Bob Dylan Teaches You About Questions, Count Nouns

Nobel prize winner Bob Dylan is considered to be one of the best American songwriters.

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind

The answer is blowin' in the wind

In 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, nouns¹ and more.

Let's begin by listening to part of the song:

Blowin' in the Wind

Yes, and how many years must a mountain exist

Before it is washed to the sea?

And how many years can some people exist

Before they're allowed to be free?

Dylan's song has a group of questions, one after the other, followed by an answer:

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind

The answer is blowin' in the wind

Questions

Let's explore the grammar of the words in greater detail. In English, we use question words – what, where, how - to ask for information.

The word "how" generally asks about manner – the way in which something is done. For example, imagine you saw a circus performer² swallow fire.

You might ask them:

How did you do that?

But when used with words such as "much" and "many," how asks about quantities.

For example, you might hear an American ask the following about a price:

How much money does it cost?

Or

How much [money] does it cost?

Here is another example of a quantity question:

How many people came to the Bob Dylan concert?

But, how do we know when to use "much" and when to use "many?

Noncount vs. count nouns

The answer is about nouns.

We 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, specific³ thing. Proper nouns include words with an exact, single meaning - Bob Dylan, the United⁴ States of America, Blowin' in the Wind and so on.

There 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 statements⁵:

I own five guitars.

I wrote 3 songs.

The question form "how many..." is used with plural⁶ count nouns. For example:

How many guitars do you own?

I own five guitars.

Noncount nouns include words like money or music.

I need to make money.

I love music.

In general, the question form "how much..." is used with noncount nouns.

How much money did you spend on that new guitar?

I spent all of the money that I earned last week!

How does this discussion⁷ connect with the Bob Dylan song?

A series⁸ of questions using countable⁹ nouns

If you listen carefully to the Bob Dylan song, you will notice that the structure¹⁰ "how many..." plays an important part.

Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head

And pretend¹¹ that he just doesn't see?

And consider these lines:

Yes, and how many ears must one man have

Before he can hear people cry?

Yes, and how many deaths will it take till he knows

That too many people have died?

Questions about count nouns make the base of Dylan's song. He does not sing about noncount nouns. He does not ask "how much..."?

And the answer to his questions is always the same:

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind

The answer is blowin' in the wind

Closing thoughts

The next time you listen to any song in English, try to look for some kind of pattern.

One way to think about Dylan's song is that it is about questions, answers and count nouns. But other songs have different structures¹², ideas and grammar points. By carefully studying songs, you can learn a lot about English grammar.

Words in This Story

songwriter – n. a person who writes the words or music to songs

quantity – n. an amount or number of something

pretend – v. to act as if something is true when it is not true

ear – n. the part of the body that you hear with

pattern – n. the regular and repeated way in which something happens or is done

1 nouns   

n.名词；名词( noun的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns. 法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Nouns join to form compounds. 名词和名词结合构成复合词。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 performer   

n.执行者，表演者

参考例句：

• He was the greatest performer we have ever seen.他是我们所见过的最伟大表演者。
• He is a good performer on the cricket field.他是个出色的板球手。

3 specific   

adj.明确的；具体的；特定的

参考例句：

• The money is to be used for specific purposes.这笔钱有专门用途。
• We haven't fixed a specific date for our meeting.我们会议的具体日期还没有定下来。

4 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

5 statements   

n.声明( statement的名词复数 )；（思想、观点、文章主题等的）表现；（文字）陈述；结算单

参考例句：

• We are faced with two apparently contradictory statements. 我们面前这两种说法显然是矛盾的。
• The report is inconsistent with the financial statements. 这个报告与财务报表内容不一致。

6 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

7 discussion   

n.讨论，谈论；论述

参考例句：

• It is certain he will come to the discussion.他肯定会来参加讨论。
• After months of discussion,a peace agreement is gradually taking shape.经过几个月的商讨，和平协议渐渐有了眉目。

8 series   

n.连续；系列

参考例句：

• The students have put forward a series of questions.学生们提出了一系列问题。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

9 countable   

adj.可数的，可以计算的

参考例句：

• The word "person" is a countable noun.person这个词是个可数名词。
• Countable nouns have singular and plural forms.可数名词有单数和复数之分。

10 structure   

n.结构，构造，建筑物；v.构成；

参考例句：

• Doctors study the structure of the human body.医生研究人体构造。
• A flower has quite a complicated structure.一朵花的结构相当复杂。

11 pretend   

vt.假装，假托，装扮；vi.假装，装作

参考例句：

• So you don't need to pretend,do you?所以你不必装假了，对吧？
• Many people pretend that they understand modern art.许多人装着自己懂得现代艺术。

12 structures   

n.结构( structure的名词复数 )；[生物学]构造；机构；构造物v.组织( structure的第三人称单数 )；安排；制定

参考例句：

• All three structures dated to the third century and were tentatively identified as shrines. 这3座建筑都建于3 世纪，并且初步鉴定为神庙。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Flexibility of labour was obtained through the breakup of old trade union structures. 打破了旧的工会结构之后，雇用劳工可以灵活处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》