{"id":149143,"date":"2024-02-21T07:44:32","date_gmt":"2024-02-21T12:44:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/countable-and-uncountable-nouns\/"},"modified":"2025-01-26T09:17:14","modified_gmt":"2025-01-26T14:17:14","slug":"countable-and-uncountable-nouns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/english\/countable-and-uncountable-nouns\/","title":{"rendered":"Countable and Uncountable Nouns in English"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Countable nouns<\/strong> are specific items that can be counted individually, such as &#8220;apples&#8221; or &#8220;dogs.&#8221; <strong>Uncountable nouns<\/strong>, on the other hand, represent something as a whole, like &#8220;music&#8221; or &#8220;sand&#8221; and are not counted as separate units.<\/p>\n<p>Read on to learn more about the differences between countable and uncountable nouns.\u00a0You&#8217;ll also find examples and resources for perfecting your noun skills.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n<h2>Countable Nouns<\/h2>\n<p>A countable noun, as the name suggests, <strong>is a noun that can be counted or numbered. It can also be turned into a plural.\u00a0<\/strong>Often countable nouns refer to things or objects that we can see, feel or touch (but not always!).<\/p>\n<p>For instance:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>vegetables<\/li>\n<li>toys<\/li>\n<li>cars<\/li>\n<li>chairs<\/li>\n<li>books<\/li>\n<li>countries<\/li>\n<li>oceans<\/li>\n<li>days<\/li>\n<li>rooms<\/li>\n<li>friends<\/li>\n<li>stars<\/li>\n<li>people<\/li>\n<li>children<\/li>\n<li>ideas<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you aren&#8217;t sure if a noun is countable or not, ask yourself if you can place a number right before it. Since all countable nouns can be expressed in terms of a number, <strong>they all have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/english\/english-plural\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">singular and plural forms<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>For instance:<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>There are <strong>five red cars<\/strong> on the road.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>She&#8217;s carrying <strong>three eggs<\/strong> in a basket.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em><strong>Two people<\/strong> are standing outside the gate.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Only <strong>one sandwich<\/strong> is left.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>In their singular form, these nouns usually have an article<\/strong> (&#8220;a,&#8221; &#8220;an&#8221; or &#8220;the&#8221;), or the number &#8220;one&#8221; before it.<\/p>\n<p>For example:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em><strong>An apple<\/strong> a day keeps the doctor<\/em> away.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em><strong>A century<\/strong> (100 years) has already passed.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Similarly, their <strong>plural forms usually have a number before it or are preceded by words like &#8220;few,&#8221; &#8220;many,&#8221; &#8220;several&#8221; <\/strong>and so on.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For example:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Eight out of <strong>10 apples<\/strong> were rotten.<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>There are <strong>a few girls<\/strong> in the class.<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>How <strong>many countries<\/strong> have you visited?<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em><strong>Several centuries<\/strong> have passed.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Most objects around us, as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.englishclub.com\/grammar\/nouns-collective.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">collective nouns (such as teams, groups and bands)<\/a>, are countable nouns.<\/p>\n<h2>Uncountable Nouns<\/h2>\n<p>Uncountable nouns are <strong>nouns that can&#8217;t be counted<\/strong>, <strong>or rather, which can&#8217;t be directly expressed in terms of numbers<\/strong>. Often, uncountable nouns also refer to abstract nouns.<\/p>\n<p>For example:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>sunshine<\/li>\n<li>information<\/li>\n<li>travel<\/li>\n<li>work<\/li>\n<li>time<\/li>\n<li>money<\/li>\n<li>magic<\/li>\n<li>furniture<\/li>\n<li>knowledge<\/li>\n<li>happiness<\/li>\n<li>jealousy<\/li>\n<li>justice<\/li>\n<li>advice<\/li>\n<li>luck<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here are examples of how they look in a sentence:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>We all seek <strong>happiness<\/strong> in our lives.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><i>She makes a lot of <strong>money<\/strong>.<\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>His success as a movie star is a result of his hard <strong>work<\/strong>, rather than his<strong> luck<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>My kids find it relaxing to play with <strong>clay<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Certain materials are uncountable nouns<\/strong>, like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>silk<\/li>\n<li>satin<\/li>\n<li>concrete<\/li>\n<li>sand<\/li>\n<li>clay<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/english\/fast-food-vocabulary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Some food or drink items<\/a> are also uncountable nouns<\/strong>, such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>water<\/li>\n<li>tea<\/li>\n<li>coffee<\/li>\n<li>milk<\/li>\n<li>rice<\/li>\n<li>flour<\/li>\n<li>fruit<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You&#8217;ll also notice that most uncountable nouns don&#8217;t have a plural form. So, <strong>to express the amount or quantity, such nouns are often used with words like &#8220;some,&#8221; &#8220;much,&#8221; &#8221; a lot&#8221;<\/strong> and so on.<\/p>\n<p>For instance:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Can I borrow <strong>some milk<\/strong> to bake the cake?<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>His mother has placed <strong>much hope<\/strong> in him.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em><strong>A lot of effort<\/strong> is needed to finish this task.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>How to Turn an Uncountable Noun into a Countable Noun<\/h2>\n<p>If you want to express an uncountable noun in terms of exact numbers or measurements, <strong>you need to add a countable noun before it that is used to specify amounts<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>For example:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>cup<\/li>\n<li>glass<\/li>\n<li>bottle<\/li>\n<li>can<\/li>\n<li>piece<\/li>\n<li>slice<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Take a look at the following examples:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Can I have <strong>some water<\/strong>?<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Yes, there&#8217;s <strong>a glass of water<\/strong> on the table.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Is there <strong>any cheese<\/strong> in the fridge?<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Yes, there are <strong>three slices of cheese<\/strong> still left.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>She gave me <strong>some terrible advice<\/strong> about my love life!<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Really? When I spoke to her, I came away with <strong>at least two pieces of good advice<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>However, for certain tricky words, it depends entirely on the context. You have to study the sentence carefully to know if the noun is countable or not.<\/p>\n<p>For instance:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>The floor is covered with loose <strong>hair<\/strong>.<\/em> (uncountable)<br \/>\n<em><strong>A stray hair<\/strong> clung to her sweaty face.<\/em> (countable)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>The hotel has <strong>20 rooms<\/strong>.<\/em> (countable)<br \/>\n<em>Is there <strong>room<\/strong> for me on the bus?<\/em> (uncountable)<\/p>\n<p>And sometimes, an abstract noun can be used as a countable noun.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Only <strong>the t<\/strong><strong>ruth<\/strong> can set you free.<\/em> (uncountable)<br \/>\n<em>There are <strong>two truths<\/strong> in this story.<\/em> (countable)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Helen&#8217;s <strong>beauty<\/strong> can&#8217;t be surpassed.<\/em> (uncountable)<br \/>\n<em>What are you<strong> two beauties<\/strong> doing here by the pool?<\/em> (countable)<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re confused if a noun is countable or not, look for articles (&#8220;a&#8221; or &#8220;the&#8221;) or words like &#8220;some,&#8221; &#8220;few&#8221; and &#8220;many&#8221; to figure it out. And if there are none, then they&#8217;re probably uncountable nouns.<\/p>\n<h2>Differences Between Countable and Uncountable Nouns<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To summarize, countable nouns<\/strong>&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>can be expressed with numbers<\/li>\n<li>have singular and plural forms<\/li>\n<li>can have a numeral or an article before it<\/li>\n<li>can be preceded by words like &#8220;few,&#8221; &#8220;many&#8221; and &#8220;several&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And <strong>uncountable nouns.<\/strong>..<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>can&#8217;t be directly expressed with numbers<\/li>\n<li>usually don&#8217;t have a plural form<\/li>\n<li>can have words like &#8220;some,&#8221; &#8220;much&#8221; and &#8220;a lot&#8221; before them<\/li>\n<li>can be preceded by a number and a countable noun<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<h2>Resources for Practicing Countable and Uncountable Nouns<\/h2>\n<p>To test your understanding of countable and uncountable nouns, there are plenty of online exercises that can help you keep track of your progress.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.perfect-english-grammar.com\/noun-identification-exercise-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Perfect English Grammar<\/a>:<\/strong> Brush up on nouns before moving on to countables and uncountables.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/agendaweb.org\/grammar\/countable_uncountable-exercises.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">AgendaWeb<\/a>:<\/strong> Focus purely on countable and uncountable nouns.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/english\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FluentU<\/a>:<\/strong> See nouns and other aspects of English in use naturally through short videos embedded with learning tools. <p><strong>FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p> \r\n<p>You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/fluentu-learn-language-videos\/id917892175\">the iOS app<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.fluentflix.fluentu&amp;hl=en&amp;gl=US\">Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p><i><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\r\n  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/SimpleText.jpg\" alt=\"FluentU Ad\" \/>\r\n  <p style=\"text-align: center\">\r\n    <button class=\"btn-blue\" style=\"border: none;font-size: 18px;text-align: center;padding: 0.75rem 1.5rem;cursor: pointer\">\r\n      Try FluentU for FREE!\r\n    <\/button>\r\n  <\/p>\r\n<\/a>\r\n<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myenglishpages.com\/site_php_files\/grammar-exercise-countable-uncountable-nouns.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">MyEnglishPages<\/a>:<\/strong> Take short quizzes. For each sentence, choose whether the nouns are countable or uncountable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>By now, the differences between countable and uncountable nouns should be clear to you.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Try to reread the differences between countable and uncountable nouns to memorize them and then test your understanding with the practice exercises I&#8217;ve listed above.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s okay if you make mistakes in the beginning. Just keep practicing regularly and you&#8217;re sure to make a lot of progress!<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>And One More Thing...<\/h2>\r\n<p>\r\nIf you like learning English through movies and online media, you should also check out FluentU. <a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">FluentU lets you learn English from popular talk shows, catchy music videos and funny commercials<\/a>, as you can see here:\r\n<\/p>\r\n<div id=\"attachment_1990\" style=\"width: 317px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1990\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1990\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/English-5.png\" alt=\"learn-english-with-videos\" width=\"307\" height=\"546\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1990\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">If you want to watch it, the FluentU app has probably got it.<\/p><\/div>\r\n<p>\r\nThe FluentU app and website makes it really easy to watch English videos. There are captions that are interactive. That means you can tap on any word to see an image, definition, and useful examples.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<div id=\"attachment_1991\" style=\"width: 317px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1991\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1991\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/English-2.png\" alt=\"learn-english-with-subtitled-television-show-clips\" width=\"307\" height=\"546\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1991\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">FluentU lets you learn engaging content with world famous celebrities.<\/p><\/div>\r\n<p>\r\nFor example, when you tap on the word \"searching,\" you see this:\r\n<\/p>\r\n<div id=\"attachment_1959\" style=\"width: 317px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1959\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1959 \" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/English-6.png\" alt=\"learn-conversational-english-with-interactive-captioned-dialogue\" width=\"307\" height=\"546\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1959\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">FluentU lets you tap to look up any word.<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p>\r\nLearn all the vocabulary in any video with quizzes. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you\u2019re learning.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<div id=\"attachment_1996\" style=\"width: 317px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1996\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1996 \" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/English-7.png\" alt=\"practice-english-with-adaptive-quizzes\" width=\"307\" height=\"546\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1996\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">FluentU helps you learn fast with useful questions and multiple examples. <a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Learn more.<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n<p>\r\nThe best part? FluentU remembers the vocabulary that you\u2019re learning. It gives you extra practice with difficult words\u2014and reminds you when it\u2019s time to review what you\u2019ve learned. You have a truly personalized experience.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nStart using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. <a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Countable nouns are specific items that can be counted individually, such as &#8220;apples&#8221; or &#8220;dogs.&#8221; Uncountable nouns, on the other hand, represent something as a whole, like &#8220;music&#8221; or &#8220;sand&#8221;&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":545,"featured_media":248449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"Countable and Uncountable Nouns in English | FluentU English Blog","description":"Learning about countable and uncountable nouns can be tricky at times, but everything gets easier once you get to know the differences between them! Check out this post to learn about countable and uncountable nouns, several examples of each, how to use them in a sentence, as well as resources for extra practice."},"footnotes":""},"categories":[685,696,706],"tags":[],"coauthors":[311],"class_list":["post-149143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","category-grammar-english","category-parts-of-speech-grammar-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/545"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149143"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":242618,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149143\/revisions\/242618"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149143"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=149143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}