UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS OFTEN CONFUSED

 

10 uncountable nouns / Nombres incontables que solemos confundir :

1. advice 2. news 3.information 4. equipment 5. luggage

6. experience 7. progress 8. traffic 9. trouble 10.accommodation

 

 

 

Before uncountable nouns we often use some or any:

• I need some advice.
• We don’t have any news.
• He doesn’t have much experience.

We can also use a lot of, a little, very little and much:

• There is a lot of information.
• They only have a little equipment.
• They don’t have much luggage.

It is possible to make the following nouns countable by saying:

• a piece of advice
• two pieces of news
• three pieces of information
• four pieces of equipment
• five pieces of luggage.

The nouns experience, progress, traffic, trouble and accommodation cannot be made countable in the above way.
 
N.B. Experience also exists as a countable noun, as in this sentence: ‘We had a lot of good experiences on our trip’.

FEWER OR LESS ?

It is not only learners of English who confuse less and fewer – some native speakers also frequently use them incorrectly.

But less and fewer are not actually so difficult to use correctly: less means ’a lower amount’ (menor cantidad de algo), while fewer expresses ‘a lower number’ (menor número de algo).
 In other words:

• fewer and less are both the opposite of more;
• we use fewer with countable nouns; Fewer con nombres contables
• we use less with uncountable nouns. Less se usa con incontables.

Let’s look at some examples:

• I’ve got less time than I had last year. (time = uncountable noun)
• He’s got less money than his wife. (money = uncountable noun)
• Low-fat milk has fewer calories than full-fat. (calories = countable noun)
• The government built fewer houses last year. (houses = countable noun)

Easy-to-remember tip

If thinking about countable and uncountable nouns is a bit too technical for you, here’s an easy way to remember how to get less and fewer right: Use fewer when the noun is plural (e.g.doors, dogs, people, mistakes, days, etc.) and you will always be correct.