{"id":735,"date":"2013-11-08T17:33:48","date_gmt":"2013-11-08T07:33:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bookwritingcoach.com.au\/?p=735"},"modified":"2021-08-11T06:00:04","modified_gmt":"2021-08-10T20:00:04","slug":"countable-nouns-uncountable-nouns-dangling-modifiers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookwritingcoach.com.au\/countable-nouns-uncountable-nouns-dangling-modifiers\/","title":{"rendered":"Countable nouns Uncountable nouns Dangling modifiers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
I referred to countable and uncountable nouns in the blog Commonly Confused Word Pairs.<\/i><\/a> Here, we go into detail on that.<\/p>\n Dangling modifiers are also covered in this blog.<\/p>\n Countable nouns<\/b> are easy to explain and recognise.<\/p>\n Simply put, countable nouns<\/b> refer to things that can be counted. They can be used in the singular as well as in the plural.<\/p>\n Here are a few countable nouns<\/b>:<\/p>\n\n In the sentences below, the countable nouns <\/b>are italicised and bolded:<\/p>\n The cat<\/i><\/b> on the mat<\/i><\/b> ate a rat<\/i><\/b> (singular). Our three cats<\/i><\/b> ate rats<\/i><\/b> on mats<\/i><\/b> (plural).<\/p>\n “Jethro, please put Simon’s and Jake’s bottles<\/i><\/b> of beer in the fridge.” (By the way, ‘beer’ is an uncountable noun.<\/b>)<\/p>\n Molly counted all the coins<\/i><\/b> in her moneybox and found she had saved sixteen dollars<\/i><\/b>.<\/p>\n At the check-in, the ground steward asked Ben, “Is that all your luggage, Sir?” “Yes, that’s all my luggage, but my wife has two suitcases<\/i><\/b>.” (‘Luggage’ is an uncountable noun<\/b>.)<\/p>\n I love ripe mangos<\/i><\/b>. I could easily eat two large mangos<\/i><\/b> every day for breakfast.<\/p>\n There are a hundred and five people<\/i><\/b> in the cinema. (‘people’ is the plural of ‘person’).<\/p>\n A singular countable noun\u00a0<\/b>cannot stand alone. Before it, we must use, for example, an article or a pronoun, e.g. ‘a’ or ‘the’ or ‘my’ or ‘this’:<\/p>\n I want an apple<\/i><\/b> (not ‘I want apple’)<\/p>\n Where is her suitcase<\/i><\/b>? (not ‘Where is suitcase’)<\/p>\n We can use the indefinite article – ‘a’ \/ ‘an’ – with countable nouns<\/b>:<\/p>\n\n When a countable noun<\/b> is plural, we can use it alone:<\/p>\n I like mangos<\/i><\/b>.<\/p>\n Suitcases<\/i><\/b> come in all styles and sizes.<\/p>\n ‘some’ and ‘any’ can be used with countable nouns<\/b>:<\/p>\n Molly has some coins<\/i><\/b>.<\/p>\n The cats<\/i><\/b> have some rats<\/i><\/b>.<\/p>\n Benjamin hasn’t any plants<\/i><\/b> in his garden. Please give Benjamin some plants<\/i><\/b>.<\/p>\n ‘a few’ and ‘many’ can be used with countable nouns<\/b>:<\/p>\n Molly has a few dollars<\/i><\/b>.<\/p>\n The cats<\/i><\/b> ate many rats<\/i><\/b>.<\/p>\n Uncountable nouns<\/b> cannot be divided into separate elements; they cannot be counted. For example, the nouns ‘love’, ‘milk’ and ‘postage’ can’t be counted. You can however count or quantify ‘great love, litres of milk’, and ‘postage stamps’.<\/p>\n Uncountable nouns<\/b> are treated as singular. The examples below using uncountable nouns <\/b>are bolded<\/b>:<\/p>\n I love soy milk<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Beethoven’s music<\/b> is amazing considering that he was deaf.<\/p>\n I have important news<\/b>: we’re having a baby.<\/p>\n ‘some’ and ‘any’ can be used with uncountable nouns<\/b>:<\/p>\n “Spin me some gold<\/b>!” said Rumpelstiltskin to the miller’s daughter.<\/p>\n Have we got any soy milk<\/b>?<\/p>\n We can use ‘a little’ and ‘much’ with uncountable nouns<\/b>:<\/p>\n We have a little soy milk<\/b> left.<\/p>\n Sheila doesn’t have much information<\/b> about her missing dog.<\/p>\n We don’t use the indefinite article ‘a’ \/ ‘an’ with uncountable nouns<\/b>. We can’t say ‘a milk’, ‘a music’, ‘a news’, ‘a gold’.<\/p>\n We would say ‘a bottle of milk’, ‘a piece of music’, ‘important news’, ‘a pot of gold’.<\/p>\n Dangling modifiers – what an evocative name for something grammatical! Here’s a famous, deliberate dangling modifier.<\/p>\n\n What is a modifier<\/b>? A modifier is a single word, a phrase or a clause that modifies (adds more information to) a noun, a verb or an adjective in a sentence. Modifiers can be adjectives, adverbs, adjectival phrases, adverbial phrases, adjectival clauses, or adverbial clauses.<\/p>\n When a modifier <\/b>is ‘dangling’<\/b>, it does not modify the correct part of the sentence.<\/p>\n By placing the modifying clause right next to the word or phrase it describes, there will be no dangling modifier issue. “One morning when I was in my pyjamas, I shot an elephant.”<\/p>\n Check out some more examples:<\/p>\n\n The modifying phrase ‘with no arms’ modifies the word ‘artist’. The modifier is misplaced.<\/p>\n\n The modifying phrase ‘with no arms’ modifies the word ‘statue’, meaning that the statue has no arms. The modifying phrase is in the correct place.<\/p>\n\n The modifying phrase ‘oozing slowly across the floor’ modifies the word ‘salad dressing’.<\/p>\n Correct: Martin watched the salad dressing oozing slowly across the floor<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n The modifying phrase ‘coming out of the market’ modifies the location of the speaker when the bananas fell on the pavement.<\/p>\n\n\n The modifying phrase ‘coming down the stairs for dinner’ relates to the person ‘I’, not to the oysters.<\/p>\n\n\n As visually appealing as this is, the roach wasn’t holding the bag of groceries as it flew out of the cabinet!<\/p>\n\nCorrect: The roach flew out of the cabinet as I was holding a bag of groceries.<\/em>\n\n\nCorrect: I saw an accident when I was walking down the street.<\/em>\n I hope these explanations about countable nouns and uncountable nouns and dangling modifiers help to improve your writing and clarify usage.<\/p>\n If you have a question to ask or would like help to make your writing more powerful, please send us an email<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\t\tCountable Nouns\n\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t
\n\t\tUncountable Nouns\n\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t
\n\t\tDangling Modifiers\n\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t