18. Countable and uncountable nouns

18. Countable and uncountable nouns

Countable or uncountable?

It's really important to know if a noun is countable or uncountable, because it changes how we use it in a sentence. 

Countable nouns

Countable nouns are things which can be counted like 'table', 'apple' or 'boy'. They usually change their form when we make a plural (they often add an 's'), and can be used with either a singular or a plural verb: one book falls, two books fall

Uncountable nouns

Uncountable nouns are usually things which can't easily be counted, like 'love', 'rice' or 'water'. Uncountable nouns do not make a plural or change their form, and they are always used with a singular verb. We can't say one rice, two rices.

Multiple Select

Select the countable nouns:

• juice

• bottle

• grains

• spoons

• money

Multiple Select

Select the uncountable nouns

• water

• house

• support

• sand

• coins

Not everything is clear though.

However, sometimes there's not much logic to whether a noun is countable or uncountable. For example, 'work' is uncountable but 'job' is countable. 'Trip' is countable, but 'travel' is uncountable. 'Word' is countable, but 'vocabulary' is uncountable.

Here are some kinds of nouns that are often uncountable: 

• Abstract nouns (nouns that talk about ideas): love, happiness, peace, democracy.

• Subjects from school or university: Maths, French, history.

• Materials: metal, wood, plastic.

• Liquids: water, coffee, milk.

• Gases: air, oxygen, carbon dioxide.

• Things that are made up of lots of small pieces: sand, rice, salt.

How to count them?

• For countable: many, indefinite article, numbers

• For uncountable: much, and measure units (a pair, a bunch, a piece, a bottle, a cup, etc.)

Words that can be both countable and uncountable

Many, many words can be used in both an uncountable way and a countable way:

Uncountable: Coffee is my favourite drink.

Countable: Could you buy two coffees and two teas, please?

Uncountable: My children eat a lot of yogurt.

Countable: I bought a pack of six yogurts.

Multiple Select

Select the countable nouns:

• pizza

• shoes

• bread

• table

• notebook

Multiple Select

Select the uncountable nouns:

• scissors

• sunglasses

• cellphone

• TV

• paper

Exercise:

Write ten sentences using the following words:

* bread * juice * hair * screen * time * money * pencil * meat * blueberries * honey

When you finish, upload your sentences to Canvas.