countable and uncountable

Countable and Uncountable Nouns
the, a, an
Plurals

Types of Uncountable Nouns
Noun Practice

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Countable nouns refer to things that that can be counted. They are usually tangible things, things that can be perceived by one of our senses (taste, touch, sight, hearing, smell). These nouns can be either singular or plural.
Concrete nouns can be countable.
Flowers, oranges, trees, houses, bricks, cars, men, women, cats, birds
Joseph slipped on a banana peel. How many banana peels did Joseph slip on? Just one.
Cody ate a piece of cake. Pieces of cake can be counted.
Paul saw an anteater at the zoo. Anteaters can be counted.
Collective nouns can be countable or uncountable, depending on the meaning of the sentence.
Collective nouns refer to a group (army, committee, group, government, etc.) Americans tend to use collective nouns as singular nouns:
The crowd is cheering.
The navy was commissioning three new cruisers last week.
The group has elected Rodney to be chairman.
Some proper nouns are countable.
There are more Irish in New York than in Eire. (Irish people...How many Irish people are in...)
The Rockefellers produced several statesmen.
An uncountable noun refers to something that can't be counted, because it's thought of as a whole that can’t be cut into parts. They are often abstract, and occasionally have a collective meaning. (for example, food; Is the food ready now?) These nouns take only the singular form.
Correct: 1) I want to eat the food you made yesterday. Is it still good? 2) Yes, some of it is still good.
Correct: I gave the dog three pieces of food, but he only ate two.
Correct: I don't enjoy food when it's served cold. I like hot food to be served hot, and cold food to be served cold.
Incorrect: Don't give him an old food. Only give the dog a fresh food.
Jasper jumped into the air. How many airs did he jump into? The question doesn’t make any sense because air can't be counted.
Myra enjoyed the warm weather. How many weathers? Weather cannot be counted.
Diana didn't like the music the band played at the concert. How many musics? Music cannot be counted. Use the word songs when you want to count how much music you have.)
There are exceptions to the above definitions. (Be aware that a countable noun in a different language may not be countable in English, and vice versa.
Exceptions: Meanings can change, according to how the word is used. This is just a sampling:
Countable—concrete and specific Uncountable—abstract; general statement of fact
The lectures were scheduled once a week during the summer. We went to hear all eight lectures. lecture He hates lectures.
Kids can make a lot of different noises. (different kinds of sounds) noise Kids can make a lot of noise. (Kids, generally, make noise, and a lot of it!)
For Sale: House with 6 rooms and a barn room There wasn’t any room for me on the plane. (room, meaning space)
We had three great meals at the hotel. meal It’s not healthy to skip meals.
The Mona Lisa is a famous work by DaVinci. There are three other Da Vinci works in the museum. work All the work he does is done very carefully.

An easy way to identify uncountable nouns is by category. This is only a partial list.
Things made up of small pieces
cereal sand rice sugar
corn rye popcorn salt
lettuce hair flour oats
dust spinach garlic powder
Wholes composed of individual parts
These nouns represent collections made up of similar individual parts, which are usually countable nouns. Many of these collective nouns have more than one kind of individual component.
Collection Sample Components
mail package, letter
vegetable carrot, tomato
clothing slacks, shoes
food cookie, cracker
fruit pineapple, banana
furniture bed, chair
garbage egg shell, tin can
jewelry ring, bracelet
machinery flywheel, cog
Note: Sometimes an uncountable noun can be understood as an individual item that's distinct from other items of the same category. These nouns are often foods and beverages: pastry /pastries, drink/drinks, wine/wines, bread/breads, cheese/cheeses, tea/teas, etc.
• Men seem to like Limburger cheese more than other kinds. (kinds of cheese)
• Marlene drinks Indian tea, not Chinese tea. (kinds of tea)
• Some people prefer Danish pastry to French pastry. (kinds of pastry)
Fields of study and professional fields
physics geography geology music
advertising medicine grammar mechanics
biology economics history accounting
sociology law mathematics linguistics
Abstract ideas
strength equality sadness love selfishness
anger happiness knowledge patriotism slang
wonder hatred laughter peace trouble
courage health laziness permission wealth
crime help leisure relaxation wisdom
Liquids
oil water milk gasoline
syrup coffee vodka juice
tea soda molasses saliva
Gases
helium methane
air oxygen
ether ozone
carbon monoxide hydrogen
Solids, minerals, and elements
Countable and uncountable nouns that refer to a generalized mass
lava chicken cotton iron wood
pork wool fire lamb plastic
beef cloth glass lead silver
ice coal gold meat soap
bread concrete cheese ice steel
Sports and Recreational Activities
archery bridge jogging swimming
aerobics checkers Monopoly tag
badminton chess Scrabble tennis
baseball football soccer water polo
bowling hockey surfing volleyball
Natural Phenomena
snow cold darkness dew fog frost gravity hail
humidity light lightning mist rain sleet heat thunder
Medical Conditions
An article does not precede terms for general medical conditions. When referring to specific instances of a medical condition or disease, some uncountable nouns use the; others do not use any article.
General statement: Measles is a childhood disease.
Specific statement: He has the German measles.
arthritis hiccups cancer polio tuberculosis
AIDS flu measles smallpox lupus
Scientific processes and procedures
anesthesia electroshock
fission fusion
sonar radar
dissection dialysis

Articles
Notice that this, that, these, and those have been included because like the word the, they mark a definite noun rather than a general one.
a, an the this, that these, those no article
Countable singular Countable singular Countable singular
Countable plural Countable plural Countable plural
Uncountable Uncountable
Countable Singular:
• She peeled the orange.
• He drove the car.
• Did they see this movie?
Countable Plural:
• I love to watch the squirrels play.
• Does Patricia want these videos?
• I think she prefers those videos that are on the next shelf.
• Dogs are faithful to their owners. (no article)
Uncountable:
• The heat is awful today.
• Thunder scares me. (no article)
Plurals: Although uncountable nouns do not usually take a plural form, they can when used in a countable sense.
• •most countable nouns can be made plural adding s, or ies (study, studies)
• uncountable nouns can't be made plural at all
• nouns used in a countable sense can be made plural
• nouns used in an uncountable sense can't have a plural form.
No Plural Plural
uncountable noun countable noun
uncountable Use countable use

Uncountable (general) Use Countable (specific) Use
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I have heard about the beauties of the French countryside.
He likes to eat cake. He brought four double-fudge chocolate cakes to the party.
She has gorgeous hair. The detective found several blond hairs on the body of the victim.
Anthropology is the study of man. Those men standing at the coffee machine were my teachers last year at school.