Bob Dylan Teaches You about Questions, Count Nouns
2024-09-06
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1Nobel prize winner Bob Dylan is considered to be one of the best American songwriters.
2The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
3The answer is blowin' in the wind
4In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore how Blowin' in the Wind, a famous Bob Dylan song, can teach you about English grammar.
5You will learn about question words, nouns and more.
6Let's begin by listening to part of the song:
7Yes, and how many years must a mountain exist
8Before it is washed to the sea?
9And how many years can some people exist
10Before they're allowed to be free?
11Dylan's song has a group of questions, one after the other, followed by an answer:
12The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
13The answer is blowin' in the wind
14Let's explore the grammar of the words in greater detail.
15In English, we use question words - what, where, how - to ask for information.
16The word "how" generally asks about manner - the way in which something is done.
17For example, imagine you saw a circus performer swallow fire.
18You might ask them:
19How did you do that?
20But when used with words such as "much" and "many," how asks about quantities.
21For example, you might hear an American ask the following about a price:
22How much money does it cost?
23Or
24How much [money] does it cost?
25Here is another example of a quantity question:
26How many people came to the Bob Dylan concert?
27But, how do we know when to use "much" and when to use "many?
28The answer is about nouns.
29We describe nouns as either common or proper. Common nouns include words such as music, song or guitar.
30The words themselves do not point to an exact, specific thing.
31Proper nouns include words with an exact, single meaning - Bob Dylan, the United States of America, Blowin' in the Wind and so on.
32There are two kinds of common nouns - count and noncount nouns.
33Count nouns include words like guitar or song.
34You can count guitars and songs. Consider the following statements:
35I own five guitars.
36I wrote 3 songs.
37The question form "how many..." is used with plural count nouns. For example:
38How many guitars do you own?
39I own five guitars.
40Noncount nouns include words like money or music.
41I need to make money.
42I love music.
43In general, the question form "how much..." is used with noncount nouns.
44How much money did you spend on that new guitar?
45I spent all of the money that I earned last week!
46How does this discussion connect with the Bob Dylan song?
47If you listen carefully to the Bob Dylan song, you will notice that the structure "how many..." plays an important part.
48Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head
49And pretend that he just doesn't see?
50And consider these lines:
51Yes, and how many ears must one man have
52Before he can hear people cry?
53Yes, and how many deaths will it take till he knows
54That too many people have died?
55Questions about count nouns make the base of Dylan's song. He does not sing about noncount nouns. He does not ask "how much..."?
56And the answer to his questions is always the same:
57The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
58The answer is blowin' in the wind
59The next time you listen to any song in English, try to look for some kind of pattern.
60One way to think about Dylan's song is that it is about questions, answers and count nouns.
61But other songs have different structures, ideas and grammar points.
62By carefully studying songs, you can learn a lot about English grammar.
63I'm John Russell.
1Nobel prize winner Bob Dylan is considered to be one of the best American songwriters. 2The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind 3The answer is blowin' in the wind 4In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore how Blowin' in the Wind, a famous Bob Dylan song, can teach you about English grammar. You will learn about question words, nouns and more. 5Let's begin by listening to part of the song: 6Blowin' in the Wind 7Yes, and how many years must a mountain exist 8Before it is washed to the sea? 9And how many years can some people exist 10Before they're allowed to be free? 11Dylan's song has a group of questions, one after the other, followed by an answer: 12The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind 13The answer is blowin' in the wind 14Questions 15Let's explore the grammar of the words in greater detail. In English, we use question words - what, where, how - to ask for information. 16The word "how" generally asks about manner - the way in which something is done. For example, imagine you saw a circus performer swallow fire. 17You might ask them: 18How did you do that? 19But when used with words such as "much" and "many," how asks about quantities. 20For example, you might hear an American ask the following about a price: 21How much money does it cost? 22Or 23How much [money] does it cost? 24Here is another example of a quantity question: 25How many people came to the Bob Dylan concert? 26But, how do we know when to use "much" and when to use "many? 27Noncount vs. count nouns 28The answer is about nouns. 29We describe nouns as either common or proper. Common nouns include words such as music, song or guitar. The words themselves do not point to an exact, specific thing. Proper nouns include words with an exact, single meaning - Bob Dylan, the United States of America, Blowin' in the Wind and so on. 30There are two kinds of common nouns - count and noncount nouns. Count nouns include words like guitar or song. You can count guitars and songs. Consider the following statements: 31I own five guitars. 32I wrote 3 songs. 33The question form "how many..." is used with plural count nouns. For example: 34How many guitars do you own? 35I own five guitars. 36Noncount nouns include words like money or music. 37I need to make money. 38I love music. 39In general, the question form "how much..." is used with noncount nouns. 40How much money did you spend on that new guitar? 41I spent all of the money that I earned last week! 42How does this discussion connect with the Bob Dylan song? 43A series of questions using countable nouns 44If you listen carefully to the Bob Dylan song, you will notice that the structure "how many..." plays an important part. 45Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head 46And pretend that he just doesn't see? 47And consider these lines: 48Yes, and how many ears must one man have 49Before he can hear people cry? 50Yes, and how many deaths will it take till he knows 51That too many people have died? 52Questions about count nouns make the base of Dylan's song. He does not sing about noncount nouns. He does not ask "how much..."? 53And the answer to his questions is always the same: 54The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind 55The answer is blowin' in the wind 56Closing thoughts 57The next time you listen to any song in English, try to look for some kind of pattern. 58One way to think about Dylan's song is that it is about questions, answers and count nouns. But other songs have different structures, ideas and grammar points. By carefully studying songs, you can learn a lot about English grammar. 59I'm John Russell. 60John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 61______________________________________________ 62Words in This Story 63songwriter - n. a person who writes the words or music to songs 64quantity - n. an amount or number of something 65pretend - v. to act as if something is true when it is not true 66ear - n. the part of the body that you hear with 67pattern - n. the regular and repeated way in which something happens or is done