Grammar tips for non native English speaking Steemeans # 1
This is the first one of a series of bite size grammar tips I am going to be posting until the end of August.
As a non native English speaker myself I can completely relate to the fellow Steemeas, who find themselves scratching their heads with the quirkiness of the English language. So, I am going to share here with you some of the things I have learnt from my English grammar studies, a task that I have embraced for the past decade or so. A task that I am still committed to and having fun with!
Today’s subject is uncountable nouns, a topic that can prove quite challenging particularly for the romantic language speakers (French, Spanish, Catalan, Italian and Portuguese).
What are uncountable nouns? These are the names of abstract qualities, materials, liquids and other things that have no clear boundary. For example: love, weather, water and advice.
What is all the fuss about? Because they mostly do not take the plural form (advice/advices) we cannot use numbers or a/an (a money) with them.
So, how on earth do I quantify them? Using the expression ‘a piece of' , or the determiner ‘some’ in front of the noun:
Examples:
I have some incredible news! 😊
I have an incredible news! 😱
Can I offer you a piece of advice? 😊
Can I offer you an advice? 😱
Another correct way to quantify uncountable nouns is by using much and a lot of:
There isn’t much rice left! I am hungry ... (rices)
They brought a lot of luggage! (luggages)
There are always exceptions to the rule: Although, grammatically speaking, a water, a coffee, a beer is incorrect. It is colloquially accepted. So, when you are in the pub with your English speaking mates don’t fret when asking for a beer!
Next, a few more uncountable nouns for you to keep in mind!
- Information
- work
- bread
- traffic
- furniture
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Very interesting, and yes.. entertaining too. Easy to digest, like you say. I'm German and of course I fall for the "traps" different languages present. But, in the future, I will (hopefully) remember this post, and at least get all the examples you listed right! :-)
Yes, I feel more and more people need to brush up on their grammar. Reading Facebook posts and watching reality TV especially is like nails on a chalkboard. People are afraid of "me", overuse "I", don't know the difference between the subject and object of a sentence, overuse "myself", they base themselves "off of" things instead of "on", and always put "of" after "off". Oh, and another cringe worthy error people make, in my opinion, is using "that" instead of "who" or "whom". It used to be they forgot to use "whom", now it's they forget "who" altogether. Oh là là! I'm certainly resteeming and following you. You seem to know how to explain grammar in a much better way than I ever could. I know it, I write it, but explaining these types of things is not my forte. Thank you for this. I have a few people in mind who would benefit from these.
Oh! @binkyprod, meaningful comments like yours are so encouraging! They make me truly happy :)) Well, your incredible feedback went as far as making me laugh! 😂 It is great to see there is someone out there who is as passionate about English grammar as I am! Thank you for reesteeming my post, and I hope it can be of use to the people you mentioned! I will be posting more similar articles throughout this month!
I had a look at you blog, enjoyed it and started following you :))
All the best!
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Steem on!!!!
🎈📚🎈📚📚🎈😊
I already follow you guys!!
I will both include the # in my future educational posts and support other educational posts. For sure!
This is awsome! Steemit has incredible ways to keep the newcomers motivated. This is an initiative that also encourages Steemeans to keep bringing quality, constructive content to the platform! Thank you very much @steemiteducation!!
I love learning English. It is so useful nowadays.
I hope you find this helpful @discernente!! :))
Thanks for the class! I'm curious, what is you native language? Thanks and good luck again!!