Lesson 19 · Stage 2: Everyday words: pronouns, articles, prepositions
Countable and uncountable nouns
BeginnerForm & use
a car, two cars vs water, advice, information — which nouns take a/an and a plural -s
1.Two kinds of nouns
Countable nouns are things you can count one by one: one book, two books. Uncountable nouns are usually liquids, materials, ideas, or a group of things seen as a whole — you can't count them directly: water, rice, money, music, advice.
| Countable | Uncountable | |
|---|---|---|
| Examples | a book, an egg, a chair, a job | water, rice, money, music, advice |
| a / an | yes: a book | no (not a water) |
| Plural -s | yes: two books | no (not rices) |
| With numbers | three eggs | use a unit: three bottles of water |
| some / any | some eggs, any eggs | some rice, any rice |
| Asking how much/many | How many …? | How much …? |
| Verb | The eggs are fresh. | The rice is ready. |
How many eggs do we need?
How much money do you have?
Some languages count everything with a measure word. English only needs one for uncountable nouns (a bowl of rice, a piece of advice); countable nouns go straight after a/an or a number: a table, two chairs.
2.Common uncountable nouns
- Food, drink and materials: water, milk, coffee, rice, bread, meat, sugar, cheese, paper
- Groups of things seen as a whole: money, furniture, luggage / baggage, traffic, homework, housework
- Ideas and abstract things: advice, information, news, help, music, weather, fun, work, progress
Can you give me some advice?
The news is really good.
news ends in -s but is singular
I need some information about the course.
There's a lot of traffic today.
To talk about one item, use a countable noun with a similar meaning:
| Uncountable | Countable |
|---|---|
| advice | a tip, a suggestion |
| luggage | a bag, a suitcase |
| furniture | a chair, a table, a sofa |
| work | a job, a task |
| travel | a trip, a journey |
Watch out for nouns that are countable in many other languages but uncountable in English: advice, information, news, furniture, luggage, homework, equipment. You can't say two advices or three furnitures.
3.Counting uncountable nouns
Use a unit word + of: a piece of, a glass of, a cup of, a bottle of, a bowl of, a slice of, a loaf of, a kilo of, a bar of. For more than one, the unit word takes the -s: two cups of tea.
Let me give you a piece of advice.
I'd like two cups of tea, please.
She eats a bowl of rice for lunch.
Can you buy a loaf of bread on your way home?
4.Nouns with both meanings
Some nouns can be countable or uncountable, with a different meaning:
| Uncountable | Countable |
|---|---|
| chicken — the meat | a chicken — the animal |
| paper — the material | a paper — a newspaper |
| coffee — the drink in general | a coffee — a cup of coffee (when ordering) |
| time — minutes and hours | a time — an occasion |
| hair — all the hair on your head | a hair — one single hair |
| room — space | a room — part of a building |
Sorry, I don't have time today.
I've been to Hue three times.
Two coffees, please.
There's a hair in my soup!
5.Common mistakes
Thanks for the informations.Thanks for the information.
information is uncountable — no -s.
I have many homeworks.I have a lot of homework.
homework is uncountable.
Can you give me an advice?Can you give me some advice / a piece of advice?
advice can't take a/an.
The news are bad.The news is bad.
news is uncountable, so the verb is singular.
How many money do you have?How much money do you have?
Uncountable → How much.
We bought a new furniture.We bought some new furniture.
furniture can't take a/an.
Examples
- Can you give me some advice about my CV?
- We need to buy some bread for breakfast.
- I have a lot of homework tonight.
- How much luggage have you got?
