जिन Noun की गणना की जा सके उन्हें Countable Noun कहा जाता है, जैसे- Coins, dogs, boys, birds, apples आदि। जबकि जिन संज्ञा शब्दों की गणना न की जा सके उन्हें Uncountable Noun कहा जाता है, जैसे- Bread, milk, water, gold, rice आदि।
आइए अब English Grammar में विस्तार से जानें Countable Noun एवं Uncountable Noun के बारे में-
Countable Noun (गणनीय संज्ञा)
The nouns that can be counted are called countable nouns.
जिन संज्ञा शब्दों की गणना की जा सके उन्हें Countable Noun कहा जाता है।
जैसे- Coins, dogs, boys, birds, apples, cattle, army etc.
- गणनीय संज्ञा एकवचन और बहुवचन दोनों रूपों में होती है। (Countable Noun have a singular and a plural forms.)
- एकवचन संज्ञा शब्दों के साथ ‘a’ or ‘an’ का उपयोग हो सकता है। (The singular form can use the determiner ‘a’ or ‘an’.)
- यदि आप एक गणनीय संज्ञा की मात्रा के बारे में जानना चाहते हैं, तो आप बहुवचन गणनीय संज्ञा शब्द के स्थान पर “How many(कितने)” प्रश्नवाचक शब्द का प्रयोग करके जान सकते हैं। (If you want to ask about the quantity of a countable noun, you ask How many?, combined with the plural countable noun.)
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| one cat | two cats |
| one man | two men |
| one horse | two horses |
| one thing | two things |
| one shop | two shops |
| one car | two cars |
Example in Sentence:
- She has three cats.
- I have a house.
- I would like two books and one pen, please.
- How many cars do you have?
Uncountable Noun (अगणनीय संज्ञा)
The nouns that cannot be counted, although we can measure or weigh them, are called uncountable nouns.
जिन संज्ञा शब्दों की गणना न की जा सके उन्हें Uncountable Noun कहा जाता है।
जैसे- Bread, milk, water, gold, rice, etc.
- In general, non-count nouns are considered to refer to indivisible wholes (which are not individual objects and can not be counted). For this reason, they are sometimes called MASS nouns. (सामान्य तौर पर, गैर-गणनीय संज्ञाओं को अविभाज्य पूर्ण (जो अलग-अलग वस्तुएं नहीं हैं और जिन्हें गिना नहीं जा सकता) को संदर्भित करने के लिए माना जाता है। इस कारण से, उन्हें कभी-कभी “द्रव्य-संज्ञा” भी कहा जाता है।
- Uncountable nouns are used to describe a quality, action, thing or substance that can be poured or measured. (अगणनीय संज्ञाओं का उपयोग किसी ऐसी वस्तु या पदार्थ की गुणवत्ता, क्रिया को दर्शाने के लिए किया जाता है जिसे तोला या मापा जा सकता है।)
- Non-Count nouns also refer to a whole category made up of different varieties or a whole group of things that is made up of many individual parts. (गैर-गणना संज्ञाएं विभिन्न किस्मों से बनी एक पूरी श्रेणी या कई अलग-अलग हिस्सों से बनी चीजों के एक पूरे समूह को भी संदर्भित करती हैं।)
Uncountable nouns are always singular. Use the singular form of the verb with uncountable nouns. (अगणनीय संज्ञाएं हमेशा एकवचन होती हैं। अतः अगणनीय संज्ञाओं के साथ क्रिया के एकवचन रूप का प्रयोग करें।)
Example in Sentence:
- There is some tea in that cup.
- That is the tool we use for the work.
| Things | Qualities | Actions | Fields of Study |
|---|---|---|---|
| water | sincerity | thinking/to think | biology |
| stuff | integrity | jumping/to jump | history |
| money | honesty | swimming/to swim | psychology |
| homework | loyalty | walking/to walk | economics |
| luck | dependability | typing/to type | social work |
| advice | – | – | philosophy |
| ink | – | – | anatomy |
| proof | – | – | English |
| information | – | – | religion |
| equipment | – | – | theology |
| fun | – | – | – |
| dust | – | – | – |
We cannot use a/an with these nouns (tea, sugar, water, air, rice, knowledge, beauty, anger, fear, love, money, research, safety, evidence). (दिए गए शब्दों के साथ ‘a’ or ‘an’ का प्रयोग नहीं होता है।)
To express a quantity of an uncountable noun, use a word or expression like “some, a lot of, much, a bit of, a great deal of , or else use an exact measurement like a cup of, a bag of, 1kg of, 1L of, a handful of, a pinch of, an hour of, a day of“. (इन शब्दों का प्रयोग अगणनीय संज्ञा की मात्रा को दर्शाने के लिए किया जाता है।)
If you want to ask about the quantity of an uncountable noun, you ask How much? (यदि आप एक गणनीय संज्ञा की मात्रा के बारे में जानना चाहते हैं, तो आप “How much(कितना/कितनी)” प्रश्नवाचक शब्द का प्रयोग करके जान सकते हैं।)
- He did not have much sugar left.
- There has been a lot of research into the causes of this disease.
- He gave me a great deal of advice before my interview.
- Can you give me some information about uncountable nouns?
- Measure 1 cup of water, 300g of flour, and 1 teaspoon of salt.
- How much rice do you want?
Some nouns are countable in other languages but uncountable in English. They must follow the rules for uncountable nouns. The most common ones are: accommodation, advice, baggage, behavior, bread, furniture, information, luggage, news, progress, traffic, travel, trouble, weather, work, beauty, knowledge, paper, stone, grass, food, wood, machinery, scenery, poetry. (ये संज्ञा शब्द हमेशा ही एकवचन में रहते हैं, परंतु अगणनीय होते हैं।)
- I didn’t make much progress today.
- I would like to give you some advice.
- This looks like a lot of trouble to me.
- How much bread should I bring?
- We did an hour of work yesterday.
Be careful with the noun “hair” which is normally uncountable in English, so it is not used in the plural. It can be countable only when referring to individual hairs. (“बाल-hair” शब्द साधारणतय अंग्रेजी में अगणनीय होता है, अतः इसका प्रयोग वहुवचन में नहीं होता है, परंतु यदि किसी विशेष व्यक्ति के बालों के बारे में बताया जाए तो यह गणनीय संज्ञा हो जाता है।)
- The child’s hair was curly.
- She has long blond hair.
- My father is getting a few grey hairs now. (refers to individual hairs)
- I washed my hair yesterday.
- I found a hair in my soup! (refers to a single strand of hair)
Uncountable Noun को एकवचन या वहुवचन इन phrases को जोड़कर बनाया जा सकता है- a lot of/lots of, a piece of/pieces of, a head of/heads of, a bit of/bits of, a loaf of/loaves of आदि।
- My father has given me a piece of advice(S.N.).
- My father has given me pieces of advice(P.N.).
