isn't and aren't

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

Hello there!

please help me understand how to use [color=red]isn’t and [color=red]aren’t.

  1. Let’s make pizza for lunch! Sorry, we can’t. There isn’t any cheese. (I used isn’t because it is not mention how many pizza is going to make. Is my reasoning OK?)

  2. Let’s make some fresh lemonade! Sorry, we can’t. There aren’t any lemons. ( aren’t because it says here lemons)

  3. Let’s make a salad for dinner! Sorry, we can’t. There isn’t any lettuce.(isn’t because a lettuce)

  4. Let’s make an omelet for breakfast. Sorry, we can’t. There aren’t any eggs.(aren’t because eggs are in plural form)

  5. Let’s bake a cake. Sorry, we can’t. There aren’t any flour. (this is I don’t know)

  6. Let’s make fresh orange juice for breakfast. Sorry, we can’t There arent any oranges.

  7. Let’s have french fries with our hamburgers! Sorry, we can’t. There aren’t potatoes.

  8. Let’s have meatball with our spaghetti. Sorry, we don’t. There aren’t any meat.

2

Hi Alv

My comments are in blue:

[color=blue]You should use is with singular nouns and are with plural nouns.
Here is a general guideline:
there isn’t any + uncountable noun
there aren’t any + countable plural nouns

You can make a countable noun plural by adding the letter ‘s’ to the end. Uncountable nouns remain in the singular form no matter how much there is.

  1. Let’s make pizza for lunch! Sorry, we can’t. There isn’t any cheese. (I used isn’t because it is not mention how many pizza is going to make. Is my reasoning OK?)
    [color=blue]No, the reason is that ‘cheese’ is an uncountable noun here.

  2. Let’s make some fresh lemonade! Sorry, we can’t. There aren’t any lemons. ( aren’t because it says here lemons) [color=blue]OK

  3. Let’s make a salad for dinner! Sorry, we can’t. There isn’t any lettuce.(isn’t because a lettuce) [color=blue]You cannot use the article ‘a’ with an uncountable noun. The word ‘lettuce’ is an uncountable noun here.

  4. Let’s make an omelet for breakfast. Sorry, we can’t. There aren’t any eggs.(aren’t because eggs are in plural form) [color=blue]OK

  5. Let’s bake a cake. Sorry, we can’t. There [color=blue]isn’t any flour. (this is I don’t know) [color=blue]The word ‘flour’ is an uncountable and should be used in the singular form along with the word isn’t.

  6. Let’s make fresh orange juice for breakfast. Sorry, we can’t There aren[color=blue]'t any oranges. [color=blue]OK

  7. Let’s have french fries with our hamburgers! Sorry, we can’t. There aren’t [color=blue]any potatoes. [color=blue]OK

  8. Let’s have meatball[color=blue]s with our spaghetti. Sorry, we [color=blue]can’t. There [color=blue]isn’t any meat. [color=blue]‘There isn’t any meat’ is OK. I made corrections in other parts of the sentence.
    .

3

thanks a lot Yankee sensei(means teacher Yankee). These points were surely taught to me by my english teacher but because I am not smart enough to retain all of those important things to remember. now i’ve got the general rule on how to use isn’t and aren’t. thanks to this forum and to all valued and selfless communicators. but most of all to the moderators of the group.

4

“Yankee Sensei” would literally mean somewhere around “American Rabbi” in its closest meaning, IMO (semi-joke :smiley: ). According to some dictionary, “sensei” is,

big brother, doc, doctor, dominie, ma’am, master, mulla, mwalimu, pandit, pedagogue, prof, professor, rabbi, schoolie, schoolman, schoolteacher, ustad.

Unfortunately, there is no “teacher” involved. But I’m sure it could mean that. In both Japanese and Chinese, its literal meaning is ‘born earlier’. My two cents.

5

Thanks for the information, Haihao.

Thank you for the ‘sensei’, Alv. That was very nice of you to say. :smiley:
.

6

.
‘Sensei’ is the usual word for teacher in Japan, and is so translated in Japanese-English dictionaries. ‘Born earlier’ is ‘senpai’, a common word for one’s elder or superior.

.

7

I agree and disagree with you, Mister Micawber, for I meant to say in the etymologic meaning that ‘sensei’ was ‘born earlier’ because the word was made up of two Kanji ‘sen’ and ‘sei’, the former of which means ‘earlier’ (saki) and the latter ‘born’ (umareru). Of course we have a custom in Japan to call teachers ‘sensei’ such as ‘Yamada Sensei’, ‘Suzuki Sensei’ etc. in stead of Mr/Ms Yamada or Sir/Ma’am or simply their first names like the Westerners do.

BTW, ‘senpai’ actually doesn’t mean ‘born earlier’ and its literal meaning is ‘foregoer’. For example, a ‘senpai’ (to me) in a company refers to whoever came before me as an employee (was employed earlier than me in this company) so he/she might be ‘born earlier’ than me but not necessarily. At school, the possiblity would go higher that a ‘senpai’ is born earlier but still not necessarily.

Interesting thing is, supposing the young employer came for the first day to the company as his/her predecessor’s successor (I’m sorry :slight_smile: ), theoretically all the employees there were as well his/her senpai(s) including those younger than him/her.

It’s like “first come first served to be senpai”. :smiley:

Just my two cents.