Countable Nouns

Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable nouns:

dog, cat, animal, man, person

bottle, box, litre

coin, note, dollar

cup, plate, fork

table, chair, suitcase, bag

Countable nouns can be singular or plural:

My dog is playing.

My dogs are hungry.

We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:

A dog is an animal.

When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:

I want an orange. (not I want orange.)

Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)

When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:

I like oranges.

Bottles can break.

We can use some and any with countable nouns:

I've got some dollars.

Have you got any pens?

We can use a few and many with countable nouns:

I've got a few dollars.

I haven't got many pens.

"People" is countable. "People" is the plural of "person". We can count people:

There is one person here.

There are three people here.

Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns:

music, art, love, happiness

advice, information, news

furniture, luggage

rice, sugar, butter, water

electricity, gas, power

money, currency

We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:

This news is very important.

Your luggage looks heavy.

We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say "an information" or "a music". But we can say a something of:

a piece of news

a bottle of water

a grain of rice

We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:

I've got some money.

Have you got any rice?

We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:

I've got a little money.

I haven't got much rice.

Uncountable nouns are also called "mass nouns".

Here are some more examples of countable and uncountable nouns:

Countable

Uncountable

dollar

money

song

music

suitcase

luggage

table

furniture

battery

electricity

bottle

wine

report

information

tip

advice

journey

travel

job

work

view

scenery

When you learn a new word, it's a good idea to learn whether it's countable or uncountable.

Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable »

Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable

Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of meaning.

Countable

Uncountable

There are two hairs in my coffee!

hair

I don't have much hair.

There are two lights in our bedroom.

light

Close the curtain. There's too much light!

Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise.

There are so many different noises in the city.

noise

It's difficult to work when there is too much noise.

Have you got a paper to read? (newspaper)

Hand me those student papers.

paper

I want to draw a picture. Have you got some paper?

Our house has seven rooms.

room

Is there room for me to sit here?

We had a great time at the party.

How many times have I told you no?

time

Have you got time for a coffee?

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's greatest works.

work

I have no money. I need work!

Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are usually uncountable. But if we are thinking of a cup or a glass, we can say (in a restaurant, for example):

Two teas and one coffee please.

A noun can be countable or uncountable. Countable nouns can be "counted", they have a singular and plural form .

For example:

A book, two books, three books .....

An apple, two apples, three apples ....

Uncountable nouns (also called mass nouns or noncount nouns) cannot be counted, they are not seperate objects. This means you cannot make them plural by adding -s, because they only have a singular form. It also means that they do not take a/an or a number in front of them.

For example:

Water

Work

Information

Coffee

Sand

Countable

(use a/an or a number in front of countable nouns)

Uncountable

(there is no a/an or number with uncountable nouns)

An Apple / 1 Apple

Rice

I eat an apple every day.

I eat rice every day. (not I eat a rice every day.)

Add (s) to make a countable noun plural

There is no plural form for an uncountable noun

Apples

rice

I eat an apple every day. Apples are good for you.

I eat rice every day. Rice is good for you.

A computer= Computers are fun.

To make uncountable nouns countable add a counting word, such as a unit of measurement, or the general word piece. We use the form "a ....... of ......."

An elephant=Elephants are large.

Rice=a grain of rice

Water=a glass of water

Rain=a drop of rain

Music=a piece of music

You can use some and any with countable nouns.

Some dogs can be dangerous.

I don't use any computers at work.

You can use some and any with uncountable nouns.

I usually drink some wine with my meal.

I don't usually drink any water with my wine.

You only use many and few with plural countable nouns.

So many elephants have been hunted that they are an endangered species.

There are few elephants in England.

You only use much and little with uncountable nouns.

I don't usually drink much coffee.

Little wine is undrinkable though.

You can use a lot of and no with plural countable nouns.

No computers were bought last week.

A lot of computers were reported broken the week before.

You can use a lot of and no with uncountable nouns.

A lot of wine is drunk in France.

No wine is drunk in Iran.

Making uncountable nouns countable

You can make most uncountable noun countable by putting a countable expression in front of the noun.

For example:-

A piece of information.

2 glasses of water.

10 litres of coffee.

Three grains of sand.

A pane of glass.

Sources of confusion with countable and uncountable nouns

The notion of countable and uncountable can be confusing.

Some nouns can be countable or uncountable depending on their meaning. Usually a noun is uncountable when used in a general, abstract meaning (when you don't think of it as a separate object) and countable when used in a particular meaning (when you can think of it as a separate object).

For example:-

glass - A glass of water. (Countable) | A window made of glass. (Uncountable)

Some supposedly uncountable nouns can behave like countable nouns if we think of them as being in containers, or one of several types.

This is because 'containers' and 'types' can be counted.

Believe it or not each of these sentences is correct:-

Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two coffees a day.

(Here coffees refers to the number of cups of coffee)

You could write; "Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two cups of coffee a day."

The coffees I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian.

(Here coffees refers to different types of coffee)

You could write; "The types of coffee I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian."

!Note - In good monolingual dictionaries, uncountable nouns are identified by [U] and countable nouns by [C].

Countable / Uncountable Lesson

Unit 8 - Lesson 37 - Counting Uncountable Nouns

Remember It

Questions

How much ....? = uncountable nouns

For example: How much coffee do you drink?

How many ....? = countable nouns

For example: How many cups of coffee do you drink?

Learn It

How do you count uncountable nouns? You can't, but you can measure them. You have to use ‘counters’

Noun

Uncountable

Sugar

Jewellery

Cheese

Wine

Furniture

Money

Uncountable Question

How much sugar is there?

How much jewellery is there?

How much cheese is there?

How much wine is there?

How much furniture is there?

How much money is there?

Answer

There's a lot of sugar.

There's some jewellery.

There's a lot of cheese.

There's some wine.

There's some furniture.

There's a lot of money.

Add a word

bowl

piece

round

bottle

piece

bag

Make it Countable

A bowl of sugar.

A piece of jewellery.

A round of cheese.

A bottle of wine.

A piece of furniture.

A bag of money.

Countable Question

How many bowls of sugar are there?

How many pieces of jewellery are there?

How many rounds of cheese are there?

How many bottles of wine are there?

How many pieces of furniture are there?

How many bags of money are there?

Answer

There's one bowl of sugar.

There are two pieces of jewellery.

There are three rounds of cheese.

There's only one bottle of wine.

There are two pieces of furniture.

There are four bags of money.

Other words you can add to make uncountable nouns countable:-

You can put something into a container to count it, but the thing you're counting doesn't take the plural form. The container takes the plural form:-

Bag

A bag of money.

barrel

Two barrels of beer.

bottle

Three bottles of wine.

bowl

Four bowls of sugar.

box

Five boxes of cereal.

bucket

Six buckets of water.

can

Seven cans of Coke.

carton

Eight cartons of milk.

cup

Nine cups of coffee.

glass

Ten glasses of water.

jar

Eleven jars of honey.

packet

A dozen packets of butter.

a saucepan

Thirteen pans of rice.

tank

Fifteen tanks of petrol.

tin

Sixteen tins of custard.

tub

Seventeen tubs of margarine.

tube

Eighteen tubes of toothpaste.

You can measure something to count it, but it still doesn't take the plural form. The measurement takes the plural form:-

For example:-

litre

1 and a half litres of milk.

pint

Two pints of beer.

pound / ounce / kilo etc...

Two pounds / ounces / kilos of butter.

You can measure uncountable nouns in other ways, using shapes or portions. Again the measurement takes the plural form.

ball

Ten balls of wool.

bar

Three bars of soap.

pinch

Two pinches of salt.

slice

Five slices of cake.

spoon

Fourteen spoonfuls of sugar.

square

Ten squares of chocolate.

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

the, a, an

Plurals

Types of Uncountable Nouns

Noun Practice

Back to Nouns

Back to Exercises

Countable nouns refer to things that that can be counted. They are usually tangible things, things that can be perceived by one of our senses (taste, touch, sight, hearing, smell). These nouns can be either singular or plural.  

Concrete nouns can be countable.

Flowers, oranges, trees, houses, bricks, cars, men, women, cats, birds

Joseph slipped on a banana peel.

How many banana peels did Joseph slip on? Just one.

Cody ate a piece of cake.

 Pieces of cake can be counted.

Paul saw an anteater at the zoo.

Anteaters can be counted.

Collective nouns can be countable or uncountable, depending on the meaning of the sentence.

Collective nouns refer to a group (army, committee, group, government, etc.) Americans tend to use collective nouns as singular nouns:

The crowd is cheering.

The navy was commissioning three new cruisers last week.

The group has elected Rodney to be chairman.

Some proper nouns are countable.

There are more Irish in New York than in Eire. (Irish people...How many Irish people are in...)

The Rockefellers produced several statesmen.

An uncountable noun refers to something that can't be counted, because it's thought of as a whole that can’t be cut into parts. They are often abstract, and occasionally have a collective meaning. (for example, food; Is the food ready now?) These nouns take only the singular form. 

Correct: 1) I want to eat the food you made yesterday. Is it still good? 2) Yes, some of it is still good.

Correct: I gave the dog three pieces of food, but he only ate two.

Correct: I don't enjoy food when it's served cold. I like hot food to be served hot, and cold food to be served cold.

Incorrect: Don't give him an old food. Only give the dog a fresh food.

Jasper jumped into the air.

How many airs did he jump into? The question doesn’t make any sense because air can't be counted.

Myra enjoyed the warm weather.

How many weathers? Weather cannot be counted.

Diana didn't like the music the band played at the concert.

How many musics? Music cannot be counted. Use the word songs when you want to count how much music you have.)

There are exceptions to the above definitions. (Be aware that a countable noun in a different language may not be countable in English, and vice versa.

Exceptions: Meanings can change, according to how the word is used. This is just a sampling:

Countable—concrete and specific

Uncountable—abstract;  general statement of fact

The lectures were scheduled once a week during the summer. We went to hear all eight lectures.

lecture

He hates lectures.

Kids can make a lot of different noises. (different kinds of sounds)

noise

Kids can make a lot of noise. (Kids, generally, make noise, and a lot of it!)

For Sale: House with 6 rooms and a barn

room

There wasn’t any room for me on the plane. (room, meaning space)

We had three great meals at the hotel.

meal

It’s not healthy to skip meals.

The Mona Lisa is a famous work by DaVinci. There are three other Da Vinci works in the museum.

work

All the work he does is done very carefully.

An easy way to identify uncountable nouns is by category. This is only a partial list.

Things made up of small pieces

cereal

sand

rice

sugar

corn

rye

popcorn

salt

lettuce

hair

flour

oats

dust

spinach

garlic

powder

    Wholes composed of individual parts

These nouns represent collections made up of similar individual parts, which are usually countable nouns. Many of these collective nouns have more than one kind of individual component.

Collection

Sample Components

mail

package, letter

vegetable

carrot, tomato

clothing

slacks, shoes

food

cookie, cracker

fruit

pineapple, banana

furniture

bed, chair

garbage

egg shell, tin can

jewelry

ring, bracelet

machinery

flywheel, cog

Note: Sometimes an uncountable noun can be understood as an individual item that's distinct from other items of the same category. These nouns are often foods and beverages: pastry /pastries, drink/drinks, wine/wines, bread/breads, cheese/cheeses, tea/teas, etc.  

·Men seem to like Limburger cheese more than other kinds. (kinds of cheese)

·Marlene drinks Indian tea, not Chinese tea. (kinds of tea)

·Some people prefer Danish pastry to French pastry. (kinds of  pastry)

  Fields of study and professional fields

physics

geography

geology

music

advertising

medicine

grammar

mechanics

biology

economics

history

accounting

sociology

law

mathematics

linguistics

Abstract ideas

strength

equality

sadness

love

selfishness

anger

happiness

knowledge

patriotism

slang

wonder

hatred

laughter

peace

trouble

courage

health

laziness

permission

wealth

crime

help

leisure

relaxation

wisdom

Liquids

oil

water

milk

gasoline

syrup

coffee

vodka

juice

tea

soda

molasses

saliva

Gases

helium

methane

air

oxygen

ether

ozone

carbon monoxide

hydrogen

  Solids, minerals, and elements

Countable and uncountable nouns that refer to a generalized mass 

lava

chicken

cotton

iron

wood

pork

wool

fire

lamb

plastic

beef

cloth

glass

lead

silver

ice

coal

gold

meat

soap

bread

concrete

cheese

ice

steel

Sports and Recreational Activities

archery

bridge

jogging

swimming

aerobics

checkers

Monopoly

tag

badminton

chess

Scrabble

tennis

baseball

football

soccer

water polo

bowling

hockey

surfing

volleyball

Natural Phenomena

snow

cold

darkness

dew

fog

frost

gravity

hail

humidity

light

lightning

mist

rain

sleet

heat

thunder

Medical Conditions

An article does not precede terms for general medical conditions. When referring to specific instances of a medical condition or disease, some uncountable nouns use the; others do not use any article. 

General statement: Measles is a childhood disease.

Specific statement: He has the German measles.

arthritis

hiccups

cancer

polio

tuberculosis

AIDS

flu

measles

smallpox

lupus

Scientific processes and procedures

anesthesia

electroshock

fission

fusion

sonar

radar

dissection

dialysis

Articles

Notice that this, that, these, and those have been included because like the word the, they mark a definite noun rather than a general one.

a, an

the

this, that

these, those

no article

Countable singular  

Countable singular    

Countable singular    

Countable plural

Countable plural

Countable plural

Uncountable

Uncountable

Countable Singular: 

·She peeled the orange.  

·He drove the car. 

·Did they see this movie?

Countable Plural: 

·I love to watch the squirrels play. 

·Does Patricia want these videos?  

·I think she prefers those videos that are on the next shelf.  

·Dogs are faithful to their owners. (no article)

Uncountable: 

·The heat is awful today. 

·Thunder scares me. (no article)

Plurals:Although uncountable nouns do not usually take a plural form, they can when used in a countable sense.

·         ·most countable nouns can be made plural adding s, or ies (study, studies)

·          uncountable nouns can't be made plural at all

·          nouns used in a countable sense can be made plural

·          nouns used in an uncountable sense can't have a plural form.

No Plural

Plural

 uncountable noun  

countable noun 

uncountable Use  

countable use    

Uncountable (general) Use

Countable (specific) Use

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I have heard about the beauties of the French countryside.

He likes to eat cake.

He brought four double-fudge chocolate cakes to the party.

She has gorgeous hair.

The detective found several blond hairs on the body of the victim.

Anthropology is the study of man.

Those men standing at the coffee machine were my teachers last year at school.

uncountable or countable

Some nouns, as in your example of cake, Bella, have both countable and uncountable uses with some difference in meaning. Here are some common examples with their respective uses and meanings illustrated. Make sure you know the difference between the uncountable and countable meaning.

Cake

Would you like some of my birthday cake? ~ I'll have just a small piece, please.

Could you get some cakes for tea? ~ How many shall I get? ~ Well, there are six of us so get about a dozen.

Do you also know the expression a piece of cake? This expression describes something that is very easy to do, even though you might be worried that it will be difficult:

If you've been playing the piano for five years, learning to play the organ will be a piece of cake!

Chocolate

There were at least ten chocolates in this box last night and now there is only one. Who has eaten them all?

Here, have some chocolate. ~ That's a huge bar. I couldn't eat all of it. I'll just break off two pieces.

Pepper

For this dish you need two red peppers and a green pepper and a yellow pepper.

Would you like some black pepper and some grated cheese on your pasta, sir?

Paper

Have you got any paper? I've run out. ~ How much would you like? ~ Could I have three sheets, please?

Could you get me an evening paper on your way back from work please?

Glass

There's broken glass all over the place. Be careful.

A glass of wine, Terry? ~ I've had two glasses already, Norman. I'm

driving so not a drop more!

Experience

For this job, you need experience of working with animals. She doesn't have this kind of experience.

Accompanying Dora on her visits last week was a really useful experience. A useful training opportunity.

Trade

Trade with China has increased dramatically over the last five years.

He's not clever enough for college so he's going to pursue a trade such as carpentry.

Time

We've still got a lot of time. The train doesn't leave for another two hours.

Have you had a good time, Henry? ~ I've had a wonderful time, Mary, thanks.