Count and Noncount Nouns
Exercise 1

Are the following nouns count or mass? Put an M next to the mass nouns and a C next to the count nouns. If the noun can be either mass or count depending on the context, put a D next to it.
world C banana C
textbook C conduct M
acid D progress M
smoking M biology M
poetry M essay C
applause M crystal D
thought D shopping M
Exercise 2

Put an X next to the words in the following list that can be used as either count or mass nouns, depending on the context.
defense X rain X
beauty X rug ___
garbage ___ nature ___
experience X bag ___
baggage ___ emotion X

Exercise 3

Fill in the blank with the form of

the noun in parentheses that is appropriate to the grammatical context of the sentence and the meaning of the passage as a whole.

Diabetes: Beyond the Basics

Because diabetes can cause devastating damage (damage, damages) to virtually all body systems (system, systems), people with diabetes should not underrate the seriousness of their disease. Learning to live with a chronic illness (illness, illnesses) such as diabetes must be an ongoing process.

The Hospital's Center for Family Life Education is sponsoring a five-part educational series on diabetes. The series will begin on April 30 and continue through May 29. The program (program, programs) will be held in the second floor classroom of the Education Center from 7-9 p.m.

The diabetes series is free and open to the public and will be of specific interest (interest, interests) to people who have diabetes and their families and friends.

Exercise 4

On the basis of the rules for using articles discussed in the OWL file "Count and Noncount Nouns" (#69), which combinations of words below are permitted and which ones aren't? Put an X next to the incorrect combinations.
____ a table X these person
____ the poetry ____ a difficulty
____ this furniture ____ that assignment
X a research X this eggs
____ a boy X those argument

Exercise 5

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate article if one is needed.

The Computer Jungle

Though you can make the decision on purely economic grounds, buying a computer is often more like joining a religious cult. Buy an Apple, for example, and almost by default you join Apple chairman Steve Jobs in his crusade against IBM. Every machine has its "users' groups" and a band of loyal enthusiasts who tout its merits. That makes it all the more difficult for the uninitiated to decide what machine to buy. Students have a huge advantage, however. The computer companies are so eager for students' business (it builds "brand loyalty") that many offer huge discounts.

In the past six months, IBM, Apple, and others have brought out new computers, and the fierce competition has forced prices down. Also, time is on your side: next year at this time you'll have even more choice and more computing power and features for the same price. On the other hand, this will probably be true for many years. So for those who need or want a computer now, it's a great time to buy one.