COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

COUNTABLE NOUNS:

Anything that can be counted, whether singular – a dog, a house, a friend, etc. or plural – a few books, lots of
oranges, etc. is a countable noun.

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.

FOOD – Liquids (water, juice, coffee, tea, milk etc.), bread, sugar, rice, flour, salt, pepper, meat, cheese, butter
etc.

OTHER UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS – money, advice, information, luggage, furniture, air, beauty, anger, fear,
love, research, safety, evidence, intelligence, garbage, music, art, love, happiness, news, power

PLURAL FORMS FOR COUNTABLE NOUNS:

1. most nouns take ”-s” – e.g. books, dogs

2. nouns ending in –s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -o – take ”-es” – e.g. bus – buses, brush – brushes, watch – watches etc.

3. nouns ending in consonant + -y – drop the ”y” and take –ies – country – countries, lady – ladies, baby –
babies etc.

4. nouns ending in vowel + y take ”-s” – boy – boys, toy – toys etc.

5. nouns ending in ”-f” or ”-fe”, drop the ”-f” and take ”-v” + -s – wolf – wolves, elf – elves, life – lives, wife –
wives etc.

There are some irregular nouns:

 child – children
 man – men
 fish – fish
 foot – feet
 goose – geese
 mouse – mice
 sheep – sheep
 tooth – teeth
 woman – women

We can use a/ an with singular countable nouns – a boy, an apple, a house, a school etc.

We can use some – affirmative plural forms/ any- negative or interrogative plural forms – with plural
countable nouns – some boys, some apples.

We can use some/ any with uncountable singular nouns – some butter, some fish, some milk, some water etc.
PLURAL FORMS FOR UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS:

Some uncountable nouns are plural. They have no singular forms with the same meaning, and cannot be used
with numbers. Common examples are: groceries, arms, remains, goods, customs, clothes, thanks, regards,
police etc.

 The police are searching for a white man in his twenties.

 Have you bought the groceries? (NOT Have you bought the grocery?)

 Many thanks for your help.

Other plural uncountable nouns include trousers, jeans, pyjamas, pants, scissors, spectacles/ glasses etc.
 Vocabulary/ Expressions
loaf (n) a quantity of bread that is shaped and baked in one piece; sliced to eat
I need one loaf of bread from the supermarket.

bar (n) a quantity of chocolate

I want to eat a bar of chocolate.

pinch (n) a small quantity; salt, pepper

The recipe calls for a pinch of salt.

box (n) a cardboard container for food; cereal, rice, pasta

He ate the entire box of cereal.

bag (n) a container made of thin plastic, cardboard, or aluminum; potato chips, peanuts,
candy
I bought a big bag of potato chips.

slice (n) a quantity of food usually cut thin; cheese, lemon, pizza
She wants one slice of cheese on her sandwich.

bunch (n) a large amount of food together; bananas, grapes

I bought a bunch of bananas at the supermarket today.

piece (n) a quantity of food that is cut and separated from a larger quantity of food; cake
He ate a piece of cake for breakfast.

jar (n) a glass container for food; honey, jam, pickles

The jar of honey is in the refrigerator.

carton (n) a cardboard container for food; milk, orange juice, eggs
She wants to buy one carton of eggs.

While "much" and "many" are among the most common, the following expressions are often used in place of
"much" and "many," especially in positive sentences:

 A lot of

 Lots of

 Plenty of

 A great deal of

 A large number of

These expressions can are combined with "of" in the sense of "most," "many," or "much."
A lot of people enjoy listening to jazz.
A great deal of time is spent understanding these issues.

But note that "much," "most," and "many" do not take "of."

Most people enjoy listening to some type of music. Not: Most of people...
Much time is spent understanding math. Not: Much of time is spent ...

Much

"Much" is used with uncountable nouns:

There is much interest in learning English around the world.

How much money do you have?
There isn't much butter left in the refrigerator.

"Much" is used in negative sentences and questions, too:

How much money do you have?

There isn't much rice left.

Note that "much" is rarely used in the positive form. English speakers generally use "a lot of" or "lots of" with
uncountable nouns.

We have a lot of time. Not: We have much time.

There is a lot of wine in the bottle. Not: There is much wine in the bottle.

Many

"Many" is used with countable nouns:

How many people came to the party?

There aren't many apples on the table.

Note that "many" is used in the positive form, unlike "much:"

Andrew has a lot of friends / Andrew has many friends.

A lot of my friends live in New York / Many of my friends live in New York.

A Lot of / Lots of / Plenty Of

"A lot of" and "lots of" can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns. "A lot of" and "lots of" are used
in positive sentences:

There is a lot of water in that jar.

He's got lots of friends in London.

Note that generally speaking, "lots of" sounds less formal than "a lot of."

A Little / A Few

"A little" and "a few" indicate a quantity or number.

Use "a little" with uncountable nouns:

There is a little wine in that bottle.

There is a little sugar in my coffee.

Use "a few" with countable nouns.

He has a few friends in New York.

We bought a few sandwiches on our way to the park.

Little / Few

"Little" and "few" indicate a limited quantity.

Use "little" with uncountable nouns:

I have little money to spend.

She found little time for work.

Use "few" with countable nouns:

He has few students in his class.

Jack finds few reasons to stay.

Some

Use "some" in positive sentences when there is neither a lot nor a little.

"Some" can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.

We have some friends who work in Los Angeles.

I've saved some money to spend on vacation this summer.

Any (Questions)

Use "any" in questions to ask if someone has something.

"Any" can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns:

Do you have any friends in San Francisco?

Is there any pasta left?

Note that when offering or requesting something use "some" instead of "any" for polite questions.

Would you like some shrimp? (offer)

Would you lend me some money? (request)

Any (Negative Sentences)

Use "any" with countable and uncountable nouns in negative sentences to state that something doesn't exist.

We won't have any time for shopping today.

They didn't have any problems finding our house.

Enough

Use "enough" with countable and uncountable nouns to state that you are satisfied with the amount of
something.

She has enough time to visit her friends in Dallas.

I think we have enough hamburgers for tomorrow's grill.

Not Enough

Use "not enough" when you are not satisfied with the amount of something.

I'm afraid there's not enough time to continue this conversation.

There are not enough people working at the moment.

Each / Every

Use "each" or "every" when referring to the individuals in a group.

I think every person in this room would agree with me.

I'm sure each step of this process is important.

Large / Big / Vast / Huge Amount of

Use these adjectives with "amount of" with uncountable and countable nouns to express large quantities. This
form is often used to exaggerate just how much there is.

There is a huge amount of work to be done to today.

Tom has a vast amount of knowledge about the subject.

Tiny / Small / Minuscule Amount of

Use these similar adjectives with "amount of" to express very small quantities. This form is often used in
exaggeration to express how little there is of something.

Peter has a small amount of patience, so don't joke around with him.
There is a minuscule amount of time left to register. Hurry up!