영어 가산/불가산 명사 치트시트
Countable & Uncountable Nouns — 수량 표현·겸용 명사·헷갈리는 케이스 한눈에
가산 vs 불가산 기본
| 가산 (Countable) | 불가산 (Uncountable) |
|---|
| 셀 수 있나? | ✅ | ❌ |
| 단수/복수 | a chair / chairs | — |
| 예 | book, apple, idea, mistake | water, music, advice, furniture |
불가산 = 경계 없는 덩어리. 물(water)은 어디서 잘라도 "하나"가 안 됨.
한국어 화자 함정 — 셀 것 같지만 불가산: information / advice / furniture / homework / news / research
수량 한정사 — 가산 vs 불가산
| 가산 복수 | 불가산 |
|---|
| 많다 | many | much |
| 적다 (부정적) | few | little |
| 조금 있다 (긍정적) | a few | a little |
| 비격식 긍정 | a lot of | a lot of |
| 있다·없다 | some / any | some / any |
I have few money. → I have little money. (money = 불가산)
A few people came. (몇 명 왔다 — 긍정)
Few people came. (거의 안 왔다 — 부정)
much / many — 격식·비격식
much / many는 부정·의문문에서 자연스러움. 긍정문엔 a lot of 선호.
| 상황 | 자연스러운 표현 | 예 |
|---|
| 긍정 (비격식) | a lot of | I have a lot of work. |
| 긍정 (격식·문어) | many / much | Many studies suggest… |
| 부정 | many / much | I don't have much time. |
| 의문 | many / much | Do you have many friends? |
some / any
| 상황 | 사용 | 예 |
|---|
| 긍정문 | some | I have some milk. |
| 부정문 | any | I don't have any milk. |
| 의문 (일반) | any | Do you have any questions? |
| 의문 (권유·부탁) | some | Would you like some coffee? |
"Do you have some money?" → 있겠지, 얼마 줄 수 있어? (전제 있음)
"Do you have any money?" → 혹시 있어? (없을 수도 있다고 생각)
no / none / not any
| 구조 | 예 |
|---|
no | no + 명사 | I have no time. / There are no chairs. |
not any | not + any + 명사 | I don't have any time. |
none | 단독 (명사 대체) | None of them came. |
no = not any (의미 동일, no가 더 강조·간결) | none은 대명사로 단독 사용
none of + 복수명사 → 동사 단수(격식) / 복수(일반) 둘 다 허용
불가산명사 수량화 — a piece of
패턴: a / two / three + 단위명사 + of + 불가산명사
범용
a piece of advice
a piece of information
a piece of furniture
a piece of music / art / work
음식·음료
a cup of coffee / tea
a glass of water / juice
a slice of bread / cake / pizza
a bar of chocolate / soap
a loaf of bread
추상
a bit of help / luck / fun
a word of advice / warning
a flash of inspiration
a stroke of luck / genius
물질
a grain of rice / sand / salt
a drop of water / blood
a block of ice / wood
a sheet of paper
two advices → two pieces of advice
three furnitures → three pieces of furniture
가산·불가산 겸용 명사
| 단어 | 불가산 (추상·일반) | 가산 (구체·개체) |
|---|
experience | I have experience. (경력) | I had a great experience. (특정 경험) |
hair | Her hair is long. (머리카락 전체) | There's a hair in my soup. (한 올) |
paper | I need paper. (종이·재료) | I wrote a paper. (논문 하나) |
glass | Made of glass. (유리·재료) | I broke a glass. (유리잔 하나) |
time | I don't have time. (시간 일반) | I've been there three times. (횟수) |
room | Is there room? (공간·여유) | There are three rooms. (방) |
work | I have work to do. (일·업무) | A great work of art. (작품) |
light | Light travels fast. (빛) | Turn off the lights. (조명) |
형태가 헷갈리는 명사
복수형 → 복수 동사
(a pair of로 셈)
scissors (가위)
trousers (바지)
glasses (안경)
tongs (집게)
The scissors are on the table.
a pair of scissors = 하나
-s로 끝나지만 단수 동사
news (뉴스)
mathematics (수학)
physics (물리학)
economics (경제학)
the United States
The news is good.
항상 복수 동사
people (사람들)
police (경찰)
cattle (소 떼)
The police are looking for him.
불가산 판단 기준
| 유형 | 예 | 판단 |
|---|
| 물질·재료 | water, wood, gold, plastic | 불가산 |
| 덩어리 (어디서 잘라도 같음) | sand, air, snow, flour | 불가산 |
| 추상 개념 | love, anger, knowledge, freedom | 불가산 |
| 집합 명사 | furniture, equipment, luggage, clothing | 불가산 |
| 학문·활동 | music, homework, research, travel | 불가산 |
| 경계 명확한 물체 | chair, bottle, idea, mistake | 가산 |
논리로 유추 불가 단어는 사전 [C]/[U] 표기로 확인: advice / information / news / research