A- ] You can make many ‘uncountable’ nouns ‘singular’ and ‘countable’ by adding a ‘piece of’ or a ‘little] ‘bit of’ . Similarly you can make such nouns ‘plural’ with ‘pieces of’ or ‘bits of’ . [ Bit is less formal than piece and they are not always interchangeable . ‘Bit’ can be used with all types of nouns . ‘Piece’ tends to be used more with ‘uncountable’ nouns . Bit suggests a smaller amount than piece .
- She bought an attractive old ‘piece of’ furniture at the auction sale .
- How many ‘pieces of’ luggage have you got with you ?
- The police collected ‘bits of’ information from different sources .
- Chopin wrote some wonderful ‘pieces of’ music .
- Before you go to England , you should know two ‘bits of’ advice .
- He spends all his money buying new ‘bits of’ computer equipment .
B-] A number of other words go with specific uncountable nouns :
1-] Weather :
- Today’s weather has been variable . In the north there were heavy ‘showers’[ of rain ].
- The sunny ‘spell’ [ of weather ] that we have had this last week has continued in much of the south although there were occasional ‘numbers of thunder’ and ‘flashes of lightning’ in some areas with some quite loud ‘claps of thunder’ in one or two areas . These were followed by a few ‘spots of rain’ but ‘gusts of wind’ soon blew them away and the sunshine returned .
2-] Groceries :
- I need a ‘loaf of’ bread , a couple of ‘slices of meat , two ‘bars of’ chocolate , a ‘tube of’ toothpaste , two ‘cartons of’ milk and three ‘bars of’ soap . [ slice can also be used with toast , bread , meat and cheese ]
3-] Nature :- Look at the ladybird on that ‘blade of’ grass !
- What’s happened ? Look at the ‘cloud of’ smoke hanging over the town !
- She blew little ‘puffs of’ smoke out of her cigarette straight into face .
- Let’s go out and get a ‘breath of’ fresh air .
- Put another ‘lump of’ coal on the fire , please . [ lump can also be used with ‘sugar’ ]
4-] Other :
- I had an amazing ‘stroke of’ luck this morning .
- I’ve never seen him do a ‘stroke of’ work . [ only in negative sentences ]
- I’ve never seen him in such a ‘fit of’ temper before .
- The donkey is the basic ‘means of’ transport on the island .
- Tights must be the most useful ‘article / item of’ clothing ever invented .
- There was an interesting ‘item of’ news about France on TV last night .
C-] The phrase ‘ a state of’ can serve to make an uncountable noun singular . The nouns used with ‘state’ are usually abstract and include ‘chaos’ , ‘emergency’ , ‘tension’ , ‘confusion’ , ‘health’ , ‘disorder’ , ‘uncertainty’ , ‘poverty’ , ‘agitation’ , ‘despair’ and ‘flux’
[ continuous change ] e.g. a state of emergency .
Words that only occur in the plural .
A-] Tools , instruments , pieces of equipment :
- ‘scissors’ , ‘pliers’ , ‘pincers’ , ‘tweezers’ , ‘tongs’ , ‘headphones’ , ‘binoculars’ , ‘scales’ ,
‘handcuffs’ , ‘shears’ , ‘glasses / spectacles’ , ‘goggles’
B-] Things we wear : ‘clothes’ , ‘pyjamas’ , ‘knickers / pants’ , ‘underpants / pants’ , ‘jeans’ ,
‘tights’ , ‘jodhpurs’ , ‘leggings’ , ‘dungarees’ , ‘shorts’ , ‘trousers’ , ‘braces’ , ‘[swimming] trunks’ .
C- ] More useful words :
- When I move to London , I’ll have to find ‘lodgings’ . [ e.g. a room in a flat ]
- When will the ‘goods’ be delivered ? [ articles / items ]
- The architect inspected the ‘foundations’ before declaring that the ‘premises’ were safe .
[ under the building / the buildings itself ]
- The military ‘authorities’ have established their ‘headquarters’ in the old Town Hall .
- The ‘acoustics’ in the new opera-house are near-perfect . [ quality of the sound ]
- The ‘contents’ of the house were sold after her death .
- ‘Looks’ are less important than personality in a partner .
- As you come to the ‘outskirts’ of the village , there are ‘traffic-lights’ . Turn left there .
[ the beginning or end of the village ]
- The ‘stairs’ are a bit dangerous ; be careful .
- The ‘proceeds’ of the concerts are going to the children’s fund .[ money from selling tickets]
- A terrorist has escaped from prison . Her ‘whereabouts’ are unknown . [ where she is ]
D-] Words with plural form but used mostly with singular verbs :
- Names of some games : ‘billiards’ , ‘dominoes’ , ‘draughts’ , ‘darts’ , ‘bowls’ , ‘cards’ .
- Names of subjects / activities : ‘physics’ , ‘economics’ , ‘classics’ , ‘gymnastics’ , ‘aerobics’ ,
‘athletics’ , ‘maths’ .
- Some words look plural or may be thought of as plural , but are not , e.g. ‘means’ , ‘news’ ,
‘spaghetti’ [ an Italian plural form ] , ‘series’ .
- There was a ‘series’ of programs on TV about Japan .
- Is there a cheap ‘means’ of transport I could use to get there ?
Formal and informal words .
Formality is all about your relationship with the person you are speaking or writing to . If you use formal language , it may be because you wish to show respect , politeness , or to put yourself at a distance [ for example , ‘official’ language ] . Informal language can show friendliness , equality or a feeling of closeness and solidarity with someone . You should never use informal language just to sound fluent or clever . Slang is extremely colloquial language . Slang helps to make speech vivid , colorful and interesting but it can easily be used inappropriately . Although slang is mainly used in speech , it is also often found in the popular press .
A-] Scales of formality :
Some groups of words can be put on a scale from formal to neutral to informal .
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B-] Short , monosyllabic informal words :
Informal versions of words are often short and monosyllabic , as we can see in the right-hand column in the table above . They include slang words .
- It cost me ten ‘quid’ . [ pounds ] – I’ll help you peel the ‘spuds’ . [ potatoes]
- My ‘bike’’ s been stolen . [ bicycle ] . – Come and meet my ‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’ . [ mother and father ] - I always go be ‘tube’ . [ word used for the London Underground ]
- Hi ! Can’t stop ; see you , ‘bye’ ! [ hello ; goodbye ] – I’ll get a ‘cab’ from the station .[taxi]
C-] Clippings :
Shortening a word tends to make it less formal , as in ‘bye’ .
- I’ll meet you in the ‘lab’ [ laboratory ] . – What’s on ‘telly’ tonight ? [ television ]
- We should put an ‘ad’ [ advertisement ] / an ‘advert’[ advertisement] in the ‘paper’ [newspaper] – Shall I phone [telephone] them ?– Her sister’s a vet [ veterinary surgeon ].
D-] Formality in notices , instructions , etc. :
You will often see formal words in signs , notices and directions .
- This public house is closed until further notice .
- Articles deposited must be paid for in advance .
- Do not alight while the bus is in motion .
- We regret we cannot accept cheques .
- Do not address the driver unless the bus is stationary .
- Tickets must be purchased before boarding the train .
- Children are required not to deposit litter in the play area .
E-] Using slang appropriately :
Remember , it can be risky for someone who is not a native speaker to use slang . Firstly , because some slang expressions may cause offence to some sections of the population . For example , most policemen ae quite happy to be referred to as ‘coppers’ but are offended by the term ‘pigs’ . Similarly , you could probably use the word ‘sozzles’ [ meaning drunk ] in front of anyone but using the words ‘pissed’ , or ‘arseholed’ , which also mean drunk , could upset some people .
Secondly , slang words date very quickly . Different generations , for instance have used different slang expressions to say that something was ‘wonderful’ .
Pre-war : top-hole , 1940s : wizard , 1960s : fab , groovy , 1970s : cosmic , 1980s : brill , wicked , 1990s : cool , class .
B-] Some common slang words and expressions :
The words and expressions which are most likely to cause offence are underlined .
- Expressions for money : dough , bread , dosh , loot , brass , readies
- Expressions for the police : pigs , fuzz , cop[pers] , bill
- Expressions for drunk : pissed , pie-eyed , paralytic , legless , arseholed
- Expressions for a stupid person : wally , prat , wanker , jerk , dickhead , plonker , pillock , dork , clueless , out-to-lunch , doesn’t know his arse from his elbow
- Expressions for lavatory : loo , lav , bog , john
- Epressions for drink : booze , plonk [ wine ] , a bevvy
- Drug-related expressions : a fix , dope , grass , high , stoned , snow [ heroin ]
- Prison-related expressions : nick [ prison ] , nark [ informer ] , screw [ warder ]
C -] Slang is often used by one particular group and is unintelligible to other people . Here are some examples from American truck-drivers using CB radio to talk to each other .
- grandma lane : slow lane , five finger discount : stolen goods , super cola : beer
doughnuts : tyres , anklebiters : children , affirmative : yes , motion lotion : fuel , eyeballs : headlights .
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