Vocabulary in use vocabulary reference and practice Third Edition Elementary Michael McCarthy Felicity O’Dell

54.1
54.2
54.3
54.4
slowly
loudly
sister plays tennis

---

116
English Vocabulary in Use Elementary
Common uncountable nouns
55
What are countable and uncountable nouns?
A
Can I have 
three apples
and 
some sugar
, please?
Are
these 
shoes
yours? 
Is
this 
luggage
yours?
Everyday uncountable nouns
B
apples shoes 
plates
sugar money luggage
COUNTABLE You can count them: four apples, two 
shoes.
UNCOUNTABLE You can’t count it. [NOT three 
luggages]
Food
A lot of uncountable nouns are kinds of food and drink.
C
This 
furniture 
is modern.
I’ll give you some 
advice
about your future.
It’s terrible 
weather
today.
Accommodation
here 
is expensive.
I need some fresh 
air
.
The 
traff ic 
is bad today.
He can give some useful 
information
about Bangkok.
There is some bad 
news 
today.
Studying is 
hard 
work
.
Air 
travel
is 
faster than 
rail 
travel
.
rice 
spaghetti butter 
bread 
milk 
water 
tea 
coff ee
Note:
When we want to say how 
much we want, we say 
two loaves
of 
bread, 
three litres
of milk, 
a kilo
of 
rice.
Tip
When you learn a new noun, write it down in a phrase 
which shows if it is countable or uncountable.

---

Exercises
117
English Vocabulary in Use Elementary
Fill the gaps with an uncountable noun from the opposite page. 
1 I’d like to buy a car but I haven’t got enough 
.
2 Cows give us 
and 
.
3 If you don’t know what to do, ask your parents for some 
.
4 The 
at the seaside is very good for you.
5 Rob left school last month and is now looking for 
.
6 There is always a lot of 
in central London.
Match the words on the left with the words on the right. 
1 heavy 
a information
2 useful
b travel
3 bad 
c water
4 modern 
d luggage
5 brown 
e news
6 cold 
f furniture
7 space 
g bread
Fill the gaps with the correct form of the verb 
be
.
1 Accommodation in the city centre 
expensive.
2 Spaghetti with Italian tomato sauce 
very good.
3 The weather in Scotland 
best in the autumn.
4 The news 
better today than it 
yesterday.
5 Travel 
the most important thing in Sam’s life.
6 Their furniture 
very old and very beautiful.
Correct the mistakes in these sentences.
1 The news are not very good today.
is
2 Where can I get some informations about your country?
3 Let me give you an advice.
4 Cook these spaghetti for ten minutes.
5 Can I have a bread, please?
6 We need to buy some new furnitures.
7 The east of the country usually has a better weather than the west.
8 I must find a new accommodation soon.
55.1
55.2