COUNTABLE NOUN AND UNCOUTABLE NOUN

Nouns can be countable or uncountable. When you learn a new noun you
should make a note of whether it is countable or uncountable as we use different
words with countables and uncountables.

A. Countable Noun
Countable nouns are for things we can count using numbers. They have a
singular and a plural form. These are shown in the dictionary by the letter (C) or
the abbreviation (count). 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.

1. Countable nouns usually form their plural by adding 's' to the singular form
Singular Plural = ‘s’
Problem Problems
Effect Effects
Issue Issues

2. Countable nouns ending in 'y' usually form their plural by deleting 'y' and
adding 'ies'
Singular = ‘y’ Plural = ‘ies’
Country Countries
Study Studies
Theory Theories

3. Some countable nouns come from Greek or Latin and have irregular plural
forms
Singular = ‘is’ Plural = ‘es’
Analysis Analyses
Basis Bases
Crisis Crises

4. Irregular countable nouns from Greek or Latin

Singular = ‘is’ Plural = ‘es’
 Emphasis Emphases
Hypothesis Hipotheses
Thesis Theses

5. Irregular countable nouns from Greek

Singular = ‘on’ Plural = ‘a’
Criterion Criteria
Phenomenon Phenomena

6. Some countable nouns come from Greek or Latin but follow the English
rules
Singular Plural = ‘s’
Dogma Dogmas
Formulas (the latin form ‘formulae’
Formula
is used by scientists)

7. Some countable nouns from Latin ada Greek have two plural forms with
different meanings
Singular Plural = ‘xes’ or ‘ces’
Appendixes (medical term)
Appendix
Appendices (medical term)
Appendix Appendices (additions in book)
Index Indexes (in a book)
Index Indices (mathematical term)

Examples:
- We could see a ship in the distance.
- I have two brothers, John and Mark.
- I've got a problem with the car.
- Do you like these photos?
- I'm going out for five minutes.

B. Uncountable Noun
An uncountable noun is a word that refers to a body, or mass, of
something. Uncountable nouns refer to things that cannot be counted. These are
shown in the dictionary with the letter (U), the abbreviation (uncount.), or the
word (mass). Examples: tea, sugar, water, air, rice, knowledge, beauty, anger,
fear, love, money, research, safety, 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 flour, and 1 teaspoon of salt.
How much rice do you want?

Nouns With Countable And Uncountable Meanings

Some nouns have both countable and uncountable meanings:
Countable meaning Uncountable meaning
Substances
I need an iron to press my trousers. Steel is made from iron.
My grandma raises chickens. Would you prefer chicken or turkey?
Different kinds of stone can be used for
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
different purposes.
We found ourselves in the middle of
All the desks in here are made of wood.
the wood.
A glass of beer, please. Glass does not conduct electricity well.
Would you like a coffee? Would you like some coffee?
Activities
Eastern thought is characterised by
I had an interesting thought yesterday.
dualism.
Simon got a basketball for Christmas. Basketball is played by teams of five.
Mr Pit runs a business selling
Online business is thriving these days.
recyclable diapers.
I've just read War and Peace by
No war is a just war.
Tolstoy.
My literature professor's cats usually How was work today?
 get their names from Shakespeare's
works.
Abstract notions
This boy is a real help around the
I need some help to finish this essay.
house.
Languages can become extinct. Language is a human instinct.
Those apples are real beauties. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
It's always good to do small kindnesses
I thanked her for her kindness.
for each other.
Success is often only the result of hard
The play was a success.
work.
Emotions
And now, some of my worries about
Worry is usually a destructive emotion.
the project.
He was torn between two loves. All you need is love.
Aristotle's definition of catharsis is
I have a fear of heights.
based on experiencing pity and fear.
There are hopes of finding a remedy for
Hope dies last.
your disease.
It is a pleasure to have met you. Pat finds great pleasure in nursing.

Collective Nouns
A collective noun is a collection of things taken as a whole. For example,
in the phrase "a pride of lions", pride is a collective noun. Most collective nouns
in everyday speech for example, such as "group", are mundane and are not
specific to a kind of object. For example, the terms "group of people", "group of
dogs", and "group of ideas" are all correct uses. Others, especially words
belonging to the large subset of collective nouns known as terms of venery (words
for groups of animals), are specific to one kind of constituent object. For example,
"pride" as a term of venery refers to lions, but not to dogs or cows.
Examples:

Birds
(alternatives in brackets)
A colony of auks (flock, raft)
A colony of avocets
A flock of birds (dissimulation, fleet,
flight, parcel, pod, volary, )
A sedge of bitterns (siege)
A chain of bobolinks
A bellowing of bullfinches
A flock of bustards
A wake of buzzards
A tok of capercaillies
A muse of capons
A brood of chickens (cletch, clutch,
peep)
A chattering of choughs (clattering)
A covert of coots ( commotion, cover,
fleet, flock, pod, rasp, swarm)
A flight of cormorants (gulp)
A sedge of cranes (herd, sedge, siege)
A murder of crows ( hover, muster,
parcel)
A head of curlews (herd)
A trip of dotterels
A dole of doves ( dule, flight,
piteousness, pitying, prettying)
A flush of ducks (badelynge, brace,
bunch, dopping, flock, paddling,
plump, raft, safe, skein, sord, string,
team)
A flight of dunbirds (rush)
A fling of dunlins
A convocation of eagles (aerie)
A cast of falcons
A charm of finches (chirm, trembling,
trimming)
A stand of flamingos
A gaggle of geese (flock, plump,
skein, team, wedge)
A charm of goldfinches (chattering,
A fleet of mudhens
A watch of nightingales (match, pray)
A pride of ostriches (flock)
A parliament of owls (stare)
A fling of oxbirds
A company of parrots (flock,
pandemonium, psittacosis)
A covey of partridges (bevy, bew,
clutch, warren)
A muster of peacocks (ostentation,
pride)
A pod of pelicans (scoop)
A colony of penguins (parcel, rookery)
A cadge of peregrines
A nye of pheasants (bouquet, head, nide,
warren, )
A flight of pigeons (flock, kit, passel, )
A knob of pintails [small number]
A congregation of plovers (band, flight,
leash, stand, wing)
A rush of pochards (flight, knob[small
number])
A run of poultry
A covey of ptarmigans
A bevy of quails (covey, drift)
An unkindness of ravens (aerie,
conspiracy)
A crowd of redwings
A parliament of rooks (building,
clamour, congregation, shoal, wing)
A hill of ruffs
A fling of sandpipers
A cloud of seafowls
A squabble of seagulls
A dopping of sheldrakes (doading)
A walk of snipes (wisp)
A host of sparrows (meinie, quarrel,
tribe, ubiquity)
drum, troubling)
A dopping of goosanders
A flight of goshawks
A covey of grouse (brace, brood,
flight, pack)
A bazaar of guillemots
A colony of gulls
A mews of hawks (aerie, cast, kettle,
mew, moulting, screw, stream)
A brood of hens
A sedge of herons (flight, hedge,
rookery, siege)
A charm of hummingbirds
(chattering, drum, troubling)
A colony of ibises
A band of jays (party, scold)
A desert of lapwings (deceit)
A parcel of linnets
An exaltation of larks (ascension,
bevy, flight)
A congregation of magpies (charm,
flock, gulp, murder, tiding, tittering,
tribe, )
A sord of mallards (flush, puddling,
sute)
A plump of moorhens
Mammals
(alternatives in brackets)
A cluster of antelopes (herd, tribe)
A shrewdness of apes (troop)
A pace of asses (drove, coffle, herd)
A congress of baboons (flange,
troop)
A cete of badgers (colony)
A cloud of bats (colony)
A sloth of bears (sleuth)
A colony of beavers (family, lodge)
A herd of bisons (gang)
A sute of bloodhounds
A herd of boars (singular)
A sounder of (wild) boars [12+]
A herd of bucks (leash)
A gang of buffalos (herd, obstinacy)
A drove of bullocks
A flock of camels (caravan, herd,
train)
A murmuration of starlings (chattering,
cloud, congregation, clutter)
A mustering of storks (flight, phalanx)
A flight of swallows (gulp)
A herd of swans (bank, bevy, drift,
eyrar, game, herd, lamentation, sownder,
squadron, team, wedge, whiteness,
whiting)
A flock of swifts
A spring of teals (bunch, coil, knob,
raft)
A mutation of thrushes
A flock of turkeys (dole, dule, raffle,
raft, rafter, posse)
A pitying of turtledoves
A colony of vultures (committee, wake)
A plump of waterfowls (bunch, knob,
raft)
A company of widgeons (bunch, coil,
flight, knob, trip)
A trip of wildfowls (bunch, knob, lute,
plump,scry, skein, sord, sute)
A fall of woodcocks (covey, flight,
plump)
A descent of woodpeckers
A herd of wrens (flock)
A husk of jackrabbits
A mob of kangaroos (troop)
A kindle of kittens (litter)
A fall of lambs
A leap of leopards (lepe)
A kindle of leverets
A pride of lions (flock, sault, sawt,
sowse, troop)
A herd of llamas
A stud of mares
A richness of martens (richesse)
A mischief of mice (horde, nest, trip)
A labour of moles (company, movement)
A band of mongooses (pack)
A troop of monkeys (cartload, mission,
tribe, wilderness)
A herd of moose
A barren of mules (pack, rake, span)
A herd of caribous
A clowder of cats (glaring, cluster,
clutter)
A destruction of (wild) cats (dout,
dowt)
A herd of cattle (drift, drove, mob)
A herd of chamois
A coalition of cheetahs
A colony of chinchillas
A rake of colts (rack, rag)
A bury of conies (game)
A flink of cows [12+]
A pack of coyotes (band, rout)
A litter of cubs
A cowardice of curs
A herd of deers (bunch, leash, mob,
parcel, rangale)
A pack of dogs (kennel)
A pod of dolphins (flock, school,
team)
A herd of donkeys (drove)
A herd of elands
A herd of elephants (parade)
A gang of elks (herd)
A business of ferrets (cast, fesnying)
A skulk of foxes (earth, lead, leash,
troop)
A brace of geldings
A horde of gerbils
A journey of giraffes (corps, group,
herd, tower)
A herd of gnus (implausibility)
A trip of goats (flock, herd, trip,
tribe)
A band of gorillas (whoop)
A leash of greyhounds
A group of guinea pigs
A horde of hamsters
A drove of hares (down, flick, herd,
husk, kindle, leash, trace, trip)
A herd of harts
A herd of hartebeests
A array of hedgehogs (prickle)
A parcel of hinds
A bloat of hippopotami (crash, herd,
pod, school, thunder)
A drift of hogs (drove, parcel)
A stable of horses (drove, harras,
A family of otters (bevy, raft, romp)
A team of oxen (drove, herd, meinie,
span, yoke)
A pomp of pekingese
A drove of pigs (drift, flock, herd)
A doylt of (tame) pigs
A sounder of (wild) pigs
A farrow of piglets (litter)
An aurora of polar bears (pack)
A chine of polecats
A string of ponies (herd)
A prickle of porcupines
A school of porpoises (herd, pod)
A coterie of prairie dogs (town)
A litter of pups
A colony of rabbits (bury, drove, flick,
kindle, leash, nest, trace, warren, wrack)
A field of racehorses (string)
A nursery of raccoons (gaze)
A colony of rats (horde, mischief,
swarm)
A crash of rhinoceroses (herd,
stubbornness)
A bevy of roe deers
A colony of seals (harem, herd, pod,
rookery, spring)
A flock of sheep (down, drift, drove,
fold, herd, meinie, mob, parcel, trip)
A surfeit of skunks
A dray of squirrels (colony)
A pack of stoats (trip)
A drove of swine (herd)
A doylt of (tame) swine (drift, trip)
A sounder of (wild) swine [12+]
An ambush of tigers (streak)
A blessing of unicorns
A colony of voles
A huddle of walruses (herd, ugly)
A mob of wallabyies
A sneak of weasels (gang, pack)
A grind of bottle-nosed whales
A school of whales (float, gam, herd,
mob, pod, run, shoal, troup)
A destruction of wildcats (dout)
A herd of wildebeests
A pack of wolves (herd, rout)
A mob of wombats
A herd of yaks
herd, remuda, string, stud, team) A cohort of zebras (herd, zeal)
A pack of hounds (cry, hunt, kennel,
leash, meet, mute, stable, sute)
A clan of hyenas
A herd of ibexes
A couple of impalas
Invertebrates
(alternatives in brackets)
A culture of bacteria A clew of worms
A stuck of jellyfish (fluther, smack, smuth)
Insects and Arachnids
(alternatives in brackets)
A colony of ants (army, bike, swarm) A bike of hornets (nest,
A swarm of bees (bike, cast, cluster, drift, erst, swarm)
game, grist, hive, rabble, stand) A flight of insects (horde,
A bike of (wild) bees plague, rabble, swarm)
A flight of butterflies (kaleidoscope, rabble, A flock of lice (colony,
swarm) infestation)
An army of caterpillars A plague of locusts (cloud,
An intrusion of cockroaches swarm)
A swarm of flies (business, cloud, grist, hatch) A scourge of mosquitoes
A cloud of gnats (horde, rabble, swarm) (swarm)
A cloud of grasshoppers (cluster, swarm) A clutter of spiders (cluster)
A colony of termites (swarm)
A colony of wasps (bike, nest)
Molluscs
A bed of clams A bed of oysters (hive)
A bed of cockles An escargatoire of snails (rout, walk)
A bed of mussels
Fish
(alternatives in brackets)
A company of angel fish A pack of perch
A company of archer fish A shoal of pilchards (school)
A battery of barracudas A cluster of porcupine fish
A shoal of barbels A party of rainbow fish
A fleet of bass (shoal) A shoal of roach
A grind of blackfish A bind of salmons(draught, leap, run,
A school of butterfly fish school, shoal)
A school of cod A family of sardines
A swarm of dragonet fish A herd of seahorses
A troop of dogfish A shoal of shads
A swarm of eels A shiver of sharks (school, shoal)
A shoal of fish (catch, draught, fray, A troupe of shrimps
haul, run, school) A quantity of smelts
A glide of flying fish A shoal of sticklebacks (spread)
A glint of goldfish (troubling) A flotilla of swordfish
A glean of herrings (army, shoal) A hover of trouts (shoal)
A shoal of mackerels A float of tunas (troup)
A shoal of minnows (steam, stream, A pod of whitings
swarm)
Amphibians and Reptiles
(alternatives in brackets)
A quiver of cobras A rhumba of rattlesnakes
A bask of crocodiles (congregation, A den of snakes (bed, knot, nest, pit,
float, nest) trogle)
A herd of dinosaurs (pack) A knot of toads (knob, nest)
A flight of dragons (weyr, wing) A bale of turtles (dule, turn)
An army of frogs (colony, froggery, A nest of vipers (generation)
knot)
A mess of iguanas
People
(alternatives in brackets)
A faculty of academics An eloquence of lawyers
A troupe of acrobats A colony of lepers
A cast of actors/players (company, cry) An audience of listeners
A bench of aldermen An illusion of magicians
A conflagration of arsonists A bench of magistrates
A troupe of artistes A riches of matrons
A team of athletes A morbidity of majors
A tabernacle of bakers A band of men
A babble of barbers A faith of merchants
A promise of barmen A diligence of messengers
A thought of barons A troupe of minstrels
A squad of beaters A side of morris dancers
A bevy of beauties (galaxy) A cortege of mourners
A bench of bishops (psalter) An orchestra of musicians
A blush of boys A tribe of natives
A troop of boy scouts A superfluity of nuns
A feast of brewers A crowd of onlookers
A pack of Brownies A curse of painters (illusion,
A shuffle of bureaucrats misbelieving)
A goring of butchers A malapertness of pedlars
A sneer of butlers A crowd of people (audience,
A slate of candidates congregation, mob)
A chapter of canons (dignity) A troupe of performers (troup)
A company of capitalists (syndicate) A skirl of pipers (poverty)
A congregation of churchgoers A posse of police
A school of clerks A converting of preachers
A cutting of cobblers (drunkship) A pity of prisoners (gang)
A hastiness of cooks A band of robbers
A shrivel of critics A crew of sailors
A cowardice of curs A scolding of seamstresses
A troupe of dancers A house of senators
A decanter of deans (decorum) A subtlety of sergeants at law
A caravan of desert travelers An obeisance of servants
A board of directors A posse of sheriffs
An obstruction of dons A blackening of shoemakers
A staff of employees A choir of singers
A panel of experts A squad of soldiers (army, brigade,
A stalk of foresters company, division, muster, platoon,
A talent of gamblers troop)
A company of girl guides A picket of strikers
A galaxy of governesses A class of students
A conjunction of grammarians A simplicity of subalterns
A herd of harlots A disguising of tailors
A melody of harpists A glozing of taverners
An observance of hermits A den of thieves (gang)
A gang of hoodlums A board of trustees
A cavalcade of horsemen A flock of tourists
A blast of hunters An unction of undertakers
A bench of judges (sentence) A prudence of vicars
A neverthriving of jugglers An ambush of widows
A banner of knights (rout) A coven of witches
A gang of labourers A gaggle of women
A bevy of ladies A gang of workmen
A congregation of worshippers
A worship of writers
A fellowship of yeomen
Miscellaneous
(alternatives in brackets)
A wing of aircraft (flight) A rouleau of coins
A host of angels (chorus) A collective of nouns
A quiver of arrows A bank of monitors
A bundle of asparagus A range of mountains
A belt of asteroids A troop of mushrooms
A bunch of bananas (hand) A rope of onions
A grove of bayonets A coterie of orchids
A carillon of bells (change, peal) A ream of paper
A library of books A budget of papers
A batch of bread (caste) A string of pearls (rope)
A bavin of brushwood A pod of peas
A fleet of cars A phantasmagoria of phantoms
A pack of cards (deck, hand) An anthology of poems
A network of computers A rosary of quotations (mellificium)
A dossier of documents
A clutch of eggs
A bundle of firewood
A bed of flowers (bouquet, bunch,
patch)
A colony of fungi
A pantheon of gods
A bunch of grapes (cluster)
A battery of guns
A budget of inventions
A chain of islands (archipelago)
A cache of jewels
A ring of keys
A fleet of lorries (convoy)
Some That Might Be
A balance of accountants
A bevy of alcoholics
A corps of anatomists
A conflagration of arsonists
An audit of bookkeepers
A rascal of boys
A clutch of breasts
A clutch of car mechanics
A load of cobblers
An unease of compromises
A galaxy of cosmologists
An intrigue of council members
A box of cricketers
An incredulity of cuckolds
A brace of dentists
A bodge of DIYers
A grid of electricians
An exaggeration of fishermen
A revelation of flashers
A fraid of ghosts
A giggle of girls
An expectation of heirs
A vagary of impediments
A diffidence of introverts
A wealth of information
A scoop of journalists
A flush of lavatories
A stack of librarians
A babble of linguists
A number of mathematicians
A compromise of mediators
A clump of reeds
A rabble of remedies
A nest of rumours
A fleet of ships (armada, flotilla)
A pair of shoes
A shrubbery of shrubs
A flight of stairs
A galaxy of stars (constellation)
An anthology of stories
An arcana of tarot cards
An agenda of tasks
A stand of trees (clump, forest, grove)
A shower of meteorologists
An expectation of midwives
A horde of misers
An annoyance of neighbours
A row of oarsmen
A body of pathologists
A virtue of patients
A ponder of philosophers
A clique of photographers
A nucleus of physicists
A breakdown of plans
A flush of plumbers
A complex of psychologists
A following of stalkers
A portfolio of stockbrokers
A fanfare of strumpets
A pack of suitcases
A flight of yesterdays
A jam of tarts
A hug of teddy bears
A ring of telephones
A bunch of things
A promise of tomorrows
A twinkling of todays
A cancellation of trains
An anorak of trainspotters
A linkage of webmasters
A break of winds
An impatience of wives
A yearning of yesterdays
An optimism of youths
An amalgamation of metallurgists