Countable / Uncountable Nouns

Countable Nouns

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

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

Countable nouns can be singular or plural:
My dog is playing. / My dogs are hungry.
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 orange. (not I want orange. / Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)

When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:
I like oranges. / Bottles can break.

We can use some and any with countable nouns:
'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 here / There are three people here.

Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns:

• music, art, love, happiness
• advice, information, news
• furniture,
• rice, sugar, butter, water
• electricity, gas, power
• money

We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:
This news is very important. / 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.

Uncountable nouns are also called "mass nouns".

THE ACTIVY

1 There ______ enough beer for everyone to have some.
isn't
aren't

2 There ______ enough seats for everybody. Some people will have to sit on the floor or stand!
isn't
aren't

3 There ______ plenty of sugar but we need some more coffee.
is
are

4 No need to hurry. There ______ plenty of time.
is
are

5 How ______ money have you got?
much
many

6 How ______ people are coming?
much
many

7 I don't have ______ time to speak to you.
much
many

8 There wasn't ______ traffic on the road.
much
many

9 There ______ a lot of people who are interested in what you are doing.
is
are

10 ______ there a lot of hotels in Berne?
is
are

11 There ______ only a little accommodation available on site at the conference.
is
are

12 I need ______ information.
a
some

13 How ______ work do you do at week-ends?
much
many

14 We haven't heard ______ news of him since he left the company.
much
many

15 The police ______ looking for him.
is
are

16 Mathematics ______ not very easy to understand.
is
are

17 The children ______ finishing school early today.
is
are

18 His clothes ______ very old-fashioned.
is
are

19 Would you like some more meat? Yes, I'd love ______ .
one
some

20 Cut this off with ______ scissors.
a
some