GUIDE ENGLISH GRAMMAR BOOK

17 NOUNS AND NOUN PHRASES PAGE 180
NOTE
a For some with a singular noun, e.g. some boat, • 179(5).
b We use number of with a plural noun and amount of with an uncountable noun.
a large number of boats a large amount of water
3 The of-pattern expressing quantity
a
b
Look at these phrases.
a glass of water two pounds of flour a piece of wood
NOT a glass water
The pattern is countable noun + of+ uncountable noun.
Here are some more examples of this pattern.
Containers: a cup of coffee, a glass of milk, a bottle of wine,
a box of rubbish, a packet of sugar, a tin of pears,
ajar of jam, a tube of toothpaste, a sack of flour
Measurements: three metres of curtain material, a kilo of flour,
twenty litres of petrol, a pint of lager,
two spoonfuls of sugar
'Piece':
a piece of cheese/chocolate/plastic/cotton
a slice/piece of bread/cake/meat
a sheet/piece of paper, a bar of soap/chocolate
a stick/piece of chalk, a loaf of bread
a drop of water/ink/oil etc, a grain of sand/rice
a lump of coal/sugar etc
NOTE
a In informal English we can use bit(s) of, meaning 'small piece(s) of, e.g. some bits of cheese.
A bit of can also mean 'a small amount of. • 177(2)
b We can say a chocolate bar (= a bar of chocolate) and a sugar lump, but these are
exceptions. For a wine glass, • 147(6).
a piece/slice
of bread
a loaf
(of bread)
a piece
of chocolate
a bar
of chocolate
c
We can also use container/measurement + of+ plural noun.
a box of matches a pound of tomatoes
This can be more convenient than saying six tomatoes.
Some expressions go only with plural nouns, not uncountable nouns.
a crowd of people a series of programmes a bunch of flowers
d
We can use piece(s) of, bit(s) of and item(s) of with some uncountable nouns. • (4a)
We can also use these expressions.
a period/moment of calm a degree of doubt a sum/an amount of money