Countable and uncountable nouns

In this English lesson you will learn about countable and uncountable nouns in English.

Countable nouns

Countable nouns can be singular or plural and are things that we can count. We can use them with numbers and articles.

Examples:

• I always eat an apple after lunch. I like to eat apples.
• There are two apples in the fridge.
• We cannot use singular countable nouns alone.

For example, we can’t say “I would like apple.” We need to say ” I would like an apple.”

We can use plural countable nouns alone.

Examples:

• Apples are good for you.
• We had sandwiches for lunch.

We can use some/any and many/few with plural countable nouns.

Examples:

• Did you buy any apples?
• There are some apples in the fridge.
• We didn’t buy many oranges.
• We still have a few oranges left.

Uncountable nouns

Uncountable nouns have only one form. They can be used with ‘the’ but not usually with ‘a’ or ‘an’, or numbers.

Examples:

• The milk is in the fridge.

But we can’t say

• There is a rice in the cupboard.
• There are two milks in the fridge.

To count uncountable nouns we use phrases like:

• a packet of rice or a bowl of rice
• a glass of milk or a carton of milk
• a can of beer or a glass of beer

• There are two (can) beers in the fridge.

We can use some/any and much/little with uncountable nouns.

Examples:

• We had some rice for lunch.
• Did you buy any rice?
• You didn’t drink much water?
• I have a little sand in my shoes.

Some following nouns are uncountable in English but are countable in other languages.

Examples:

advice, bread, furniture, luck, news, work, progress, weather, luggage, travel

• Could you give me some advice?
• Can you buy some bread?
• We need some new furniture.

Watch the video to learn more about countable and uncountable nouns.

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