Countable & Uncountable Nouns: Definitions, Rules & Examples

What are countable and uncountable nouns?

Countable nouns are things we can count (like books or apples). They have both singular and plural forms (one apple, two apples).

Uncountable nouns are things or abstract concepts that we can’t count (like milk or air) and they usually don't use articles or plural forms. We can’t say 'a milk' or 'airs'.

Sometimes there’s not much logic to whether a noun is countable or uncountable. For example:

• work is uncountable, but job is countable
• advice is uncountable, but suggestion is countable
• feedback is uncountable, but comment is countable
• trip is countable, but travel is uncountable
• word is countable, but vocabulary is uncountable
• study is countable, but research is uncountable

Sometimes, a noun is even different in US English and UK English, like 'Lego' or 'accommodation' (both uncountable in the UK, but countable in the US).

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 that we can count like 'table', 'apple' or 'boy'. We usually add an 's' to the noun to make a plural:

• Table → Tables
• Apple → Apples
• Boy → Boys

We use singular verbs with singular countable nouns, and plural verbs with plural countable nouns.

• A child is playing outside.
• The book was interesting.
• The dog eats fast.

• The children are playing outside.
• The books were interesting.
• The dogs eat fast.

Uncountable nouns

On the other hand, uncountable nouns are nouns that we can't count, like 'love', 'rice' or 'water'.

They don't have a plural form, so we can't add 's' to them. We also don't use 'a' or 'an' with uncountable nouns. So we can't say:

• Two rices
• Three new vocabularies
• A progress

We always use uncountable nouns with a singular verb. For example:

• Love makes the world go round.
• Friendship is the most important thing in the world.
• Fear stops you from making hard decisions.
• Advice helps people make decisions.

Be careful NOT to use plural verbs with uncountable nouns because the noun ends with an 's' and looks plural. For example:

• mathematics
• physics
• economics
• politics
• linguistics
• statistics
• news
• measles
• diabetes
• darts
• dominoes
• series
• species

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.

Words that can be both countable and uncountable

We can use many, many words in both an uncountable way and a countable way.

This is especially true of uncountable food and drink, such as 'coffee' or 'yoghurt'. When we're talking in general about coffee or yoghurt, the words are uncountable. But we can use them in a countable way when we mean 'one cup of' or 'one pot of':

• Uncountable: Coffee is my favourite drink.
• Countable: Could you buy two coffees and two teas, please?

• Uncountable: My children eat a lot of yoghurt.
• Countable: I bought a pack of six yoghurts.

Other words that act like this include: water, juice, salad, curry and cake.

• Uncountable: She loves cheese.
• Countable: That shop sells lots of cheeses (= different kinds of cheese).

Other words that can be used in this way include jam, wood, plastic, bread, metal and fabric.

There are a few words that change their meaning depending on if we use them in a countable way or an uncountable way. For example:

Hair

Countable = one hair

• Urgh! There's a hair in my food!

Uncountable = all the hair on a person's head.

• She has very beautiful hair.

Paper

Countable = a newspaper

• I bought all the papers this morning.

Uncountable = paper in general

• Could you give me some paper to write on?

Light

Countable = a single lamp or light bulb

• The Christmas tree was covered in lights.

Uncountable = light in general or as a metaphor

• The room was full of light.

Experience

• I travelled to Thailand and it was a really great experience.

Uncountable = when you’ve done something for a long time

• She has a lot of experience with children.

Articles and determiners with countable and uncountable nouns

Articles and determiners with countable nouns

Countable nouns are things we can count, and they can be singular or plural.

Singular countable nouns

Plural countable nouns

Articles and determiners with uncountable nouns

Quantity words with uncountable nouns

With countable nouns, we can say how many of them we mean. So, we can say "two apples" or "a few cars".

However, it's more difficult to be specific with uncountable or plural nouns, but we can do it with the structure 'a + measure noun + of + noun'. We can say "a packet of sugar" rather than "some sugar" because it's more specific. Equally we might say, "a group of people" instead of just "some people" because it gives us a clearer idea of how many people there are.

Containers

• a cup of tea
• a glass of milk
• a packet of sugar
• a sack of rice
• a tin of fruit
• a jar of jam
• a tube of toothpaste
• a bottle of water

Measurements

• a kilo of flour
• a gram of meat
• five pounds of beef
• two metres of fabric
• ten litres of petrol
• a pint of beer
• three spoonfuls of sugar
• a pinch of salt

Parts of something

• a piece of cheese/chocolate/plastic/chalk
• a lump of coal/sugar
• a slice of bread/cake/pizza
• a sheet/piece of paper
• a bar of soap/chocolate
• a loaf of bread
• a grain of sand/rice
• an item of furniture
• a piece of advice/information

Quantity words with countable nouns

We can also do this with countable nouns, but they are optional and add extra meaning. Here are some more examples:

Groups

• a group of people
• a crowd of tourists
• a team of players
• a bunch of flowers

Arrangement

• a row of houses
• a line of cars
• a pile of books
• a stack of chairs
• a series of events

Containers

• a box of chocolates
• a bag of apples
• a basket of eggs
• a tray of sandwiches

Common mistakes

Some nouns are countable in other languages but uncountable in English, so students often make mistakes with them. Here are some of the most common examples:

• NOT: She gave me an advice.
• Correct: She gave me some / a bit of / a piece of / lots of advice.

• NOT: There are a lot of accommodations in the mountains.
• Correct: There is a lot of accommodation in the mountains.

• NOT: A new equipment would fix this problem.
• Correct: Some new equipment would fix this problem.

• NOT: We don't have an evidence to prove it.
• Correct: We don't have any evidence to prove it.

• NOT: I really need to buy some new furnitures for my new flat.
• Correct: I really need to buy some new furniture for my new flat.

• NOT: I have a lot of homeworks today.
• Correct: I have a lot of homework today.

• NOT: I need an information about visiting times.
• Correct: I need some information about visiting times.

• NOT: You have so many knowledges of history!
• You have so much knowledge of history!

• NOT: I need to get to the airport early to check my luggages in.
• Correct: I need to get to the airport early to check my luggage in.

• NOT: The news are interesting today.
• Correct: The news is interesting today.

• NOT: Can we have spaghettis for dinner?
• Correct: Can we have spaghetti for dinner?

• NOT: I don't have many works left.
• Correct: I don't have much work left.

Conclusion

• Countable nouns are things we can count (one book, two apples) and have singular and plural forms.
• Uncountable nouns are things or concepts we can't count (advice, water, furniture) and don't take plural forms or 'a/an.' We can, however, use articles like some, any, much, a lot of and a bit of with uncountable nouns.
• We can also use measure words or phrases like a piece of, a tin of or a litre of to make uncountable or plural noun "countable."
• Some words are countable in one context and uncountable in another (e.g., coffee, cheese, experience, hair).
• Some nouns look plural but are uncountable (e.g., news, mathematics).

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