Countable dan Uncountable Nouns

Countable Nouns

Countable nouns mengacu pada benda yang dapat dihitung.

Contoh:

- dog, cat, animal, man, person

- box, bottle, litre

- coin, note, dollar

- cup, plate, fork

- table, chair, suitcase, bag

Countable nouns dapat berupa singular atau plural:

- My dog is playing. (singular)

- My dogs are hungry. (plural)

Kita dapar menggunakan indefinite article a/an dengan countable nouns:

Contoh:

A dog is an animal

An ant is an insect

A cat has a tail.

A/an/the/my/this merupakan kata yang menyertai sebuah singular sountable noun.

Contoh:

Where my pen? (bukan Where is my pen?)

I’m eating an orange. (bukan I’m eating orange)

I like this bag. (bukan I like bag.)

Sebuah plural countable noun dapat berdiri sendiri tanpa disertai srtikel.

Contoh:

- Pens are cheap.

- We’re eating oranges.

- Bottles can break.

Some dan any dapat digunakan oleh countable nouns.

Contoh:

- Did you buy any bags?

- Some books have been sold out.

- She’s got some dollars.

A few dan many juga dapat digunakan oleh countable nouns.

Contoh:

- I have many bags.

- She’s got a few dollars.

- Many books have been sold out.

People termasuk countable noun karena people merupakan jamak dari kata person.

Contoh:

- One person has been here.

- Five people have been here.

Uncountable nouns

Uncountable nouns mengacu pada benda yang tidak dapat dihitung satu persatu, namun dapat dihitung menggunakan satuan tertentu.

Contoh:

- music, art, love, happiness

- advice, information, news

- furniture, luggage

- rice, sugar, butter, water

- electricity, gas, power

- money, currency

Uncountable nouns mengacu pada bentuk singular/tunggal sehingga kata kerja yang mengikutinya berbentuk tunggal.

Contoh:

- The sugar is in this bottle.

- This news is very important.

- The luggage looks heavy.

Uncountable nouns tidak dapat disertai a/an namun dapat menggunakan a…. of….

Contoh:

- a cup of tea.

- a bowl of soup.

- a piece of paper

Some dan any dapat digunakan oleh uncountable nouns.

Contoh:

- I need some sugar.

- Have you got any rice.

- She’s got some money.

A little dan much dapat digunakan oleh uncountable nouns.

Contoh:

- I need a little sugar

- He eats much rice.

- She’s got much money.

Sebuah kata benda (noun) dapat masuk dalam kategori countable dan uncountable namun tentu saja memiliki maksud yang berbeda.

Countable	Noun	Uncountable
There are two hairs in my soup!	hair	I don’t have much hair.
There are two light in our bedroom.	light	Close the curtain. There’s too much light.
Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise.	noise	It’s difficult to work when there is so much noise.
Have you got a paper to read? (newspaper) Hand me those student papers.	paper	I want to draw a picture. Have you got some paper?
Our house has seven rooms.	room	Is there room for me to sit here?
We had a great time at the party. How many time have I told you no?	time	Have you got time for a cup of coffee?
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s greatest works.	work	I have no money. I need work!

Minuman (drinks) identik dengan kata benda termasuk dalam uncountable - seperti milk, coffee, water, juice, tea. Namun, ketika kita mengacu pada satuannya/ tempatnya seperti a cup, a glass, atau a bottle, minuman-minuman tersebut dapat seolah menjadi countable nouns. Hal tersebut dapat kita jumpai ketika memesan makanan dan minuman di suatu restoran.

Contoh:

• A waiter : What would you like to order, SIr?
• A consumer : I want to order two meatballs and two ice teas.

Two meatballs memiliki maksud two bowls of meatballs (dua mangkok bakso) dan two ice teas berarti two glasses of ice tea (dua gelas es teh).