Countable and Uncountable Nouns
Table of Contents
Exercises
Explanation
Countable Nouns have singular and plural forms.
|
Singular |
Plural |
|
a chair |
two chairs |
|
a cat |
three cats |
|
an apple |
many apples |
We use a / an with singular countable nouns.
Examples:
-
I have a dog.
-
She bought an orange.
-
There are three cars outside.
We cannot use singular countable nouns alone:
I need pen
I need a pen
Uncountable Nouns
They do not take a / an or plural -s.
Examples include:
-
food and drinks: rice, water, milk
-
materials: wood, glass, paper
-
ideas/feelings: love, happiness
-
information words: advice, information, homework
Examples:
-
I need water.
-
She has long hair.
-
We got information from the teacher.
We use some / much / a lot of with uncountable nouns:
-
I have some money.
-
We don’t have much time.
-
They have a lot of furniture.
Countable or Uncountable?
Some nouns can be both, depending on meaning:
|
Countable (one item) |
Uncountable (general idea) |
|
I ate an egg. |
There is egg on the plate. |
|
He drew a drawing. |
He likes drawing. |
|
I need a paper. (newspaper) |
I need paper. (material) |
Remember
|
Don’t say |
Say |
|
a bread |
a loaf of bread |
|
an advice |
some advice / a piece of advice |
|
many information |
much information / a lot of information |
Examples:
-
She gave me good advice.
-
We bought a loaf of bread.
