IELTS Speaking and Writing - Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Countable and uncountable nouns in IELTS Speaking and Writing

 

Countable and uncountable nouns in IELTS Speaking Part One

Take turns asking two questions from two sections below.

Accommodation/ Local area

Do you live in a house or a flat?

Do you have enough space in the place where you are living?

Do you have many ornaments in your home?

Do you have any furniture that you’d like to get rid of?

 

Arts and media

Do you read any newspapers?

What kind of news is most interesting to you?

 

Books/ Literature/ Writing

Do you read many novels?

Do you generally prefer fiction or non-fiction?

What different types of writing do you do?

Do you like to write stories or poems?

 

Education/ Studies

Do you need any qualifications for your career?

Is there any training which you would like to take?

Did you have much homework when you were in primary school?

Do you generally get stressed in exams?

Do you do a lot of revision before examinations?

 

English

Do you attend any regular English lessons?

How much time do you spend studying English every week?

 

Family and friends

Do you know your distant relations well?

How much time do you spend with your extended family?

 

Festivals and celebrations

Which are your favourite festivals or celebrations?

On what occasions do you usually buy and drink champagne?

 

Food, drink and cooking

Do you enjoy cooking?

Have you learnt any recipes from your family?

 

Free time

Do you have much free time?

Where do you like to spend your days off?

What do you do for relaxation?

Are there any new hobbies which you’d like to take up?

 

Gifts

Is gift-giving important for people your age in your country?

When did you last give or receive a present?

 

Health and fitness

Do you do much (physical) exercise?

Do you take any supplements?

 

Hometown

Is there nice scenery in or near your hometown?

 

Music

Do you prefer to buy CDs or to download music from the internet?

 

Shopping

Do you enjoy finding bargains in the summer sales?

Do you do much window shopping?

 

Technology and the internet

Do you spend much money on technology?

Have you bought any new gadgets recently?

Did you spend much time playing computer games when you were younger?

Have you ever paid for some expensive software or apps?

 

Transport and travel

Do you enjoy overseas travel?

How would you feel if you had regular business trips?

Are there good public transport connections near where you are living?

Is public transport expensive in your local area?

Are there many cycle lanes in your hometown?

Is parking a problem near where you live?

 

TV

Do you watch much TV?

Are there any TV programmes which you really like?

 

Weather

Are there many storms, hurricanes, etc in your hometown?

What kind of weather do you dislike?

 

Work and studies

How important is work to you?

How many jobs have you had?

Have you ever worked as a temp?

 

 

Countable and uncountable grammar presentation

Without looking above, put -s after the only word in each section below which can needs -s after “some” (= the countable noun). If both seem okay with -s, think about which is OK with “some” and no -s.

some furniture                                             some ornament

 

some news                                                                some newspaper

 

some (non-)fiction                                                    some novel

 

some poem                                                               some poetry/ writing

 

some qualification                                                    some training

 

some assignment                                                     some homework

 

some exam/ examination/ test                 some review/ revision

 

some champagne                                                    some festival

 

some cooking                                             some recipe

 

some day off                                                             some free time/ leisure

 

some hobby/ pastime                                some relaxation

 

some gift-giving                                          some present/ some gift

 

some bad habit                                           some (aerobic/ physical) exercise

 

some nutrition                                             some supplement/ vitamin

 

some scenery                                             some view

 

some music                                                               some song/ track/ tune/ chorus/ verse

 

some bargain/ summer sale                     some window shopping

 

some gadget                                                             some technology

 

some app/ application                               some software

 

some hour                                                                 some time

 

some business trip/ journey                     some travel

 

some connection                                                      some public transport/ transportation

 

some cycle lane                                                       some parking

 

some storm/ hurricane/ typhoon                            some weather/ wind/ snow/ rain

 

some job/ (temporary) worker/ temp       some work/ overtime

 

Check above.

Try to make generalisations about which kinds of words are usually uncountable.

Are these kinds of words usually countable or uncountable?

• general categories
• specific things
• words ending in -ing

Ask each other different questions about the same topics.

 

Brainstorming stage

Without looking above, write as many suitable countable and uncountable words as you can in each category below. Many words not above are also possible. Some words can be both countable and uncountable (with slightly or very different meanings), in which case you can put them in both columns.

Look at the questions, words and then answers above, and brainstorm more.

Compare your other answers with another group or as a class.

Countable with -s	Uncountable (= -s is wrong)
Accommodation/ Local area
Arts and media
Books/ Literature/ Writing
Education/ Studies
English
Family and friends
Festivals and celebrations
Food, drink and cooking
Free time
Health and fitness
Hometown
Music
Shopping
Technology and the internet
Transport and travel
TV
Weather
Work and studies

Countable and uncountable in IELTS Speaking Part 3 and IELTS Writing Task 2

Write -s next to the one line of countable nouns in each section below. You can check by making sure that the noun or nouns on the other line are uncountable by adding an -s and checking that they sound wrong.

Differences in grammar section

advice                                                                        recommendation/ suggestion/ tip

 

evidence                                                                    figure

 

research                                                                     researcher

 

academic literature                                                  academic paper

 

importance                                                                priority

 

aim/ goal/ purpose                                                   progress

 

disadvantage                                              extent

 

argument against                                                     consensus

 

support for this position                             supporter

 

effectiveness                                                             measure

 

reality                                                                         solution

 

logic                                                                            reason

 

popularity                                                                   young person

 

justice                                                                         law

 

legislation                                                                  regulation

 

my (partial) agreement                              position/ view

 

bureaucracy                                                              bureaucrat/ civil servant/ public servant

 

fact                                                                              information

 

article                                                                         news

 

concept                                                        understanding

 

 

Topics

advertising                                                                 ad/ advert/ advertisement/ commercial

 

education                                                                   course/ class

 

recyclable bottle                                                       recycling

 

bin/ trash can/ garbage can                      rubbish/ trash/ garbage/ litter/ waste

 

exercise                                                                     sports facility

 

obesity/ weight                                           lift weight

 

factory/ plant                                                             pollution

 

forest                                                                          deforestation

 

hospital fee                                                                medical spending

 

motor vehicle                                              traffic

 

congestion                                                                 traffic jam

 

diversity                                                                     diverse background

 

accident/ crash                                           road safety

 

health                                                                         pill/ tablet

 

foreign aid                                                                 subsidy

 

knowledge                                                                 skill

 

DNA                                                                           gene

 

good idea                                                                  well-being

 

negative effect                                            stress

 

secondary education                                 secondary school

 

bank                                                                           wealth

 

journey                                                         travelling

 

employment                                                              employer

 

cooperation                                                               individual

 

adolescent/ teenager                                 immaturity

 

(job) satisfaction                                                       workplace

 

feedback                                                                    positive comment/ remark

 

fun                                                                               positive attitude

 

specialist                                                                   specialisation

 

illegal act                                                                   illegality

 

foreign language                                                      foreign language acquisition

 

creature                                                                      wildlife

 

manufacturer                                                             manufacturing

 

entertainer                                                                 entertainment

 

Similar grammar section

The ones in each section below have the same grammar. Either add -s to all the examples in a section if it is countable or check that none of the nouns can take -s if you think that section is uncountable.

academic journal/ essay                                         academic/ expert

 

advantage                                                                 after-school activity

 

alcohol                                                         equality

 

alternative                                                                  ancestor

 

(counter)argument                                                    (negative/ positive) aspect

 

asset                                                                           cause

 

circumstance/ situation                             conclusion/ summary

 

consequence                                              drawback

 

example                                                                     fine

 

(previous) generation                                graduate           

 

implication                                                                 medium

 

middle-aged worker                                                 option

 

paragraph                                                                  peer

 

penalty                                                         positive development

 

privacy                                                         stability

 

quotation                                                                    result

 

selling point                                                               side of the argument

 

subject/ topic                                                             toddler

 

Singular, plural and uncountable in IELTS Writing Task 1

In each section below only one line has a noun or noun that is countable and therefore can take -s. Write -s anywhere it can go below, making sure that the other line is wrong with -s each time.

Different grammar section

Process tasks/ Flowchart tasks

equipment                                                                 machine

 

progress                                                                     step/ stage

 

heat/ (central) heating                               heater

 

refrigerator/ fridge                                                    refrigeration

 

cement                                                         grinder

 

clay                                                                             clay pot

 

concrete                                                                     concrete block

 

grain of sand                                                             sand

 

gravel                                                                         small stone

 

Map tasks

building                                                        construction

 

bridge                                                                         infrastructure

 

access                                                          road

 

transport                                                                     transport link

 

car park                                                                      parking

 

grass                                                                          sports field

 

farmland                                                                     garden

 

greenery                                                                    tree

 

housing                                                        retirement home

 

river                                                                            water

 

countryside                                                                suburb

 

beach                                                           coastline

 

(foot)path                                                     paving

 

Line graphs and bar charts

acceleration/ deceleration                        bar/ line

 

levelling off                                                  plateau/ (all-time/ new) high/ peak

 

boom                                                            growth

 

Pie charts

pie chart/ segment                                     market share

 

Other kinds of tasks/ General

diagram/ chart                               information

 

For specific topics

dollar                                                            income

 

pound                                                           spending

 

heat                                                              temperature

 

gram/ tonne                                                 weight

 

consumer                                                     consumption

 

mode of transport                                       transport

 

questionnaire/ survey                  research

 

carbon (dioxide)                                         carbon emission

 

energy consumption                    power station

 

electricity                                                     unit of electricity

 

fuel source                                                   heating fuel

 

nuclear power                               nuclear power station

 

coal                                                               lump of coal

 

barrel of oil                                                  petrol

 

natural gas                                                  pipeline

 

clothing                                          item of clothing

 

telephone call                               time spent on the phone

 

beef                                                              kind of meat

 

household                                                   housework

 

hour of sunshine                                        sunshine

 

visitor satisfaction                                       visitor

 

cigarette                                                       tobacco

footwear                                                       shoe

 

insurance                                                     insurance policy

 

animal                                                          grazing

 

Similar grammar section

Identify if each section below is all countable or all uncountable and add -s to those which can take it.

Map

place

location

site

entrance

 

exit

(main) gate

block

island

 

peninsula

rail

railway

track

 

Process

flowchart

lifecycle

larva

system

 

Tables

column

row

figure/ statistic/ number

 

General

comparison

forecast/ prediction/ projection

gap

main feature

percentage

 

period

price

quantity

year

trend