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Pottolom Posted 21 years ago
Science & IT
The noun "work" - countable or uncountable?
I am a native English speaker and have recently started working at an engineering firm in Eastern Europe as an environmental scientist. One of my roles within the company is to teach English to staff and I recently noticed that many of the company's employees use the noun "works", for example: "we will carry out engineering works".
I am qualified to teach English as a foreign language (CELTA) and I have always been taught that "work" is an uncountable noun, similar to water, i.e. we don't say "I have a lot of works." in the same way that we don't say "I have a lot of waters." The noun "work" is also listed as an uncountable noun in dictionaries.
In understood that the only exception was when referring to a factory or similar, e.g. a steel factory can be called a steelworks.
I told the staff about this mistake during my English lessons, but one of them came to me today and pointed out that in the FIDIC (an engineering institute) guidebook "Conditions of Contract for Construction", work is used as a countable noun with considerable frequency. I looked at the contents page and saw several examples: for example, "Commencement of Works", "Taking Over of Parts of the Works", etc. At the same time, I can also see that work has been used as an uncountable noun in the book, for example, "Resumption of Work", "Suspension of Work", etc.
As far as I'm concerned, this appears to be a mistake, but maybe I'm wrong? As a scientist, I'm not overly familiar with engineering terms - maybe that's the problem?
Can anyone help me with this at all? When can work be used as a countable noun?
I am qualified to teach English as a foreign language (CELTA) and I have always been taught that "work" is an uncountable noun, similar to water, i.e. we don't say "I have a lot of works." in the same way that we don't say "I have a lot of waters." The noun "work" is also listed as an uncountable noun in dictionaries.
In understood that the only exception was when referring to a factory or similar, e.g. a steel factory can be called a steelworks.
I told the staff about this mistake during my English lessons, but one of them came to me today and pointed out that in the FIDIC (an engineering institute) guidebook "Conditions of Contract for Construction", work is used as a countable noun with considerable frequency. I looked at the contents page and saw several examples: for example, "Commencement of Works", "Taking Over of Parts of the Works", etc. At the same time, I can also see that work has been used as an uncountable noun in the book, for example, "Resumption of Work", "Suspension of Work", etc.
As far as I'm concerned, this appears to be a mistake, but maybe I'm wrong? As a scientist, I'm not overly familiar with engineering terms - maybe that's the problem?
Can anyone help me with this at all? When can work be used as a countable noun?
Top answer
I don't know about other contexts but in the construction industry 'works' is common. I have worked in the industry in various guises for nearly ten years and it is used in certain circumstances, even if the 'works' are singular. ) Schedule of Works (the plan for the overall project) Looking in my Oxford Concise dictionary comes up with the confirmation that Works can mean 'operations of building or repair' so it does seem to be construction specific.
- I don't know about other contexts but in the construction industry 'works' is common.
- I have worked in the industry in various guises for nearly ten years and it is used in certain circumstances, even if the 'works' are singular.
- ) Schedule of Works (the plan for the overall project) Looking in my Oxford Concise dictionary comes up with the confirmation that Works can mean 'operations of building or repair' so it does seem to be construction specific.
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12 Answers
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I don't know about other contexts but in the construction industry 'works' is common. I have worked in the industry in various guises for nearly ten years and it is used in certain circumstances, even if the 'works' are singular. Further examples for you:
Clerk of Works (industry standard job title)
Groundworks (type of construction activity - yes, basically digging holes!)
Sc
Clerk of Works (industry standard job title)
Groundworks (type of construction activity - yes, basically digging holes!)
Sc
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Yes, I am a Chinese, a civil engineer. It's same issue what I met. So, I think in engineering workplace, Works maybe mean a lot of different work. Work is abstract.
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0 Hi guys, 02 br
02 br
00 These all seem like valid points. There are certainly some specialized uses of the plural form. eg 01 i 00 the works of a clock 02 i 00 or the phrase 01 i 00 something is in the works 02 i 00 . We can speak of 01 i 00 ten works of art 02 i 00 . 02 br
02 br
00 In the construction trade, you
02 br
00 These all seem like valid points. There are certainly some specialized uses of the plural form. eg 01 i 00 the works of a clock 02 i 00 or the phrase 01 i 00 something is in the works 02 i 00 . We can speak of 01 i 00 ten works of art 02 i 00 . 02 br
02 br
00 In the construction trade, you
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0 Hi there, I have another question on countable/uncountable nouns. Do you know why people say Have a good dreams? I mean why do they use 'a' with plural 'dreams'? 0-
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0 When do people say that? Should be 'a good dream' or just 'good dreams'. 0-
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i generally teach my more advanced students that work can be both countable and uncountable. uncountable in the general sense, but countable in the sense of individual items of work. this is especially true in the arts where we commonly hear people refering to, several works by beethoven for instance.
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Thank you so much for sharing your information about your method to teach and clearify your advanced students. I suspected it behaves like that, but incapable to explain it clearer to my students. I would like to read some more comments out on how to explain unusual behaviour of words in English, because I am a spanish English teacher...
Best regards with much gratitude.
Best regards with much gratitude.
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Hi !!! you can use "work" as a countable noun when it reference is "work of arts". For example Picasso has painted many beautiful works of arts.
I studied that at the University in Argentina (UNC)
I studied that at the University in Argentina (UNC)
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Yes. The phrase is "work of art." It is countable (plural - "works of art") and refers to an artistic creation.
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