English Grammar

Countable / Uncountable Nouns

A noun can be countable or uncountable. Countable nouns can be "counted", they have a

singular and plural form .

For example:

 A book, two books, three books .....

 An apple, two apples, three apples ....

Uncountable nouns (also called mass nouns or noncount nouns) cannot be counted, they
are not seperate objects. This means you cannot make them plural by adding -s, because
they only have a singular form. It also means that they do not take a/an or a number in front
of them.

For example:

 Water
 Work
 Information
 Coffee
 Sand

Countable Uncountable
(use a/an or a number in front of (there is no a/an or number with
countable nouns) uncountable nouns)
An Apple / 1 Apple Rice
I eat rice every day. (not I eat a rice
I eat an apple every day.
every day.)
Add (s) to make a countable noun There is no plural form for an
plural uncountable noun
apples rice
I eat an apple every day. Apples I eat rice every day. Rice is good for
are good for you. you.
To make uncountable nouns countable
add a counting word, such as a unit of
A computer= Computers are fun.
measurement, or the general word
piece. We use the form "a ....... of ......."
An elephant=Elephants are large. Rice=a grain of rice
  Water=a glass of water
  Rain=a drop of rain
  
You can use some and any with
countable nouns.
Some dogs can be dangerous.
I don't use any computers at work.
You only use many and few with
plural countable nouns. 
So many elephants have been hunted
that they are an endangered species.
There are few elephants in England.
You can use a lot of and no with
plural countable nouns.  uncountable nouns.
No computers were bought last week.
A lot of computers were reported
broken the week before.
Music=a piece of music
You can use some and any with
uncountable nouns.
I usually drink some wine with my
meal.
I don't usually drink any water with my
wine.
You only use much and little with
uncountable nouns.
I don't usually drink much coffee.
Little wine is undrinkable though.
You can use a lot of and no with
A lot of wine is drunk in France.
No wine is drunk in Iran.

Some mass nouns refer to groups of specific things.

For example:-

Tables, chairs, cupboards etc. are grouped under the mass nounfurniture. 
Plates, saucers, cups and bowls are grouped under the mass nouncrockery.
Knives, forks, spoons etc. are grouped under the collective noun cutlery.
When you are travelling suitcases, bags etc. are grouped under the mass
noun luggage / baggage. 

Making uncountable nouns countable

You can make most uncountable noun countable by putting a countable expression in front
of the noun.

For example:-

 A piece of information.
 2 glasses of water.
 10 litres of coffee.
 Three grains of sand.
 A pane of glass.
Sources of confusion with countable and uncountable nouns

The notion of countable and uncountable can be confusing.

Some nouns can be countable or uncountable depending on their meaning. Usually a noun
is uncountable when used in a general, abstract meaning (when you don't think of it as a
separate object) and countable when used in a particular meaning (when you can think of it
as a separate object).

For example:-

glass - Two glasses of water. (Countable) | A window made of glass. (Uncountable)

| glasses - I wear glasses. (Always plural)

Some supposedly uncountable nouns can behave like countable nouns if we think of them
as being in containers, or one of several types.

This is because 'containers' and 'types' can be counted.

Believe it or not each of these sentences is correct:-

Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two coffees a day. 

(Here coffees refers to the number of cups of coffee) 
You could write; "Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two cups of coffee a day."

The coffees I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian. 

(Here coffees refers to different types of coffee)
You could write; "The types of coffee I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian."

Remember It

Questions
How much ....? = uncountable nouns

For example: How much coffee do you drink?

How many ....? = countable nouns

For example: How many cups of coffee do you drink?

Uncounta
Sugar Jewellery Cheese Wine Furniture Money
ble

How much How much How much How much How much How much
Uncountable
sugar is jewellery is cheese is wine is furniture is money is
Question
there? there? there? there? there? there?
There's a There's There's
There's a lot There's There's a lot of
Answer lot of some some
of cheese. some wine. money.
sugar. jewellery. furniture.
Add a word bowl piece round bottle piece bag
Make it
Countabl A bowl of A piece of A round of A bottle of A piece of A bag of
sugar. jewellery. cheese. wine. furniture. money.
e

How How
Countabl How How How How
manypiece manypiece
e manybowl manyround manybottle manybags of
s of s of
s of sugar s of cheese s of wine money are
Question jewellery furniture
are there? are there? are there? there?
are there? are there?
There's
There's There are There are There are There are
Answer only one
one bowl two pieces threeround twopieces  four bags of
bottle of
of sugar. of jewellery. s of cheese. of furniture. money.
wine. 
   

What about money?

Money is

uncountable, but you

can count how much
money or cash you
have. Accountants
do it all the time.

So, how much

money have you
got?

First you can put

your money into
piles.
A pile
of
How many piles of
money
money have you
got?

You can put money

into bags.
Two
bags
How many bags of
of
money have you
money
got?

Two
£2
pound
You can use
different currencies.
s $2
Two
How many English
pounds have you
dollars €2
got?
Two
euros

Unit 8 - Lesson 38 - Countable

vs Uncountable Nouns
Some, Any, A few, A little, Many, Much
Remember It

How much ....? = uncountable nouns

For example: How much coffee do you drink?
How many ....? = countable nouns
For example: How many cups of coffee do you drink?
How much? How many?
  Countable Nouns Uncountable Nouns
In We use how many with We use how
questions: plural countablenouns:- much with uncountablenouns:-
"How many newspapers do "How much paper is in the
 
you read every day?" printer?"
"How many Euros have you
  "How much money have you got?"
got?"
Revise It - How much and How many Lesson 36

Learn

Some, Any
Countable Uncountable

people.
money.
cups.
traffic.
books.
paper.
newspapers.
There are some There is some time.
chairs.
coffee.
shoes.
food.
Euros.

  Countable Uncountable

We can use some in positive We can use some in positive

Statements
sentences with sentences
:
plural countablenouns:- with uncountable nouns:-
Positive: I read some books. I would like some coffee.
 Countable Uncountable

people.
money
cups.
.
books.
traffic.
There newspapers There
paper.
aren't any . isn't any
time.
chairs.
coffee.
shoes.
food.
Euros.

We can use any in negative We can use any in negative

Statement: sentences with sentences
plural countable nouns:- with uncountable nouns:-

Negative
I don't read any books. I don't want any coffee.
:

Countable Uncountable

people? money
cups? ?
books? traffic?
newspapers? paper?
Are(n't) there any Is(n't) there any
chairs? time?
shoes? coffee?
Euros? food?

Questions: We can use any in questions We can use any in questions with

with plural countable nouns:- plural uncountable nouns:-
Positive Q: Are there any books? Do you need any coffee?

Negative
Aren't there any books? Don't you need any coffee?
Q:
!Note! When you expect the answer to be "Yes." to an offer or polite
request, you can ask a question using some.

  Countable Uncountable

Question: Can I have some books, please? Would you like some coffee?

A few, A little
people mone
cups y
books traffic
newspapers paper
There are a few There is a little
chairs time
shoes coffee
Euros food

  Countable Uncountable

Statements
   
:
"There is a little paper in the
Positive: "I meet a few people every day."
printer."
  "I only have a few Euros." "I only have a little money."
 

Many, Much
mone
people y
cups traffic
books paper
There aren't many There isn't much
newspapers time
chairs coffee
shoes
food

  Countable Uncountable
Statements:    
Negative: I don't read many books. I don't drink much coffee.

Questions
   
:

Positive
Are there many books? Do you need much coffee?
Q:

Negative Aren't there many books? Don't you need much coffee?