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Distinguishing between countable and uncountable nouns and their grammatical behavior.
English nouns are classified as either countable or uncountable.
Countable nouns can be counted and have singular and plural forms. Uncountable nouns refer to substances, concepts or masses and normally do not have a plural form.
Countable nouns have both singular and plural forms.
Use a singular noun for one person or thing and a plural noun for two or more.
Most uncountable nouns do not normally have a plural form.
Nouns such as information, advice, furniture and equipment are treated as singular masses rather than individual items.
Singular countable nouns normally require a determiner.
A singular countable noun usually appears with a/an, the or another determiner such as this, my or every.
Uncountable nouns normally do not take a/an.
Use the zero article for general meaning or the when referring to a specific quantity or instance.
Some quantifiers are used only with countable nouns.
Examples include many, few, a few, several, both and numerous.
Some quantifiers are used only with uncountable nouns.
Examples include much, little, a little and a great deal of.
Some quantifiers can modify both countable and uncountable nouns.
Examples include some, any, enough, plenty of, a lot of, lots of, all and no.
Use units of measurement or containers to count uncountable nouns.
Examples include a piece of advice, a loaf of bread, a cup of coffee, a bottle of water and a bit of information.
Some nouns may be countable or uncountable depending on their meaning.
Examples include chicken, paper, glass, coffee, experience, room and time.
Most abstract nouns are uncountable, but some have countable uses.
Examples include happiness, knowledge and honesty, while ideas such as hope or experience may sometimes be countable.
Names of materials are generally uncountable.
Examples include wood, gold, plastic, steel and cotton. They become countable when referring to different kinds or individual items made from the material.
Many food and drink nouns may be either countable or uncountable.
Coffee, tea, beer and cake are uncountable when referring to the substance, but countable when referring to servings or individual items.
Countable and uncountable nouns affect subject-verb agreement.
Singular countable nouns and uncountable nouns normally take singular verbs, while plural countable nouns take plural verbs.
Do not treat inherently uncountable nouns as countable.
Common errors include informations, advices, furnitures, equipments, homeworks and luggages. These nouns remain uncountable in standard English.