Do you know how to use a, some, any, much and many? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you. Look at these examples to see how to use countable and uncountable nouns in a sentence. I'm making a cup of tea. There's some money on the table. Have we got any bread? How many chairs do we need? How much milk have we got? Try this exercise to test your grammar. Grammar test 1 Countable and uncountable nouns 1 Grammar test 1 Read the explanation to learn more. Grammar explanation Nouns can be countable or uncountable. Countable nouns can be counted, an apple, two apples, three apples, etc. Uncountable nouns cannot be counted, air, rice, water, etc. When you learn a new noun, you should check if it is countable or uncountable and note how it is used in a sentence. Countable nouns For positive sentences we can use a/an for singular nouns or some for plurals. There's a man at the door. I have some friends in New York. For negatives we can use a/an for singular nouns or any for plurals. I don't have a dog. There aren't any seats. Uncountable nouns Here are some examples of uncountable nouns bread rice coffee information money advice luggage furniture We use some with uncountable nouns in positive sentences and any with negatives. There's some milk in the fridge. There isn't any coffee. Questions In questions we use a/an, any or how many with countable nouns. Is there an email address to write to? Are there any chairs?How many chairs are there? And we use any or how much with uncountable nouns. Is there any sugar?How much orange juice is there? But when we are offering something or asking for something, we normally use some. Do you want some chocolate? Can we have some more chairs, please? We also use some in a question when we think the answer will be 'yes'. Have you got some new glasses? Other expressions of quantity A lot of or lots of can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns. There are lots of apples on the trees. There is a lot of snow on the road. Notice that we don't usually use many or much in positive sentences. We use a lot of instead. They have a lot of money. However, in negative sentences we use not many with countable nouns and not much with uncountable nouns. There are a lot of carrots but there aren't many potatoes. There's lots of juice but there isn't much water. Go to Countable and uncountable nouns 2 to learn more. Try this exercise to test your grammar again. Grammar test 2 Countable and uncountable nouns 1 Grammar test 2 Language level Do you need to improve your English grammar? Join thousands of learners from around the world who are improving their English grammar with our online courses.
Sebagaicontoh, kata tea merupakan salah satu uncountable noun. Dengan menambahkan batasan a cup pada kata tea menjadi a cup of tea, maka kata tea berubah menjadi countable noun. Pengubahan ini akan memberikan banyak manfaat dalam penulisan bahasa Inggris termasuk makalah bahasa Inggris. Soal Mengenai Countable Noun dan Uncountable Noun
Published on June 21, 2019 by Fiona Middleton. Revised on April 18, 2023. Uncountable nouns, also known as mass nouns or noncount nouns, refer to a mass of something or an abstract concept that can’t be counted except with a unit of measurement. In contrast, countable nouns can be counted as individual items. The main rules to remember for uncountable nouns are that they cannot be pluralized, and that they never take indefinite articles “a” or “an”. Common examples of uncountable nouns Type of noun Examples Abstract concepts and physical phenomena research, advice, information, knowledge, money, logic, gravity, acceleration, pollution, feedback, traffic, radiation, biomass, lightning Substances, materials and foods air, water, blood, algae, mud, grass, seaweed, graphite, clay, quartz, rice, flour, meat Elements, chemicals and gases helium, iron, copper, hydrochloric acid, calcium carbonate, carbon monoxide, methane Disciplines and fields biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, geography, psychology, economics, aquaculture, trigonometry Table of contentsCountable noun or uncountable noun?Are uncountable nouns singular or plural?Using articles with uncountable nounsNumbers and amounts“Research” and “data”Other interesting language articles Countable noun or uncountable noun? Some nouns in English, like those in the table above, are always or nearly always uncountable. Many other nouns, however, can be countable or uncountable depending on the context. To identify whether a noun is countable or uncountable in a particular context, consider whether you are referring to a single tangible item, entity or type of something, or if you are describing a general mass or idea of something. Examples of nouns that can be countable or uncountable Type of noun Uncountable Countable Other examples Abstract concepts He rarely feels fear. A fear of spiders is known as arachnophobia. Concepts can often be countable or uncountable weight, love, courage, strength, time, beauty, pressure, vision, business. Substances, materials and phenomena Houseplants need the optimum amount of light to thrive. She saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Many nouns referring to substances are also used to refer to individual items or types of the substance in question bone, skin, light, sound, solid, liquid, gas, plastic, acid, alkali. Types of something Fish is an excellent source of protein. Coral reefs are home to a huge variety of fishes. Many uncountables, including food, drink, and other substances, can become countable when referring to a specific type of the noun in question a Chilean wine, soft cheeses, toxic gases. Drinks Java produces excellent coffee. I had two coffees this morning. Liquids are usually uncountable, but when referring to a single drink they are often colloquially used as countables a beer, a tea, a water, a coke. Are uncountable nouns singular or plural? Uncountable nouns should be treated as singular, and thus should always be used with singular verbs to ensure correct subject-verb agreement. Knowledges are power. Knowledge are power. Knowledge is power. Using articles with uncountable nouns Singular countable nouns generally require an article or other determiner “the interview,” “a participant,” “my hypothesis“. Uncountable nouns, in contrast, can usually stand alone without an article. Because uncountable nouns can’t be counted as a single item, indefinite articles “a” or “an” should never be used with them. The admissions office can provide an advice about arranging accommodation. The admissions office can provide advice about arranging accommodation. The definite article “the” can be used when you are referring to a particular instance or specific mass of an uncountable noun. All living things require water to survive. We wanted to swim but the water was too cold. Numbers and amounts Many uncountable nouns are associated with words that break them up into countable units. This is helpful when you want to refer to a single or numbered instance or unit. A piece of advice. A head of broccoli. A bolt of lightning. Ten items of feedback. Finding the correct term to describe amounts can be tricky. Many terms that describe amount “some,” “a lot of” and “most” can be used with both uncountable and countable nouns although note that these terms are often too vague to use in academic writing. Uncountable Some vegetation has started to grow over the study site. Countable Some desserts can be very healthy. Uncountable After 5 minutes most of the calcium carbonate should be dissolved. Countable Most of the chemicals are not easy to obtain. However, there are certain terms that can only be used with either uncountable or countable nouns. Make sure to choose correctly between “less vs. fewer,” “much vs. many,” and “amount vs. number.” Uncountable Countable Less Isolated parts of the ocean contain less pollution. Fewer Isolated parts of the ocean contain fewer pollutants. Much Too much money has been spent on this project. Many Too many dollars have been spent on this project. Amount of We discovered a significant amount of green algae in the lake. Number of We discovered a significant number of microorganisms in the lake. “Research” and “data” In academic writing, “research” and “data” are two uncountable nouns that are notoriously difficult to use correctly. Never add “s” to pluralize “research” or “data”. Note that the word “researches” is only correct when used as the third-person singular of the verb “to research.” We review researches about the financial crisis of 2007. We review research about the financial crisis of 2007. The experiments produced a large amount of datas. The experiments produced a large amount of data. Always use “research” as a singular noun. Research are lacking in this area. Research is lacking in this area. Data, however, can be used as a singular or plural noun. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Other interesting language articles If you want to know more about nouns, pronouns, verbs, and other parts of speech, make sure to check out some of our other language articles with explanations and examples. Verbs Verb tenses Phrasal verbs Types of verbs Active vs passive voice Subject-verb agreement Other Articles Interjections Adjectives Determiners Prepositions Sources in this article We strongly encourage students to use sources in their work. You can cite our article APA Style or take a deep dive into the articles below. This Scribbr article Middleton, F. 2023, April 18. How to Tell if a Noun is Countable or Uncountable Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved June 14, 2023, from Sources Aarts, B. 2011. Oxford modern English grammar. Oxford University Press. Butterfield, J. Ed.. 2015. Fowler’s dictionary of modern English usage 4th ed.. Oxford University Press. Show all sources 3 Garner, B. A. 2016. Garner’s modern English usage 4th ed.. Oxford University Press. Is this article helpful? 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