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Countable and Uncountable – Lead In

A. Context Speaking

  1. How much furniture is in your house?
  2. Share your favorite piece of furniture.
  3. Tell me about your bedroom furniture.
  4. Do you have many chairs at home?
  5. What furniture do you need now?
  6. Do you own antique furniture? Explain.

A. Context Listening

  1. You are going to hear Alan and Sara talking about advertising a spare bedroom to rent. Before you listen, look at the types of furniture below. Tick the furniture you think might be in the room.
    • a bedside table
    • a mirror
    • a lamp
    • a desk
    • a coffee table
    • shelves
    • a filing cabinet
    • a sofa
    • a wardrobe*
    • a bed
    • a towel rail
    • a rug

Listen and answer the questions below.

  1. Which three pieces of furniture are in the room?
    A. a bed
    B. a bedside table
    C. a desk
    D. a lamp
    E. a mirror
    F. a wardrobe

    2. What does the desk look like?

Listen again and fill in the gaps in the advertisement. Write no more than one word or a number for each answer.

Accommodation for rent Small, furnished 1 _________ available. Sunny with a nice view of the 2 _________. Good location close to two types of 3 _________. Rent 4 _________ per 5 _________. Rent includes 6 _________ and all other bills.

Look at the two groups of nouns in the table below. How are they different? Add the nouns from Exercises 2 and 3 into the table in the correct group.

Group 1 Group 2
advertisement
newspaper
windows
money
news
accommodation
Show Answer Key and Audio Transcript

Answer Key

2 1 A, C, G 2 B
3 1 room 2 garden 3 transport 4 60 5 week 6 electricity
4 Group 1 nouns are countable; group 2 nouns are uncountable. Other countable nouns: bed, bedside table, bills, desk, garden, lamp, location, mirror, wardrobe, rent, room, types, view, week. Other uncountable nouns: furniture, transport, electricity

Transcript

Sara: Alan! Will you help me write this advertisement for the spare room?

Alan: Yes, we’ve got so much space. It would be great to get some money to help with the rent.

Sara: Now, we need to make it sound inviting.

Alan: Well, the room might be on the small side, but the windows are very big, so the natural light is really nice. Few rooms have such good natural light.

Sara: Yeah, it’s a great room for working in during the day, and it’s also got a great view of the garden.

Alan: Exactly. What shall we say about the furniture?

Sara: Well, it’s not luxurious, but it is very comfortable. The room has everything you need. Oh, except they will need to bring their own lamp; both of the lights in the ceiling are really old and not very bright.

Alan: That’s true. But it has got a nice bed.

Sara: Yes, and it’s got a great wardrobe, which has even got a few shelves for clothes as well. They will need to bring their own mirror if they want one, though.

Alan: Yes – there isn’t one in the room at the moment. Now, there’s no room for a bedside table, but there is a good study desk in there.

Sara: Yes, I wouldn’t mind a desk like that myself, actually. It’s better than mine. It’s got three drawers – mine hasn’t got any at all.

Alan: Why don’t you put it in your study then?

Sara: It’s too big. There isn’t much room in there.

Alan: I suppose not, because the desk has got shelves on top as well. They’re really handy for putting books on. Now, what else?

Sara: What about the location? We could say it’s close to transport. We’re really lucky because we’ve got the bus and the train nearby.

Alan: That’s true. And what shall we say about the rent? Shall we ask for £50 a week or is that too little?

Sara: Well, let’s say it includes electricity and any other household bills and make it £60. Our expenses are bound to go up with an extra person in the house.

Alan: Yes, you’re right, I hadn’t thought of that! Now, pass me the newspaper.

Sara: I thought you’d already read the news today?

Alan: Yes, I have, but there are lots of advertisements for accommodation, and I want to look at them before we finish ours.

 

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