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Nouns: countable and uncountable

Countable nouns.

Some nouns refer to things which, in English, are treated as separate items which can be counted. These are called countable nouns. Here are some examples:

a car , three cars

my cousin , my two cousins

a book , a box full of books

a city , several big cities

Singular and plural

Countable nouns can be singular or plural. They can be used with a/an and with numbers and many other determiners (e.g. these, a few ):

She’s got two sisters and a younger brother .

Most people buy things like cameras and MP3-players online these days .

These shoes look old now.

I’ll take a few magazines with me for the flight .

Determiners ( the, my , some , this )

Singular and plural nouns

Uncountable nouns

In English grammar, some things are seen as a whole or mass. These are called uncountable nouns, because they cannot be separated or counted.

Some examples of uncountable nouns are:

Ideas and experiences: advice, information, progress, news, luck, fun, work

Materials and substances: water, rice, cement, gold, milk

Weather words: weather, thunder, lightning, rain, snow

Names for groups or collections of things: furniture, equipment, rubbish, luggage

Other common uncountable nouns include: accommodation, baggage, homework, knowledge, money, permission, research, traffic, travel .

These nouns are not used with a/an or numbers and are not used in the plural.

We’re going to get new furniture for the living room.

Not: We’re going to get a new furniture for the living room . or We’re going to get new furnitures for the living room .

We had terrible weather last week.

Not: We had a terrible weather last week .

We need rice next time we go shopping.

Some nouns always have plural form but they are uncountable because we cannot use numbers with them.

I bought two pairs of trousers .

Not: I bought two trousers .

Other nouns of this type are: shorts, pants, pyjamas, glasses (for the eyes), binoculars, scissors .

Some nouns which are uncountable in English are countable in other languages (e.g. accommodation, advice, furniture, information ):

They can give you some information about accommodation at the tourist office.

Not: They can give you some informations about accommodations at the tourist office .

Can you give me some advice about buying a second-hand car?

Not: Can you give me some advices about buying a second-hand car?

A good learner’s dictionary will tell you whether a noun is countable or uncountable.

Quantity expressions ( a bit/piece )

To refer to one or more quantities of an uncountable noun , expressions such as a bit of, a piece of , an item of or words for containers and measures must be used:

He bought a very expensive piece of furniture for his new apartment.

Maggie always has some exciting bits of news when she comes to see us.

I think we’ll need five bags of cement for the patio.

There’s a litre of milk in the fridge for you. And I bought you a bar of chocolate .

Determiners ( my, some, the )

Uncountable nouns can be used with certain determiners (e.g. my, her , some, any , no , the, this, that ) and expressions of quantity (e.g. a lot of, (a) little ):

They gave me some information about courses and scholarships and things.

Have you heard the news ? Fran’s getting engaged.

She’s been studying hard and has made a lot of progress .

There’s no work to do here, so you can go home if you like.

This milk ’s a bit old, I’m afraid.

Countable phrases for uncountable nouns

We can sometimes use countable noun phrases to talk about an individual example of the thing an uncountable noun refers to.

Finding a place to live is difficult if you’re a student and you’ve got no money. (or Finding accommodation … )

Not: Finding an accommodation …

She brought two big suitcases and a rucksack with her.

Not: She brought two big luggages …

I read a poem once about someone riding a horse at night.

Not: I read a poetry …

We went on a trip to the Amazon when we were in Brazil.

Not: We went on a travel …

Countable and uncountable nouns with different meanings

Some nouns can be used either countably or uncountably, but with different meanings.

Uncountable nouns used countably

Measures and examples.

Sometimes uncountable nouns are used countably, to mean ‘a measure of something’ or ‘a type or example of something’:

Can I have two teas and one coffee , please? (two cups of tea and one cup of coffee …?)

A: How many sugars do you want in your tea? (How many spoonfuls/lumps of sugar?) B: Just one, please .

To some degree we tend to eat the foods that we ate as children. (i.e. types of food)

Abstract nouns

Some abstract nouns can be used uncountably or countably. The uncountable use has a more general meaning. The countable use has a more particular meaning.

Nouns of this type include: education, experience, hatred, help, knowledge, life, love, sleep, time, understanding .

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Countable and Uncountable Nouns

What are countable and uncountable nouns, and how do we use them in English grammar? Let’s learn all about these two different types of nouns today! There are some details you need to know in order to make sure your sentences with uncountable nouns are grammatically correct.

Download free PDF + quiz

Countable Nouns

Countable nouns are things we can easily count – for example, cats:

• My brother has  a cat.
• My sister has  two cats.
• My friend has  three cats.

Other examples of countable nouns:

• Things – book, table, computer, banana, shirt, television, pen, house
• People – man, woman, child, friend, brother, sister, uncle, teacher, boss

With most countable nouns, we add -s to make them plural. But there are some irregular plural nouns – like person/people, man/men, child/children, and others.

Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns (or non-count nouns) are words that we can’t count, or can’t easily divide into separate parts:

• Concepts – love, fun, sadness, work, money, peace, safety
• Information –  advice, information, news, knowledge
• Categories –  music, furniture, equipment, jewelry, literature, meat
• Liquids and foods that can’t be counted –  water, butter, rice, flour, milk

Some English learners think that all countable nouns are concrete nouns (physical things), and all uncountable nouns are abstract nouns (non-physical things) – but this is not true!

• We have abstract nouns that are countable, like ideas, beliefs, hopes, dreams.
• We have concrete nouns that are uncountable, like furniture, luggage, butter, and milk.

Learn more in this lesson on 10 types of nouns.

Learn about words that can be both countable and uncountable!

Special rules for uncountable nouns

#1 – never add -s to make uncountable nouns plural:.

• I need some informations  about the course.
• I need some information  about the course.
• The factory has lots of equipments .
• The factory has lots of equipment .

In some other languages, “information” can be made plural – but it’s incorrect in English, because it’s an uncountable noun!

Instead, you can use other words to help create a plural form:

• She bought three  bottles of wine  and five  boxes of rice.
• I need two  cups of flour  and four tablespoons of butter  for this recipe.

It’s very common to use the word “piece”:

• They brought five  pieces of luggage  on their vacation.
• He gave me two  pieces of advice:  eat less and exercise more.
• I’m practicing three difficult pieces of piano music.

Uncountable nouns by themselves take singular verbs, since they are grammatically singular nouns:

• The furniture is old.  (not “are old”)
• His advice  was  good.  (not “were good”)

However, if we add one of those “helping words” to create a plural form, then we use plural verbs:

• Those three crates of furniture are  heavy. (crates –> are)
• His two pieces of advice  were  good.  (pieces –> were)

#2 – Never use the indefinite article “a/an” with uncountable nouns

Instead, you can use “some” or “a piece of”:

• I heard  a  sad news.
• I heard  some  sad news.
• That’s  an  expensive  jewelry.
• That’s  an  expensive  piece of jewelry.
• That’s  an  expensive  necklace.  (necklace is countable; jewelry is uncountable)

However, the definite article (“the”) can be used with both countable nouns and uncountable nouns:

• The facts are accurate.  (countable)
• The information is accurate.  (uncountable)
• The necklace is expensive.  (countable)
• The jewelry is expensive.  (uncountable)

Expressing quantities of countable and uncountable nouns

In English, we use different quantity words:

With  countable nouns,  you can use  many, a few, fewer, the fewest:

• How  many  brothers do you have?
• I have  a few  books in my backpack.
• There are  fewer  people here today than there were yesterday.
• Out of the whole team, John made the fewest  mistakes in his work.

With  uncountable nouns,  you can use  much, a little, less, the least:

• Our teacher gives us too  much  homework!
• Add  a little  butter to the recipe.
• I’m trying to eat  less  red meat.
• Compared to my friends, I make  the least  money.

We can use  some, any, more, the most, a lot of, and  lots of  with both countable and uncountable nouns:

• She bought  some bananas at the store. (countable)
• We heard  some  great music on the radio this morning. (uncountable)
• Does he have  any  children? (countable)
• He doesn’t have  any  furniture in his new house. (uncountable)
• We need to buy  more  bananas. (countable)
• We need to buy  more  equipment. (uncountable)
• I’ve read  the most  books in my class. (countable)
• The boss gave me  the most  work. (uncountable)
• She has  a lot of / lots of  friends. (countable)
• We’re having  a lot of / lots of  fun. (uncountable)

Countable and Uncountable Nouns QUIZ!

Uncountable Noun List

Most nouns in English are countable – but here are some common uncountable nouns organized by category.

Liquids, grains, and semi-solids:

Categories or Mass Nouns:

• Agriculture
• Entertainment
• Infrastructure
• Transportation

Abstract ideas or qualities:

• Intelligence

Master the details of English grammar:

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All you need to know about countable and uncountable nouns

What’s the difference between countable and uncountable nouns , and what grammar rules do you need to know to use them correctly?

Also known as  count and noncount nouns , this vocabulary point can trip you up when you’re learning English as a second language. It’s especially tricky because:

• There are no concrete rules for classifying nouns as countable or uncountable (although there are some general guidelines that we will explain later).
• Certain nouns that are countable in other languages may be uncountable in English, so you’ll have to un-learn what you know from your native language and learn a different set of rules for English words.

So, let’s take a detailed look at countable vs uncountable nouns, with plenty of examples showing how to use them with the correct articles, quantifiers, and other determiners.

The basics of countable and uncountable nouns

What is a countable noun.

A  countable noun (also called a count noun) is a noun naming something that can be counted using standard numbers. Countable nouns usually have singular and plural forms. 

Examples of countable nouns include chair, table, rabbit, page, part, and lemon .

So, we can have one chair, five tables, ten rabbits, twenty-three lemons, and three hundred pages .

You are probably already familiar with this pattern of counting things in English.

What is an uncountable noun?

An uncountable noun (also called a mass noun or a non-count noun) is a noun naming something that cannot be counted in English using standard numbers. These nouns cannot be made plural.

Examples of uncountable nouns include rice, money, advice, news, and happiness .

We cannot have one rice, five monies, two advices, or a happiness .

Instead, we must use different determiners to quantify these particular things: a cup of rice , a bag of money , and a piece of advice .

Now you know these basics, it’s time to take a deeper look at what this means in practice. You need to know whether you’re dealing with a countable or uncountable noun so you can select the correct determiners and plural forms in your writing and speech.

Rules for using countable nouns

We’ll begin by going over the rules for using countable nouns, since these are most straightforward.

Countable nouns:

• Can be separated into whole, individual, countable units
• Broadly refer to people, places, and things
• Have a singular and a plural form (with a few exceptions like sheep, deer, fish) – see this site for more about how to form plurals
• May take indefinite articles (a/an) as well as the definite article (the)
• May take other determiners such as this/that/these/those, some/any/few/many/several, my/your/his/her/our/their
• To form a question about a countable noun, we say ‘How many…’

Countable noun example sentences

Most of the nouns we use in English are countable. Here are some example sentences showing correct usage:

• I have two cats as pets .
• She bought a few books from the store .
• We went to the zoo and saw several giraffes .
• The school has six classrooms for different subjects .
• He has a collection of ten stamps .
• My father owns a few bikes .
• The store has a variety of balloons in different colors.
• He has five siblings : three brothers  and two sisters .
• There are many oranges in the fruit basket .
• The bakery doesn’t have any bread left.
• I would like to buy that handbag .
• How many meals should I order at  the restaurant ?

Read about the difference between few vs a few here.

Rules for using uncountable nouns

Uncountable nouns are used less often in English, and they:

• Are abstract ideas, qualities, or masses that can’t be separated and counted individually
• Do not have a plural form and are treated as singular nouns (and therefore take the singular form of the verb)
• May take the definite article (the) but do not take the indefinite articles (a/an)
• May take other determiners such as much/little/less/any/some and my/your/his/her/our/their
• Can be quantified with phrases that contain countable nouns (e.g. a bag of rice)
• To form a question about an uncountable noun, we say ‘How much…’

See also: What’s the difference between less and fewer?

Uncountable noun examples

We can group uncountable nouns into some broad categories. Although we cannot list them all here, the following groups are a general guide that may make it easier for you to identify others in the future:

This may seem like a long list of uncountable nouns; however, there are hundreds more. 

Quantifying an uncountable noun

Although we can’t quantify uncountable nouns using numbers, we can add a countable unit of measurement to refer to one or more quantities of these things. Below are some of the most common quantifiers we can use to refer to things that are uncountable.

• A piece of… advice, art, cheese, equipment, evidence, furniture, homework, information, luck, luggage, music, news, paper, poetry, publicity, rubbish, software
• A bottle of… beer, water, wine, sauce, salad dressing
• A carton of… juice, milk, cream
• A packet of… ketchup, rice, gum
• A plate/bowl of… cereal, pasta, rice
• A drop of… blood, oil, rain, water
• A game of… badminton, chess, football, soccer, tennis
• A ray of… hope, light, sun
• A grain of… sand, rice, sugar, dignity
• A cube of… ice, sugar
• A blob of… toothpaste, mayonnaise, glue
• A pane of glass
• A round of applause
• A bar of soap
• A mode of transport
• A bolt of lightning
• A blade of grass
• A rasher of bacon
• A sheet of paper

Determiners for count and noncount nouns

You’ll have seen from the examples above that certain determiners can only be used for one type of noun, whereas others can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns. Here’s a handy reference table for these, although this is not an exhaustive list.

Most other adjectives can modify both countable and uncountable nouns.

See also:  What’s the difference between advice vs advise?

Some nouns can be countable and uncountable

You might often hear people say something like “I take two sugars in my tea”. What they really mean is “two teaspoons of sugar”, but the noun “sugar” has taken on that meaning and become countable.

In this way, uncountable nouns can sometimes be used as countable when referring to a complete unit or measurement of something, normally in relation to food and beverages. Here are some more examples:

• I’ll have three coffees , please. (three cups of coffee)
• I’ve had too many beers tonight! (glasses/cans/bottles of beer)
• Could I get two more ketchups ? (two sachets of ketchup)

Uncountable nouns may also be used as countable when they refer to a specific type, example, or category of something . For example:

• You should have at least five different cheeses on your cheese board.
• The best wines in the world are produced in France.
• We used three woods to make this beautiful box.
• They encountered a lot of difficulties while completing the project.
• These juices are all freshly squeezed.

These plural countable nouns are exceptions to the rule given earlier.

Nouns with different countable and uncountable meanings

To make things even more confusing, certain nouns in English have two or more meanings. When a noun refers to different things, one countable and one uncountable, you must remember which is which in order to form a correct sentence. Here are some common examples of words with dual meanings:

As you can see,  English can be hard to learn . Fortunately, you can always check in a dictionary to see whether a noun is countable or uncountable. Some dictionaries, such as  Oxford Dictionaries , specify this in the definition.

We hope this information about countable vs uncountable nouns has been helpful. It can be quite a tricky English grammar topic to get right because, even once you have mastered the rules of count and noncount nouns, there is still no hard-and-fast way to know which words are which, unless you look them up.

Leave a comment below if you have any more questions about this topic or want to check your understanding of a particular point we’ve mentioned.

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Countable and Uncountable Nouns

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There are many different types of nouns in English. Objects, ideas, and places can all be nouns. Every noun is either countable or uncountable.

Countable nouns are nouns you can count, and uncountable nouns are nouns you can't count. Countable nouns can take the singular or the plural form of a verb. Uncountable nouns always take the singular form of the verb. Study the rules and examples below.

What Are Countable Nouns?

Countable nouns are individual objects, people, places, etc. which can be counted. Nouns are considered content words meaning they provide the people, things, ideas, etc. about which we speak. Nouns are one of the eight parts of speech . For example, apple, book, government, student, island.

A countable noun can be both singular—a friend, a house, etc.—or plural—a few apples, lots of trees, etc.

Use the singular form of the verb with a singular countable noun :

• There is a book on the table.
• That student is excellent!

Use the plural form of the verb with a countable noun in the plural:

• There are some students in the classroom.
• Those houses are very big, aren't they?

What Are Uncountable Nouns?

Uncountable nouns are materials, concepts, information, etc. which are not individual objects and can not be counted. For example, information, water, understanding, wood, cheese, etc.

Uncountable nouns are always singular. Use the singular form of the verb with uncountable nouns:

• There is some water in that pitcher.
• That is the equipment we use for the project.

Adjectives With Countable and Uncountable Nouns.

Use a/an with countable nouns preceded by an adjective(s):

• Tom is a very intelligent young man.
• I have a beautiful grey cat.

Do not use a/an ( indefinite articles ) with uncountable nouns preceded by an adjective(s):

• That is very useful information.
• There is some cold beer in the fridge.

Some uncountable nouns in English are countable in other languages. This can be confusing! Here is a list of some of the most common, easy to confuse uncountable nouns.

• accommodation
• information

Obviously, uncountable nouns (especially different types of food) have forms that express plural concepts. These measurements or containers are countable:

• water - a glass of water
• equipment - a piece of equipment
• cheese - a slice of cheese

Here are some of the most common containers / quantity expressions for these uncountable nouns:

• accommodation - a place to stay
• advice - a piece of advice
• baggage - a piece of baggage
• bread - a slice of bread, a loaf of bread
• furniture - a piece of furniture
• garbage - a piece of garbage
• information - a piece of information
• knowledge - a fact
• luggage - a piece of luggage, a bag, a suitcase
• money - a note, a coin
• news - a piece of news
• pasta - a plate of pasta, a serving of pasta
• research - a piece of research, a research project
• travel - a journey, a trip
• work - a job, a position

Here are some more common uncountable food types with their container / quantity expressions :

• liquids (water, beer, wine, etc.) - a glass, a bottle, a jug of water, etc.
• cheese - a slice, a chunk, a piece of cheese
• meat - a piece, a slice, a pound of meat
• butter - a bar of butter
• ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard - a bottle of, a tube of ketchup, etc.
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Countable and Uncountable nouns

It's important to distinguish between countable and uncountable nouns in English because their usage is different in regards to both determiners and verbs.

COUNTABLE NOUNS

Countable nouns are for things we can count using numbers. They have a singular and a plural form. The singular form can use the determiner "a" or "an". If you want to ask about the quantity of a countable noun, you ask "How many?" combined with the plural countable noun.

• She has  three dogs .
• I own  a house .
• I would like  two books  please.
• How many friends  do you have?

UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

Uncountable nouns are for the things that we cannot count with numbers. They may be the names for abstract ideas or qualities or for physical objects that are too small or too amorphous to be counted (liquids, powders, gases, etc.). Uncountable nouns are used with a singular verb. They usually do not have a plural form.

We cannot use  a/an  with these nouns. To express a quantity of an uncountable noun, use a word or expression like  some, a lot of, much, a bit of, a great deal of  , or else use an exact measurement like  a cup of, a bag of, 1kg of, 1L of, a handful of, a pinch of, an hour of, a day of . If you want to ask about the quantity of an uncountable noun, you ask "How much?"

• There has been  a lot of research  into the causes of this disease.
• He gave me  a great deal of advice  before my interview.
• Can you give me  some information  about uncountable nouns?
• He did not have  much sugar  left.
• Measure  1 cup of water, 300g of flour, and 1 teaspoon of salt .
• How much rice do you want?

TRICKY SPOTS

Some nouns are countable in other languages but uncountable in English. They must follow the rules for uncountable nouns. The most common ones are: accommodation, advice, baggage, behavior, bread, furniture, information, luggage, news, progress, traffic, travel, trouble, weather, work

• I would like to give you  some advice .
• How much bread  should I bring?
• I didn't make  much progress  today.
• This looks like  a lot of trouble  to me.
• We did  an hour of work  yesterday.

Be careful with the noun  hair  which is normally uncountable in English, so it is not used in the plural. It can be countable only when referring to individual hairs.

• She has long blond hair.
• The child's hair was curly.
• I washed my hair yesterday.
• My father is getting a few grey hairs now. (refers to individual hairs)
• I found a hair in my soup! (refers to a single strand of hair)

Course Curriculum

• NOUN GENDER 15 mins
• Singular and Plural Nouns 25 mins
• Countable and Uncountable nouns 30 mins
• Compound Nouns 25 mins
• Capitalisation Rules 25 mins
• Nationalities 30 mins

200 Common Errors in English

Grammar errors.

• Errors Quiz Lesson 1
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• Errors Quiz Lesson 21
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• Errors Quiz Lesson 23
• Errors Quiz Lesson 24
• Errors Quiz Lesson 25
• Errors Quiz Lesson 26
• Errors Quiz Lesson 27
• Errors Quiz Lesson 28
• Errors Quiz Lesson 29
• Errors Quiz Lesson 30
• Errors Quiz Lesson 31
• Errors Quiz Lesson 32
• Pronunciation Errors Lesson 33 – Errors with similar sounds
• Lesson 34 – Errors with difficult sounds
• Lesson 35 – Errors with confusing combinations of letters
• Lesson 36 – Errors with words that have deceptive spelling (Part 1)
• Lesson 37 – Errors with words that have deceptive spelling (Part 2)
• Lesson 38 – Errors with syllables
• Learning & Mindset Problems Lesson 39 – Learning mistakes (Part 1)
• Lesson 40 – Learning mistakes (Part 2)
• Lesson 41 – Mindset mistakes (Part 1)
• Lesson 42 – Mindset mistakes (Part 2)
• Your Feedback & Next Steps

Lesson 1 – Introduction & Errors with countable and uncountable nouns

Welcome to the 200 Common Errors in English Course!

I’m excited to help you fix your mistakes and improve your English so that you can speak more confidently and fluently – without worrying that you’re doing something wrong.

Today I’m going to explain the structure of the course and the lessons.

The first 21 lessons focus on  grammar mistakes.  I’ll show you the wrong way to say it – the common error – and then the right way, the way a native English speaker would say it. And then I’ll briefly explain why, and I might also give a couple more examples to help you see how the grammar is used correctly.

The next section is all about  vocabulary mistakes  – using the wrong word. The English language has a lot of words that seem similar, but are actually different. I’ll teach you how to avoid mistakes made by both English learners and native English speakers, so that you’ll know how to use these words the right way.

After that, we’ll study  spelling mistakes , which are so easy to make because English pronunciation and spelling are very irregular! A lot of words are spelled differently from how they might sound, and trying to learn spelling “rules” is frustrating because there are so many exceptions. But in these lessons you’ll learn the most common misspellings and how to fix them.

Next, we’ll work on  pronunciation  – and this section requires your active participation, as I’ll ask you to listen and repeat after me in order to say things correctly and avoid the common errors! Don’t be shy; give it a try. Practicing and fixing pronunciation mistakes will help you reduce your accent, so that other people can understand you better when you speak English.

The final part of the course focuses on  learning and mindset mistakes.  It’s about correcting bad study habits or bad thinking habits that language learners tend to have. In some ways, this is the most important section of the course because these things are at the foundation of everything you do when you’re trying to improve your English – so ask yourself if you’re making any of these errors!

THE FORMAT FOR EACH LESSON IS SIMPLE:

First,  watch the video . You can pause it if you need to take notes.

Next,  try the quiz  so that you can review and test your understanding. You can check your answers by clicking “Finish quiz” and then “View questions.”

One extra thing you can do is to try creating your own sentences, putting into practice what you learned in the lesson.

As you finish each activity, make sure to click “Mark Complete” to check it off:

You’ll have permanent access to this course, so you can go back and review the videos anytime in the future. If you have any technical trouble, just send me an e-mail and I’m happy to help.

By the end of this course, you’ll know all about the most common errors in grammar, vocabulary, spelling, pronunciation, and learning and mindset – so that you can avoid them and speak better English.

Go ahead and start Lesson 1!

Hello students!

We’re going to start our course by learning about the most common grammar mistakes.

Before we begin, I’d like to remind you that when we speak English, our grammar is not always perfect (especially when it comes to sentence structure). The grammar of spoken English is a little more “flexible” than what we expect in written English. That means that usually people can understand you, even if you’ve made a small mistake with a preposition or a verb tense.

I don’t want you to think that grammar mistakes are serious or disastrous, and I definitely don’t want the fear of mistakes to prevent you from trying to use your English.

Mistakes are nothing to be afraid of… but of course we do want to fix them or avoid them – that’s why you’re taking this course!

Just remember: don’t be afraid of mistakes, and don’t let them stop you from speaking. But let’s learn how to avoid the most common ones together. We’ll begin with some common errors involving nouns and pronouns.

• I need some informations .
• He gave me a lot of advices .
• I need some information .
• He gave me a lot of advice .

Information and advice are considered uncountable nouns, and they are never plural.

In English, we have two types of nouns – countable nouns:

• one book , two books
• one person , ten people
• one picture , a hundred pictures

And we have uncountable nouns, which are often things we can’t count, or can’t divide into individual parts.

Here are some examples of uncountable nouns:

• Ideas and concepts: love, fun, sadness, work, money, peace, safety
• Information: advice, information, news, knowledge
• Categories: music, furniture, equipment, jewelry, literature, stuff, luggage
• Liquids/foods that can’t be counted as units: water, butter, rice, flour, milk

Uncountable nouns are NEVER plural, so it’s always incorrect to say advices, equipments, informations , etc.

Some uncountable nouns – especially information, advice, news, furniture, equipment, jewelry, and luggage – can be quantified by using the word “piece”:

• We bought two pieces of furniture – a bookcase and a dresser.
• She gave me three pieces of advice: study hard, have fun, and make friends.

There are some complications – for example, some nouns can be countable in some situations and uncountable in others.

The word room is countable when referring to the specific places in a house, apartment, hotel, etc. And it is uncountable when referring to space in general:

• Our house has five rooms: the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, living room, and family room. (countable)
• I’ll make some room for these new books in the bookshelf. (uncountable)

If you want to see more examples of nouns that can be both countable and uncountable, click here .

There’s also a big list of uncountable nouns, which also identifies the nouns that can be both: https://ieltsliz.com/uncountable-nouns-word-list/

• How many equipment is in the factory?
• I have few knowledge in this area.
• How much equipment is in the factory?
• I have little knowledge in this area.

With uncountablenouns, we can use much, little , and amount of:

• How much stuff was stolen?
• I spent a little money at the store.
• The recipe calls for a small amount of butter.

With countablenouns, we can use many, few, and number of:

• How many machines are in the factory?
• I’ve read a few bookson this topic.
• The video was seen by a large number of people .

We can use some and a lot of / lots of with both:

• We bought some equipment / some machines .
• I’ve read a lot of books . / I have a lot of knowledge.
• He put lots of sugar in his coffee. / She ate lots of cookies.

Remember that a lot is always two words, never “alot.” That’s a simple mistake that a lot of native English speakers make as well!

That’s all for today – now you can take a quiz to practice and review these two mistakes and the correct way to say things. See you in the next lesson!

Download:  Text & Quiz  /  Audio Right-click each link and select “Save as…”

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• Grammar Revision: Countable And Uncountable Nouns

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Why do we say There weren’t many people at the party but There wasn’t much wine ?

When you look at these sentences carefully, you’ll notice that it all depends on the noun. People are countable, in that you can count them – 1 person, 2 people. Wine , on the other hand, cannot be counted. You cannot say 1 wine, 2 wines. 2 glasses (or bottles!) of wine, yes, but not just 2 wines. So wine is an uncountable noun.

Countable nouns are nouns we can talk about in the singular and in the plural. Uncountable nouns usually don’t have a plural form.

Countable nouns are objects and things, which is why they are able to be easily counted. Uncountable nouns, on the other hand, are usually abstract concepts ( knowledge, advice) or things or objects which are of a substance such that it is difficult to count ( sand, milk ).

How do we use countable and uncountable nouns?

Countable and uncountable nouns differ in which quantifiers can be used with them. Countable nouns can use: many, a few ; uncountable nouns use: much, a little . Both sets of nouns can use: lots of or a lot of .

What problems do learners have with countable and uncountable nouns?

The first problem learners have with countable and uncountable nouns is understanding the concept and so using incorrect quantifiers.

For example: How many money do you have?

The second problem arises because certain nouns can be countable and uncountable depending on their usage.

For example:

I’ve seen that movie many times.

I didn’t have time to do my homework.

Here, time is countable in the first sentence but uncountable in the second.

A final problem is the fact that uncountable nouns are not used in the plural. Learners may not realise this and may use them in the plural form. This may also be a transfer problem from their first language in which the same noun is countable.

For example: He gave me a lot of informations about the course.

When teaching your students about the different parts of speech, don’t gloss over nouns because you think they are a simple aspect of English. In fact, there are lots of rules relating to nouns which need to be clarified to our learners in order for them to be able to use nouns appropriately in their English production. You need to actually focus on the grammar of nouns. In other words, you need to make sure your students know not only the form, meaning and pronunciation of the words, but also the rules governing their use.

A helpful teaching idea is to utilise a categorisation activity in class. Write down a set of countable and uncountable nouns on big pieces of paper and allow the students to put them into two categories on the board – countable and uncountable. Allowing them time to think about and discuss the nouns will help them remember the rules.

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• Countable And Uncountable Nouns

Countable and Uncountable Nouns - Meaning, Definition, Usage and Examples

Nouns , as you already know, are words that are used to name a person, place, animal, thing or idea. Having learnt about the types of nouns, singular nouns and plural nouns, you might be wondering what countable and uncountable nouns are. Is it any different from singular and plural nouns? Well, let’s find out. Go through the article to learn all about it, the meaning and definition of countable and uncountable nouns, and how they are formed and used in sentences along with examples.

Table of Contents

List of countable nouns, list of uncountable nouns, using countable nouns and uncountable nouns in sentences, examples of countable and uncountable nouns, check your understanding of countable and uncountable nouns, frequently asked questions on countable and uncountable nouns, what is a countable noun – meaning and definition.

A countable noun, as the name suggests, refers to nouns that can literally be counted. The number or quantity of countable nouns can be quoted exactly. To identify if a noun is countable, you can ask the question ‘how many’. A countable noun, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, is defined as “a noun that has both a singular and a plural form and names something that can be counted because there can be one or more of it”. The Macmillan Dictionary defines a countable noun as “a noun that has singular and plural forms. In the plural, countable nouns usually add an ‘s’ or ‘es’, for example ‘mistakes’, ‘problems’, and ‘buses’. When it is singular, a countable noun usually comes after a determiner such as ‘a’, ‘this’, ‘any’, or ‘a lot of’, for example ‘this house, ‘a week’, and ‘the way’.”

A countable noun is also defined as “a noun (such as bean or sheet) that forms a plural and is used with a numeral, with words such as many or few, or with the indefinite article a or an”, by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, and “a noun such as ‘ bird’, ‘ chair’, or ‘ year’ which has a singular and a plural form and is always used after a determiner in the singular” by the Collins Dictionary.

Here is a list of a few countable nouns and its plural forms for your reference.

You can check out the articles on singular nouns and plural nouns for more examples.

What is an Uncountable Noun? – Meaning and Definition

Any noun that cannot be counted can be classified as an uncountable noun. Nouns like water, rice, oil, etc. belong to this category. Unlike countable nouns, uncountable nouns do not have a plural form. If the noun in a sentence does not have a specific quantity and answers the question ‘how much’, then it can be considered an uncountable noun. The definition of an uncountable noun according to the Cambridge Dictionary is “a noun that has one form with no plural and names something that there can be more or less of but that cannot be counted”. According to the Macmillan Dictionary, an uncountable noun is “a noun that has no plural form” and also those that “usually refer to abstract things such as ‘advice’, ‘luck’, and ‘information’, or to substances such as ‘milk’, ‘blood’, and ‘smoke’.” Furthermore, “a noun such as ‘ gold’, ‘ information’, or ‘ furniture’ which has only one form and can be used without a determiner” is classified as an uncountable noun by the Collins Dictionary.

Here is a table with some uncountable nouns for your reference.

Once you know what countable and uncountable nouns are, the next step is to learn how to use them in sentences. There is just one fact that makes the usage of countable and uncountable nouns different from each other. Countable nouns are always used with a determiner. Determiners include articles (a, an, the) and quantitative adjectives such as a number, collective nouns that indicate a particular number such as a dozen (12), a pair (2), a score (20), a baker’s dozen (13), etc. and words like a few, lots of, a number of, etc. On the other hand, uncountable nouns can appear with or without a determiner as there is no specific number being referred to. However, there are instances where you can combine an uncountable noun with a countable noun to indicate the exact quantity of the particular noun.

Let us look at a few examples of both countable and uncountable nouns and the different ways in which they are used in sentences.

First, let us look at how countable nouns work.

• I have a dog.
• My mom bought half a kilo of oranges and apples on her way to visit my grandmother in the hospital .
• I had to pick up two of my friends on the way.
• Banu found a few books that could help our research.
• Jason bought a dozen eggs .

Let us now check how uncountable nouns are used in sentences.

• Would you like to have some milk before you go to bed?
• Firoz asked his son to throw out the garbage before he went to college.
• Sanu had blood on her hand; nobody including her knew what had happened.
• Is there any water left in the jug?
• We were asked to collect information about the new education policy before noon.

As already mentioned, uncountable nouns can be combined with countable nouns at times. Let us look at some examples to see how it can be done.

• The doctor has asked me to drink at least eight glasses of water a day.
• We had only two packets of oil left.
• I guess I added an extra teaspoon of sugar to it.
• Veronica needed one more piece of equipment to work on her project.
• I found five packs of unused paper stashed in the top row of my shelf.

Go through the following sentences and identify if the underlined nouns are countable or uncountable.

1. All successful candidates will be notified within a week.

2. I don’t prefer to have tea in the morning.

3. Does anyone have an extra blue pen?

4. The students who had not completed their homework were asked to stay back after class and complete it.

5. My mom’s watch stopped working.

6. The soil used has to be really fertile if you want the plants to grow well.

7. Chitra broke her spectacles while playing volleyball.

8. You have to saute all the vegetables and add rice only after the vegetables are half cooked.

9. How many apples did you buy?

10. Will the food be enough for our guests?

Let us find out if you identified the nouns correctly. Check out the answers given below.

Candidates – Countable, Week – countable

Tea – Uncountable

Blue pen – Countable

Students – Countable

Watch – Countable

Soil – uncountable, Plants – Countable

Spectacles – Countable

Vegetables – – Countable, Rice – uncountable

Apples- Countable

Food – Uncountable

What is a countable noun?

A countable noun, as the name suggests, refers to nouns that can literally be counted. The number or quantity of countable nouns can be quoted exactly. To identify if a noun is countable, you can ask the question ‘how many’.

What is an uncountable noun?

Any noun that cannot be counted can be classified as an uncountable noun. Nouns like water, rice, oil, etc. belong to this category. Unlike countable nouns, uncountable nouns do not have a plural form. If the noun in a sentence does not have a specific quantity and answers the question ‘how much’, then it can be considered an uncountable noun.

Give some examples of countable nouns.

Nouns such as elephant, man, girl, baby, watermelon, tomato, onion, plant, bus, train, ticket, pencil, book, page, peacock, etc. are some examples of countable nouns.

Give some examples of uncountable nouns.

Rice, soil, oil, water, advice, hair, air, pressure, blood, pain, luggage, smoke, data, etc. are a few examples of uncountable nouns.

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What is the plural form of the word “coursework”?

I wonder what is the plural form of the word “coursework”?

Courseworks seem to be incorrect.

• plural-forms

2 Answers 2

"Coursework" is a mass noun, which means it is uncountable and used in similar ways to other mass nouns you might be more familiar with. Think water , love , or ass-kicking .

Here is a sentence from Cambridge English Corpus

Studio courses are intended as the point of integration for all other coursework and educational experiences. ( source )

Similarly, words such as "schoolwork" and "homework" are also mass nouns. You can't count them or pluralize them.

My science teacher always sets a lot of homework.

• Ass-kicking is not a mass noun. "If you don't finish this soon I will give you an ass-kicking." Water is primarily a mass noun, and love is commonly a mass noun ('Love is the most important thing to have in your life.'), but is often a countable noun as well ('She is the love of my life.'; 'Find a new love.'). –  Brandin Commented Nov 8, 2018 at 7:02
• Thanks. Is there any website that I can use to find out if a noun is accountable or not? –  Lei Xun Commented Nov 8, 2018 at 7:49
• @Brandin A lot of words are not strictly mass nouns. Of course, we could find words that are "more" uncountable than others, whose plural forms are considered non-idiomatic, as examples. I was just giving examples off the top of my head and wasn't trying to list "pure" mass nouns. "Ass-kicking" is also a mass noun. "I have some ass-kicking to do." –  Eddie Kal Commented Nov 8, 2018 at 15:43
• @LeiXun Try MacMillan and Cambridge Dictionaries. –  Eddie Kal Commented Nov 8, 2018 at 15:44

Coursework (uncountable) can encompass a wide range of activities, including practice, experimentation, research, and writing. As for the latter, the term is a coursework essay , for example:

There was a pile of coursework essays on the table. How many coursework essays have you read today?

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Not the answer you're looking for browse other questions tagged plural-forms ..

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Definition of class noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.

2. MH_Nouns_Countable & Uncountable

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