USING LIKE, Countable And Uncountable Nouns

The word like can be confusing for students since it has many different meanings in English. Here are five of its common uses:

Five ways to use 'like'

Like = enjoy

I like coffee

To be + like = describe personality/characteristics

What is he like?

Like = the same as

This Coke tastes like Pepsi

Would like = want

I'd like a hamburger please

Look like = appearance

What does he look like?

Countable Nouns

Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable nouns:

• dog, cat, animal, man, person

• bottle, box, litre

• coin, note, dollar

• cup, plate, fork

• table, chair, suitcase, bag

Countable nouns can be singular or plural:

• My dog is playing.

• My dogs are hungry.

We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:

• A dog is an animal.

When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:

• I want an orange. (not I want orange.)

• Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)

When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:

• I like oranges.

• Bottles can break.

We can use some and any with countable nouns:

• I've got some dollars.

• Have you got any pens?

We can use a few and many with countable nouns:

• I've got a few dollars.

• I haven't got many pens.

"People" is countable. "People" is the plural of "person". We can count people:

• There is one person here.

There are three people here.

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