Count Nouns vs. Non-Count Nouns

Count nouns

Can be counted as one or more.

• pen, computer, bottle, spoon, desk, cup, television, chair, shoe, finger, flower, camera, stick, balloon, book, table, comb, etc.

Take an s to form the plural.

• pens, computers, bottles, spoons, desks, cups, televisions, chairs, shoes, fingers, flowers, cameras, sticks, balloons, books, tables, combs, etc.

Work with expressions such as (a few, few, many, some, every, each, these, and the number of).

• a few pens, a few computers, many bottles, some spoons, every desk, each cup, these televisions, the number of chairs, a few shoes, a few fingers, many flowers, some cameras, every stick, each balloon, these books, the number of tables, many combs, etc.

Work with appropriate articles (a, an, or the).

• a pen, the computer, a bottle, the spoon, a desk, the cup, a television, the chair, a shoe, the finger, a flower, the camera, a stick, the balloon, a book, the table, a comb, etc.

Do NOT work with much (for example, you would never say much pens or much computers).

Non-count nouns

Cannot be counted. They usually express a group or a type.

• water, wood, ice, air, oxygen, English, Spanish, traffic, furniture, milk, wine, sugar, rice, meat, flour, soccer, sunshine, etc.

Generally cannot be pluralized.

Work both with and without an article (a, an, or the), depending on the context of the sentence.

• Sugar is sweet.
• The sunshine is beautiful.
• I drink milk.
• He eats rice.
• We watch soccer together.
• The wood is burning.

Work with expressions such as (some, any, enough, this, that, and much).

• We ate some rice and milk.
• I hope to see some sunshine today.
• This meat is good.
• She does not speak much Spanish.
• Do you see any traffic on the road?
• That wine is very old.

Do NOT work with expressions such as (these, those, every, each, either, or neither).

Singular and Plural Nouns

A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea.

Usually, the first page of a grammar book tells you about nouns. Nouns give names of concrete or abstractthings in our lives. As babies learn "mom," "dad," or "milk" as their first word, nouns should be the first topicwhen you study a foreign language. 

For the plural form of most nouns, add s.

• bottle – bottles
• cup – cups
• pencil – pencils
• desk – desks
• sticker – stickers
• window – windows

For nouns that end in ch, x, s, or s sounds, add es.

• box – boxes
• watch – watches
• moss – mosses
• bus – buses

For nouns ending in f or fe, change f to v and add es.

• wolf – wolves
• wife – wives
• leaf – leaves
• life – lives

Some nouns have different plural forms.

• child – children
• woman – women
• man – men
• mouse – mice
• goose – geese

Nouns ending in vowels like y or o do not have definite rules.

• baby – babies
• toy – toys
• kidney – kidneys
• potato – potatoes
• memo – memos
• stereo – stereos

A few nouns have the same singular and plural forms.

• sheep – sheep
• deer – deer
• series – series
• species – species

Using Adjectives in English

Adjectives in English are invariable. They do not change their form depending on the gender or number of the noun.

EXAMPLES

• This is a hot potato.
• Those are some hot potatoes.

To emphasise or strengthen the meaning of an adjective, use the adverbs very or really in front of the adjective you want to strengthen.

EXAMPLES

• This is a very hot potato
• Those are some really hot potatoes.

Adjectives in English usually appear in front of the noun that they modify.

EXAMPLES

• The beautiful girl ignored me.
• The fast red car drove away.

Adjectives can also appear after being and sensing verbs like to be, to seem , to look & to taste.

EXAMPLES

• Italy is beautiful.
• I don't think she seems nice at all.
• You look tired.
• This meat tastes funny.

SOME EXCEPTIONS

Adjectives appear after the noun in some fixed expressions.

EXAMPLES

• The Princess Royal is visiting Oxford today.
• The President elect made a speech last night.
• He received a court martial the following week.

The adjectives involved, present & concerned can appear either before or after the noun that they modify, but with a different meaning depending on the placement.

EXAMPLES

Adjective placed after the noun	Meaning	Adjective placed before the noun	Meaning
I want to see the people involved.	I want to see the people who have something to do with this matter.	It was an involveddiscussion.	The discussion was detailed & complex.
Here is a list of the people presentat the meeting.	Here is a list of the people who were at the meeting.	The present situation is not sustainable.	The current situation is not sustainable.
I need to see the man concernedby this accusation.	I need to see the man who has been accused.	A concerned father came to see me today.	A worried father came to see me today.

Irregular Verb

All new verbs in English are regular.

• I photocopied the report.
• She faxed it to me.
• They emailed everybody about it.
• I googled my name and got more than 20 000 responses.

There are approximately 180 irregular verbs. You don't need to learn all of them because some of these are very rare but many others are very useful and you do need to know them.
What's the easiest way to learn them? Some people think you should learn a list 'by heart'. Others think you should not learn them at all – you will just gradually acquire them over time.
One useful method is to note down new irregular verbs as you meet them. It is useful to write these verbs (or any vocabulary you want to learn) in sentences and learn those rather than the individual word.
Which is easier to learn?

• stick stuck stuck
• I stuck the photo into my album.

Another technique is to classify the irregular verbs into 4 categories.
1. All forms the same

• set set set
• cost cost cost

2. Similar sound groups

• beat beat beaten
• eat ate eaten
• blow blew blown
• throw threw thrown
• drink drank drunk
• sing sang sung
• speak spoke spoken
• wake woke woken

3. The second and third forms are the same.

• bend bent bent
• sleep slept slept
• spend spent spent
• bring brought brought
• buy bought bought
• teach taught taught
• have had had
• pay paid paid
• say said said

4. The "unclassifiables"

• come came come
• do did done
• go went gone
• show showed show

Present Simple

We use the present simple to talk about actions we see as long term or permanent. It is a very common and very important tense.

Here, we are talking about regular actions or events.

• They drive to the office every day.
• She doesn't come here very often.
• The news usually starts at 6.00 every evening.
• Do you usually have bacon and eggs for breakfast?

Here, we are talking about facts.

• We have two children.
• Water freezes at 0° C or 32° F.
• What does this expression mean?
• The Thames flows through London.

Here, we are talking about future facts, usually found in a timetable or a chart.

• Christmas Day falls on a Monday this year.
• The plane leaves at 5.00 tomorrow morning.
• Ramadan doesn't start for another 3 weeks.
• Does the class begin at 10 or 11 this week?

Here, we are talking about our thoughts and feelings at the time of speaking. Although these feelings can be short-term, we use the present simple and not the present continuous.

• They don't ever agree with us.
• I think you are right.
• She doesn't want you to do it.
• Do you understand what I am trying to say.

Present Continous

The present continuous is used to talk about present situations which we see as short-term or temporary. We use the present simple to talk about present situations which we see as long-term or permanent.

In these examples, the action is taking place at the time of speaking.

• It's raining.
• Who is Kate talking to on the phone?
• Look, somebody is trying to steal that man's wallet.
• I'm not looking. My eyes are closed tightly.

In these examples, the action is true at the present time but we don't think it will be true in the long term.

• I'm looking for a new apartment.
• He's thinking about leaving his job.
• They're considering making an appeal against the judgment.
• Are you getting enough sleep?

In these examples, the action is at a definite point in the future and it has already been arranged.

• I'm meeting her at 6.30.
• They aren't arriving until Tuesday.
• We are having a special dinner at a top restaurant for all the senior managers.
• Isn't he coming to the dinner?