Count v. Non-Count Nouns
Read the following sentences. Choose the correct words to complete each sentence.
- There was (many / much) food at the event. There were (less / fewer) soups than salads and even (less / fewer) desserts.
- Miguel loved studying (outer space / outer spaces)—especially different (galaxy / galaxies).
- Arturo had too much (water / drinks) before his workout.
Show Answer
- There was much food at the event. There were fewer soups than salads and even (less / fewer) desserts.
- Food is non-count, so it takes much not many. Soups and desserts are both count, so they take fewer not less.
- Even though much is technically correct, you may want to use a lot instead. It has a much less antiquated feel.
- Miguel loved studying outer space—especially different galaxies.
- Outer space is non-count, so it does not have a plural. Galaxy is count, so it does have a plural. Since we are talking about different items, there must be more than one, so galaxies is correct.
- Arturo had too much water before his workout.
- Much must be followed by a non-count noun. Of the two options (water and drinks) water is the non-count noun. If many were used instead of much, the correct sentence would be “Arturo had too many drinks before his workout.”
Compound Nouns
Read the following sentence. Are the compound nouns in each being used correctly? How would you create the plural form of each compound noun?
- Liam has one sister in law and one brother in law.
- High blood pressure can lead to multiple types of heart disease.
- When I was four, I was determined to be an astronaut, a fire-fighter, and a sous chef.
Show Answer
- Liam has two sisters-in-law and one brother-in-law.
- Both compounds should be hyphenated, not compounds. Sister and brother are the main parts of each compound, so the correct pluralizations would be sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law.
- High blood pressure can lead to multiple types of heart disease.
- This sentence is correct. The compound should be open (no hyphenation). The correct plural would be blood pressures.
- When I was four, I was determined to be an astronaut, a firefighter, and a sous-chef.
- Firefighter compound should be closed (no space or hyphenation). The correct plural would be firefighters.
- Sous-chef should be hyphenated. The correct plural would be sous-chefs.