Ruth老師簡明英語語法講解(1):可數名詞與不可數名詞
普通名詞和專有名詞
英語中,名詞可分為普通名詞(Common Noun)和專有名詞(Proper Noun)兩大類。
普通名詞
通常可被冠詞限定、被形容詞修飾,例如:
She was reading a
book
。
She is a very good
student
。
專有名詞
則包括:a。人名(含頭銜、人所賦給特定物體的名稱) b。地名(含國家、城市、景點) c。日期(含星期、月份、節日),其首字母應大寫,例:
I was born in
China
。
The Titanic
sank in 1912。
Today is
the National Day
。
My best friend is called
Xiaoming
。
可數名詞和不可數名詞
英語的名詞有
可數
或
不可數
(
countable
or
uncountable
)的區分,可數名詞可以被單獨地、清楚地、分割地計數(Countable nouns can be individually counted),不可數名詞反之。
可數名詞
不可數名詞
“A”, “An”, “Some”, “any”或數字可用與可數名詞一起使用
Eg:
There is a
book
。
There are three
books
。
There are some
books
Did you buy any
apples
?
可數名詞可與many及few連用
Eg:
How many
languages
can you speak?
I have a few
things
to do。
不可數名詞可與Some, any一起使用
Eg:
There is some
milk/water/sugar/spaghetti
。
Did you buy any
apple juice
?
We listened to some
music
。
I ate some
pasta
。
He always eats some
chocolate
before lunch。
不可數名詞可與much及little連用
Eg:
Our flat don’t have much
space
。
He doesn’t have much
patience
。
I have a little
work
to do。
不可數名詞可與a…of形式連用
Eg:
four bags of
sugar
。
a bowl of
rice
。
一些語法教材認為,可以透過思考一個名詞是
抽象的
或
具體的
(
Abstract noun
or
concrete noun
)來大致判斷其是否可數。但這種分法常常很模糊,且欠缺語法意涵(Some grammars distinguish ‘abstract’ and ‘concrete‘ nouns。 However, this is not a very useful distinction, and it has no grammatical importance。)。所以我們這裡採取如下辦法:羅列常見不可數名詞類別並舉例,建立意義邊界後便可以反推何謂可數名詞。
常見不可數名詞門類:
(1)不可分的物質
a。 無法分的物質:液體、液態
water, oil, gasoline, coffee, juice, mud, petrol, soup, blood, tea, wine, cream, yogurt, lava
b。 通常被視為整體的物質:肉、金屬塊、固態化的液體
meat, poultry(禽肉), fish(魚肉), lamb(羊羔肉), mutton(羊肉), beef(牛肉), cheese, metal, gold, silver, iron, ice, butter, salad,
chalk
,
paper(
紙張,若作“論文”、“捲紙”講,則可數
), coal, bread
(注:pasta, spaghetti
意麵被認為種類繁雜、形態各異,因而作整體觀,不可數;而noodle意為a long thin strip of pasta,“一條面”,因而可數,且常用複數形式。
)
c。 氣體
air, gas, smoke, oxygen, vapor, stream, fog
d。 通常被認為是由眾多細小物質或剪不斷理還亂的物質聚合而成
salt, sugar, snow, hair, grass, sand, rain, rice, wheat, corn, flour
(2)作為“總稱”的名詞
a。 學科的總稱
math(數學), philology(語文學), science, chemistry
b。 其他總稱
·其總括的物件是
相對實在
的fruit, money, furniture, homework, luggage, equipment, conveyance(交通工具,同traffic), weaponry, clothing
·其總括的物件是
相對抽象
的
character
(性格,若作“字”講,則可數), music, data, scenery, poetry, art, love, time, work, information, energy, health, patience, happiness, dignity, behavior, education, traffic(交通),
news(
注,指代特定新聞用 the piece of news或the news term
)
“總稱”本身具有一定抽象性與概括性,這就意味著,總稱往往包含相應的具體的可數的事物,例:
Countable
Uncountable
dollar
money
song
music
suitcase
luggage
table
furniture
battery
electricity
bottle
wine
report
information
tip
advice
journey
travel
job
work
view
scenery
rainstorm
weather
poem
poetry
英語是一門極看重語境的語言,一些不可數名詞在特定語境下,可作可數名詞使用,這種情況常伴隨著詞義的轉移,例:
Countable
Uncountable
He made
a noise
just now。 (just now剛才,從而使這裡的noise特指剛剛那一陣吵鬧,故而可數)
How much
noise
is there near the airport?(泛指嘈雜,不可數)
I bought
a paper
to read。 (read表明這裡的paper是一張報紙,可數)
I want a clean toilet with some
paper
。 (衛生紙,不可數)
The police found
two hairs
there。 (根據語境,這裡的two hairs指警方在蒐集證據時找到的兩根頭髮,是特定的,可數)
You’ve got very long
hair
。 (泛指頭上全部hair,剪不斷理還亂,不可數)
Nothing can erase from her mind the memory of the terrible
experiences
in her travel to Africa。 (特指在非洲的經歷,可數)
I was offered the job because I had a
lot of
experience
。 (指經驗,不可數)
Enjoy your trip, have
a good time!
(指特定的旅行時光,可數)
I have been there a few times。(特定過去一段時間,可數)
I can’t wait。 I don’t have
time
。 (泛指時間,不可數)
He has had many
successes
。 (特指有過的一些成就,可數)
Hard work leads to
success
。 (泛指抽象成功,不可數)
I like
foods
like milk, eggs, meat。 (指代後文具體的食物種類,可數)
People need
food
for energy。 (泛指食物,不可數)
Shakespeare’s complete
works
。 (指代莎翁全部作品,可數)
She does good
work
。 (泛指工作,不可數)
It has some great
qualities
。 (指特徵、品質,可數)
It has a reputation for
quality
。 (泛指質量,不可數)
We learned several new
skills
。 (指特定的一些技能,可數)
It takes
skill
to do that job。 (指“工夫”,辛苦,不可數)
The city has a great mix of
cultures
。 (指幾種不同種類的文化,可數)
The museum is filled with
culture
。 (泛指文化,如歷史、藝術等,不可數)
There is a range of
abilities
in class。 (指代能力的等級,可數)
She has great
ability
in writing。 (泛指能力,不可數)(She has a ability to write。)
相應地,當與表
數量
或
質量
的含義(
quantity
or
mass
)相勾連時,可數名詞也可用如不可數名詞,例:
We’ve got another ten metres of
wall
to paint。
I‘ve got
too much nose
and
not enough chin
。
根據上文的講解與舉例,我們發現,語境的不同很大程度決定了單詞的可數與否。而在以後的講解中,我們將進一步發掘“語境”對英語這門語言的重大意義,從而我們可以逐漸認識到,
只有當“聯絡上下文”成為了自己品讀英文文字的習慣性步驟時,才算得上是找到了英語學習的捷徑。
本文由Ruth老師原創,歡迎關注。