Countable nouns vs. Uncountable nouns

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hello everybody,
Kindly tell me which sentence is correct:

  1. Five dollars are not enough.
    Five dollars is not enough.

  2. Five dollars per month are not enough.
    Five dollars per month is not enough.

  3. Three bottles of water is little.
    Three bottles of water are little.

  4. Three bottles of water is few.
    Three bottles of water are few.

  5. Three bottles of water is a lot.
    Three bottles of water are a lot.

Thanks in advance

Regards,
Nola

2

Good questions, Nola. I would like to know too, but I would answer this way: 1-a; 2-a:3-b: 4-b and 5-b. Certainly I am not being helpful, but I expressed my opinion. Thanks.

3

Hi Nola.
My answer is 1. is; 2. is; 3. are; 4. are; 5. are.
In my opinion, nouns that related to an amount of money, time… are always followed by singular verbs. For example:

  1. Five thousand pounds (=it) was stolen in the bank robbery.
  2. Two years is enough for her to become a mature person.
    I hope it can help you.
    Best wishes.
4

Since you are talking about an amount of money ‘is’ sounds better.

Again, you are referring to an amount of money, so I would use ‘is’.

I would prefer the singular here since you are referring to an amount of water rather than a number of bottles.

I don’t like either of those.

I would prefer the singular here since you are referring to an amount of water rather than a number of bottles.[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, photographs: The electrician[YSaerTTEW443543]

5

Hello Torsten,
That was really a great help.
So… When do we deal with “3 bottles of water” as a plural form?

Thanks

6

I would say when you emphasis the fact that you are talking about the number of bottles rather than the amount of the water they hold.[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, photographs: The checkout[YSaerTTEW443543]

7

What about the following sentences:

  • Five kilos of honey is not enough.
    Five kilos of honey are not enough.

Which one of them is correct?

8

Hello everybody,
In my opinion,

  1. Five dollars are not enough.

  2. Five dollars per month are not enough.

Three bottles of water are few.

Three bottles of water are few.

Three bottles of water are a lot.

9

Thank you very much!

10

Hello everybody,
Thank you all for your effort but I got what I wanted to know.

Please look at the other question up there.

Regards,
Nola

11

I would prefer “Five kilos of honey is not enough.” Here, “honey” is the subject. BTW, an asterisk before a sentence may suggest the sentence is predeterminedly wrong.

12

So… If we talk about the number of kilos, will we use the plural form “are”?

13

“There are five kilos of honey in the back of that truck.”
“Five kilos of honey is enough for anyone.”