| Acknowledgements | 第1-6页 |
| Abstract | 第6-8页 |
| 摘要 | 第8-14页 |
| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第14-20页 |
| ·Definition of Countability | 第15-16页 |
| ·Objective of the Research | 第16-17页 |
| ·Significance of the Thesis | 第17-18页 |
| ·Organization of the thesis | 第18-20页 |
| Chapter 2 Literature Review | 第20-26页 |
| ·Grammatical View | 第20-21页 |
| ·Ontological View | 第21-22页 |
| ·Semantic View | 第22-23页 |
| ·Context View | 第23-24页 |
| ·Summary | 第24-26页 |
| Chapter 3 Prototype Theory | 第26-36页 |
| ·Category and Categorization | 第26-27页 |
| ·Classic Theory of Categories | 第27-28页 |
| ·Main Views of Prototype Theory | 第28-31页 |
| ·Definition of Prototype in A Category | 第29-31页 |
| ·Characteristics of Prototype | 第31页 |
| ·Prototype Theory and Word Class Research | 第31-34页 |
| ·Summary | 第34-36页 |
| Chapter 4 Prototypical Features of Countability of English Nouns | 第36-48页 |
| ·Counting Category of English Nouns | 第36-37页 |
| ·Word Classes Based on Cognitive Grammar | 第37-38页 |
| ·Cognitive Foundation of Countability: Object and Substance | 第38页 |
| ·Discrimination of Objects and Substances | 第38-40页 |
| ·Boundedness | 第39页 |
| ·Internal Composition | 第39页 |
| ·Countability | 第39-40页 |
| ·Grammatical Behavior of Count and Mass Nouns | 第40-41页 |
| ·Prototypical Member | 第41-42页 |
| ·Prototypical Count Nouns | 第41-42页 |
| ·Prototypical Mass Nouns | 第42页 |
| ·Peripheral Members: Hybrid Nouns | 第42-45页 |
| ·Collective Nouns | 第43页 |
| ·Plurale Tantum | 第43-44页 |
| ·Abstract Nouns | 第44-45页 |
| ·Summary | 第45-48页 |
| Chapter 5 Cognitive Mechanism underlying Countability | 第48-66页 |
| ·Experiential Foundation for countability | 第48-53页 |
| ·Continuum of Count and Mass Category | 第49-51页 |
| ·Nurture (or Acquired) Characteristic of Counting Category | 第51-53页 |
| ·Cultural Diversity of Countability | 第53-57页 |
| ·Diverse Counting Systems across Languages | 第53-55页 |
| ·Diverse Counting Systems in English History | 第55页 |
| ·Diverse Paradoxes in Counting System | 第55-57页 |
| ·Converting Mechanism between Count Nouns and Mass Nouns | 第57-63页 |
| ·Metonymic Models in Counting Categories | 第57-60页 |
| ·Metaphorical Model in Counting System | 第60-63页 |
| ·Unconsciousness of Categorization | 第63-64页 |
| ·Summary | 第64-66页 |
| Chapter 6 Conclusion | 第66-68页 |
| ·Major Findings | 第66-67页 |
| ·Limitations of the Study | 第67页 |
| ·Suggestions for Further Study | 第67-68页 |
| Bibliography | 第68-74页 |
| Appendix A | 第74-78页 |
| Appendix B | 第78-81页 |
