Manhattan SC book.

Hey Manish,

Good question - and if you don't mind a quick digression I've always thought that "countable" vs. "uncountable" is unnecessarily complicated. It really breaks down to singular vs. plural:

Water is one thing - you'd say "the water is cold". By the countable/uncountable distinction it's "uncountable", but to me it's much easier to just call it singular.

Drops of water are plural - you'd say "the drops of water are getting in my eyes". By the other distinction, drops are "countable", but that really just means that it's plural.

I like thinking of singular-vs.-plural because then it falls right in line with the other singular/plural errors that the GMAT tests - subject/verb agreement and pronouns.


Rant aside, here are some distinctions you should know:

Much/Many

Singular: Much (There is so much pollution in the air that we recommend you stay indoors)
Plural: Many (There are so many toxins in the water that you need to boil it before drinking)

Less/Fewer

Singular: Less (There is less water in the Atlantic than in the Pacific)
Plural: Fewer (This pool holds fewer gallons of water than that one does)

Amount/Number

Singular: Amount (The amount of water in the lake is decreasing)
Plural: Number (The number of clouds in the sky is increasing)

Little/Few

Singular: Little (There is little oxygen in the air at high altitude)
Plural: Few (You'll have few opportunities to breathe deeply at high altitude)

Countable:
Many, Not many, few, fewer, fewest, number, fewer than, numerous, more numerous

uncountable:
much, not much, little, less, least, amount, less than, great, greater

some of them...

Excellent source if someone is still looking around: https://e-gmat.com/blogs/?p=329

Hi guys, I am wondering whether it is correct to say "a few number of students" or "a little number of students".

Some thought?

Thanks

Hi Brian if greater is used in the comparative form for uncountable nouns then whats its counterpart for countable nouns .
Less for uncountable and fewer for countable then what if greater is for uncountable .Thanks a Lot

Brian@VeritasPrep wrote:Hey Manish,

Good question - and if you don't mind a quick digression I've always thought that "countable" vs. "uncountable" is unnecessarily complicated. It really breaks down to singular vs. plural:

Water is one thing - you'd say "the water is cold". By the countable/uncountable distinction it's "uncountable", but to me it's much easier to just call it singular.

Drops of water are plural - you'd say "the drops of water are getting in my eyes". By the other distinction, drops are "countable", but that really just means that it's plural.

I like thinking of singular-vs.-plural because then it falls right in line with the other singular/plural errors that the GMAT tests - subject/verb agreement and pronouns.


Rant aside, here are some distinctions you should know:

Much/Many

Singular: Much (There is so much pollution in the air that we recommend you stay indoors)
Plural: Many (There are so many toxins in the water that you need to boil it before drinking)

Less/Fewer

Singular: Less (There is less water in the Atlantic than in the Pacific)
Plural: Fewer (This pool holds fewer gallons of water than that one does)

Amount/Number

Singular: Amount (The amount of water in the lake is decreasing)
Plural: Number (The number of clouds in the sky is increasing)

Little/Few

Singular: Little (There is little oxygen in the air at high altitude)
Plural: Few (You'll have few opportunities to breathe deeply at high altitude)

Brian@VeritasPrep wrote:Hey Manish,

Good question - and if you don't mind a quick digression I've always thought that "countable" vs. "uncountable" is unnecessarily complicated. It really breaks down to singular vs. plural:

Water is one thing - you'd say "the water is cold". By the countable/uncountable distinction it's "uncountable", but to me it's much easier to just call it singular.

Drops of water are plural - you'd say "the drops of water are getting in my eyes". By the other distinction, drops are "countable", but that really just means that it's plural.

I like thinking of singular-vs.-plural because then it falls right in line with the other singular/plural errors that the GMAT tests - subject/verb agreement and pronouns.


Rant aside, here are some distinctions you should know:

Much/Many

Singular: Much (There is so much pollution in the air that we recommend you stay indoors)
Plural: Many (There are so many toxins in the water that you need to boil it before drinking)

Less/Fewer

Singular: Less (There is less water in the Atlantic than in the Pacific)
Plural: Fewer (This pool holds fewer gallons of water than that one does)

Amount/Number

Singular: Amount (The amount of water in the lake is decreasing)
Plural: Number (The number of clouds in the sky is increasing)

Little/Few

Singular: Little (There is little oxygen in the air at high altitude)
Plural: Few (You'll have few opportunities to breathe deeply at high altitude)

Hi Brian

Can you please clarify on the usage of "number". I thought The number of is always singular. Number being a singular noun, Example,
The number of students has increased. When preceded by the Indefinite article, however, it takes the plural verb, example,
A number of students have increased

Also in your example you have used the singular verb 'is' and not 'are'

The sentence doesnt make sense
A number of students have increased in what ?

Hi Brian would it be correct to say
A number of students have increased in talent / something .
Is it unidiomatic

sl750 wrote:

Brian@VeritasPrep wrote:Hey Manish,

Good question - and if you don't mind a quick digression I've always thought that "countable" vs. "uncountable" is unnecessarily complicated. It really breaks down to singular vs. plural:

Water is one thing - you'd say "the water is cold". By the countable/uncountable distinction it's "uncountable", but to me it's much easier to just call it singular.

Drops of water are plural - you'd say "the drops of water are getting in my eyes". By the other distinction, drops are "countable", but that really just means that it's plural.

I like thinking of singular-vs.-plural because then it falls right in line with the other singular/plural errors that the GMAT tests - subject/verb agreement and pronouns.


Rant aside, here are some distinctions you should know:

Much/Many

Singular: Much (There is so much pollution in the air that we recommend you stay indoors)
Plural: Many (There are so many toxins in the water that you need to boil it before drinking)

Less/Fewer

Singular: Less (There is less water in the Atlantic than in the Pacific)
Plural: Fewer (This pool holds fewer gallons of water than that one does)

Amount/Number

Singular: Amount (The amount of water in the lake is decreasing)
Plural: Number (The number of clouds in the sky is increasing)

Little/Few

Singular: Little (There is little oxygen in the air at high altitude)
Plural: Few (You'll have few opportunities to breathe deeply at high altitude)

Hi Brian

Can you please clarify on the usage of "number". I thought The number of is always singular. Number being a singular noun, Example,
The number of students has increased. When preceded by the Indefinite article, however, it takes the plural verb, example,
A number of students have increased

Also in your example you have used the singular verb 'is' and not 'are'

mundasingh123 wrote:The sentence doesnt make sense
A number of students have increased in what ?

Hi Brian would it be correct to say
A number of students have increased in talent / something .
Is it unidiomatic

sl750 wrote:

Brian@VeritasPrep wrote:Hey Manish,

Good question - and if you don't mind a quick digression I've always thought that "countable" vs. "uncountable" is unnecessarily complicated. It really breaks down to singular vs. plural:

Water is one thing - you'd say "the water is cold". By the countable/uncountable distinction it's "uncountable", but to me it's much easier to just call it singular.

Drops of water are plural - you'd say "the drops of water are getting in my eyes". By the other distinction, drops are "countable", but that really just means that it's plural.

I like thinking of singular-vs.-plural because then it falls right in line with the other singular/plural errors that the GMAT tests - subject/verb agreement and pronouns.


Rant aside, here are some distinctions you should know:

Much/Many

Singular: Much (There is so much pollution in the air that we recommend you stay indoors)
Plural: Many (There are so many toxins in the water that you need to boil it before drinking)

Less/Fewer

Singular: Less (There is less water in the Atlantic than in the Pacific)
Plural: Fewer (This pool holds fewer gallons of water than that one does)

Amount/Number

Singular: Amount (The amount of water in the lake is decreasing)
Plural: Number (The number of clouds in the sky is increasing)

Little/Few

Singular: Little (There is little oxygen in the air at high altitude)
Plural: Few (You'll have few opportunities to breathe deeply at high altitude)

Hi Brian

Can you please clarify on the usage of "number". I thought The number of is always singular. Number being a singular noun, Example,
The number of students has increased. When preceded by the Indefinite article, however, it takes the plural verb, example,
A number of students have increased

Also in your example you have used the singular verb 'is' and not 'are'

Why do you say that it doesn't make sense ?. Does it not have a subject and a verb?
What you are doing is only qualifying the sentence by adding more information to the sentence. Moreover, my intention was to understand whether Brian's example of Number being plural was correct or not

Not everything that is grammatically correct needs to make sense . It doesnt convey a valid meaning in the real world

sl750 wrote:

mundasingh123 wrote:The sentence doesnt make sense
The number of students ahs increased- makes sense
A number of students has increased doesnt make sense
A number of students have increased in what ?

Hi Brian would it be correct to say
A number of students have increased in talent / something .
Is it unidiomatic

sl750 wrote:

Brian@VeritasPrep wrote:Hey Manish,

Good question - and if you don't mind a quick digression I've always thought that "countable" vs. "uncountable" is unnecessarily complicated. It really breaks down to singular vs. plural:

Water is one thing - you'd say "the water is cold". By the countable/uncountable distinction it's "uncountable", but to me it's much easier to just call it singular.

Drops of water are plural - you'd say "the drops of water are getting in my eyes". By the other distinction, drops are "countable", but that really just means that it's plural.

I like thinking of singular-vs.-plural because then it falls right in line with the other singular/plural errors that the GMAT tests - subject/verb agreement and pronouns.


Rant aside, here are some distinctions you should know:

Much/Many

Singular: Much (There is so much pollution in the air that we recommend you stay indoors)
Plural: Many (There are so many toxins in the water that you need to boil it before drinking)

Less/Fewer

Singular: Less (There is less water in the Atlantic than in the Pacific)
Plural: Fewer (This pool holds fewer gallons of water than that one does)

Amount/Number

Singular: Amount (The amount of water in the lake is decreasing)
Plural: Number (The number of clouds in the sky is increasing)

Little/Few

Singular: Little (There is little oxygen in the air at high altitude)
Plural: Few (You'll have few opportunities to breathe deeply at high altitude)

Hi Brian

Can you please clarify on the usage of "number". I thought The number of is always singular. Number being a singular noun, Example,
The number of students has increased. When preceded by the Indefinite article, however, it takes the plural verb, example,
A number of students have increased

Also in your example you have used the singular verb 'is' and not 'are'

Why do you say that it doesn't make sense ?. Does it not have a subject and a verb?
What you are doing is only qualifying the sentence by adding more information to the sentence. Moreover, my intention was to understand whether Brian's example of Number being plural was correct or not

Hey guys,

I think I can answer all of these! The original question from sl750 I think stemmed from this:

Amount/Number

Singular: Amount (The amount of water in the lake is decreasing)
Plural: Number (The number of clouds in the sky is increasing)

And was to the extent of - wait...isn't "the number" supposed to be singular? And why is the verb "is" there if it's the "Plural" example?

My explanation: I'm using "clouds" as an example of a plural/countable noun. And so you wouldn't use the "singular" term "amount" for that, you're use the plural descriptor "number". So, as a modifier of a noun, "number" goes to plural nouns, and "amount" goes to singular ones.

On its own, however, "number" is a singular noun. So "number" requires the verb "is". So in that sentence:

The number of clouds is increasing.

"The number" describes clouds. But the clouds themselves aren't increasing, so "the number" is the subject and requires the verb "is".


Does that explain it? Sorry to muddle the issue with multiple nouns! (although that's exactly what the GMAT does)

And, yes, "a number of..." is like saying "some" (it's "a" number...we don't know which number but it's one of them: 5, 8, 24...), so you'd say "a number of (some) students are increasing their consumption of ice cream now that the dorm has installed a self-serve machine."



I hope that clears it all up... Great discussion!

Hi Brian Could you also answer my questions which got lost in the flood of posts on this thread

Hi Brian if greater is used in the comparative form for uncountable nouns then whats its counterpart for countable nouns .
Less for uncountable and fewer for countable then what if greater is for uncountable .Thanks a Lot

Hi Brian would it be correct to say
A number of students have increased in talent / something .
Is it unidiomatic