COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

NOUNS

COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

Countable nouns are for things we can count

Example: dog, horse, man, shop, idea.

They usually have a singular and plural form.

Example: two dogs, ten horses, a man, six men, the shops, a few ideas.

Uncountable nouns are for the things that we cannot count

Example: tea, sugar, water, air, rice.

They are often the names for abstract ideas or qualities.


Example: knowledge, beauty, anger, fear, love.


They are used with a singular verb. They usually do not have a plural form. We cannot say sugars, angers, knowledges.

Examples of common uncountable nouns:

money, furniture, happiness, sadness, research, evidence, safety, beauty, knowledge.

We cannot use a/an with these nouns. To express a quantity of one of these nouns, use a word or expression like:
some, a lot of, a piece of, a bit of, a great deal of...

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.
They've got a lot of furniture.
Can you give me some information about uncountable nouns?
Some nouns are countable in other languages but uncountable in English. Some of the most common of these are:

accommodation
advice
baggage
behaviour
bread
furniture
information
luggage
news
progress
traffic
travel
trouble
weather
work

Important lesson to be benefiting from

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