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:
- dog, cat, animal, man, person
- bottle, box, litre
- coin, note, dollar
- cup, plate, fork
- table, chair, suitcase, bag
Countable nouns can be singular or plural:
- My dog is playing.
- My dogs are hungry.
We can use the indefinite article a/an with
countable nouns:
When a countable noun is singular, we must use
a word like a/the/my/this with it:
- I
want an orange. (not I want orange.)
- Where
is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)
When a countable noun is plural, we can use it
alone:
- I like oranges.
- Bottles can break.
We can use some and any with
countable nouns:
- I’ve got some dollars.
- Have
you got any pens?
We can use a few and many with
countable nouns:
- I’ve
got a few dollars.
- I
haven’t got many pens.
Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc
that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot “count” them. For
example, we cannot count “milk”. We can count “bottles of milk” or “litres of
milk”, but we cannot count “milk” itself. Here are some more uncountable
nouns:
- music, art, love, happiness
- advice, information, news
- furniture, luggage
- rice, sugar, butter, water
- electricity, gas, power
- money, currency
We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular.
We use a singular verb. For example:
- This news is very
important.
- Your luggage looks heavy.
We do not usually use the indefinite
article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say “an
information” or “a music”. But we can say a something of:
- a piece of news
- a bottle of water
- a grain of rice
We can use some and any with
uncountable nouns:
- I’ve got some money.
- Have
you got any rice?
We can use a little and much with
uncountable nouns:
Now try these tests to know if you have understood this topic:
