Chart 11-8) Directions: Here are some conversations. Try to decide whether the speakers would probably use the or dun. Are the speakers thinking about the same objects or persons? 1. A: Did you have a good time at & party last night? B: Yes. A: So did I. I'm glad that you decided to go with me. 2. A: What did you do last night? B: I went to party. A: Oh? Where was it? 3. A: Do you have - car? B: No. But I have - bicycle. 4. A: Do you need - car today, honey? B: Yes. I have a lot of errands to do. Why don't I drive you to work today? A: Okay. But be sure to iil1 - car up with gas sometime today. 5. A: I bought - table yesterday. B: Oh? I didn't how you went shopping for furniture. 6. A: Have you seen my keys? B: Yes. They're on - table next to - front door. 7. A: Is Mr. Jones - graduate student? B: No. He's - professor. 8. A: Where's - professor? B: She's absent today. : 9. A: Would you like to go to - zoo this afternoon? B: Sure. Why not? ;.: 10. A: Does San Diego have - zoo? B: Yes. It's world famous. 11. A: Let's listen to - radio. B: Okay. I'll turn it on. 12. A: Does your car have - radio? B: Yes, and - CD player. 330 CHAPTER 11 . 3. a of mineral water 4. a of jam or jelly 5. a of tuna fish 6. a of soup 7. a of sugar 8. a of wine 9. a of corn 10. a of peas 11. a of flour 12. a of soda pop 13. a of paint. orange juice 21. a of soup 22. a of cantaloupe 23. a of beer 24. a of noodles 25. a of mineral water 26. a of popcorn 27. a of cheese 28. a of rice 29. a of strawberries and. these units of measure. . , 3. bowl mP glass piece slice 15. a chp/dass of green tea 16. a bowl of cereal 17. a of candy 18. a of bread 19. a of apple pie 20. a of orange