Fundamentals Of English Grammar

(L~I I nau sume rea.

@) I had two cups of tea.

(c) I ate some toast.

(d) I ate one piece of toast.

lo menuon a speclnc quanury or a noncount noun, speaKers use

units of measure such as m cups of or me piece ojf A unit of

measure usually describes the container (a cup of, a bowl of), the

amount (a pound of, a quart of),* or the shape (a bar of soap, a

sheer of paper).

I

11 -7 USING UNITS 01: IM~<ASUIIII WITH NONCOUN?' NOUNS

1 L

'Wdght measure: ow pound = 0.45 kilograms/hilos.

liquid measure: one quam = 0.95 litreafliters; four quaw = one gallon = 3.8 liues~liters.

EXERCISE 16. Units of measure with noncount nouns. (Chart 11-7)

Directions: What units of measure are usually used with the following nouns? More than

one unit of measure can be used with some of the nouns.

PART I. YOU are going to the store. What are you going to buy? Choose from these units

of measure.

1 bag both bm can * (tin) jar 1

1. a cadav of olives


2. a box of crackers


3. a of mineral water


4. a of jam or jelly


5. a of tuna fish


6. a of soup


7. a of sugar


8. a of wine


9. a of corn


10. a of peas


11. a of flour


12. a of soda pop


13. a of paint


14. a of breakfast cereal

*a can in Amaican English = a tin in British English.

324 CHAPTER 11