Countable and uncountable nouns can be confusing for first time English users. Like most of the English language, there is not an easy go-to rule that solves all of our problems; however there are some things that we can remember to make it a little bit easier!
Having taught English in Japan for almost 3 years to a variety of people and levels. I believe that I can shed some light on some grammar points that are difficult to understand and get your head around. So, I hope that I can help you understand the basics of countable and uncountable nouns.
First, let's start with countable nouns.
Countable Nouns
Countable Nouns are nouns that can be counted. These are objects, and things that are big enough to touch one at a time- without it being inconvenient. We can use a number in front of them if there is more than one, or use a/an/ to signify only one of the object.
Let's have a look at some examples of countable nouns below:
chair | table | sofa | television |
cup | tree | fork | notepad |
person | friend | father | daughter |
book | pencil case | crayon | phone |
As you can see from the table above, the objects are all things that are large enough to count one by one.
A: How many spoons do we need?
B: I need 3 spoons.
A: We need more chairs for the meeting.
B: How many?
A: 13 chairs.
Countable Nouns don't always have to be things. They can also be places. While you cannot hold these in your hand, you can count them quite easily, and you can only touch one place at the same time.
Let's have a look at some examples below:
school | university | restaurant | supermarket |
country | city | bank | park |
mall | library | cafe | bookstore |
A: Where were you today?
B: I was looking for a book at the library.
A: Did you find it?
B: Yeah, but I had to go to 4 libraries before I could finally find a copy.
A: Did you have a good time with your friends?
B: Yes! We went to a park near Simons house.
Finally, this is where it gets complicated and the "easy" way to remember things doesn't apply anymore. Countable nouns can also be intangible objects, meaning it can be something you can't touch or physically count. But they are things that are individual.
Let's have a look at some examples:
idea | dream | story | day |
From these examples, you can see that things such as days, months and weeks are countable nouns even though you cannot touch them or count them physically.
A: I have 3 days before I fly to Paris.
B: How long are you staying?
A: 2 weeks.
A: Does anyone have any ideas for the advertisement?
B: I have an idea!
There are many different ways to use countable nouns in a sentence. There are also specific words that we use in combination with countable nouns. Let's have a look at an example:
How many?
Many is a word that we use with countable nouns when we are asking questions. Many is only used with countable nouns, and never uncountable nouns. We use this question structure when we are asking about quantity. The answer to "how many" is always a number + a countable noun or a/an + countable noun.
A: How many people are coming tomorrow?
B: The boss said 15 people were coming.
A: Can you make some coffee for our guests?
B: Of course, how many cups do you need?
A: 8 cups of coffee would be great, thank you.
This is the easiest way to ask for how many a countable noun. How many~~~?
Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns are the opposite of countable nouns. They are the things that you cannot count singularly, are too small to touch one at a time, or are impossible to touch one at a time. When talking about uncountable nouns, we usually use a counter for example, a little bit, some, or a lot of/lots of. We never use numbers or a/an with uncountable nouns.
Uncountable Nouns are usually liquids, foods, and the weather. Let's have a look at some examples:
orange juice | water | coffee | milk |
beef | cheese | sugar | rice |
pasta | oil | fat | butter |
rain | snow | wind | hail |
A: Can you pour me a glass of orange juice?
B: Sure how much do you want?
A: Just a little bit.
A: Todays weather forecast said it's going to be snow.
B: Yeah, recently there's been a lot of snow.
Uncountable nouns can also be used when talking about subjects, such as school subjects or topics. It cannot be touched and it's a broad concept, this is what we call umbrella terms- this is a large topic that has many smaller topics inside it. For example: in mathematics, you have algebra, addition, subtraction and much more. All of these smaller topics are also uncountable.
Let's look at some examples:
science | art | English | P.E |
politics | geography | world history | mathematics |
A: We have a lot of geography homework today.
B: I know, and I have some English homework to finish too.
A: Why do you always talk about politics?
B: It's good to have a little bit of politics in your life.
Finally, let's take a look at other uncountable nouns. Some uncountable nouns are umbrella terms, big topic markers, or they can be materials.
Let's have a look at some examples:
news | wood | plastic | cotton |
money | noise | furniture | work |
information | leather | metal | advice. |
A: There's so much news about the war recently.
B: I know, it's really sad.
A: I watched a documentary yesterday about plastic in our oceans.
B: There's a lot of plastic right?
How much?
Unlike countable nouns using 'how many', uncountable nouns use 'how much' as a marker for quantity, and to ask questions. We always use 'how much' when using uncountable nouns and it is never used for countable nouns. The sentence structure is the same as 'how many', how much + uncountable noun and the answer is always quantifier + uncountable noun.
Uncountable nouns have many quantifiers. We have seen a few in the examples above, but let's take a quick look at a few here:
a lot of
lots of
some
a little
a little bit of
Some of these quantifiers can be used with uncountable nouns as well such as 'a lot of', 'lots of' and 'some'. It is safe to use these in your answers for both countable and uncountable nouns as you're unlikely to make a mistake.
A: How much water do we need for the trip?
B: We need a lot of water, maybe 3 bottles.
A: How much does this bag cost?
B: It costs £300.
A: That's quite expensive, why?
B: It's 100% real leather and handmade.
When asking about uncountable nouns, we can use 'How many~~~?'
I hope this helped broaden your understanding of countable and uncountable nouns. Feel free to drop us a message or comment to let us know how you found it or if you have any questions!
Thank you for your time~
Author: Afnan Ezzeldin
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