Concepts as Units of Meaning

Communication is not a simple process. Once you've established internally what it is that you want to communicate, given the context and the particular situation, you need to answer two questions:

• How do you choose the right words and their correct format that will put your point across to the listener or reader of your message? It will be through using the correct grammatical forms and structures you already master;
• Which words should you use, from the multitude you find in the dictionaries?

This is where we attempt to categorise the concepts used in everyday life into the categories below.

Concepts referring to objects and the material world in general:

In traditional grammar the way we refer to objects (for this demonstration 'objects' will cover things, animals and people equally) is by the use of nouns and noun phrases. These, in turn, are concrete nouns and we shall see later the other type of nouns - the abstract nouns.

We split the concrete nouns into two further categories ~ count and mass:

Firstly, you need to understand and make the distinction between the different meanings of nouns that can be both count and mass. Take 'wood' for example: it can be

• count, when used to mean 'forest' (as in 'a collection of trees') and then you can say: "My boyfriend and I had a long walk in the woods yesterday."
• mass, when used to mean the material of which trees or other objects are made of: "Tommy's new toy train is made of wood."

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Give examples of count nouns in your own sentences.

Give examples of mass nouns in your own sentences.

Is LEMONADE a mass noun?

Yes No I don't know

Use LEMONADE in a sentence, in the singular.

Use LEMONADE in a sentence, in the plural.

Is STATUE a mass noun?

Yes No I don't know

Use STATUE in a sentence, in the singular.

Use STATUE in a sentence, in the plural.

Is HAIR a count noun?

Yes No I don't know

Use HAIR in a sentence, in the singular.

Use HAIR in a sentence, in the plural.

Is MONEY a count noun?

Yes No I don't know

Use MONEY in a sentence, in the singular.

Use MONEY in a sentence, in the plural.

Is WARDROBE a mass noun?

Yes No I don't know

Use WARDROBE in a sentence, in the singular.

Use WARDROBE in a sentence, in the plural.

The plural of mass nouns is sometimes formed by using new words and noun phrases.