UNIT Count and Noncount Nouns 16 Eating Habits 1 Grammar in the Real World ACADEMIC A Do you think your diet is healthy? Read the article from a health WRITING magazine. What kinds of food are part of a healthy diet? Descriptive B Comprehension Check Answer the questions. Use the paragraphs article to help you. 1 How do colorful fruit and vegetables help your health? 2 Why is a little dark chocolate good for you? 3 What type of oil is good for you? 4 How much water is good to drink each day? C Notice Find the sentences in the article, and complete them with a or an or Ø for no article. 1 When you turn on television or read newspaper, you often fi nd information about healthy eating. 2 food and health get a lot of attention in the news these days. 3 Maybe you think fat is bad for you, but people need a little fat in their diet. 4 It is challenge to change your diet, but even small changes can help you stay healthy and happy. Look at the noun after each space. Which of the nouns are things you can count? Which are things you cannot count? 194 Count and Noncount Nouns Food for Health When you turn on a television or read a newspaper, you often fi nd information about healthy eating. Food and health get a lot of attention in the news these days. Researchers seem to fi nd new things about how our diet affects us every day. Everyone knows it is important to eat fruit and vegetables. Did you know that 5 eating fruit and vegetables with different colors is especially good for your health? Green, red, blue, and orange fruit and vegetables all have different vitamins1 to help hydrate you, and they help prevent different diseases. Did you know that dark chocolate is good for you, too? Research shows that a little chocolate helps your heart and your mood.2 10 How about fat?3 Maybe you think fat is bad for you, but people need a little fat in their diet. One type of healthy fat is omega-3 oil.4 It comes from fish and helps your heart, skin, and brain stay healthy. For vegetarians or non-fi sh eaters, many seeds5 and nuts also contain omega-3 oil. Omega-3 oil comes in pills, too. Finally, water is an important part of a healthy diet. Try to drink at least six glasses 15 of water a day, and you don’t need to buy it. In most places, tap water from the kitchen faucet is just fi ne and tastes great! It is a challenge to change your diet, but even small changes can help you stay healthy and happy. 1vitamin: a natural substance in food that is important for good health 2mood: the way someone feels at a particular time 3fat: a substance in plants and animals, often used for cooking 4omega-3 oil: a kind of healthy fat 5seed: a small hard part of a plant from which new plants can grow Eating Habits 195 2 Count and Noncount Nouns Grammar Presentation Nouns are words for people, places, Count nouns name things you can count. and things. peas, vegetables, eggs, cookies There are two types of nouns: count Noncount nouns name things you cannot count. nouns and noncount nouns. spinach, water, cheese, sugar 2.1 Count Nouns A / An Singular Count Noun Singular Verb A vegetarian has a meatless diet. An apple is a healthy snack. Plural Count Noun Plural Verb Vegetables have different vitamins. Nuts contain healthy substances. 2.2 Noncount Nouns Noncount Noun Singular Verb Health gets a lot of attention in the news. Water is an important part of a healthy diet. Noncount Nouns and Containers: See page A17. 2.3 Using Count Nouns A Count nouns are things that you one egg, six eggs can count. You can use numbers one banana, two bananas with count nouns. B You can use a/an with singular Did you have a banana or a cookie? count nouns. Remember: Use an with words that I eat an apple and an orange every day. start with a vowel sound. 196 Unit 16 Count and Noncount Nouns Count and Noncount Nouns 2.3 Using Count Nouns (continued) C Count nouns can be plural. They Vegetables are good for you. can end in -s. Vitamins keep you healthy. Remember: Some plural nouns are People need good food. irregular. Some children don’t like vegetables. D A singular count noun takes a A banana is good on cereal. singular verb. My diet isn’t very healthy. E A plural count noun takes a Nuts contain oil. plural verb. Vegetarians don’t eat meat. 2.4 Using Noncount Nouns A Noncount nouns are things you milk, rice, sugar, cheese, spinach, tea, coffee cannot count. Don’t use numbers NOT one milk, one rice with count nouns. You can use numbers with drinks in Can we have three coffees, please? a restaurant when you mean a cup of the drink. B Don’t use a/an with noncount Eat spinach. Drink water. Cook shrimp. nouns. NOT a spinach, a water, a shrimp C Noncount nouns don’t have a Spinach is good for you. plural form. Don’t add -s. NOT Spinaches are good for you. D A noncount noun takes a singular Fish is good for you. verb. Fish oil improves your memory. Grammar Application Exercise 2.1 Count and Noncount Nouns DataDATA from FROM the RealTHE WorldREAL WORLD Research shows that noncount nouns are often the names of food and drink. The charts below show some of the most common food words in English. Eating Habits 197 A Which words are count nouns? Which are noncount nouns? Check (✓) the correct column. COUNT NONCOUNT COUNT NONCOUNT apples ✓ milk beans potatoes beef rice bread sandwiches butter salt cheese seafood cookies shrimp fish sugar garlic tomatoes ice cream vegetables meat water B Over to You Complete the lists with words from the chart. Write count after count nouns and noncount after noncount nouns. I never eat / drink . I often eat / drink . apples – count 198 Unit 16 Count and Noncount Nouns Count and Noncount Nouns Exercise 2.2 A and An A Complete the survey questions. Write a or an before the count nouns. Write Ø before noncount nouns. 1 Do you usually have a sandwich for lunch? 2 Do you often have snack at bedtime? 3 Do you put salt on your food? 4 Do you eat garlic before a class? 5 How do you drink your tea or coffee? With milk and sugar? 6 Do you usually have cookie with your tea or coffee? 7 Do you like butter on your potatoes? 8 How often do you eat pasta? 9 Which do you prefer: apple or banana? 10 Do you prefer cereal or bread for breakfast? B Pair Work Ask a partner the survey questions in A. A Do you usually have a sandwich for lunch? B No, I usually have an omelet or a Caesar salad. Eating Habits 199 Exercise 2.3 Count and Noncount Nouns Read about the eating habits of these people. Change the singular count nouns in bold to plural nouns. Write Ø next to the noncount nouns. I’m a vegetarian. 1 I don’t eat meat Ø . 2 I eat eggs , but not every day. 3 I also eat nut , and I love fresh vegetable . 4 I also like apple and cheese a lot. I don’t like dairy food. Sean 5 I don’t eat cheese or butter . 6 I don’t drink milk . 7 I love seafood , but I’m allergic to shrimp . 8 My favorite food is bean . 9 I eat a lot of pasta . Isabel I love fast food. 10 I love potato chip and cookie . 11 I don’t eat vegetable very often. 12 I love desserts with ice cream . 13 I’m allergic to chocolate ! Lin 200 Unit 16 Count and Noncount Nouns Count and Noncount Nouns Exercise 2.4 Singular and Plural Verbs with Nouns A Complete the sentences from a magazine article about food. Use the correct form of the verbs in parentheses. FOOD FACTS Food satisfies hunger, but it does other things, too. Food can have good and bad effects on your body and sometimes your mind. Did you know these facts about these common foods? • Carrots are (be) good for your eyes. (1) • Pasta (make) some people sleepy. (2) • Bananas (give) you energy. (3) • Garlic (be) good for your heart. (4) • Ice (give) some people a headache. (5) • Ice cream (make) some people thirsty. (6) • Spinach (contain) vitamin C. (7) • Fish (be) good for your brain. (8) • Some people say green tea (keep) you thin. (9) • Some people say cheese (give) them nightmares. (10) • Some people say milk (help) them sleep. (11) Eating Habits 201 B Over to You Write four sentences about how different kinds of foods affect you. Ice cream makes me thirsty. Soda gives me a headache. 1 2 3 4 3 Units of Measure; How Many . ? and How Much . ? Grammar Presentation Units of measure help us to tell how I bought a cup of coffee in the cafeteria. much or how many of a noun. We had a bowl of soup with lunch. Questions with How much . ? and How many vegetables did you use? How many . ? ask about quantities. How much rice do you eat each week? 3.1 Units of Measure Noncount or Plural Unit of Measure Count Noun a cup of coffee a bag of rice a piece of cheese a bottle of water a bowl of soup two bags of potato chips a carton of eggs a bunch of bananas a pound of apples three boxes of cookies a loaf of bread : Noncount Nouns and Containers: See page A17.