Countable Nouns

Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "pen".
We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable
nouns:
O /og, cat, animal, man, person
O bottle, box, litre
O coin, note, /ollar
O cup, plate, Iork
O table, chair, suitcase, bag
Countable nouns can be singular or plural:
O y /og is playing.
O y /ogs are hungry.
We can use the in/eIinite article a/an with countable nouns:
O /og is an animal.
When a countable noun is singular, we must use a wor/ like a/the/my/this with it:
O want an orange. (not want orange.)
O Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)
When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:
O like oranges.
O ottles can break.
We can use some an/ any with countable nouns:
O ve got some /ollars.
O Have you got any pens?
We can use a few an/ many with countable nouns:
O ve got a few /ollars.
O havent got many pens.
A noun can be countable or uncountable. Countable nouns can be "counte/", they have a singular
an/ plural Iorm .
For example:
O A book Lwo books Lhree books
O An apple Lwo apples Lhree apples
&ncountable nouns (also calle/ mass nouns or noncount nouns) cannot be counte/, they are not
seperate objects. This means you cannot make them plural by a//ing -s, because they only have
a singular Iorm. t also means that they /o not take a/an or a number in Iront oI them.
For example:
O JaLer
O Jork
O nformaLlon
O offee
O and
Countab|e
(use a]an or a number |n front of countab|e
nouns)
Uncountab|e
(there |s no a]an or number w|th
uncountab|e nouns)
An Apple / 1 Apple 8lce
l eot oo opple evety Joy l eot tlce evety Joy (noL eaL a rlce every day)
(s) to make a countab|e noun p|ura|
1here |s no p|ura| form for an uncountab|e
noun
opp/es ne
l eot on opp/e evety Joy 4pp/es oe qooJ fot
yoo
l eot ne evety Joy kne s qooJ fot yoo
A compuLer compotets ote foo
1o make uncounLable nouns counLable add a
counLlng word such as a unlL of
measuremenL or Lhe general word plece Je
use Lhe form a of
An elephanLlepboots ote lotqe 8lceo qtolo of tlce
JaLero qloss of wotet
8alno Jtop of tolo
Muslco plece of moslc
ou can use some an any w|th countab|e ou can use some an any w|th uncountab|e
nouns
ome Joqs coo be Jooqetoos
l Joot ose ooy compotets ot wotk
nouns
l osoolly Jtlok some wloe wltb my meol
l Joot osoolly Jtlok ooy wotet wltb my wloe
ou on|y use many an few w|th p|ura|
countab|e nouns
o mooy elepboots bove beeo booteJ tbot
tbey ote oo eoJooqeteJ specles
1bete ote few elepboots lo oqlooJ
ou on|y use much an ||tt|e w|th
uncountab|e nouns
l Joot osoolly Jtlok mocb coffee
llttle wloe ls ooJtlokoble tbooqb
ou can use a |ot of an no w|th p|ura|
countab|e nouns
-o compotets wete booqbt lost week
A lot of compotets wete tepotteJ btokeo tbe
week befote
ou can use a |ot of an no w|th uncountab|e
nouns
A lot of wloe ls Jtook lo ltooce
-o wloe ls Jtook lo ltoo
Naking uncountable nouns countable
ou can make most uncountable noun countable by putting a countable expression in Iront oI the
noun.
For example:-
O A p|ece of lnformaLlon
O |asses of waLer
O 10 ||tres of coffee
O 1hree ra|ns of sand
O A pane of glass
Countable and Uncountable Nouns
ountable nouns a/alah kata ben/a yang /apat /ihitung, yang /apat menunjukkan kuantitas atau
jumlah, contohnya kata ben/a 5en /apat /ihitung one, two, atau three 5ens.

Contoh kata ben/a yang /apat /ihitung: cat, dog, man, baby, 5erson, animal, bottle, box, coin,
cu5, 5late, table, chair, bag, glass, book, house, etc. en/a-ben/a yang a/a /i sekitar kita
umumnya a/alah ben/a yang /apat /ihitung.

Contoh countable nouns /alam kalimat:
- We could see a ship in the distance.
- I have to brothers, John and Mark.
- Ive got a 5roblem with the .,r.
- Do you like these photos
- Im going out for five 2inutes.

&ncountable nouns (/isebut juga mass nouns) a/alah kebalikan /ari countable nouns, yaitu kata
ben/a yang ti/ak /apat /ihitung, contohnya kata ben/a water. Kata ben/a tersebut ti/ak bisa
/ikatakan a water atau two water, tetapi lebih tepat /igunakan bersama /engan kata ben/a
lainnya yang /apat /ihitung, misalnya a glass of water atau two glass of water.

Contoh kata ben/a yang ti/ak /apat /ihitung: sand, air, rice, sugar, cheese, tea, coffee, advice,
assistance, fun, money, music, art, love, etc.

Contoh uncountable nouns /alam kalimat:
- an I have some ,ter
- Shall we sit on the gr,ss
- The 2oney is much better in my new fob.
- I love 2usi..
- Would you like some .offee

Perhatikan beberapa catatan mengenai countable /an uncountable nouns /i bawah ini.

u.h /an 2,ny yang sama-sama berarti banyak, biasa /igunakan untuk menyatakan jumlah
pa/a countable /an uncountable nouns. Many /igunakan untuk countable nouns /an terletak
men/ahuluinya, se/angkan much /igunakan untuk uncountable nouns.

Contoh:
- How 2,ny ye,rs have you lived in Surabaya
- She didnt have 2u.h fun at the Tunfungan Pla:a.
- I havent got 2,ny pens.
- I havent got 2u.h ri.e.

u2ber /an ,2ount mempunyai arti yang sama yaitu jumlah atau sejumlah. umber /igunakan
untuk countable nouns, se/angkan amount untuk uncountable nouns.

Contoh:
- My teacher gives me , l,rge nu2ber of ,ssign2ents.
- My teacher gives me , l,rge ,2ount of ho2eork.
- We have been friends for , nu2ber of ye,rs.
-They give us ,n ,2ount of 2oney.

e /an little mempunyai arti yang sama yaitu se/ikit. ew /igunakan untuk countable nouns,
se/angkan little /igunakan untuk uncountable nouns.

Contoh:
- The 5arty has attended by , fe 2en.
- There is only , little 2ilk on the table.
- Ive got , fe doll,rs.
- Ive got , little 2oney.
- e people understand the difference.

eer /an less mempunyai arti yang sama yaitu se/ikit. ewer /igunakan untuk countable
nouns, se/angkan less /igunakan untuk uncountable nouns.

Contoh:
- This kind of fob will give you feer doll,rs.
- He 5ays me less 2oney than I thought.
- eer birds came this year.
- Doctors recommend eating less s,lt.

So2e /an ,ny mempunyai arti yang sama yaitu beberapa, biasa /igunakan untuk menyatakan
jumlah tak tentu pa/a countable nouns (5lural) atau uncountable nouns.

Contoh:
- Ive got so2e 2oney.
- Have you got ,ny ri.e
- Ive got so2e doll,rs.
- Have you got ,ny pens


ountable nouns /apat berbentuk singular maupun 5lural.
- My .,t is 5laying.
- My .,ts are hungry.

ountable nouns yang singular /apat /i/ahului /engan kata this, that, every, each, either, /an
neither, se/angkan yang 5lural biasanya /i/ahului kata these, those, some, any, enough, /an :ero
article. Lihat juga catatan /an contoh /i atas.

&mumnya, uncountable nouns ti/ak /apat /ibuat menja/i 5lural, kecuali jika /isertai oleh jenis
kata lainnya.
- There are ne ines being introduced every day.
- The ,ters of the Atl,nti. are much warmer this time of year.
- The Dutch are famous for their .heeses.

ountable nouns /apat /iawali oleh , ,n (indefinite article) untuk singular /an the (definite
article) untuk singular maupun 5lural.

Jika countable nouns berbentuk singular, maka penggunaan kata seperti a, an, the, my, this, /sb.
harus /igunakan.
- I want ,n orange. (ti/ak bisa /ikatakan I want orange.)
- Where is 2y bottle (ti/ak bisa /ikatakan Where is bottle)

Tetapi, jika countable nouns berbentuk 5lural, maka kata ben/a itu /apat ber/iri sen/iri:
- I like oranges.
- Bottles can break.

Terka/ang uncountable nouns /iperlakukan singular yang akhirnya juga menggunakan verba
singular.
- %his news is very im5ortant.
- Your luggage looks heavy.

Indefinite article , ,n ti/ak umum /ipakai pa/a uncountable nouns.
- , pie.e of news (bukan a news)
- , bottle of water (bukan a water)
- , gr,in of rice (bukan a rice)

Ja/i, harus /iberi kata keterangan /i /epannya. Perhatikan contoh lainnya berikut ini.
- There has been , lot of rese,r.h into the causes of this disease.
- He gave me , gre,t de,l of ,dvi.e before my interview.
- Theyve got , lot of furniture.
- an you give me so2e infor2,tion about uncountable nouns

&ncountable nouns juga sering /igunakan tanpa article (:ero article)
- Poetry is beautiful.
- Sugar is sweet.
- Ex5erience is the best teacher.

&ncountable nouns /apat /i/ahului /engan kata some, any, enough, this, that, /an much. Dan
karena bukan countable nouns maka ti/ak /apat /i/ahului /engan kata these, those, every, each,
either, and neither. Lihat lagi catatan /an contoh /i atas.

erupakan hal yang penting untuk mengetahui apakah suatu kata ben/a itu termasuk /alam
countable nouns atau uncountable nouns. Hal ini akan memu/ahkan kita untuk mengenali jenis
kata apa saja yang /apat /iletakkan /i sekitarnya.