NOUNS

COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

Countable nouns are for things we can count

Example: dog, horse, man, shop, idea.

They usually have a singular and plural form.

Example: two dogs, ten horses, a man, six men, the shops, a few ideas.

Uncountable nouns are for the things that we cannot count

Example: tea, sugar, water, air, rice.

They are often the names for abstract ideas or qualities.

Example: knowledge, beauty, anger, fear, love.

They are used with a singular verb. They usually do not have a plural form. We cannot say sugars, angers, knowledges.

Examples of common uncountable nouns:

money, furniture, happiness, sadness, research, evidence, safety, beauty, knowledge.

We cannot use a/an with these nouns. To express a quantity of one of these nouns, use a word or expression like:
some, a lot of, a piece of, a bit of, a great deal of...

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.
• They've got a lot of furniture.
• Can you give me some information about uncountable nouns?

Some nouns are countable in other languages but uncountable in English. Some of the most common of these are:

accommodation advice baggage behaviour bread furniture information luggage

news progress traffic travel trouble weather work

BE CAREFUL with the noun 'hair' which is normally uncountable in English:

She has long blonde hair

It can also be countable when referring to individual hairs:

My father's getting a few grey hairs now

See also Adjectives - Comparisons of quantity