Unit 71. Countable nouns with a/an and some
Unit 71; Part A

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Before singular countable nouns you can use a/an:
• Goodbye! Have a nice evening.
• Do you need an umbrella?
You cannot use singular countable nouns alone (without a/the/my etc.):
• She never wears a hat. (not She never wears hat)
• Be careful of the dog. (not Be careful of dog)
• What a beautiful day!
• I've got a headache.
Unit 71; Part B

• That's a nice table.
In the plural we use the noun alone (not some ...):
• Those are nice chairs. (not some nice chairs)
Compare singular and plural:
• A dog is an animal. • I'm an optimist. • Tim's father is a doctor. • Are you a good driver? • Jill is a really nice person. • What a lovely dress! | • Dogs are animals. • We're optimists. • Most of my friends are students. • Are they good students? • Jill's parents are really nice people. • What awful shoes! |
We say that somebody has a long nose / a nice face / blue eyes / small hands etc. : | |
• Jack has got a long nose. (not the long nose) | • Jack has got blue eyes. (not the blue eves) |
Remember to use a/an when you say what somebody's job is:
• Sandra is a nurse. (not Sandra is nurse)
• Would you like to be an English teacher?
Unit 71; Part C

(1) Some = a number of / a few of / a pair of:
• I've seen some good films recently. (not I've seen good films)
• Some friends of mine are coming to stay at the weekend.
• I need some new sunglasses. (= a new pair of sunglasses)
Do not use some when you are talking about things in general (see Unit 75):
• I love bananas. (not some bananas)
• My aunt is a writer. She writes books. (not some books)
Sometimes you can make sentences with or without some (with no difference in meaning):
• There are (some) eggs in the fridge if you're hungry.
(2) Some = some but not all:
• Some children learn very quickly. (but not all children)
• Tomorrow there will be rain in some places, but most of the country will be dry.
Exercises
![]() | Unit 70 Unit 71 Unit 72 | ![]() |
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