COUNTABLE AND

UNCOUNTABLE
NOUNS
Classification
 common: cat, dog
 proper: Jane, Alice

 countable: house, book

 uncountable: money, information

 regular: pencil, desk

 irregular: man-men, woman-women, mouse-mice
Classification
 concrete: table, chair
 abstract: courage, beauty, love

 simple: cat, dog

 compound: sister-in-law, travel agent

 collective/group: team, family, class

Pairs of nouns (people)
 Boy-girl
 Gentleman-lady
 Man-woman
 Husband-wife
 Bachelor-spinster
 Bridegroom-bride
 Nephew-niece
 Widower-widow
 Duke-duchess
 Earl-countess
Pairs of nouns (animals)
 Bull-cow
 Cock-hen
 Dog-bitch
 Stallion-mare
 Lion-lioness
 Ram-ewe
Plurals
 Adding -s to the singular (pronounced /s/ after p,
k, f, otherwise /z/). When placed after ce, ge,
se, ze – an extra syllable /iz/ is added to the
spoken word (houses)
 Nouns ending in o, ch, sh, ss, x add -es:
churches, kisses, boxes. Exc: words of foreign
origin: pianos, sopranos, kilos, photos, kimonos
 Nouns ending in y + a consonant drop the y and
add -ies: ladies, babies. If y + vowel, then we
add –s in the plural: days, guys
Plurals
 Nouns ending in -f or -fe and adding -ves:
loaves, wives, wolves
 Exc: cliffs, handkerchiefs, safes
 Vowel change in foot-feet, goose-geese,
louse-lice, man-men, mouse-mice, tooth-
teeth, child-children, ox-oxen
 No change in the plural: fish, deer, sheep
Plurals
 Collective nouns (crew, family, team) can take a
singular verb (a single group or unit: Our team is
the best.) or a plural verb (a number of
individuals: Our team are wearing ... ).
 When a possessive adjective is necessary, a
plural verb with ‘their’ is more usual than a
singular verb with ‘its’, but sometimes both are
possible: The jury is considering its verdict./The
jury are considering their verdict.
Plurals
 Words which are always plural and take a
plural verb: clothes, police, pyjamas,
trousers, pants and tools/instruments such
as binoculars, glasses, scissors,
spectacles, scales + goods, outskirts
 Names of sciences ending in -ics are
singular: Mathematics is an exact science.
Plurals
 Words plural in form but singular in meaning
include news (The news is good.), mumps, games
such as billiards, darts
 Words retaining their original Greek or Latin forms:
crisis-crises /kraisis-kraisi:z/, memorandum-
memoranda, oasis-oases, phenomenon-
phenomena, axis-axes, basis-bases, stimulus-
stimuli, stratum-strata, datum-data
 Two plural forms with different meanings:
appendix-appendixes (anatomical) – appendices
(addition to a book), index-indexes (book) – indices
(mathematics)
Compound nouns
 Normally the last word is made plural: boy-
friends, travel agents, BUT men drivers,
women drivers
 The first word is made plural with
compounds formed of verb + er nouns +
adverbs: lookers-on and with compounds
of noun + preposition + noun: sisters-in-
law
 Initials can be made plural: MPs, VIPs
Uncountable nouns
 Abstract nouns: beauty, courage
 Food products considered generally: bread,
tea, jam, coffee
 Nouns such as: furniture, luggage, baggage,
damage, information, knowledge, advice,
news, (work) experience
Uncountable nouns
 Uncountable nouns are singular and are not
used with a/an: I don’t want advice or help. I
want some information.
 These nouns are often preceded by some,
any, no, a little or by nouns such as a
bit/piece/slice etc. of: a piece of cake, a loaf
of bread, a lump of sugar, a bar of soap, a
piece of chalk, a sheet of paper, a piece of
advice, a piece/an item of information/news.
Possessive
 The possessive case is mainly used with people,
countries, animals + in time expressions (today’s
paper, a week’s holiday, ten minutes’ break/a ten-
minute break, two hours’ delay/a two-hour delay;
He is going to the dentist’s. We met at Ann’s.)
 Names ending in -s can take ’s or the apostrophe
alone: Mr. Jones’s/Jones’ house
 With compounds the last word takes the -s: my
brother-in-law’s house, The Prince of Wales’s wife
 The walls of the town = the town walls