Nouns: countable and uncountable

Some examples of uncountable nouns are:

Ideas and experiences: advice, information, progress, news, luck, fun, work
Materials and substances: water, rice, cement, gold, milk
Weather words: weather, thunder, lightning, rain, snow
Names for groups or collections of things: furniture, equipment, rubbish, luggage
Other common uncountable nouns comprised: accommodation, baggage, homework,
knowledge, money, permission, research, traffic, travel.

Types List of Uncountable Nouns

Gaseous Substance Air, Hydrogen, Steam, Oxygen, Nitrogen, etc.
Liquid Substance Oil, Milk, Water, Petrol, etc.
Feelings Love, Courage, Happiness, Anger, etc.
Powder and Grains Salt, Rice, Sugar, Sand, Wheat, etc.
Ideas Motivation, Advice, etc.
Activities Swimming, listening, speaking, sleeping, studying, working
State of Being Stress, Fatherhood, Sleep, Motherhood, Childhood, etc.
Other Uncountable Nouns Art, accommodation, Butter, Clothing, Corruption,
Damage, Energy, Fire, Freedom, Fuel, Fun, Gold, Guilt,
Honesty, Humour, Importance, Kindness, Justice,
Literature, Magic, Money, Music, Nature, Old age, Pride,
Progress, Racism, Respect, Shopping, Spelling, Seafood,
Tennis, Travel, Transportation, Trust, Violence, Work,
Wisdom, Yoga, etc.
Natural Phenomena Rain, Weather, Climate, Snow, Sunshine, etc.
Used with Countable Nouns Only
a a doctor, a pen, a meal, a class, a college
many many cups, many books, many libraries, many flights
few few questions, few tables, few apples, few holidays, few countries
a few a few questions, a few problems, a few issues, a few issues

Used with Uncountable Nouns Only

much much money, much time, much food, much water, much energy
little little trouble, little equipment, little meat, little patience
a little bit of a little bit of confidence, a little bit of sleep, a little bit of snow

A lot of / Much / Many:

 A lot of Much Many

We use a lot of in affirmative We use much in negative We use many in negative

and negative sentences, and in sentences and questions, with sentences and questions with
questions, with both countable uncountable nouns. countable nouns.
and uncountable nouns.

We never use much in

affirmative sentences.

Examples:
Examples: Examples:
I don’t eat many cakes.
I eat a lot of fish. I don’t eat much salt.
Do you have many books?
I drink a lot of milk. Do you eat much salt?
N.B. A lot of can also be used in
N.B. A lot of can also be used in
these cases:
these cases:
I don’t eat a lot of salt.
I don’t eat a lot of cakes.
Do you eat a lot of salt?
Do you have a lot of books?

Used with Countable & Uncountable Nouns

countable the monkeys, the schools, the teachers, the boats, the bananas
the
uncountable the cheese, the machinery, the luggage, the grass, the knowledge
countable some tables, some stores, some grapes, some cities, some nurses
some
uncountable some time, some news, some bread, some salt, some mail
countable any forks, any socks, any bathrooms, any waiters, any beliefs
any
uncountable any advice, any soap, any transportation, any gold, any homework
countable no magazines, no chocolates, no pilots, no rings, no markers
no
uncountable no trouble, no grass, no scenery, no money, no furniture
countable a lot of animals, a lot of coins, a lot of immigrants, a lot of babies
a lot of
uncountable a lot of help, a lot of aggravation, a lot of happiness, a lot of fun
countable lots of computers, lots of buses, lots of parties, lots of colleges
lots of
uncountable lots of cake, lots of ice cream, lots of energy, lots of laughter
countable enough plates, enough onions, enough restaurants, enough worries
enough
uncountable enough courage, enough wisdom, enough spaghetti, enough time
countable plenty of houses, plenty of concerts, plenty of guitars, plenty of
plenty of
uncountable plenty of oil, plenty of sugar, plenty of cheese, plenty of space

These nouns are not used with a/an or numbers and are not used in the plural.

We’re going to get new furniture for the theatre.

We had experienced terrible weather last week.
We need rice, milk, pasta and flour next time we go shopping.

Quantity expressions (a bit/piece)

To refer to one or more quantities of an uncountable noun, expressions such as a bit of,
a piece of, an item of or words for containers and measures must be used:
Johnathan bought a very expensive piece of furniture for his new apartment.
Maggie always has some exciting bits of news when she comes to see us.
I think we’ll need five bags of cement for the patio.
There’s a litre of milk in the fridge for you and I bought you a bar of chocolate.

Determiners (my, some, the)

Uncountable nouns can be used with certain determiners (e.g. my, her, some, any, no, the, this, that) and
expressions of quantity (e.g. a lot of, (a) little):
They gave me some information about scholarships.
Have you heard the news? Mellisa’s getting a divorce from Frank.
She’s been working hard and has made a lot of progress.
There’s no work to do here, so you can go home if you like.

NOUNS THAT CAN BE BOTH COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE

Depending on the context, these nouns sometimes refer to a particular thing and at other times to a
general idea. In some cases, this is not difficult, for example: “Death (as a general idea) is
inevitable.”/“She missed work because there was a death (as a particular thing) in her family.” However,
many nouns are thought of as general more by custom than for any clear reason. Many food items fall
into this category, for example, chicken, cheese, and fruit. Thus, we see a chicken on a farm, but we
eat chicken; we say that the tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable, but we like fruit on our cereal. Individual
servings of food items are usually countable, but not the food itself, for example: a piece of pie, a slice of
bread, or a stick of gum.

Other nouns that can be either countable or uncountable include substances that things can be made of,
like paper or glass. When you write an essay on paper, it becomes a paper. Other nouns in this
category are words like wood and cloth, which refer to the material that may be made of many different
varieties of tree or fabric. Thus, the material of an elm, an oak, or a pine tree is all wood; linen, silk, and
cotton are all made into cloth.
 Countable: We visited four colleges on the tour.

Uncountable: College is an important learning

experience.

Countable: There were numerous diseases that were being treated.

Uncountable: Disease is rampant throughout the region.

Countable: Numerous faiths were represented at the

conference. Uncountable: He found strength in his faith.

COMMON NOUNS THAT CAN BE BOTH COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE

abuse drama jail reading

adulthood duck jealousy religion
afternoon education language revision
age environment law rock
anger evening liberty science
appearance exercise life school
art fact love shock
beauty faith lunch society
beer fear man sorrow
belief fiction marriage space
breakfast film meat speech
cheese fish metal spirit
chicken flavor milk stone
childhood food morning strength
cloth freedom murder surprise
college friendship nature teaching
commitment fruit paper temptation
competition glass passion theater
concern government people theory
crime hair personality time
culture hatred philosophy tradition
death history pleasure trouble
desire home power truth
dinner hope prejudice turkey
disappointment ideology pressure understanding
discrimination imagination prison weakness
disease injustice punishment wine
divorce innocence race writing