Tiffany Huang
Period 4
Countable vs. Uncountable Nouns
One day Mr. Boegman told us
He couldn’t take it more.
We were making too many mistakes
With the English lore.
Well, we are here to mend those patches
We created in our essays.
The poem is here to help you understand
The tricky technical misplays.
Count nouns hang out in the plural form
And are separate and distinct.
While noncount nouns can’t attach an “s”,
They describe the whole and linked.
Count nouns can be perceived by senses,
From vision to contact.
Noncount nouns describe the intangible –
The collective and abstract.
Computer, book, and a box of chocolate Count nouns don’t appall.
How many computers and how many boxes?
You can count them all.
They can be seen, touched, sniffed, and tasted –
Perceived by senses, recall?
Water, milk, courage, and anger –
Noncount nouns don’t pluralize.
Attempting to count these abstractions or generalities
Will make you seem unwise.
Exceptions to the rule do exist,
But only for a select.
It means that some nouns can be
Both general and exact.
For example, difficulties and talks are countable,
But can also be abstract.
In nouns denoting food and drink,
A noncount noun is distinct.
It shows that it is separate from
The others in its league.
Wines refer to the types of wines,
While wine itself means one.
Here we switch to articles that
Play a role in the game.
Whether or not a noun is countable
Is what they all proclaim.
Indefinite and definite articles are used
For singular countable nouns.
“A” and “an” are usually used generally,
While “the” more profound.
“An animal” can just be any animal,
While “the animal” does not confound.
Plural countable nouns are only friends with
Definite articles like “the.” (how?)
In very, very distinctive groups,
Only the “the” is allowed,
But when the noun is general,
The articles ditch the nouns.
“The cats” refer to a certain group,
While cats are all world-round.
“The cats” can be the few outside,
But “cats” are more abound.
Uncountable noun articles match those of
Plural countable nouns.
Though they don’t use “a” or “an,” some
Pair up with singular verbs.
Let us switch gears one more time to
The adjectives.
Why should we learn this, you ask aloud –
You will see the motives.
“Some” and “any” can be used for both
The count and the uncount.
There are some speakers on the table
That burst some music out.
Are there any books on the shelf or
Any money in the account?
“Much” pertains to uncountable nouns, while
“Many” refers to the countable.
Too much sodium is in the packages of
Many processed foods.
“A lot of” and “lots of” both function as
“Much” and “many” doubles.
“Little” and “quite a little” modify
Only uncountable objects.
A little luggage at the airport needs
Quite a bit of money.
“Few” and “quite a few” are adjectives
For the countable nouns.
Quite a few places have shopping malls, while
Few households have a hound.
“A little bit of” and “quite a bit of”
Are all informal phrases.
They usually modify uncountable nouns
Like “little” and “quite a little.”
A little bit of milk in coffee makes
Quite a bit of difference.
“Enough” is one of the adjectives, but
Modifies nouns of both types, so...
I wanted to bake enough cookies for everyone, but
Didn’t have enough dough.
“Plenty of” is another term that acts
Exactly like “enough.”
Plenty of fish are at the restaurant where there is
Plenty of mushroom puffs.
“No,” the last adjective,
Is just like words before.
It modifies count and uncount nouns, but
Don’t use it in galore.
We have no way to enter the house
Since it has no doors.
Now, the countable and uncountable journey
Ends with no coerse.
I hope you learned about different usages
In this little verse.