Uncountable

Nouns

tea

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Section1
Introduction
What is an uncountable noun?

An uncountable noun cannot be counted.

For example, we can count cars, but we cannot count water. Water is a substance.

Notice that ‘sugar’ is an uncountable noun. We can count lumps of sugar, but not
sugar in general.

Note that ‘people’ is a countable noun. Even though there is no –s ending, we can
count people (3 people, 4 people etc)

*Note - Countable nouns are sometimes called count nouns and uncountable nouns are
sometimes called non-count nouns.

Examples of Countable Nouns:

car table
book noun
person day
phone cookie
cat kid

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Examples of Countable Nouns:

Uncountable nouns are often types of food, materials or abstract concepts.

salt weather oxygen patience

sugar butter milk knowledge
information oil luck homework
work advice meat happiness
wool pepper honesty honey

Exercise 1
Which of these words are uncountable?

Tick the words that are uncountable. Answers are on page 13.

1 □ methane
2 □ advice
3 □ smoke
4 □ wool
5 □ meat
6 □ shoe
7 □ target
8 □ chocolate
9 □ mustard
10 □ mouse
11 □ finger
12 □ battery
13 □ kid
14 □ pasta
15 □ cellphone

Do you need more practice? Try many more exercises at

http://www.roadtogrammar.com/uncountablenouns

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Section 2
Amounts and Quantities
Let’s review some rules:

1 We do not use numbers with uncountable nouns.

Wrong: He told me three informations.

Right: He told me three pieces of information.

2 We do not add –s to uncountable nouns.

Wrong: These informations is wrong.

Right: This information is wrong.

3 We treat an uncountable noun as a singular verb:

Wrong: these information

Right: this information

Wrong: Your information are correct.

Right: Your information is correct.

4 We can use ‘some’ and ‘any’ with both uncountable and countable nouns:

He gave me some information.

He gave me some apples.

5 With countable nouns, we use ‘few’ and ‘a few’. With uncountable nouns, we use
‘little’ and ‘a little’:

I ate a few apples.

I ate a little cheese.

6 Because ‘a’ means ‘one’, with uncountable nouns, we can use ‘the’, but not ‘a’:

Correct: The bread from that shop is tasty.

Wrong: I bought a bread from that shop.

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7 With uncountable nouns, we cannot use ‘many’, but we can use ‘lots of’, ‘a lot of’
and ‘much’:

Wrong: They bake many bread in that shop.

Right: They bake a lot of bread in that shop.
Right: They bake lots of bread in that shop.
Right: Do they bake much bread in that shop?

8 We can use ‘more’ with uncountable nouns:

Would you like some more water?

Exercise 2
Are the following sentences grammatically correct? If not, try to think of a way to
correct them.

1. Can you pass a salt? 10. This pasta taste great!

2. Could you pass the salt? 11. Can I borrow a little wool from
3. This sugar is lovely. you?
4. Can you pass me a meat? 12. We’re having some great
5. I have so many homeworks to do. weather at the moment.
6. Most of this information are 13. Add lots of oil to the pan.
correct. 14. I only have a few money left.
7. Do you have any information 15. Henry gave me a useful advice.
that would be useful? 16. My sister doesn’t give me much
8. My work is difficult. advice.
9. These jam looks tasty.

Section 3
Difficult and Special Cases
Let’s review some words that can be especially confusing:

Furniture (uncountable)

Furniture may seem like a countable noun, but it is uncountable.

Furniture always refers to a group of objects.

We bought some furniture for our new apartment.

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Equipment (uncountable)

Like furniture, equipment always refers to a group of items. It is uncountable.

We bought some new equipment for our factory.

Luggage (uncountable)

Like furniture, luggage always refers to a group of items (a group of bags or

suitcases). It is uncountable. Baggage is also uncountable.

He brought plenty of luggage with him.

Jewelry (uncountable)

Jewelry is another group noun.

Correct: I have a lot of jewelry

Wrong: I have a lot of jewelries.

Traffic (uncountable)

Traffic is a group noun.

There was so much traffic on the road this morning!

Fruit (uncountable)

Fruit refers to a group of items (pieces of fruit). It is uncountable.

Strawberry, banana, apple etc are all countable nouns.

I ate some fruit.

I ate some bananas.

News (uncountable)

News is an uncountable noun even though it is spelled with an –s:

Correct: We have some good news.

Wrong: We have a good news.

Coffee (uncountable and sometimes countable)

Strictly speaking, coffee is an uncountable noun:

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I like to drink coffee.

However, when ordering in a café or restarant, it is used as a countable noun:

Could I have three coffees, please?

Words for other drinks, such as tea, wine and beer are used in the same way.

Paper (countable or uncountable, depending on the meaning)

Usually paper is uncountable:

Could I have some paper?

I need three sheets of paper.

When the meaning is ‘report’, it is countable:

Dr Kaki has published a paper on Global Warming.

Money (uncountable)

Money is uncountable. However, units of money (dollars, euros) are often countable:

Could I borrow some money?

Could I borrow three dollars?

Other units of currency are countable,

but do not take a plural –s (meaning that
they are irregular plurals):

It cost me 200 yen.

The price is fifty lira.

'Cash' is uncountable

Chicken (countable or uncountable, depending on the meaning)

The word chicken is countable when it refers to the animal, but uncountable when it
refers to the food.

The farmer has over three hundred chickens.

Would you like some more chicken?

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Software (uncountable)

Software is uncountable, ‘program’ is countable, as is ‘application’.

We need to purchase some software.

We need to purchase some computer programs.
We need to purchase some applications.

Like software, hardware is uncountable.

Work (uncountable or countable, depending on the meaning)

Work, homework and housework are all uncountable.

I have some work to do.

I have some homework to do.

I have several tasks to do.

I have several assignments to do.

There is another meaning of work, as in ‘work of art’. This meaning of work is

countable:

Several works of art were stolen from the museum.

Time (uncountable or countable, depending on the meaning)

Time, in general is uncountable:

I don’t have much time.

Time, when it means ‘occasion’, is countable:

How many times have you watched that movie?

Hair (uncountable or countable, depending on the meaning)

When referring to strands (pieces) of hair, the word is countable, but hair is usually a
group word, referring to all the individual hairs on a person’s head.

She has beautiful hair.

There’s a hair in my salad!

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Fish (countable or uncountable, depending on the meaning)

When 'fish' describes the food, it is always uncountable:

We ate some delicious fish.

To describe the living creature, this word is countable but is usually spelled
without -es:

There were three fish in the pond.

There were three fishes in the pond. (correct, but less common)

Section 4
Adding –s to Uncountable Nouns
Adding –s changes the meaning

We know that ‘food’ is an uncountable noun. Yet you may sometimes see the word
‘foods’.

For example, on a shop sign: Harry’s Fine Foods

In this case, ‘foods’ = kinds of food

We can use most uncountable nouns in this way:

Coffees = kind of coffee

Teas = kinds of tea

Many teas are imported from Sri Lanka

Meats = kinds of meat

Meats that are low in cholesterol include chicken and turkey.

Even though ‘people’ is not an uncountable noun, it follows this rule:

Peoples = kinds of people

The peoples of the South Pacific include islanders from Fiji, Kiribati and Samoa.

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Exercise 3
This exercise will test you on the previous two points:

Difficult and special cases

Adding -s to uncountable nouns

Circle the correct options:

Can you help me to move the _________? furnitures furniture

We bought some new _________ for the factory. equipments equipment
She wears a lot of _________. jewelry jewelries
She wears a lot of _________. rings ring
This car cost a lot of _________. moneys money
The price was ten thousand _________. dollars dollar
The _________ so bad that I didn’t get home until eight. traffic was traffics were
There were too many slow-moving _________ on the road. vehicles vehicle
I love eating _________. fruits fruit
I love eating _________. banana bananas
I have _________ good news to tell you! a some
We have had _________ good news recently. a lot of many
How _________ luggage did you bring? much many
How _________ did you bring? much bag many bags
I’d like to order a couple of _________, please. coffees coffee

Section 5
Container Words
We often make nouns countable by using them together with ‘container words’.

For example, we can’t say ‘two soaps’ but we can say ‘two bars of soap’.

The most common container word is ‘piece’; for instance, ‘a piece of news’.

Some uncountable nouns can be used with more than one container word:

A cup of coffee
A jar of coffee.

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More examples.

A slice of cheese. A grain of sand. A piece of news.

A slice of toast. A packet of rice. A piece of furniture.
A sheet of paper. A drop of water. A piece of cake.
A bar of soap. A loaf of bread. A piece of chocolate.
A bar of chocolate. A member of staff. A piece of luck.
A blade of grass. A moment of time. A piece of jewelry.
A bolt of lightning. A pint of milk. A piece of advice.
A pinch of salt. A herd of cattle
A tube of toothpaste.

Exercise 4
Complete the phrases without looking back at the notes:

1 a _______ of cheese 6 a _______ of news

2 a _______ of grass 7 a _______ of sand
3 a _______ of advice 8 a _______ of toast
4 a _______ of bread 9 a _______ of chocolate
5 a _______ of jewelry 10 a _______ of staff

Exercise 5
Final exercise

Circle the correct option:

1. Which of these words is countable? chair furniture

2. Which of these words is countable? equipment machine

3. Which of these words is countable? rice cookie

4. Can you pass me a _______ of paper? sheet slice

5. I have so _______ homework to do. much many

6. Have you made _______ progress? many any

7. I need _______ advice. an some

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8. Is _______ milk fresh? this these

9. Most of this food _______ tasty. is are

10. Let’s order a couple of _______ and have a chat. coffees coffee

11. I bought some chewing _______. gums gum

12. I don’t have enough _______ to finish this assignment. time times

13. I enjoyed all the _______ we went dancing together. time times

14. Which of these words is uncountable? garbage can

15. Which of these words is uncountable? flour flower

16. A _______ of cheese. bar slice

17. A _______ of soap. slice bar

18. I have _______ good news to tell you. some a

19. I can lend you _______ money if you need it. a few a little

20. I can lend you _______ dollars if you need some money. a little a few

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Section 6
Answer key

Exercise 1
Which of these words are uncountable?

Words in bold are uncountable:

1 □ methane 9 □ mustard
2 □ advice 10 □ mouse
3 □ smoke 11 □ finger
4 □ wool 12 □ battery
5 □ meat 13 □ kid
6 □ shoe 14 □ pasta
7 □ target 15 □ cellphone
8 □ chocolate

Exercise 2
Sentences in bold are correct:

1 Can you pass a salt? (…the salt)

2 Could you pass the salt?
3 This sugar is lovely.
4 Can you pass me a meat? (…the meat/some meat)
5 I have so many homeworks to do. (homework)
6 Most of this information are correct. (… is correct)
7 Do you have any information that would be useful?
8 My work is difficult.
9 These jam looks tasty. (This jam…)
10 This pasta taste great! (tastes)
11 Can I borrow a little wool from you?
12 We’re having some great weather at the moment.
13 Add lots of oil to the pan.
14 I only have a few money left. (…a little money)
15 Henry gave me a useful advice. (…some useful advice)
16 My sister doesn’t give me much advice.

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Exercise 3
Answers are in bold:

Can you help me to move the _________? furnitures furniture

We bought some new _________ for the factory. equipments equipment
She wears a lot of _________. jewelry jewelries
She wears a lot of _________. rings ring
This car cost a lot of _________. moneys money
The price was ten thousand _________. dollars dollar
The _________ so bad that I didn’t get home until eight. traffic was traffics were
There were too many slow-moving _________ on the road. vehicles vehicle
I love eating _________. fruits fruit
I love eating _________. banana bananas
I have _________ good news to tell you! a some
We have had _________ good news recently. a lot of many
How _________ luggage did you bring? much many
How _________ did you bring? much bag many bags
I’d like to order a couple of _________, please. coffees coffee

Exercise 4
Complete the phrases:

1 a _______ of cheese slice/piece/lump

2 a _______ of grass blade
3 a _______ of advice piece/bit/word
4 a _______ of bread slice/piece/loaf
5 a _______ of jewelry piece
6 a _______ of news piece/bit
7 a _______ of sand grain
8 a _______ of toast slice/piece/bit
9 a _______ of chocolate bar/piece
10 a _______ of staff member

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Exercise 5
1. Which of these words is countable? chair

2. Which of these words is countable? machine

3. Which of these words is countable? cookie

4. Can you pass me a _______ of paper? sheet

5. I have so _______ homework to do. much

6. Have you made _______ progress? any

7. I need _______ advice. some

8. Is _______ milk fresh? this

9. Most of this food _______ tasty. is

10. Let’s order a couple of _______ and have a chat. coffees

11. I bought some chewing _______. gum

12. I don’t have enough _______ to finish this assignment. time

13. I enjoyed all the _______ we went dancing together. times

14. Which of these words is uncountable? garbage

15. Which of these words is uncountable? flour

16. A _______ of cheese. slice

17. A _______ of soap. bar

18. I have _______ good news to tell you. some

19. I can lend you _______ money if you need it. a little

20. I can lend you _______ dollars if you need some money. a few

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