Uncountable nouns
In English grammar, some things are seen as a whole or mass. These are called uncountable nouns, because they cannot be separated or counted.
Some examples of uncountable nouns are:
Ideas and experiences: advice, information, progress, news, luck, fun, work
Materials and substances: water, rice, cement, gold, milk
Weather words: weather, thunder, lightning, rain, snow
Names for groups or collections of things: furniture, equipment, rubbish, luggage
Other common uncountable nouns include: accommodation, baggage, homework, knowledge, money, permission, research, traffic, travel.
These nouns are not used with a/an or numbers and are not used in the plural.
We’re going to get new furniture for the living room.
Not:
We’re going to get a new furniture for the living room. orWe’re going to get new furnitures for the living room.
We had terrible weather last week.
Not:
We had a terrible weather last week.
We need rice next time we go shopping.
Some nouns always have plural form but they are uncountable because we cannot use numbers with them.
I bought two pairs of trousers.
Not:
I bought two trousers.
Other nouns of this type are: shorts, pants, pyjamas, glasses (for the eyes), binoculars, scissors.
Some nouns which are uncountable in English are countable in other languages (e.g. accommodation, advice, furniture, information):
They can give you some information about accommodation at the tourist office.
Not:
They can give you some informations about accommodations at the tourist office.
Can you give me some advice about buying a second-hand car?
Not:
Can you give me some advices about buying a second-hand car?
A good learner’s dictionary will tell you whether a noun is countable or uncountable.
Quantity expressions (a bit/piece)
To refer to one or more quantities of an uncountable noun, expressions such as a bit of, a piece of, an item of or words for containers and measures must be used:
He bought a very expensive piece of furniture for his new apartment.
Maggie always has some exciting bits of news when she comes to see us.
I think we’ll need five bags of cement for the patio.
There’s a litre of milk in the fridge for you. And I bought you a bar of chocolate.
Determiners (my, some, the)
Uncountable nouns can be used with certain determiners (e.g. my, her, some, any, no,the, this, that) and expressions of quantity (e.g. a lot of, (a) little):
They gave me some information about courses and scholarships and things.
Have you heard the news? Fran’s getting engaged.
She’s been studying hard and has made a lot of progress.
There’s no work to do here, so you can go home if you like.
This milk’s a bit old, I’m afraid.
Countable phrases for uncountable nouns
We can sometimes use countable noun phrases to talk about an individual example of the thing an uncountable noun refers to.
|
uncountable |
countable |
|
accommodation |
a house, a flat, a place to live, a place to stay |
|
baggage/luggage |
a suitcase, a bag, a rucksack |
|
bread |
a loaf (of bread), a (bread) roll |
|
lightning |
a flash of lightning |
|
luck |
a stroke of luck |
|
money |
a note, a coin, a sum of money, a euro, a dollar |
|
poetry |
a poem |
|
rain |
a shower, a downpour, a storm |
|
travel |
a journey, a trip |
|
work |
a job, a task |
Finding a place to live is difficult if you’re a student and you’ve got no money. (orFinding accommodation …)
Not:
Finding an accommodation…
She brought two big suitcases and a rucksack with her.
Not:
She brought two big luggages…
I read a poem once about someone riding a horse at night.
Not:
I read a poetry…
We went on a trip to the Amazon when we were in Brazil.
Not:
We went on a travel…
(“Nouns: countable and uncountable” da English Grammar Today © Cambridge University Press.)
This list shows some common measure words like “a bar of” or “a piece of” that we use to “measure” uncountable nouns.
a bag of flour | rice
a bar of chocolate | gold | soap
a bottle of Coke | milk | water | wine
a bowl of cereal / rice / soup
a box of cereal / paper
a can of cream / meat / tuna
a carton of ice-cream / orange juice / milk
a cup of hot chocolate / coffee / tea
a drop of blood / oil / water
a glass of beer / juice / water / wine
a grain of rice / sand
an item of clothing / news
a jar of honey / jam
a piece of advice / furniture / paper/news
a pinch of salt/pepper
a roll of paper / tape / toilet paper / Scotch tape
a slice of bread / cheese / toast
a spoonful of sugar / syrup / whisky
a tablespoon of butter / honey / ketchup
a teaspoon of cinnamon / medicine / salt
a tube of glue / lipstick / toothpaste
