Countable and Uncountable Nouns
Countable nouns (also called count nouns ) are nouns that can be counted (apple, orange) and can be therefore be pluralized (apples, oranges). Uncountable nouns (also known as non-count or mass nouns ) are amounts of something, which we cannot count (gunpowder, rice).
Examples of countable nouns: babies, cakes, dogs, fingers, gowns, huts, ideas, lies, owls, papers, pencils, suitcases
Examples of uncountable nouns: air, ash, barley, bread, butter, dirt, flour, money, fun, gas, grass, gunpowder, ice, ink, juice, luggage, music, news, oil, pepper, rice, sand, soil, steam, sugar, vapour, water, wheat, wine
So how do we know whether a noun is countable or uncountable?
The noun is countable
if we can use the indefinite article a/an before it.
- I own a car. / I play with an ostrich.
if we can use the word many (not much ), more , or most to describe it.
- She has many friends. ( Not : She has much friends.)
if we can express its quantity by using a number before it.
- I have five uncles. You have two grandmothers.
if it takes on singular as well as plural forms.
- an owl / some owls / fifty owls
The noun is uncountable
if a/an is not normally used in front of it.
- He is eating some rice . ( Not: He is eating a rice.) Rice is an uncountable noun, so some (which can be used for both countable and uncountable nouns) is used with it.
if the word much can be correctly used before it.
- How much glue do we need? ( Not: How many glue do we need?)
if it is not possible for us to count it. However, we can make it countable by having a quantity for it.
- I have just bought two cartons or liters / liters of milk. ( Not: I have just bought two milk.)
if it takes only a singular form.
- some ice ( Not: some ices) / some ink ( Not: some inks) / some soup ( Not: some soups)
Examples:
-
There are
two hairs
on the snooker table. (Countable noun)
You think my hair looks nice? (Uncountable noun) -
You can boil
an egg
. (Countable noun)
I like to eat egg . (Uncountable noun as it refers to egg in general, not one or two eggs.) -
Let's stop for
a coffee
on our way to the library. (Countable noun)
She thinks she drinks too much coffee . (Uncountable noun) -
You had
a
bad
experience
on that trip.(Countable noun)
I have no previous experience of this type of work. (Uncountable noun) -
We bought
a
big
fish
and
a
roast
chicken
in the supermarket. (Countable noun)
We had some fish for lunch and chicken for dinner. (Uncountable noun) -
As the group was large, we decided not to clink
glasses
. (Countable noun)
His car windows are made of bulletproof glass . (Uncountable noun) -
I need to press my shirt with
an
iron
before we go. (Countable noun)
The heavy chains are made of iron . (Uncountable noun) -
We could see the bright
lights
of the city from that hill. (Countable noun)
Light emitted by a star takes light-years to reach us. (Uncountable noun) -
I need to press my shirt with
an
iron
before we go. (Countable noun)
The heavy chains are made of iron . (Uncountable noun) -
He never missed the cartoon section in the
papers
(newspapers) every day. (Countable noun)
She can fold paper into shapes that look like dinosaurs. (Uncountable noun) -
I was robbed
two
times
in one week. (Countable noun)
It was a waste of precious time to watch him speak. (Uncountable noun) -
They consider her book
a
definitive
work
on penguins. (Countable noun)
We're going to have some renovation work done on the house. (Uncountable noun)
Examples:
-
Mail
: letters, postcards, bills, packages, parcels, etc.
Not : I received a mail today. -
Furniture
: tables, chairs, beds, desks, cupboard
Not :The family bought a furniture yesterday. -
Fruit
: apples, oranges, bananas, mangoes and papaya
Not : We want to buy two tropical fruits today, some mangoes and a papaya. -
Jewelry
: rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, brooches
Not : I bought a jewelry at Simon's Jewelers this morning.
Countable and Uncountable Nouns are used with the following:
| Countable Noun | Uncountable Noun |
|---|---|
| a, an, a few, several, many, some, | a little, much, some, |
| plenty of, a lot of, a large number of | plenty of, a lot of, a large amount of, a great deal of |
Refer to List 2 - Uncountable Nouns made Countable (Partitive) for more examples.