File 9 A Grammar Countable / Uncountable Nouns

Countable Nouns

Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "book". We can count books. We can have one, two, three or more books. Here are some more countable nouns:

• dog, cat, animal, man, person
• bottle, box, litre
• coin, note, pound
• cup, plate, fork, knife
• table, chair, suitcase, bag

Countable nouns can be singular or plural:

• My book is new.
• My books are on the desk.

We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:

• A dog is an animal.

When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a / the / my / this with it:

• I want an apple. (not I want apple.)
• Where is my bag? (not Where is bag?)

When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:

• I like apples.
• 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.

People" is countable. "People" is the plural of "person". We can count people:

• There is one person in the house.
• There are three people in the house.

Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "water". We can count "bottles of water" or "litres of water", but we cannot count "water" 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 music is very good.
• 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:

• I've got a little money.
• I haven't got much rice.