4/14/2020 Countable and uncountable nouns | English Grammar | EF
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English grammar (/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/) / Nouns (/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/nouns/)
COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE
NOUNS
It's important to distinguish between countable and uncountable nouns in English because their usage is di erent 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.
Singular Plural
one dog two dogs
one horse two horses
one man two men
one idea two ideas
one shop two shops
EXAMPLES
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.
EXAMPLES
tea
sugar
water
air
rice
knowledge
beauty
anger
fear
love
money
research
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4/14/2020 Countable and uncountable nouns | English Grammar | EF
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evidence
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?"
EXAMPLES
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 our, 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, tra c, travel, trouble, weather, work
EXAMPLES
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.
EXAMPLES
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)
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