COUNTABLE and UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

Countable nouns

 
Countable nouns are nouns that we can count: car, house, book, etc. We can say one car, two cars, three cars, etc.
 

Singular and plural

 
Countable nouns have singular and plural forms: a car/cars, a house/houses, a book/books, etc.
 

a/an + singular countable noun

 
We CANNOT use a singular countable noun without a determiner like a/an or the.

• I have a car. (NOT I have car.)
• When I was a child. (NOT When I was child.)

Uncountable nouns

 
Uncountable nouns are nouns that we cannot count: money, milk, rain, etc. We cannot say one money, two moneys, etc.
 

Only singular

 
Uncountable nouns do not have a plural form, they only have a singular form: money/moneys, milk/milks, rain/rains, etc.
 

Not a/an

 
We cannot use a/an + uncountable noun. A/an means ‘one’, and we cannot count uncountable nouns.

• I need money. (NOT a money.)
• We need to buy sugar. (NOT a sugar.)

Types of words that are uncountable

 
Some types of words that are typically uncountable are:

• Food, drinks and liquids: cheese, bread, pasta, coffee, milk, petrol, fuel, etc.
• Materials: iron, wood, metal, paper, plastic, etc.
• Abstract ideas and feelings: information, advice, strength, time, love, excitement, etc.
• Illnesses: diabetes, alzheimer, cancer, etc.
• Languages: English, French, Spanish, etc.

Uncountable in English but not in other languages

 
Some nouns are uncountable in English, but they are countable in other languages. Some of them are: advice, news (it ends in -s, but it’s a singular word), furniture, luggage, baggage, bread, cheese, toast, etc.
 

Countable and uncountable

 
Some nouns can be countable and uncountable because they can refer to a unit or to ‘mass’ or ‘material’. Compare:

• Yesterday I had two coffees. (= two cups of coffee)
• I love coffee. (= the liquid that we drink)
• I found one hair in my soup. (one single hair)
• She has beautiful hair. (= the mass of hair on her head)

a/an, some, any

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a/an

 
We use a/an + singular countable noun.

• I have a new car. 
• She has a brother and a sister.

We cannot use a/an before a plural noun or an uncountable noun.

• I need to buy sugar. (NOT a sugar.)
• We saw very beautiful places. (NOT a very beautiful places.)

some/any

 
We use some and any before countable plural nouns or singular uncountable nouns.

• He gave me some coins. 
• He didn’t give me any coins.
• He gave me some money.

some

 
We use some in positive sentences.

• We cooked some cookies. 

any

 
We use any in negative sentences and questions.

• She didn’t send me any messages.
• Have you got any brothers or sisters?

But we use some in questions when we are asking for something or we are offering something.

• Can I have some tea? (=I’m asking for some tea.)
• Would you like some tea? (=I’m offering you some tea.)