Countable and uncountable nouns

The difference between countable and uncountable nouns

Countable nouns can be counted (a/one book, two books, a lot of books), while uncountable nouns cannot (a/one news, two freedoms). Therefore, uncountable nouns only have singular forms and are followed by singular verbs. We should bear in mind that, even though a noun is uncountable in English, the word for it in another language may well be countable, and vice versa. When in doubt, one should always consult a dictionary. However, certain kinds of nouns are usually countable or uncountable in English:
Countable nouns

people (a teacher, a child, a gentleman)
animals (a butterfly, an elephant, a whale)
plants (a flower, a bush, a tree)
physical objects (a bag, a pen, a mountain)
units (a litre (of), a kind of, a part of, a family, a village, a word)

Uncountable nouns

abstract ideas (love, death, beauty)
gases (smoke, air, steam)
liquids (water, milk, blood)
substances and materials (wood, iron, fabric)
other substances consisting of many small particles (sugar, rice, sand)

For diagrams and quotes related to this topic, check out our e-book The Grammaring Guide to English Grammar.



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