High School

### 70.1 Which of the underlined parts of these sentences is correct?

1. "Did you hear noise / a noise just now?" "No, I didn't hear anything." (a noise is correct)
2. If you want to know the news, you can read paper / a paper.
3. I want to print some documents, but the printer is out of paper / papers.
4. I thought there was somebody in the house because there was light / a light on inside. Light / A light comes from the sun.
5. I was in a hurry this morning. I didn't have time / a time for breakfast.
6. "Did you enjoy your holiday?" "Yes, we had wonderful time / a wonderful time."
7. This is nice room / a nice room. Did you decorate it yourself?
8. Sue was very helpful. She gave us some very useful advice / advices.
9. Did you have nice weather / a nice weather when you were away?
10. We were very unfortunate. We had bad luck / a bad luck.
11. Is it difficult to find a work / job at the moment?
12. Our travel / journey from Paris to Moscow by train was very tiring.
13. When the fire alarm rang, there was total chaos / a total chaos.
14. I had to buy a / some bread because I wanted to make some sandwiches.
15. Bad news don't / doesn't make people happy.
16. Your hair is / Your hairs are too long. You should have it / them cut.
17. The damage / the damages caused by the storm will cost a lot to repair.

### 70.2 Complete the sentences using the following words. Use the plural (-s) where necessary.

1. I didn't have much luggage - just two small bags.
2. They'll tell you all you want to know. They'll give you plenty of information.
3. There is room for everybody to sit down. There are plenty of chairs.
4. We have no furniture, not even a bed or a table.
5. "What does Alan look like?" "He's got a long beard and very short hair."
6. Carla's English is better than it was. She's made progress.
7. Mike is unemployed. He can't get a job.
8. Mike is unemployed. He can't get work.
9. If you want to leave early, you have to ask for permission.
10. I didn't know what to do. So I asked Chris for advice.
11. I don't think Dan will get the job. He doesn't have enough experience.
12. Paul has done many interesting things. He could write a book about his experiences.

### 70.3 What do you say in these situations? Complete each sentence using one of the words from Section B.

1. Your friends have just arrived at the station. You can't see any cases or bags. You ask them: Have you got any luggage?
2. You go into the tourist office. You want to know about places to see in the town. You say: I'd like some information.
3. You are a student. You want your teacher to advise you about which courses to do. You say: Can you give me some advice?
4. You want to watch the news on TV, but you don't know when it is on. You ask your friend: What time is the news on?
5. You are at the top of a mountain. You can see a very long way. It's beautiful. You say: It is a wonderful view.
6. You look out of the window. The weather is horrible: cold, wet, and windy. You say: What awful weather!

Answer :

This question is about using count and non-count nouns in English sentences, which can sometimes be tricky due to the nuances of the English language. Let's go through the items one by one to determine the correct usage:

  1. A noise - The specific sound is referred to as 'a noise' because it's countable. "Did you hear a noise just now?" is correct.

  2. A paper - Here, 'a paper' refers to a newspaper, which is a singular, countable item. "If you want to know the news, you can read a paper."

  3. Paper - In this context, 'paper' is a material and is uncountable. "The printer is out of paper."

  4. A light - When referring to a source or a single item that emits light, we use 'a light.' "There was a light on inside."

    Light - When talking about the phenomenon from a broad perspective, such as sunlight, it's considered uncountable. "Light comes from the sun."

  5. Time - It is uncountable in this context. "I didn't have time for breakfast."

  6. A wonderful time - This is a specific instance of experience, hence countable. "We had a wonderful time."

  7. A nice room - Referring to one of potentially many rooms, singular and countable. "This is a nice room."

  8. Advice - 'Advice' is uncountable, so it stays singular. "She gave us some very useful advice."

  9. Nice weather - Weather is uncountable. "Did you have nice weather?"

  10. Bad luck - It's a concept that's uncountable. "We had bad luck."

  11. A job - A position of employment is singular and countable. "Is it difficult to find a job?"

  12. Journey - Refers to a single trip or experience, here it’s countable. "Our journey was very tiring."

  13. Total chaos - Chaos is an uncountable noun. "There was total chaos."

  14. Some bread - Bread as a food product is uncountable. "I had to buy some bread."

  15. Doesn't - News is an uncountable noun, treated as singular. "Bad news doesn't make people happy."

  16. Your hair is/it - Hair is uncountable when considering it as a whole. "Your hair is too long. You should have it cut."

  17. Damage - When talking about harm, it's uncountable. "The damage caused by the storm..."

For the exercise where you complete the phrases:

  1. Information.
  2. Chairs.
  3. Furniture.
  4. Hair.
  5. Progress.
  6. Job.
  7. Permission.
  8. Advice.
  9. Experience.
  10. Experiences.

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