General reference

General reference means you are referring to a noun in a general way.

• Countable nouns can have a or plural s.
• Uncountable nouns have no article.

Countable nouns

Table for Countable nouns

Reference	Singular Plural	Article	Noun
a. General	Singular	a	computer
	Plural	-	computers

Uncountable nouns

Table for Uncountable nouns

Reference		Article	Noun
a. General		-	information

General reference is common in academic writing. It is used when giving general background or theoretical information about a topic - for example, in the introduction to a report or in a literature review.