Nouns - Countable or uncountable?

Dr. Grammar says:

“What’s wrong with these sentences? I often eat two rices at lunch because I get very hungry.”

EXPLANATION:

Nouns can be either countable, uncountable, or both! This means we can either count them (1, 2, 3 etc.) or not. For example:

= 4 stars (so star is countable)

= lightning (so lightning is uncountable)

Countable Nouns

Countable nouns can either be singular or plural, and we show this by using an “s” on the end if it is plural. For example:

I have a dog. = singular (just one)

I have two dogs. = plural (more than one)

When a countable noun in singular, we must use a word before it, such as a/an/the/this/one. (See the grammar lesson on “Articles” for more information on this). For example:

I have a dog.

This dog is mine.

I would like to have more than one dog.

When countable nouns are plural, we can use them without articles. For example:

I have many dogs.

However, some nouns are irregular, and you can’t just add an “s” to the end. See the list below of some common irregular nouns:

Singular                              Plural

sheep                                  sheep

fish                                       fish

person                                 people

man                                     men

child                                     children

woman                                women

Uncountable nouns

Uncountable nouns cannot be counted when they are used alone. For example:

I like music.

Tuoi Tre has a lot of useful and interesting information.

I love to eat soup.

However, we can count most of them when we add another countable expression in front of them. For example:

I like four types of music, rock, jazz, blues and punk.

Yesterday’s newspaper had ten pieces of useful information for my essay.

I often eat two bowls of soup for lunch.

We don’t need to use a/an with uncountable nouns, but we can use the. For example:

The information I found in the newspaper was very useful.

A good monolingual dictionary (English to English, not English to Vietnamese) will usually have [C] or [U] to show if a noun is countable or uncountable.

Countable and Uncountable

Some nouns can be used as countable or uncountable (they will be shown as [C] [U] in the dictionary) depending on how they are used. For example:

I use paper to take notes at university because I don’t have a laptop.

(paper is a material = uncountable)

I have written five papers this year at university.

(papers are essays, or reports = countable)

I like to drink coffee.

(coffee is a substance = uncountable)

I have had three coffees already today.

(coffees is short for cups of coffee = countable)

I love to eat fish for lunch.

(fish as meat = uncountable)

I have many fish at home in my bedroom.

(fish as animals = countable)

So…

I often eat two rices at lunch because I get very hungry. X

I often eat two bowls of rice at lunch because I get very hungry. √

EXERCISE:

Find the nouns in the following sentences, and guess if they are countable or uncountable in these situations.

1. I love listening to music while I study for my school exams.

2. Harry drank four cups of tea before he had his breakfast.

3. The river runs from the mountains to the sea.

4. When he finishes his paper he will be very happy and will probably have a big party with lots of people.

5. Fish is very popular in Asia, but I don’t like it because I like to keep fish as pets.

Answers:

1. Music = [U]; exams = [C]

2. Tea = [U]; breakfast = [U]

3. River = [C]; mountains = [C]; sea = [U]

4. Paper = [C] (= essay/report); party = [C], people = [C]

5. Fish = [U] (= meat); fish = [C] (the animals)

FURTHER PRACTICE:

Read through some English Tuoi Tre articles and find as many new nouns as you can. Try to guess if they are countable or uncountable (look for nouns with “s” or articles, or countable expressions).

After you have guessed, use a good monolingual dictionary to check if you are correct.

To really understand countable and uncountable nouns well, READ and WRITE. Read a lot to recognize how nouns are used, and write to practice using them.

Finally, look out for more lessons on nouns next week!

This material is provided by the Australian Centre for Education and Training (ACET).