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: Counta ble dollar song suitcase table battery bottle Uncounta ble money music luggage furniture electricity wine

report tip journey job view

informatio n advice travel work 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 Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of meaning. Countable There are two hairs in my coffee! There are two lights in our bedroom. Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise. Have you got a paper to read? (= newspaper) Our house has seven rooms. We had a great time at the party. Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's greatest works. Uncountable hair I don't have much hair. ligh Close the curtain. There's too much t light! nois It's difficult to work when there is too e much noise. pap I want to draw a picture. Have you got er some paper? roo m Is there room for me to sit here?

time Have you got time for a coffee? wor I have no money. I need work! k

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. Countable and Uncountable Nouns the, a, an Plurals

Types of Uncountable Noun Practice Nouns

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. Cody ate a piece of cake. Paul saw an anteater at the zoo. How many banana peels did Joseph slip on? Just one. Pieces of cake can be counted. 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 cant 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 doesnt make any sense because air can't be counted. How many weathers? Weather cannot be counted. How many musics? Music cannot be counted. Use the word songs when you want to count how much music you have.)

Myra enjoyed the warm weather. Diana didn't like the music the band played at the concert.

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: Countableconcrete and specific The lectures were scheduled once a week during the summer. We went to hear all eight lectures. Kids can make a lot of different noises. (different kinds of sounds) For Sale: House with 6 rooms and a barn We had three great meals at the hotel. The Mona Lisa is a famous work by DaVinci. There are three other Da Vinci works in the museum. lecture noise room meal work Uncountableabstract; general statement of fact He hates lectures. Kids can make a lot of noise. (Kids, generally, make noise, and a lot of it!) There wasnt any room for me on the plane. (room, meaning space) Its not healthy to skip meals. 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 corn lettuce dust sand rye hair spinach rice popcorn flour garlic sugar salt oats 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 Compon ents package, letter carrot, tomato slacks, shoes cookie, cracker pineapple, banana bed, chair egg shell, tin can ring, bracelet flywheel, cog

mail vegetable clothing food fruit furniture garbage jewelry machinery

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 geograp geology music

hy advertisi medicin grammar ng e biology sociology econom ics law history mechani cs accounti ng

mathema linguistic tics s

Abstract ideas strengt equalit sadness h y anger love selfishne ss slang trouble wealth wisdom

happin knowled patriotis ess ge m laughter laziness leisure Liquids peace permissi on relaxati on

wonder hatred courag health e crime help

oil syrup tea

water coffee soda

milk vodka molasses Gases

gasoline juice saliva

helium

methane

air ether carbon monoxide

oxygen ozone hydrogen

Solids, minerals, and elements Countable and uncountable nouns that refer to a generalized mass lava pork beef ice bread chicken wool cloth coal concret e cotton fire glass gold cheese iron lamb lead meat ice wood plastic silver soap steel

Sports and Recreational Activities archery aerobics badminton baseball bowling bridge checkers chess football hockey jogging Monopoly Scrabble soccer surfing swimming tag tennis water polo volleyball

Natural Phenomena snow col darkn d ess de fo w g fro gravi st ty hail

humidit lig lightni mi rai sle heat y ht ng st n et Medical Conditions

thund er

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. arthriti hiccu cance s ps r AIDS flu polio tuberculo sis lupus

measl smallp es ox

Scientific processes and procedures anesthesia fission sonar dissection electroshock fusion radar 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 Uncountable Countable Singular:

Countable plural

Countable plural Uncountable

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 uncountable Use

countable noun countable use

Uncountable (general) Use Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. He likes to eat cake. She has gorgeous hair. Anthropology is the study of man.

Countable (specific) Use I have heard about the beauties of the French countryside. He brought four double-fudge chocolate cakes to the party. The detective found several blond hairs on the body of the victim. Those men standing at the coffee machine were my teachers last year at school.