COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

It's important to distinguish between countable and uncountable nouns in English because their usage is
different in regards to both determiners and verbs.

COUNTABLE NOUNS
Countable nouns are for things we can count using numbers. They have a singular and a plural form. Only
the singular form of countable nouns 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. We use
quantifiers “few/ a few/ several/ many/ a number of” only with countable nouns.

EXAMPLES: She has three children. How many teeth does the baby have? She’s
got two sisters and a brother. These shoes look old now. I’ll take a few magazines with me for the flight.

UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
Uncountable nouns are for the things that we cannot count with numbers. They may be the names for
abstract ideas or qualities (like honesty, love, time) or for liquids, powders, gases, etc. that are too
amorphous to be counted. Uncountable nouns are used with a singular verb. They usually do not have a
plural form:
● tea, sugar, milk, coffee, flour, rice, butter, meat, juice, water, air, sand, weather, rain, snow
● knowledge, beauty, anger, fear, love, safety, luck, fun, progress
● money, research, evidence, advice, information, furniture, luggage, work, equipment
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, little, a little, a bit of, a great deal of (=quantifiers) 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?
We do not have much sugar left. Measure 1 cup of water, 300g of flour, and 1 teaspoon of salt.
How much rice do you need to make this dish?
Please help yourself to some cheese.
However, uncountable nouns can be paired with measure words expressing plural concept.
Garbage – There are nine bags of garbage on the curb.
Water – Try to drink at least eight glasses of water each day.
Advice – She gave me a useful piece of advice.
News – Look at the latest items of news, they look pretty relevant to what you’re looking for.
Bread – Please buy a loaf of bread. (a slice of bread, a piece of bread…)
Furniture – A couch is a piece of furniture.
Equipment –This is an expensive piece of equipment.
Cheese – Please bag ten slices of cheese for me.
Chocolate – Take a bar of chocolate, it’s really good. I’ll only take a bite.
Milk – There’s a litre of milk in the fridge. Would you like a glass of milk right now?
More examples of ‘measure words’:
a bag of flour | rice, a bar of chocolate | gold | soap, a bottle of Coke | milk | water | wine
a bowl of cereal / rice / soup, a box of cereal / paper, a can of cream / meat / tuna/ fizzy drink
a carton of orange juice / milk, a cup of hot chocolate / coffee / tea, a grain of rice / sand
a drop of blood / oil / water, a glass of beer / juice / water / wine, a tube of glue / lipstick / toothpaste
an item of clothing / news / furniture, a jar of honey / jam / mustard, a pinch of salt/pepper
a piece of advice / furniture / paper/news, a roll of paper / tape / toilet paper / Scotch tape
a slice of bread / cheese / toast, a packet of pasta / crisps / biscuits, a tablespoon of butter / honey
a spoonful of sugar / syrup / whisky, a teaspoon of cinnamon / medicine / salt

TRICKY SPOTS
Some nouns are countable in other languages but uncountable in English. They must follow the rules for
uncountable nouns. (EXAMPLES: I would like to give you some advice. I have an important piece of
information about the political situation in Germany for you. There is no news about his state of health
today. No news is good news.)
The noun hair which is normally uncountable in English, so it is not used in the plural. It can be countable
only when referring to individual hairs. (EXAMPLES: She has long blond hair. My father is getting a few
grey hairs now. (refers to individual hairs) I found a hair in my soup! (refers to a single strand of hair))

QUANTIFIERS
Certain quantifiers can be used with countable nouns (friends, cups, people), others with uncountable
nouns (sugar, tea, money) and still others with all types of nouns.

Only with uncountable nouns With all types of Only with countable nouns
nouns

little / a little no, none, not any few/ a few

several

a bit of, a piece of, an item of some, any a couple of, a number of

enough

much many, too many

a great deal of a lot of, lots of a great number of / a large

number of
Only with uncountable nouns With all types of Only with countable nouns
nouns

a large amount of plenty of hundreds /thousands/ millions

of

Additional video resources:

MUCH, MANY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQIuZ6YJ760
SOME, ANY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRk9EhDcQp4
COUNTABLE NOUNS, COMMON MISTAKES:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWkRGtCd3eY
UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS, COMMON MISTAKES
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjPoypKI11g

Quantifiers: much, many, a lot of, lots of

We use the quantifiers much, many, a lot of, lots of to talk about quantities, amounts and
degree.
Much, many
● We use much with singular uncountable nouns and many with plural countable nouns:
I haven’t got much change. I’ve only got a ten euro note.
Are there many campsites near you?
● We use much and many with questions (?) and negatives (−), and many is used in
affirmative sentences as well.
They are also used in affirmative and negative sentences in combination with too and so.
Notice: the word ‘many’ can be used alone in affirmative sentences while the
word ‘much’ is not typically used on its own, but it can be used in formal styles:
Is there much unemployment in that area?
How many eggs are in this cake?
Do you think many people will come?
It was pouring with rain but there wasn’t much wind.
There aren’t many women priests.
She always carries too many things with her. I have so many things on my mind right now.
Keeping a pet requires too much time and effort, in my opinion. I had so much luck today!
We’ve got many friends here. There’s much fat in this dish. BUT: There is a lot of fat in this dish.
There is much concern about drug addiction in the US. (formal)
He had heard many stories about Thomas and he knew he was trouble.

In informal styles, we prefer to use lots of or a lot of:

I went shopping and spent a lot of money.
Not: I went shopping and spent much money.
Much, many, a lot, lots: without a noun
● We usually leave out the noun after much, many and a lot, lots when the noun is
obvious:
A: Would you like some cheese?
B: Yes, please, but not too much. (not too much cheese)
A: Can you pass me some envelopes?
B: How many? (how many envelopes?)
A: How many people came?
B: A lot. (or Lots.)

A lot of, lots of with a noun

● We use a lot of and lots of in informal styles. Lots of is more informal than a lot of. A lot
of and lots of can both be used with plural countable nouns and with singular
uncountable nouns for affirmatives, negatives, and questions:
We’ve got lots of things to do.
That’s a lot of money.
There weren’t a lot of choices.
Can you hurry up? I don’t have a lot of time.
Are there a lot of good players at your tennis club?
Have you eaten lots of chocolate?

Uncountable nouns Countable nouns

How much sugar do you have? How many people came to the concert?

There's not much sugar at the store. Not many people came to the concert.

I have too much sugar at home. There were too many people at the concert.

I don't know what to do with so much It's a problem when there are so many people.
sugar.

I wish there was not so much There were not so many people last year.
sugar here.

There is a lot of sugar in candy. There are many people who want to come. = There are a lot
of people who want to come.

Some, any, no
The quantifiers some, any and no are a kind of determiner.
 Some is an unspecified quantity. It could be big or small, we don't know. Normally it is
"medium". It is used with both countable and uncountable nouns in affirmative sentences and
questions that are offers or requests:

There is some money on the table. (affirmative sentence, uncountable noun)

We need some apples. Can you go to the shops? (affirmative sentence, countable noun)

Would you like some water? (question, uncountable noun, offer)

Do you need some clothes? (question, countable noun, offer)

Can I have some food, please? (question, uncountable noun, request)

Any is also an unspecified quantity. It is used with both countable and uncountable
nouns in neutral questions (that are not offers or requests) and in negative sentences.

There isn’t any milk in the fridge. (negative sentence, uncountable noun)
There aren’t any oranges on the table. (negative sentence, countable noun)

Is there any flour in the cupboard? (neutral question, uncountable noun)

Are there any people outside? (neutral question, countable noun)

No is easy! No is ZERO (nothing). It can only be used in sentences with positive verb but
negative meaning because we can’t use double negation in English.

There is no sugar left. (uncountable noun)

There are no children outside. (countable noun)

● I have no money.
● I don't have no money.

Little, a little, few, a few

‘Few’ and ‘a few’ are quantifiers used with plural forms of countable nouns only. They mean
‘some, not many’. However , ‘a few’ has a positive meaning, whereas ‘few’ has a negative
meaning ‘not enough’.
‘Little’ and ‘a little’ are quantifiers used with uncountable nouns only meaning ‘some, not
much’. Little has a negative meaning. We use it to mean ‘not as much as may be expected or
wished for, not enough’.

Compare
All she wanted was a few moments on her
some, a small number
own.
She had few moments on her own. not many/almost none
She saves a little money every month. some, a small amount
not much/almost
They had little money to spend.
nothing
A: Have you got any money?
some, a small amount
B: Yes, a little.
A:Have you got any money? not much/almost
B:No, very little. nothing

A little, a few with a noun

We use a little with singular uncountable nouns. We use a few with plural countable nouns:
Mary said nothing, but she drank some tea and ate a little bread.
We stayed a few days in Florence and visited the museums.

Little, few with a noun

We use little with uncountable nouns. We use few with plural countable nouns. They are used in
formal contexts:
I’m not very happy about it but I suppose I have little choice.
Few cities anywhere in Europe can match the cultural richness of Berlin.

(A) little, (a) few without a noun

We can use (a) little and (a) few as pronouns. We can use them to substitute for a noun when it
is obvious from the context:
She began to tell them a little about her life in Scotland, particularly her life with the Blooms.
Don’t take all the strawberries. Just have a few. (Just have a few strawberries.)

Little and few are not very common without a noun. We use them in formal contexts:
Little is known about his upbringing and education.
Few would be in favour of police officers carrying weapons.

Examples of various quantifiers in sentences:

Would you like some tea and a few cookies?
I always put a little milk and some carrots in my soup.
He has several apples. I don't have any fruit at all. (several – used with countable nouns, means
‘a few’)
She has plenty of clothes for the winter. (used with both countable and uncountable nouns,
meaning ‘a lot of’)
I recieved a large amount of feedback from my survey. (a large amount of – used with
uncountable nouns only, meaning ‘much, a lot of’)