23. Noun Countability Clues 3: Subtypes

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Some nouns are used uncountably to name a general class and countably to name a subtype within it

THE DIFFICULTY OF DECIDING NOUN COUNTABILITY

Being able to recognise whether nouns are “countable” or “uncountable” is fundamental for using them correctly (see 110. Nouns without “the” or “a”). Noun countability is thus a common topic in elementary English courses. However, it is also an aspect of English that continues to trouble even very proficient users, which is why it is the topic here. This is the third of four Guinlist posts about it. The others are 14. Noun Countability Clues 1: Action Outcomes,  19. Noun Countability Clues 2: Activity Locations and 43. Noun Countability Clues 4: Substance Locations.

Most readers will know that the terms “countable” and “uncountable” refer not to what nouns mean but to what they do. They tell us not about the ability or otherwise of the thing expressed by the noun to “be counted”, but rather about the grammar rules that the noun must follow. Only “countable” nouns, for example, can be made plural. Only “uncountable” nouns can be singular without an article. “Uncountable” nouns can follow all but not each or every (see 169. “All”, “Each” and “Every”); while singular “countable” nouns cannot follow enough (see 189. Expressing Sufficiency). Even vocabulary choices can be affected (see 81. Tricky Word Contrasts 2, #9).

The reason for calling these two types of noun “countable” and “uncountable” is that this can seem a useful means of recognising which nouns are which: many nouns that can be made plural mean something that can obviously be counted, and many that cannot be plural mean something obviously unable to be counted. The problem, however, is that there are also many noun meanings whose ability or not to be counted is unclear. Luggage, for example, can be thought of as either a collection of individual bags carried by travellers – an eminently countable concept – or as something travellers carry that has no fixed size or shape.

An interesting indicator of the subjectivity of “ability to be counted” is the fact that some noun meanings that are expressed by an “uncountable” noun in English are expressed by “countable” nouns in French, a language with a similar way of classifying nouns. Examples are access, advice, information and research. It is also notable that some “uncountable” English nouns are much more likely than others to be incorrectly used in a “countable” way by speakers of languages with no countability distinction at all (e.g. *luggages, *punctuations).

In fact, even English recognises that many “uncountable” nouns do actually represent an idea that can as easily be thought of as able to be counted as unable. This is clear from the existence of a large number of “uncountable” nouns that can be combined with a “countable” noun in order to act in a “countable” way, as in pieces of luggage, forms of transport and research projects. The combinations commonly taught to elementary-level learners are only a small sample of the possibilities (see 180. Nouns that Count the Uncountable).

So what better way is there of determining countability in English? As with the transitivity of verbs (see 113. Verbs that cannot be Passive), the surest way is to find out from a dictionary. Failing that, however, a more sophisticated look could perhaps be given to the kind of meaning possessed by the noun. Ability to be counted can on occasion be helpful, and there is also some value in the common assertion that many uncountable nouns like flour and water represent a “mass” of something, with no fixed shape, rather than something discrete.

There is another possibility too, which is not usually highlighted in grammar books. A very large number of nouns are sometimes countable and sometimes uncountable, depending on their meaning, and the difference between the two meanings rarely has anything to do with ability to be counted or with shape. It is not always the same kind of difference, but some kinds can occur across numerous nouns that have variable countability. There thus seems to be value in making these kinds of difference clear and indicating the nouns that possess them.

At least four major kinds of difference seem to be possible between the countable and uncountable meanings of nouns with variable countability. This post is about one of these four: a “general group” meaning when the noun is uncountable versus a “subtype” meaning of the countable form. The other three meaning differences are the topics of the three similar posts to this that are indicated above.

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DEFINITION OF A SUBTYPE

A subtype is a group existing alongside other groups within a larger group. Its features always fit into the larger group but are sometimes absent from the other smaller ones. In many cases, different words are needed to name a subtype and the group it belongs to. Birds, for example, are a subgroup of vertebrates (see 162. Writing about Classifications). An example of a single word that can represent either of these meanings is fuel. As an uncountable group name it represents a variety of energy sources, such as charcoal, wood, kerosene, petrol and diesel. As a singular countable subtype name it represents just one of these.

Nouns that can represent a subtype in this way normally do so by being used countably (a fuel), their uncountable use representing the wider group name (fuel). Interestingly, the plural form of their countable use (fuels) is not so different in meaning from the uncountable use: a fuel can be understood as belonging to the group of fuels just as well as to the class of fuel. A suggestion for choosing between the countable plural and uncountable forms is offered below.

Many nouns with the same properties as fuel tend to represent material substances – a kind of meaning that grammar books often associate just with uncountable nouns. Examples are ACID, FOOD, FRUIT, METAL, PERFUME, PLASTIC, SOIL, STONE, SUGAR and WOOD. However, there also many abstract nouns that have uncountable and countable uses like those of fuel, such as ACTIVITY, COLOUR, DIFFICULTY, CONTROVERSY, FAITH, ILLNESS, INDUSTRY, LANGUAGE, NEED, PHILOSOPHY, PLEASURE, QUALITY, SCIENCE, SKILL, TASTE, VIRTUE and WEIGHT. For an example involving LANGUAGE, see 214. Test your Command of Grammar 2 #16.

It should not be concluded from this that abstract nouns always have an uncountable use: many, like an increase and an idea, are always countable. Moreover, abstract nouns with both countable and uncountable meanings do not always express the type-subtype contrast with them. Business is a case in point.

A business is not a subtype of the activity business because it involves things that business does not cover, such as formal registration. It is instead an environment where business can take place (see 19. Activity Locations). Its relationship to business is like that of a glass to glass: a glass similarly has features lacking in glass (such as its shape), so that it is only an environment where glass occurs.

Note that expressions like a litre of fuel, which enable uncountable nouns to be used like countable ones (see 180. Nouns that Count the Uncountable), express a subpart rather than a subtype: the noun after of is still uncountable with the more general meaning. For more on this distinction, see 196. Saying what is inside Things.

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CHOOSING BETWEEN UNCOUNTABLE AND PLURAL

If plural subtype nouns can name a group just like their uncountable equivalent, when is this preferable? The answer, I think, is when the existence of subtypes needs to be emphasised. Consider this:

(a) The price of fuel varies.

Suppose that the cause of price variation was the kind of fuel being used (e.g. petrol being more expensive than diesel). Then the existence of subtypes would be important, and it would be better to say fuels than fuel. With uncountable fuel (singular without a or the), the reader is more likely to consider other causes of varying prices, such as the provider, because the existence of fuel subtypes would not be highlighted. To take another example:

(b) Fuel is necessary for machines to function.

We could again say fuels are instead of fuel is here, but that would be unusual because the existence of types of fuels is not obviously relevant to the point being made.

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SUBTYPE NOUNS THAT CAN EXPRESS OTHER COUNTABLE MEANINGS

A problem with some subtype nouns is that they can express even more meanings than the two being considered here. Stones are not always types of stone (exemplified by marble), but also small, roundish objects made out of any stone type. In this sense, they are “substance locations”. In the same way, powers are not only subtypes of power (e.g. the power to authorise a payment) but also powerful countries, places where power is located; and woods are either subtypes of wood (e.g. mahogany) or places where it is located in the form of trees.

It is also worth noting the exceptional contrast between salt and a salt. We would expect salt to mean almost the same as salts – any substance with the properties of a salt – just as fuel corresponds to fuels. In fact, however, salt means only one kind of salt, sodium chloride (the type you put on your food with pepper). If we want to include all substances similar to it, such as potassium chloride, we can only say salts.

Now here is an exercise offering further practice with nouns that can highlight subtypes by being used countably. Answers are given after it.

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PRACTICE EXERCISE: CHOOSING THE RIGHT COUNTABILITY

In the following sentences, which show countable and uncountable meanings of the same word, one space needs a(n) and one does not. Decide where a(n) should go each time (answers below).

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1. Cars need ………. fuel, but petrol is ………. expensive fuel.

2. ………. metal that does not behave like ………. metal is mercury.

3. Most people have ………. personal philosophy not based on ………. philosophy.

4. ………. society can change if ………. society within it changes.

5. Care is needed when choosing ………. colour for internal decoration, in order to avoid a clash of ………. colour overall.

6. ………. wood is suitable for furniture-making, and oak is ………. particularly beautiful and durable wood.

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ANSWERS:  A(n) should go in the first space in 2,3 and 5, and in the second in 1, 4, and 6.

22. Reading Obstacles 10: Multiple Speakers in a Text

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It is important to recognise whether a point in a text comes from the writer or somebody else

THE CONCEPT OF SPEAKERS IN A TEXT

Sometimes the writer of a text is the only “speaker” in it: nothing is presented as having come from any other person. At other times, however, there are other “speakers” in a text besides the writer: in one or more particular places, the writer indicates that s/he is not the originator of what is being said.

Recognising speakers – the people responsible for particular information or beliefs in a text – is an important reading skill. There is a wide range of English words and structures that readers must be familiar with in order to master this skill. In this post I aim to highlight some of the most important of these words and structures.

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CLUES THAT AN IDEA DOES NOT ORIGINATE WITH THE WRITER

1. Names or Descriptions of another Originator

Associating an idea with the name or description of another originator is an obvious way of dissociating it from the writer. Names might be ordinary or academic, e.g. Ghandi or Smith (2013), while descriptions might refer to individuals like an advocate, or groups like experts or policy makers.

The association between any of these and their relevant idea is likely to involve the language of reporting. There are various possibilities (see 127. When to Use Indirect Speech). Commonly, use is made of a speech or thought verb, such as MENTION, BELIEVE or ARGUE (e.g. Gandhi argued that…). Alternatively, there may be a related noun like belief (often followed by that), or an adjective like insistent, or a preposition like according to… or in the words of… (according to Gandhi, …). If the reported idea has direct speech form, an additional clue that it is not the writer’s is the use of quotation marks.

Report nouns – argument, belief, claim, idea, statement, suggestion, etc. – will usually be verb-derived and countable, expressing not the verb’s action, but rather its outcome (see 287. Speech and Thought Nouns). A speaker’s name may precede with an apostrophe ending, e.g. Gandhi’s argument that… (see 85. Optional Apostrophe Endings), or follow along with by, e.g. the argument by Gandhi that … (see 49. Prepositions after Action Nouns 2). If a speaker’s description rather than name is given, it is often either an adjective (e.g. common consent, expert opinion, the popular imagination, widespread condemnation) or a noun used like an adjective (government advice, university regulations).

Report adjectives will usually be linked to an earlier speaker’s name or description by a verb like BE or SEEM (e.g. Einstein was certain…), and will introduce the speaker’s words or thinking with a following that (e.g. …that space and time are linked) or preposition (…about a space / time link: see 300. Adjective Indicators of Indirect Speech). 

One other kind of link mostly involves academic references like Smith (2013). Instead of combining with a speech / thought word, these may be found directly after the reported information, with the brackets repositioned (see 76. Tenses of Citation Verbs):

(a) Film violence encourages antisocial behaviour (Smith, 2013).

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2. Implied Existence of another Originator

Quite often, instead of naming or describing a different originator of an idea, a writer will merely imply their existence. One way this is done is with a special adverb like reportedly, reputedly or by all accounts inserted into an ordinary statement. Another way is with a passive reporting verb without by, often after an introductory it:

(b) It is said THAT film violence encourages violent behaviour.

Some reporting verbs alternatively allow the subject of the reported statement to replace it:

(c) Film violence is said TO encourage violent behaviour.

Note how the verb of the reported statement (ENCOURAGE) is now in the to (infinitive) form, without that before it (see 299. Infinitives after a Passive Verb, #2). In writing such sentences, care is needed not to use that where to is necessary (see 231. Confusions of Similar Structures 3, # 6).

Not all verbs are used like SAY. Some, such as CRITICISE, DEFINE and EVALUATE, do not appear at all in it sentences like (b), and have as -ing in sentences like (c) instead of the to verb (see 279. Grammatical Properties of Citation Verbs, #4). Others, such as MENTION, do appear in sentences like (b), but again need as -ing in sentences like (c). For more on it sentences, see 103. Representing a Later Statement with “It”.

Report nouns too can be used without any naming of an originator. They often follow there is (there is a belief that…: see 161. Special Uses of “There” Sentences, #5), sometimes with an adjective indicating agreement or disagreement, such as convincing or naive (see 152. Agreeing and Disagreeing in Formal Contexts). For example, a convincing case implies that the writer has listened to someone else making the case before agreeing with it.

Combining a verb with may can also, in the right circumstances, imply the responsibility of other people for an idea. Consider this:

(d) Coal MAY be a cheap fuel, BUT it harms the environment.

The message here is that the cheapness of coal as a fuel has been raised in its support by someone other than the writer. It is not just the use of may that suggests this: the subsequent but helps too. In addition, this but says that the idea after it is more important for the writer. Full details about the meaning and alternative wording of this often confusing combination are in the Guinlist post 51. Making Concessions with “May”, while there is information about its use in 168. Ways of Arguing 2.

A very different way in which a writer might merely imply that an idea is not theirs is by using quotation marks without any mention of who or where the quoted words come from, like this:

(e) It is simplistic to blame every social and economic problem on the “population explosion”.

Quotations like this are not the same as the kind mentioned above that have a named originator: as well as attributing the quoted idea to somebody other than the writer, they indicate an attitude of the writer’s to it – either positive or negative depending on the context. In (e), for example, the writer could be unhappy with either the wording of the underlined idea or the idea itself. A positive attitude might arise, by contrast, because the quoted words are somehow cleverer than the writer’s ones could ever be.

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CLUES THAT AN IDEA ORIGINATES WITH THE WRITER

The main means of recognising the writer of a text as the source of a fact or opinion is simply the absence of any language making a link with anyone else. However, writers do also have some means of more clearly asserting their ownership of an idea. Sometimes they will use a reporting verb with I or we, (e.g. we have found…; I think…) but not often because those words tend to be considered inappropriate in professional writing (see 46. How to Avoid “I”, “We” and “You”). Here are two common alternatives:

(f) Common sense shows that inefficient firms lose money. (WRITER-DISCOVERED FACT)

(g) Constructing new roads can be argued to increase rather than cut traffic. (WRITER’S OWN OPINION)

Sentence (f) substitutes mention of the writer for something that they used for discovering the fact in question – common sense. This seems to be a common strategy. It is the same one that is often followed in analyses of visual information – diagrams, graphs, tables etc. – in a text. The verbs available for linking a writer-substitute with a fact also seem to be the same: verbs like DEMONSTRATE, INDICATE, PROVE and SHOW (see 104. Naming Data Sources with “As”).

Sentence (g) illustrates the use of can or may with a passive verb to clearly show that an opinion of the writer’s is being given (see 237. Auxiliary Verbs in Professional Communication, #4). Common verb types with this use include speech ones like argued in (g) (see the end of 46. How to Avoid “I”, “We” and “You); classification ones like divided into (see 162. Writing about Classifications); defining ones like defined (see 286. Repeating in Different Words), and naming ones like called (see 206. Ways of Conveying a Name). Note that is used with any of these verbs instead of can/may be makes the opinion a report of either other people’s thinking or the writer’s own in a different place.

It is also possible to mark an opinion as one’s own without using a passive verb, for example with one can argue (that…), it is not unreasonable to argue (that…), …appears (that/to…) or …seems (that/to …).

A rather different way in which writers show ownership of a fact or opinion is by means of adverbs. Fact adverbs include clearly, evidently, obviously, manifestly and patently. Any of these could replace the underlined words at the start of (f). Opinion adverbs, which could replace the underlined words in (g), include arguably, certainly, definitely, in all likelihood, perhaps, possibly, probably and seemingly (see 107. The Language of Opinions and 224. Asserting the Truth of what you Say).

One other way in which writers emphasise ownership of an opinion is by means of the above-mentioned combination of may and but. At the same time as may is attributing the first part of a sentence (and its implied opinion) to somebody else, but is linking the second part/opinion with the writer.