Subject Pronouns

What are subject pronouns?

A subject pronoun, also called subjective or subject personal pronoun, is used as
substitute for proper and common nouns.
Examples
John is a doctor - He is a doctor
The laptop is on the desk - It is on the desk
A subject pronoun is used when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence.
Example
______ did the job.
I, you, he, she, it, we, and they all fit into the blank and are, therefore, subject
pronouns.
A subject pronoun indicates:
number: singular or plural,
gender: male or female,
person: first, second or third person.
Examples

I (first person singular)

you (second person singular)

She (third person singular female)

He (third person singular male)

It (third person singular inanimate )

We (first person plural)

You (second person plural)

They (third person plural)
The words "I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they" are subject pronouns. They refer to a
person or thing in speech or in writing.
You may also be interested in:
object pronouns,
possessive adjectives,
possessive pronouns,
and reflexive pronouns.
Review:
Subject
pronouns
Possessive
adjectives
Possessive
pronouns
Reflexive
pronouns
Object
pronouns
I my mine myself me
you your yours yourself you
he his his himself him
she her hers herself her
it its its itself it
we our ours ourselves us
you your yours yourselves you
they their theirs themselves them
Object Pronouns

What are object pronouns?
An object pronoun, also called objective pronoun, functions
as the object of a verb or preposition, as distinguished from a
subject or subjective pronoun, which is the subject of a verb.
Examples:
He begged her to live with him. (her is the
object of the verb begged and him is the object of the preposition with)
She told them the truth. (them is the object of the verb told)
Object pronouns are used instead of object nouns, usually because we already know
what the object is.
She's my friend. I really enjoy being with her.
I like this film. I saw it last week.
Object Pronouns
Object pronouns in English are the following:
me, you, him, her, it, us, them
Object pronouns come after either a verb (e.g "like") or a preposition (e.g "to").
Examples:
I like you but you don't like me.
Do you really hate her?
She loves sitting next to him.
She always writes e-mails to us.
He's talking to her about it.
Object pronouns differ from:
Subject pronouns,
possessive adjectives,
possessive pronouns,
and reflexive pronouns.
Possessive Adjectives


What are possessive adjectives?
Possessive adjectives - my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their - modify the noun
following it in order to show possession.
Examples:
I'll get my bag.
Is this your luggage?
Possessive adjectives are often confused with possessive pronouns.
Examples:
Your bike is blue. (your is an adjective which modifies bike)
Mine is yellow. (mine is a pronoun which functions as the subject of the
verb is)
Examples
Subject Pronouns I you he she it we you they
Possessive Adjectives my your his her its our your their
Examples:
Why didn't you clean your room?
(your modifies the noun room)
Mary doesn't like her dress.
(her modifies the noun dress)
The chameleon can change its color.
(its modifies the noun color)

Her hair is long.His hair is short
Things to remember:
1. Possessive adjectives are different from possessive pronouns.
This is your (possessive adjective) book and this is mine (possessive
pronoun).
2. its, their are possessive adjectives.
Its color is beautiful.
Their car is in their garage.
3. it's, they're and there are not possessive adjectives its is a contraction of it is or it
has; they're is a contraction of they are; there is an adverb of place.
It's not my book = It is not my book.
My house is big. It's got five bedrooms = It has got five bedrooms.
Nancy and Alan are from New York. They're my friends = They are my
friends.
Please, put the chair there. (adverb)
Reflexive Pronouns


Every morning...
I look at myself in the mirror.
What are reflexive pronouns?
Reflexive pronouns are used when the complement of the verb is the
same as the subject.
Example:
He hurt himself.
Reflexive pronouns can also be used to give more emphasis to the subject
or object.
Example:
I wrote it myself. (I want to emphasize the fact that I wrote it.)
I spoke to the president himself. (I spoke to the president
personally NOT somebody else.)
Reflexive pronouns
Subject
Pronoun
s
I you he she it we you they
Reflexiv
e
Pronoun
s
mysel
f
yoursel
f
himsel
f
hersel
f
itsel
f
ourselve
s
yourselve
s
themselve
s
The words " myself, yourself, himself..." are reflexive pronouns.
Reflexive pronouns are words that show that the person who does the
action is also the person who is affected by it:
Examples:

"I always do my homework myself. Nobody helps me."

"He never does his homework himself. The teacher always helps him."
Present Progressive - Form
form02 0

Exercise on affirmative sentences
Use the words below to make sentences in present progressive.
1. I / to read a book - I am reading a book.
I am reading a book.

2. it / to rain - It is raining.
3. he / to repair his bike - He is repairing his bike.
4. they / to watch a film - They are watching a film.
5. the cat /to sleep on the chair - The cat is sleeping on the chair.
6. Jane and Emily / to do their homework - Jane and Emily are doing their homework.
7. Bill / to wait at the bus stop - Bill is waiting at the bus stop.
8. we / to listen to the radio - We are listening to the radio.
9. the children / to play a game - The children are playing a game.
10. Laura / to walk the dog - Laura is walking the dog.
Present Progressive - Form
form03 0

Exercise on negative sentences
Transform the sentences below into negative sentences.
1. I am watching TV. - I am not watching TV.
I am not watching TV.

2. I am talking. - I am not talking.
3. They are drawing. - They are not drawing.
4. He is opening the window. - He is not opening the window.
5. Angela is cleaning the bathroom. - Angela is not cleaning the bathroom.
6. We are helping in the garden. - We are not helping in the garden.
7. You are singing. - You are not singing.
8. It is raining. - It is not raining.
9. She is joking. - She is not joking.
10. I am tidying up my room. - I am not tidying up my room.
Present Progressive - Form
form04 0

Exercise on questions I
Write questions with the words below.
1. Peter / to go / to the cinema - Is Peter going to the cinema?
Is Peter going to the cinema?

2. they / to play / a game - Are they playing a game?
3. she / to listen /to the radio - Is she listening to the radio?
4. I / to dream - Am I dreaming?
5. they / to pack / their bags - Are they packing their bags?
6. you / to do / the washing-up - Are you doing the washing-up?
7. we / to talk / too fast - Are we talking too fast?
8. they / to clean / the windows - Are they cleaning the windows?
9. she / to watch / the news - Is she watching the news?
10. you / to pull / my leg - Are you pulling my leg?
Present Progressive - Form
form05 0

Exercise on questions with interrogative particles
Ask for the information in the bold part of the sentence.
1. Ashley is going to a restaurant. - Where is Ashley going?
Where is Ashley going?

2. Gareth is reading the paper. - Who is reading the paper?
3. Stacey is playing in the garden. - Where is Stacey playing?
4. She is wearing a red dress. - Who is wearing a red dress?
5. Britney is doing her homework. - What is Britney doing?
6. Mandy is leaving at nine. - When is Mandy leaving?
7. Joe is repairing his bike. - What is Joe repairing?
8. Amanda is going out with Dan. - Who is going out with Dan?
9. They are meeting at two o'clock. - When are they meeting?
10. Sandy is looking for Phil. - What is Sandy doing?
Present Progressive Presente Progresivo
11. El presente progresivo esta compuesto por el verbo "to be" y un verbo especial
llamado gerundio (gerund). El gerundio se forma generalmente agregando -ing al
final del verbo.
I am walking.
Yo estoy
caminando.
They are laughing.
Ellos se estn
riendo.
Si el verbo finaliza con una e silenciosa como en la
palabra smile, la e cae antes de agregar el final ing.
Jacob is smiling.
Jacobo esta
sonriendo

12. El Presente Progresivo se utiliza para describir actividades que se desarrollan en el
presente.
You are laughing. T ests riendo.
David is smiling.
David est
sonriendo.
They are frowning.
Ellos estn
frunciendo.
We are walking.
Nosotros estamos
caminando.
The baby is crying.
El beb est
sonriendo.
The athlete is running.
El atleta est
corriendo.

13. Algunos verbos nunca se utilizan en Presente Progresivo y slo se lo hace en el
Presente Simple. Algunos ejemplos se ven en la tabla a continuacion.
see ver love amar like gustar
hear escuchar/oir hate odiar dislike disgustar
prefer preferir want querer
14.
I see a bird. Yo veo un pjaro.
He hears a sound. l oye un sonido.
Jacob loves food. Jacobo ama la comida.
John hates baths. John odia baarse.
Susan likes trains. A Susana le gustan los trenes.
She prefers apples. Ella prefiere manzanas.
They prefer apples to oranges. Ellos prefieren manzanas a naranjas.
We want oranges. Nosotros queremos naranjas.
15. Todas las oraciones que utilizan "to be" pueden ser convertidas en una pregunta
llevndolo al principio de esta oracion.
Are you laughing? Estn ustedes riendo?
Is he swiming? El est riendo?
16. Cuando los verbos estn unidos, el primer verbo indica el tiempo. La segunda forma
es un infinitivo (infinitive) que consiste en la preposicin para y la forma principal
del verbo. Los verbos con frecuencia se identifican por la forma del infinitivo: 'to
be', 'to hate', etc.

She likes to swim. A ella le gusta nadar.
We love to laugh. A nosotros nos gusta rer.
I hate to cry. A m no me gusta llorar
Future Futuro
El tiempo futuro se forma ubicando "will" delante del verbo.
Charles will run. Charles va a correr
I will walk. Yo voy a caminar
They will laugh. Ellos van a reir
Si es seguido por un pronombre, se puede hacer una contraccin.
She'll hear the baby. Ella va a escuchar al beb.
We'll see his house. Nosotros vamos a ver su casa.
"Not" se ubica despues de "will" para negar la accin. Cuando se lo contrae con will, se
crea una forma especial de "will" - won't.
They will not laugh. Ellos no van a rer.
You won't be there. T no vas a estar all.
She won't be happy. Ella no estar contenta.

Past Pasado
El tiempo pasado es usualmente formado aadiendo -ed al final del verbo,
You frowned. Usted estaba fruncido.
He smiled. l sonri.
We walked. Nosotros caminamos.
Existen muchos verbos de pasado irregular. Todos estos deben ser estudiados por separado.
Algunos de los verbos que hemos hallado en esta pgina son irregulares.
run - ran correr
swim - swam nadar
fly - flew volar
see - saw ver
hear - heard oir
I ran. Yo corr.
They saw a movie. Ellos vieron una pelcula.
You heard a wolf. T escuchaste a un lobo.
La mayora de los verbos tienen solo una conjugacion en pasado. El verbo "to be" es nico
ya que tiene una forma singular, was, y una forma plural, were.
I was kind of sad. Yo estaba un poco triste.
He was very angry. l estaba muy enojado.
We were in Syndey, Australia. Nosotros estabamos en Sydney, Australia.
They weren't serious. Ellos no eran serios.
It wasn't complex. No era complicado.
previa pgina
Prepositions of place and direction
Preposition Use Examples
above higher than sth. The picture hangs above my bed.
across
from one side to the other
side
You mustn't go across this road here.
There isn't a bridge across the river.
after one follows the other
The cat ran after the dog.
After you.
against directed towards sth. The bird flew against the window.
along
in a line; from one point to
another
They're walking along the beach.
among in a group I like being among people.
around in a circular way We're sitting around the campfire.
behind at the back of Our house is behind the supermarket.
below lower than sth. Death Valley is 86 metres below sea level.
beside next to Our house is beside the supermarket.
between sth./sb. is on each side
Our house is between the supermarket and the
school.
by near He lives in the house by the river.
close to near Our house is close to the supermarket.
down from high to low He came down the hill.
from the place where it starts Do you come from Tokyo?
in front of
the part that is in the
direction it faces
Our house is in front of the supermarket.
inside opposite of outside You shouldn't stay inside the castle.
into entering sth. You shouldn't go into the castle.
near close to Our house is near the supermarket.
next to beside Our house is next to the supermarket.
off away from sth. The cat jumped off the roof.
onto moving to a place The cat jumped onto the roof.
opposite on the other side Our house is opposite the supermarket.
out of leaving sth. The cat jumped out of the window.
outside opposite of inside Can you wait outside?
over above sth./sb. The cat jumped over the wall.
past going near sth./sb. Go past the post office.
round in a circle We're sitting round the campfire.
through
going from one point to
the other point
You shouldn't walk through the forest.
to towards sth./sb.
I like going to Australia.

Can you come to me?
I've never been to Africa.
towards in the direction of sth. We ran towards the castle.
under below sth. The cat is under the table.
up from low to high He went up the hill.
CUNDO USAR LAS PREPOSICIONES DE LUGAR: IN, ON Y AT EN INGLS?

2.1. Cundo utilizar la preposicin IN: Dentro de, en (interior)
Espacios cerrados: in my room, in the living room, etc.
Dentro de objetos: in the box, in the book, etc.
Lugares con lmites definidos: in the park, in the football pitch, etc.
Ciudades y pases: in London, in Germany, etc.
Largos perodos de tiempo (siglos, dcadas, aos, estaciones y meses): in 2012, in
December, in Spring.
Partes del da: in the morning/afternoon/evening.
Esquina dentro de una habitacin: in the corner.

2.2. Cundo utilizar la preposicin ON: Sobre, encima de
Das especiales: on my birthday, on Christmas Day, etc.
Das de la semana: on Monday, on Sunday, etc.
Sobre superficies: on the table, on the beach, etc.
Direcciones: on the right, on the left, etc.
Partes del cuerpo: on the arm, on the head, etc.
Medios de transporte: on a bus, on a plain, etc.
Esquina exterior como la de un edificio: on the corner.
Haciendo referencia a una pgina especfica de un libro o revista: on the page 347.

2.3. Cundo utilizar la preposicin AT: En, junto a, al lado de
Lugares comunes: at home, at school, etc.
Lugares especficos: At Natural History museum, at the Cambridge University, etc.
Direcciones y domicilios: at 2393 Colon Square
Sitios concretos de un establecimiento: At the door, at the window, etc.
Citas y acontecimientos: at the party, at the meeting, etc.
Posiciones: at the top/bottom, at the front/back, etc.
Horas y momentos determinados del da: at 4:00 am, at midnight, etc.
Fin de semana: at weekend
Perodos vacacionales: at Christmas, at Easter, etc.
ay tres preposiciones en ingls que se utilizan muy a menudo y que tienen reglas que
podemos aprender fcilmente para utilizarlas correctamente. Estas preposiciones son in,
on y at.

Los hispano-hablantes a menudo cometemos errores con estas preposiciones y nos cuesta
decidir qu preposicin se debera utilizar y en qu casos. Por qu se dice on the train
pero in the car?

Es realmente bastante complicado atinar la preposicin correcta, pero con prctica y un
poco de voluntad seguro que las aprendes rapidsimo.

Vamos a ver en qu situaciones tenemos que utilizarlas:

In

Tiempo:

Con partes del da:
In the morning - Por la maana
In the afternoon - Por la tarde
In the evening - Por la noche

Con meses:
In January - En enero

Con estaciones:
In the summer - En verano

Con aos:
In 1999 - En 1999

Lugar:

En espacios cerrados:
In the kitchen - En la cocina
In an office - En una oficina
In a hospital - En un hospital

En lugares abiertos con lmites definidos:
In the park - En el parque
In a street - En una calle
In the garden - En el jardn

Con ciudades:
In Barcelona - En Barcelona

Con pases:
In New Zealand - En Nueva Zelanda


On

Tiempo:

Con das de la semana:
On Monday - El lunes
On Friday evening - El viernes por la tarde
On weekdays - Los das laborables

Con fechas:
On June 13th - El 13 de Junio

Lugar:

En pisos de un edificio:
On the 2nd floor - En el 2 piso

Con partes de una habitacin:
On the walls - En las paredes
On the ceiling - En el techo
On the floor - En el piso

Con transportes:
On a boat - En un barco
On the train - En el tren

Pero
In a car - En un coche
In a taxi - En un taxi


At
Esta preposicin suele llevar las excepciones a las reglas anteriores.

Tiempo:

Con solo una parte del da:
At night - De madrugada

Con el fin de semana:
At the weekend - El fin de semana

Con celebraciones:
At Christmas - En Navidad
At Easter - En Semana Santa

Con la hora:
At 3 oclock - A las tres en punto

Lugar:

Con ciertos lugares:
At home - En casa
At school - En el colegio
At university - En la universidad

Se pueden utilizar dos preposiciones con un lugar:
In a museum - En un museo (dentro)
At the museum - En el museo (dentro o fuera)

Con lugares determinados:
At the door - En la puerta
At the traffic light - En el semforo



COUNTABLE & UNCOUNTABLE
NOUNS

Es necesario entender correctamente la diferencia entre incontable y contable
para poder expresar correctamente las cantidades.
Podemos separar los nombres en dos grupos: los incontables y los contables.

Los contables son aquellos nombres de cosas, gente, etc que nosotros podemos
contar. Por ejemplo nosotros podemos decir: one pencil, two pencils, three pencils...
Entonces decimos que pencil es contable.
chair, book, cat, pen, box, letter ...

Incontable es todo aquello que nosotros no podemos contar. Por ejemplo nosotros
no podemos decir: one rice, two rices, three rices... Entonces decimos que rice es
incontable.
salt, wood, tea, wine, sugar, oxygen, advice, bread, furniture, hair, information,
money, news, spaghetti, weather, rice

Adems muchos nombres pueden ser contables e incontables a la vez
dependiendo de la funcin que desempeen:
Por ejemplo:
There are two lambs. (Hay dos corderos)
We like lamb. (Nos gusta la carne de cordero)
Podemos contar cantidades de cosas incontables usando por ejemplo:
glass, bottle, litre, etc...
ejemplos:
a glass of water
three cartons of milk
a loaf of bread

En esta tabla puedes ver las principales difirencias
entre contables e incontables:
contables incontables
tienen plural: friend-friends
no tienen plural: rice no puede ser
rices
delante de singular contable
podemos usar a o an :
an apple, a car
no podemos usar a o an : no podemos
decir a milk. Deben ir precedidos, si
quieren individualizarse, de alguna
palabra con valor partitivo como a carton
of milk.
podemos usar nmeros delante de un
contable: two friends
no podemos usar nmeros delante de
un incontable: no podemos decir two
rices
many se usa para nombres
plurales contables

How many students were there?
There are too many people.
much se usa para nombres singulares
no contables
How much milk is in the fridge?
There is too much information.
Usamos few o a few para
expresar una idea de cantidad
reducida o media: few biscuits o a
few biscuits (pocas galletas o unas
cuantas galletas)
Usamos little o a little para
expresar una idea de cantidad
reducida o media: little milk o a
little milk (poca leche o un poco de
leche


Countable and uncountable nouns
* If you find a/an in front of the word or s at the end of a word, this
word must be a countable noun. For examples, when you see a car or
cars, the word car must be countable.

Countable nouns Uncountable nouns
oranges, carrots, onions,
pineapples, pears, bananas,
sweets, noodles, tomatoes,
mushrooms, grapes, strawberries,
apples, eggs, snacks, potato chips,
vegetables, cakes, dollars
bread, lettuce, milk, cheese, rice,
beef, oil, garlic, meat, salt, ice-
cream, sugar, pork, food, water,
chicken(meat), butter, soup, tea,
coffee, money
Sometimes countable and sometimes uncountable
egg, ice-cream, lettuce, coke, chocolate, chicken,
Words used with countable nouns Words used with uncountable
nouns
many, a few, few(close to zero),
fewer
much, a little, little(close to
nothing), less
Words used with both countable and uncountable nouns
some, a lot of(=lots of) , plenty of, enough, any, more

When we want to count the uncountable nouns, we can put a
phrase in front of the word. See the examples below:
a bar of chocolate, 2 bars of chocolate,
a bottle of milk / juice, three bottles of milk / juice
a carton of milk / juice, 5 cartons of milk / juice
a bowl of rice, a few bowls of rice

* Milk and rice are uncountable but carton, bottle and
bowl are countable. You cannot say 1 milk, 2 milks but you can
say 1 bottles, two bottles.

If you want to know more, please read Big Grammar: Book 4 Unit
1 and Unit 8
Countable Nouns
Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example:
"pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more
countable nouns:
dog, cat, animal, man, person
bottle, box, litre
coin, note, dollar
cup, plate, fork
table, chair, suitcase, bag
Countable nouns can be singular or plural:
My dog is playing.
My dogs are hungry.
We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:
A dog is an animal.
When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:
I want an orange. (not I want orange.)
Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)
When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:
I like oranges.
Bottles can break.
We can use some and any with countable nouns:
I've got some dollars.
Have you got any pens?
We can use a few and many with countable nouns:
I've got a few dollars.
I haven't got many pens.
Remember It

How much ....? = uncountable nouns
For example: How much coffee do you drink?
How many ....? = countable nouns
For example: How many cups of coffee do you drink?
How much? How many?
Countable Nouns Uncountable Nouns
In
questions:
We use how many with plural
countable nouns:-
We use how much with
uncountable nouns:-

"How many newspapers do you
read every day?"
"How much paper is in the
printer?"
"How many Euros have you got?"
"How much money have you
got?"
Revise It - How much and How many Lesson 36
Learn It
Some, Any
Countable Uncountable
There are some
people.
cups.
books.
newspapers.
chairs.
shoes.
Euros.
There is some
money.
traffic.
paper.
time.
coffee.
food.

Countable Uncountable
Statements:
We can use some in positive
sentences with plural countable
nouns:-
We can use some in positive
sentences with uncountable nouns:-
Positive:
I read some books. I would like some coffee.

Countable Uncountable
There aren't any
people.
cups.
books.
newspapers.
chairs.
shoes.
Euros.
There isn't any
money.
traffic.
paper.
time.
coffee.
food.

Statement:
We can use any in negative
sentences with plural countable
nouns:-
We can use any in negative
sentences with uncountable nouns:-
Negative:
I don't read any books. I don't want any coffee.

Countable Uncountable
Are(n't) there any
people?
cups?
books?
newspapers?
chairs?
shoes?
Euros?
Is(n't) there any
money?
traffic?
paper?
time?
coffee?
food?

Questions:
We can use any in questions with
plural countable nouns:-
We can use any in questions with
plural uncountable nouns:-
Positive Q:
Are there any books? Do you need any coffee?
Negative
Q:
Aren't there any books? Don't you need any coffee?
!Note! When you expect the answer to be "Yes." to an offer or polite request, you
can ask a question using some.
Countable Uncountable
Question:
Can I have some books, please? Would you like some coffee?
A few, A little
There are a few
people
cups
books
newspapers
chairs
shoes
Euros
There is a little
money
traffic
paper
time
coffee
food

Countable Uncountable
Statements:
Positive: "I meet a few people every day."
"There is a little paper in the
printer."
"I only have a few Euros." "I only have a little money."
Many, Much
There aren't many
people
cups
books
newspapers
chairs
There isn't much
money
traffic
paper
time
coffee
shoes food

Countable Uncountable
Statements:
Negative:
I don't read many books. I don't drink much coffee.
Questions:

Positive Q:
Are there many books? Do you need much coffee?
Negative Q:
Aren't there many books? Don't you need much coffee?

Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate
elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count
"bottles of milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more
uncountable nouns:
music, art, love, happiness
advice, information, news
furniture, luggage
rice, sugar, butter, water
electricity, gas, power
money, currency
We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:
This news is very important.
Your luggage looks heavy.
We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say
"an information" or "a music". But we can say a something of:
a piece of news
a bottle of water
a grain of rice
We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:
I've got some money.
Have you got any rice?
We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:
I've got a little money.
I haven't got much rice.
Uncountable nouns are also called "mass nouns".
Here are some more examples of countable and uncountable nouns:
Countable Uncountable
dollar money
song music
suitcase luggage
table furniture
battery electricity
bottle wine
report information
tip advice
journey travel
job work
view scenery

Nouns that can be Countable and
Uncountable
Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of
meaning.
Countable

Uncountable
There are two hairs in my coffee! hair I don't have much hair.
There are two lights in our bedroom. light Close the curtain. There's too much light!
Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise.
There are so many different noises in the
city.
noise
It's difficult to work when there is so much
noise.
Have you got a paper to read?
(newspaper)
Hand me those student papers.
paper
I want to draw a picture. Have you got some
paper?
Our house has seven rooms. room Is there room for me to sit here?
We had a great time at the party.
How many times have I told you no?
time
Have you got time for a cup of coffee?
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's greatest
works.
work
I have no money. I need work!
Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are usually uncountable. But if we are thinking of a cup or a
glass, we can say (in a restaurant, for example):
Two teas and one coffee please.
Partitive Structure with Uncountable
Nouns
To count or quantify an uncountable noun we use a unit of measurement - a measure word.
For example, we cannot usually say two breads because bread is uncountable. So, if we
want to specify a quantity of bread we use a measure word such as loaf or slice in a
structure like two loaves of bread or two slices of bread. We call this structure a
partitive structure.
p a r t i t i v e s t r u c t u r e
quantity
measure word
(partitive, countable
noun)
"of"
uncountable
noun
two cups of coffee
several games of tennis
a drop of water
We can use the same uncountable noun in different partitive expressions with different
meanings. For example, a loaf of bread and a slice of bread are partitive expressions with
different meanings. A loaf of bread is what we call a whole unit of bread that we buy from
a baker. A slice of bread is what we call a smaller unit of bread after it has been cut from a
loaf.
Here are some more examples:
Don't forget to buy a bag of rice when you go shopping.
Can I have one cup of coffee and two cups of tea.
The police found some items of clothing scattered around the floor.
I need a truck that will take at least three pieces of furniture.
You'd think a tablespoon of honey would be more than enough.
The word "partitive" indicates that only "part" of a whole is being referred to. The partitive
structure using a measure word is common with uncountable nouns, but it can also be used with
countable nouns, for example: a series of accidents, two boxes of matches, a can of worms.

Countable/Uncountable Nouns (Los
nombres contables/incontables)
Countable Nouns (Los nombres contables)
Los nombres o sustantivos contables son aquellos que se pueden contar.
Ejemplos:
one pencil, a pencil
Play
one [a] pencil (un lpiz)
two cats
Play
two cats (dos gatos)
three houses
Play
three houses (tres casas)
Uncountable Nouns (Los nombres incontables)
Los nombres o sustantivos incontables son aquellos que no podemos contar porque no los
podemos delimitar individualmente sino que forman parte de un todo. Son tratados como
singulares (no se pueden hacer plurales aadiendo '-s').
salt (sal), wood
Play
wood (madera), tea
Play
tea (t), wine
Play
wine (vino), sugar
Play
sugar (azcar), bread
Play
bread (pan), furniture
Play
furniture (muebles), hair
Play
hair (pelo), information
Play
information (informacin), money
Play
money (dinero), weather
Play
weather (tiempo), time
Play
time (tiempo), rice
Play
rice (arroz)
Sin embargo, en el momento que los delimitamos, estos mismos nombres o sustantivos
pasan a ser contables. Debern ir precedidos, si quieren individualizarse, de alguna palabra
con valor partitivo.
Ejemplos:
a gram of salt
Play
a gram of salt (un gramo de sal)
a piece of wood
Play
a piece of wood (un trozo de madera)
two cups of tea
Play
two cups of tea (dos tazas de t)
three glasses of wine
Play
three glasses of wine (tres vasos de vino)
Grammatical Rules (Reglas gramaticales)
1. Nombres contables tienen una forma plural:
o Ejemplos:
o egg, eggs
Play
egg/eggs (huevo/s)
o bicycle, bicycles
Play
bicycle/bicycles (bicicleta/s)
o dress, dresses
Play
dress/dresses (vestido/s)
2. Nombres incontables no tienen una forma plural:
o rice
Play
rice (arroz)
o rices
o milk
Play
milk (leche)
o milks
3. Se puede usar "a" o "an" con nombres contables en singular:
Ejemplos:
an apple
Play
an apple (una manzana)
a house
Play
a house (una casa)
4. No podemos usar "a" o "an" con nombres incontables:
o a milk
5. Se pueden usar nmeros delante de un contable:
o Ejemplos:
o three apples
Play
three apples (tres manzanas)
o five houses
Play
five houses (cinco casas)
6. No podemos usar nmeros delante de un incontable:
o two rices