is homework countable or uncountable

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Nouns: countable and uncountable

Countable nouns.

Some nouns refer to things which, in English, are treated as separate items which can be counted. These are called countable nouns. Here are some examples:

a car , three cars

my cousin , my two cousins

a book , a box full of books

a city , several big cities

Singular and plural

Countable nouns can be singular or plural. They can be used with a/an and with numbers and many other determiners (e.g. these, a few ):

She’s got two sisters and a younger brother .

Most people buy things like cameras and MP3-players online these days .

These shoes look old now.

I’ll take a few magazines with me for the flight .

Determiners ( the, my , some , this )

Singular and plural nouns

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 . or We’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.

Finding a place to live is difficult if you’re a student and you’ve got no money. (or Finding 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 …

Countable and uncountable nouns with different meanings

Some nouns can be used either countably or uncountably, but with different meanings.

Uncountable nouns used countably

Measures and examples.

Sometimes uncountable nouns are used countably, to mean ‘a measure of something’ or ‘a type or example of something’:

Can I have two teas and one coffee , please? (two cups of tea and one cup of coffee …?)

A: How many sugars do you want in your tea? (How many spoonfuls/lumps of sugar?) B: Just one, please .

To some degree we tend to eat the foods that we ate as children. (i.e. types of food)

Abstract nouns

Some abstract nouns can be used uncountably or countably. The uncountable use has a more general meaning. The countable use has a more particular meaning.

Nouns of this type include: education, experience, hatred, help, knowledge, life, love, sleep, time, understanding .

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homework vs. a homework

When is it acceptable to use "a homework?". As an ESL practitioner, I had to look it up, and found a source which says "a homework" is only acceptable among native speakers. So, should non-native speakers just stick to "homework" as uncountable?

• countability

• 4 In the US "homework" is considered to be a "mass" noun and articles are not used. (May be different in the UK or India.) A "homework assignment" is an individual piece of homework and does take an article. –  Hot Licks Commented Jan 13, 2016 at 3:56
• 1 Native speakers don't say a homework . –  GoDucks Commented Jan 13, 2016 at 4:16
• Possible duplicate of Is "homework" countable? –  user24743 Commented Jan 13, 2016 at 5:17

2 Answers 2

Whereas it's foreseeable that some native English speaker could get away with saying, "I have a homework due in second period," to mean that they have a singular homework assignment due then, it isn't standard fare. Native speakers don't say it this way. In 22 years of schooling, from kindergarten through my PhD, I've never heard anyone say it like that. Perhaps the reference is saying that a native speaker could get away with it, while a ESL student could not, which is probably true. Rest assured that "homework" remains an uncountable noun.

• 1 I am old enough to remember when in Britain it wasn't called homework , it was called prep (preparation). In the British public-school (meaning private) system, historically children did not go home . The posh classes sent their little darlings to Dickensian boarding schools which were more like fierce prisons. But words like prep , and matron lingered on into the day-systems of the 1950s. Now prep was not a mass noun. In our first year we got two preps a night e.g. Mon-Maths & French; Tues Latin & Biology etc. –  WS2 Commented Jan 13, 2016 at 9:50
• @WS2 : Sounds absolutely lovely. 'Please, sir, I want some more.' –  Benjamin Harman Commented Jan 13, 2016 at 10:34

In general, you should try to avoid saying "a homework." (As a native speaker, it sounds very strange)

The best reason I can think of why it sounds strange is because the word is indefinite in size. Saying "a" homework contradicts its nature of being indefinite by assigning a size to something that is arbitrary. For example, you can say that I have seven "assignments", but I cannot say that I have seven "homeworks".

(Depending on what your native language is, this may or may not feel natural)

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About Words – Cambridge Dictionary blog

Commenting on developments in the English language

Countable or uncountable, and why it matters

by  Liz Walter

Many dictionaries for learners of English (including the one on this site) show whether nouns are ‘countable’ or ‘uncountable’, often using the abbreviations C and U. Countable nouns are things that you can count – one dog, two dogs, twenty dogs , etc. Uncountable nouns are things that you cannot count – water, sadness, plastic , etc.

It is important to know whether a noun is countable or uncountable, otherwise you are likely to make basic grammar mistakes. For example, countable nouns can have indefinite articles and can form plurals, but uncountable nouns cannot:

You should bring a coat. (‘coat’ is a countable noun)

I have three winter coats.

The teacher gave us a homework. (‘homework’ is an uncountable noun)

We have lots of homeworks.

If you have countable and uncountable nouns in your own language, you need to be very careful because they may not be the same ones. If I had £1 for every time one of my students has said or written ‘an advice’ or ‘some informations’, I would be very rich by now! In English, advice and information are both uncountable nouns, so they cannot have ‘an’ in front of them and they cannot be made plural.

Other common uncountable words that often cause problems are: equipment , furniture , transport , knowledge , countryside , traffic , research , progress , evidence , machinery.

You also need to know whether a noun is countable or uncountable in order to decide whether to say much or many . ‘Many’ is used with plural countable nouns and ‘much’ with uncountable nouns:

How many brothers and sisters do you have?

How much brothers and sisters do you have?

How much money do you have?

Some and any are used with plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns, but not with singular countable nouns:

We don’t have any eggs/sugar.

Would you like some mushrooms/cheese?

Do you have any coat?

Sometimes we may want to make an uncountable noun more like a singular countable one. We do this by using a quantity expression before it:

She gave us an advice/information.

She gave us a piece of advice/information.

We bought a few furnitures/clothings.

We bought a few items of furniture/clothing.

Finally, some uncountable nouns end in ‘s’. They include activities such as aerobics, athletics, gymnastics and darts ; academic subjects such as economics, linguistics, politics and physics and illnesses such as measles, mumps, rabies and diabetes . These nouns look like countable plurals, but they are uncountable and therefore need a singular verb:

Linguistics is a very interesting subject.

Aerobics makes you fit.

You will probably notice that some words in the dictionary are labelled both C and U. In my next post, I’ll look at some of these words and explain how nouns can be both countable and uncountable.

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48 thoughts on “ Countable or uncountable, and why it matters ”

It’s helpful…

Extremely helpful.

A little bit of a headache

Is it? Then you’ll HATE advanced English.

Thanks a lot, Liz, for this excellent explanation. It is clear and concise!

Need to talk to you about the use of an apostrophe though.

One uncountable noun ending in ‘s’ that could be added to the list is news. It is difficult for French students to use a singular verb -what is the news? the news is good- since les nouvelles is a plural and need a plural verb!

Yes, that’s a very good addition.

I loved the article but would have liked to see my personal pet peeve. The countable error I see everywhere I go is the “ten items or less” signs which should be “10 items or fewer”. I did know a checkout clerk who put up their own, corrected sign at their place of employment.

Joshua, see my post on just this subject: https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2014/05/28/less-or-fewer/

I guess maybe you can say: “This piece of news is good” to avoid confusion but I saw it is not very usual. This kind of confusion can happen also in my language, Italian.

Yes, we’d be more likely to say: ‘That’s good news’, but we could say for example ‘I have a piece of news I think you’ll like’.

Hi Liz , Thank you very much for posting this informative article about countable and uncountable nouns.To be honest, I always had a confusion of not having indefinite article before a noun ( I did not know until now that it was because they were uncountable nouns☺). So , keep your good work up of enlightening guys like us about the unseen patterns of grammar in Language of English.

Confusion is also uncountable…. NOT a confusion.

very best issues in my life I need such guidance …

Really now I got why it’s not informatiions…same is the with findings, repercussions etc

Thank you for this article It is very effective to understand a challenging topic I always struggle with!!

About the puzzle of “any” (Some and any are used with plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns, but not with singular countable nouns), which one should be more suitable, 1. Is there any question to ask the speaker? 2. Are there any questions to ask the speaker? Thanks a lot.

The second one is correct. The first one is not correct.

Hello, Liz. I’ve been following some of your posts and they’re all extremely helpful. Thank you for the good work made available through the blog. I’ve seen a few times in American series, though not much frequently, people saying “a water”… For example: A: I went to get her water and she ran away. B: Did you let her all by herself here and went to get her a water? (I imagine a water equals a glass of water, in the context of the scene)

Do people in England also say such a thing?

Thanks in advance,

It sounds quite unlikely to me. In theory, it’s possible in the context of being in a pub or cafe, but it would be much more common to say ‘some water’ or ‘a bottle/glass of water’.

Hi Liz, thanks a lot for the reply.

Yeah, it does seem unlikely to me too, especially for being a non-native speaker and having always been pointed out to by teachers that it’s completely wrong to say such a thing. I guess that’s quite Ame. If you ever want to check it out, it happened in the series Suits, season 01 – episode 06, at the moment 05:36. The precise words were “You left her alone to get her a water?”.

Hello, Liz. Thank you for your articles. Could you explain why did you omit ‘a’ before ‘cafe’ in your previous answer: ‘…it’s possible in the context of being in a pub or cafe…’? Thanks.

Denis – because if you link two countable nouns with ‘and’ or ‘or’, you only need to put an article in front of the first one, although it is not wrong to put them twice.

Yes thank you 😎

Thanks, Liz. It’s a great article on grammar.

It is emerging issue ,thanks for making blog.

Thanks,but how correct is it to use ‘much’ on a countable noun like MONEY instead of ‘many’?.Example;how much do have with you Liz,one US dollar says Liz.Anticipating ur response via my email

We say ‘how much’ as a short form of ‘how much money and money is uncountable: that’s why it’s ‘much’. Dollar is countable, so you’d have to say ‘How many dollars do you have?’ although that’s a very unlikely sentence.

But we can count money

We have to think about the word, not the item. We can’t say one money, two money.

I have a rather odd question. ‘Money’ is listed in the dictionary as an uncountable noun. However its older plural form ‘monies’ has been listed as a plural noun as well. Now as both a life long speaker and a teacher I’ve never used it though I have occasionally come across its use in spoken (I always dismissed it as a spoken error) and a student’s question has left me confused.

Very useful to Asian .Thank you!

I want to be in this group

I want to join in this group please

Very good. I need such guidance..

Hi Liz, I’ve said “Is there any problem?”. But according to your article, I should’ve said “Are there any problems?”

Yes, or ‘Is there a problem.’ However, I must say that your sentence doesn’t sound totally wrong to me – I think it might be possible in a fairly informal situation – just don’t write it in an exam!

Liz, could you comment some more words: salad, toast, pizza, cereal.

Salad and pizza can be C or U depending on whether you are talking about the food in general or a single portion/dish of it, as described above. Toast and cereal would be U in almost all cases, though it is possible to imagine a sentence such as ‘It is made from a mixture of four different cereals.’ I can’t think of a plausible context for making ‘toast’ countable, though someone else might!

Thanks for good post, I enjoy and I feel so easy to understand about articles.

Hi everyone, how can I do to improve my English? Fine some method, please.

My students struggle with “Do you like dog?” versus “Do you like dogs?” – I though this was an obvious place to go from the picture, but…

Hi Liz ‼ I just found that I always make mistakes when I am writing or speaking. I’m poor in English. Thanks very much for your help us 😁

Hi Liz, thank you very much. It helps us a lot. Could you please explain what’s wrong with “do you have any coat” and how to fix it?

See this part of my post: Some and any are used with plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns, but not with singular countable nouns:

Coat is a singular not a plural noun, so you need to say ‘Do you have a coat?’

Thank you, awesome!

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Why are "homework" and "work" uncountable in English? [closed]

In Bulgarian both "homework" and "work" are countable. Why are they uncountable in English then? What is the difference in meaning that makes that happen?

• uncountable-nouns

• 'Why'?' is a difficult question. Sometimes things just are . –  Mitch Commented Jan 17, 2012 at 14:30

Both are considered mass nouns , just like milk , air , etc.

However, work can also refer to a singular piece of creation (art, literature, plays, etc.), in which case it can be pluralized:

These are all the works of Shakespeare.

If you want to refer to a specific part of your work , you could use task :

I completed twelve tasks . I got a lot of work done today.

Likewise, if you want to refer to a single, discrete unit of homework , use assignment :

Our teacher gave us three assignments to complete by Friday.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged nouns history uncountable-nouns or ask your own question .

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All you need to know about countable and uncountable nouns

What’s the difference between countable and uncountable nouns , and what grammar rules do you need to know to use them correctly?

Also known as  count and noncount nouns , this vocabulary point can trip you up when you’re learning English as a second language. It’s especially tricky because:

• There are no concrete rules for classifying nouns as countable or uncountable (although there are some general guidelines that we will explain later).
• Certain nouns that are countable in other languages may be uncountable in English, so you’ll have to un-learn what you know from your native language and learn a different set of rules for English words.

So, let’s take a detailed look at countable vs uncountable nouns, with plenty of examples showing how to use them with the correct articles, quantifiers, and other determiners.

The basics of countable and uncountable nouns

What is a countable noun.

A  countable noun (also called a count noun) is a noun naming something that can be counted using standard numbers. Countable nouns usually have singular and plural forms. 

Examples of countable nouns include chair, table, rabbit, page, part, and lemon .

So, we can have one chair, five tables, ten rabbits, twenty-three lemons, and three hundred pages .

You are probably already familiar with this pattern of counting things in English.

What is an uncountable noun?

An uncountable noun (also called a mass noun or a non-count noun) is a noun naming something that cannot be counted in English using standard numbers. These nouns cannot be made plural.

Examples of uncountable nouns include rice, money, advice, news, and happiness .

We cannot have one rice, five monies, two advices, or a happiness .

Instead, we must use different determiners to quantify these particular things: a cup of rice , a bag of money , and a piece of advice .

Now you know these basics, it’s time to take a deeper look at what this means in practice. You need to know whether you’re dealing with a countable or uncountable noun so you can select the correct determiners and plural forms in your writing and speech.

Rules for using countable nouns

We’ll begin by going over the rules for using countable nouns, since these are most straightforward.

Countable nouns:

• Can be separated into whole, individual, countable units
• Broadly refer to people, places, and things
• Have a singular and a plural form (with a few exceptions like sheep, deer, fish) – see this site for more about how to form plurals
• May take indefinite articles (a/an) as well as the definite article (the)
• May take other determiners such as this/that/these/those, some/any/few/many/several, my/your/his/her/our/their
• To form a question about a countable noun, we say ‘How many…’

Countable noun example sentences

Most of the nouns we use in English are countable. Here are some example sentences showing correct usage:

• I have two cats as pets .
• She bought a few books from the store .
• We went to the zoo and saw several giraffes .
• The school has six classrooms for different subjects .
• He has a collection of ten stamps .
• My father owns a few bikes .
• The store has a variety of balloons in different colors.
• He has five siblings : three brothers  and two sisters .
• There are many oranges in the fruit basket .
• The bakery doesn’t have any bread left.
• I would like to buy that handbag .
• How many meals should I order at  the restaurant ?

Read about the difference between few vs a few here.

Rules for using uncountable nouns

Uncountable nouns are used less often in English, and they:

• Are abstract ideas, qualities, or masses that can’t be separated and counted individually
• Do not have a plural form and are treated as singular nouns (and therefore take the singular form of the verb)
• May take the definite article (the) but do not take the indefinite articles (a/an)
• May take other determiners such as much/little/less/any/some and my/your/his/her/our/their
• Can be quantified with phrases that contain countable nouns (e.g. a bag of rice)
• To form a question about an uncountable noun, we say ‘How much…’

See also: What’s the difference between less and fewer?

Uncountable noun examples

We can group uncountable nouns into some broad categories. Although we cannot list them all here, the following groups are a general guide that may make it easier for you to identify others in the future:

This may seem like a long list of uncountable nouns; however, there are hundreds more. 

Quantifying an uncountable noun

Although we can’t quantify uncountable nouns using numbers, we can add a countable unit of measurement to refer to one or more quantities of these things. Below are some of the most common quantifiers we can use to refer to things that are uncountable.

• A piece of… advice, art, cheese, equipment, evidence, furniture, homework, information, luck, luggage, music, news, paper, poetry, publicity, rubbish, software
• A bottle of… beer, water, wine, sauce, salad dressing
• A carton of… juice, milk, cream
• A packet of… ketchup, rice, gum
• A plate/bowl of… cereal, pasta, rice
• A drop of… blood, oil, rain, water
• A game of… badminton, chess, football, soccer, tennis
• A ray of… hope, light, sun
• A grain of… sand, rice, sugar, dignity
• A cube of… ice, sugar
• A blob of… toothpaste, mayonnaise, glue
• A pane of glass
• A round of applause
• A bar of soap
• A mode of transport
• A bolt of lightning
• A blade of grass
• A rasher of bacon
• A sheet of paper

Determiners for count and noncount nouns

You’ll have seen from the examples above that certain determiners can only be used for one type of noun, whereas others can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns. Here’s a handy reference table for these, although this is not an exhaustive list.

Most other adjectives can modify both countable and uncountable nouns.

See also:  What’s the difference between advice vs advise?

Some nouns can be countable and uncountable

You might often hear people say something like “I take two sugars in my tea”. What they really mean is “two teaspoons of sugar”, but the noun “sugar” has taken on that meaning and become countable.

In this way, uncountable nouns can sometimes be used as countable when referring to a complete unit or measurement of something, normally in relation to food and beverages. Here are some more examples:

• I’ll have three coffees , please. (three cups of coffee)
• I’ve had too many beers tonight! (glasses/cans/bottles of beer)
• Could I get two more ketchups ? (two sachets of ketchup)

Uncountable nouns may also be used as countable when they refer to a specific type, example, or category of something . For example:

• You should have at least five different cheeses on your cheese board.
• The best wines in the world are produced in France.
• We used three woods to make this beautiful box.
• They encountered a lot of difficulties while completing the project.
• These juices are all freshly squeezed.

These plural countable nouns are exceptions to the rule given earlier.

Nouns with different countable and uncountable meanings

To make things even more confusing, certain nouns in English have two or more meanings. When a noun refers to different things, one countable and one uncountable, you must remember which is which in order to form a correct sentence. Here are some common examples of words with dual meanings:

As you can see,  English can be hard to learn . Fortunately, you can always check in a dictionary to see whether a noun is countable or uncountable. Some dictionaries, such as  Oxford Dictionaries , specify this in the definition.

We hope this information about countable vs uncountable nouns has been helpful. It can be quite a tricky English grammar topic to get right because, even once you have mastered the rules of count and noncount nouns, there is still no hard-and-fast way to know which words are which, unless you look them up.

Leave a comment below if you have any more questions about this topic or want to check your understanding of a particular point we’ve mentioned.

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Homework: Countable vs Uncountable Nouns

job/work, suitcase/luggage...

Intermediate

Furniture or furnitures? Advice or advices? It’s not always easy to know whether a word is countable or not, especially when it’s relatively new to you. Being able to do so is, nevertheless essential, so it’s important that students come to recognise the words that cannot be pluralised and therefore always appear in the same form. This handy homework sheet helps students practise Countable and Uncountable Nouns in three different ways.

After downloading your PDF: print it immediately or save and print later. Answers are provided for teachers on the second page.

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Countable, uncountable: homework

• Thread starter antoit
• Start date Jan 19, 2020

Senior Member

• Jan 19, 2020

Hi, I would like to ask something with reference to this issue of the uncountable. There is a dialogue concerning homeword in my textbook, and I have to fill the gaps with appropriate words, which are listed. This is the text: A: Have you done the howework for tomorrow? B: I've done __ but I haven't finished __ all yet. I would put: them in the first gap and it in the second. Does it make sense? Basically, these two words are those that are left out after feelig the other gaps in the rest of the exercise. But I am not at all sure that it is OK, especially thinking at the uncountable nature of homework. What is your opinion? Thanks.  

The sentence itself is not natural regardless of the pronoun. If you say you have done it, then you are saying that you have finished it. (later) I missed something. See post #4  

tunaafi said: The sentence itself is not natural regardless of the pronoun. If you say you have done it, then you are saying that you have finished it. Click to expand...

I have no problem with the sentence, which is unremarkable. Homework is uncountable and grammatically singular. That doesn't allow "them". You haven't finished it all yet - what word goes with an uncountable to indicate that you are talking about part of your homework and not all of it?  

Andygc said: I have no problem with the sentence, which is unremarkable. Homework is uncountable and grammatically singular. That doesn't allow "them". You haven't finished it all yet - what word goes with an uncountable to indicate that you are talking about part of your homework and not all of it? Click to expand...

• Jan 20, 2020

antoit said: Some? Then: a) some b) it? Click to expand...

• Apr 19, 2021

Is the following sentence idiomatic? "Hey, Mom and Dad! Would you believe our teacher assigned us two homeworks today?"  

Ali Smith said: Is the following sentence idiomatic? "Hey, Mom and Dad! Would you believe our teacher assigned us two homeworks today?" Click to expand...

Andygc said: Homework is uncountable and grammatically singular. Click to expand...

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

What are countable and uncountable nouns, and how do we use them in English grammar? Let’s learn all about these two different types of nouns today! There are some details you need to know in order to make sure your sentences with uncountable nouns are grammatically correct.

Download free PDF + quiz

Countable Nouns

Countable nouns are things we can easily count – for example, cats:

• My brother has  a cat.
• My sister has  two cats.
• My friend has  three cats.

Other examples of countable nouns:

• Things – book, table, computer, banana, shirt, television, pen, house
• People – man, woman, child, friend, brother, sister, uncle, teacher, boss

With most countable nouns, we add -s to make them plural. But there are some irregular plural nouns – like person/people, man/men, child/children, and others.

Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns (or non-count nouns) are words that we can’t count, or can’t easily divide into separate parts:

• Concepts – love, fun, sadness, work, money, peace, safety
• Information –  advice, information, news, knowledge
• Categories –  music, furniture, equipment, jewelry, literature, meat
• Liquids and foods that can’t be counted –  water, butter, rice, flour, milk

Some English learners think that all countable nouns are concrete nouns (physical things), and all uncountable nouns are abstract nouns (non-physical things) – but this is not true!

• We have abstract nouns that are countable, like ideas, beliefs, hopes, dreams.
• We have concrete nouns that are uncountable, like furniture, luggage, butter, and milk.

Learn more in this lesson on 10 types of nouns.

Learn about words that can be both countable and uncountable!

Special rules for uncountable nouns

#1 – never add -s to make uncountable nouns plural:.

• I need some informations  about the course.
• I need some information  about the course.
• The factory has lots of equipments .
• The factory has lots of equipment .

In some other languages, “information” can be made plural – but it’s incorrect in English, because it’s an uncountable noun!

Instead, you can use other words to help create a plural form:

• She bought three  bottles of wine  and five  boxes of rice.
• I need two  cups of flour  and four tablespoons of butter  for this recipe.

It’s very common to use the word “piece”:

• They brought five  pieces of luggage  on their vacation.
• He gave me two  pieces of advice:  eat less and exercise more.
• I’m practicing three difficult pieces of piano music.

Uncountable nouns by themselves take singular verbs, since they are grammatically singular nouns:

• The furniture is old.  (not “are old”)
• His advice  was  good.  (not “were good”)

However, if we add one of those “helping words” to create a plural form, then we use plural verbs:

• Those three crates of furniture are  heavy. (crates –> are)
• His two pieces of advice  were  good.  (pieces –> were)

#2 – Never use the indefinite article “a/an” with uncountable nouns

Instead, you can use “some” or “a piece of”:

• I heard  a  sad news.
• I heard  some  sad news.
• That’s  an  expensive  jewelry.
• That’s  an  expensive  piece of jewelry.
• That’s  an  expensive  necklace.  (necklace is countable; jewelry is uncountable)

However, the definite article (“the”) can be used with both countable nouns and uncountable nouns:

• The facts are accurate.  (countable)
• The information is accurate.  (uncountable)
• The necklace is expensive.  (countable)
• The jewelry is expensive.  (uncountable)

Expressing quantities of countable and uncountable nouns

In English, we use different quantity words:

With  countable nouns,  you can use  many, a few, fewer, the fewest:

• How  many  brothers do you have?
• I have  a few  books in my backpack.
• There are  fewer  people here today than there were yesterday.
• Out of the whole team, John made the fewest  mistakes in his work.

With  uncountable nouns,  you can use  much, a little, less, the least:

• Our teacher gives us too  much  homework!
• Add  a little  butter to the recipe.
• I’m trying to eat  less  red meat.
• Compared to my friends, I make  the least  money.

We can use  some, any, more, the most, a lot of, and  lots of  with both countable and uncountable nouns:

• She bought  some bananas at the store. (countable)
• We heard  some  great music on the radio this morning. (uncountable)
• Does he have  any  children? (countable)
• He doesn’t have  any  furniture in his new house. (uncountable)
• We need to buy  more  bananas. (countable)
• We need to buy  more  equipment. (uncountable)
• I’ve read  the most  books in my class. (countable)
• The boss gave me  the most  work. (uncountable)
• She has  a lot of / lots of  friends. (countable)
• We’re having  a lot of / lots of  fun. (uncountable)

Countable and Uncountable Nouns QUIZ!

Uncountable Noun List

Most nouns in English are countable – but here are some common uncountable nouns organized by category.

Liquids, grains, and semi-solids:

Categories or Mass Nouns:

• Agriculture
• Entertainment
• Infrastructure
• Transportation

Abstract ideas or qualities:

• Intelligence

Master the details of English grammar:

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Countable and uncountable words

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What does countable / uncountable mean?

Nouns are either countable or uncountable :

If a noun is countable we can count it. Countable nouns can be singular or plural.

Examples: a car, a boy, an egg two cars, three boys, six eggs

We can say two cars, three boys, six eggs , etc. because we can count them – they’re countable .

If a noun is uncountable we can’t count it.

Examples: water, music, information

We don’t say 2 waters or three musics . We cannot count these words – they’re uncountable .

Uncountable nouns are NEVER plural.

• How to tell if a word is countable or uncountable

1. If you can use a number before a noun, it’s countable:

• egg = countable 1 egg ⇒ 2 eggs
• cat = countable 1 cat ⇒ 2 cats
• foot = countable 1 foot ⇒ 2 feet

2. If you can add ‘s’ or ‘es’ to a noun, it’s countable:

• chair ⇒ chairs
• tomato ⇒ tomatoes

Remember – with some countable nouns we do NOT add ‘s’ to form the plural:

• 1 child ⇒ 2 children
• 1 woman ⇒ 2 women
• 1 man ⇒ 2 men
• 1 mouse ⇒ 2 mice
• 1 tooth ⇒ 2 teeth
• 1 foot ⇒ 2 feet

In our vocabulary sections:

10 uncountable nouns: types of material >>

10 uncountable nouns: types of food >>

10 uncountable nouns often confused >>

8 uncountable nouns and common mistakes learners make when using them >>

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Is homework an abstract uncountable noun?

No, the noun 'homework' is simply a common, compound, abstract noun, a word for a thing.

A collective noun is a word used to group people or things taken together as one whole. The collective noun for homework is a slew of homework.

The noun 'homework' is an uncountable noun called an aggregate noun, a word representing an indefinite number of elements or parts.

The noun 'homework' is an uncountable noun , a form of aggregate noun, a word representing an indefinite number of elements or parts.

Units of homework in amounts, such as some homework, a lot of homework, too much homework, etc.

The noun 'homework' is a type of uncountable noun called an aggregate noun, a word representing an indefinite number of elements or parts.

The noun 'homework' is an abstract noun as a word for work assigned to be done at home (or on your own time).

Add your answer:

What type of noun is the word homework?

The noun 'homework' is a common, compound, abstract, uncountable noun; a word for a form of study or preparation; a word for a concept.

What is the plural form of the word homework?

The collective noun for the noun 'homework' is a slew of homework.

What noun is happiness?

The noun happiness is a common, abstract, uncountable noun; a word for an emotion.

Who teaches you grammar in this sentence which type of noun is word 'grammar'?

The noun 'grammar' is a common, uncountable, abstract noun. The noun 'grammar' is functioning as the direct object of the verb 'teaches'.

What type of noun is elation?

The abstract noun forms of the verb 'elate' are elationand the gerund, elating.

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Countable and Uncountable Nouns in English

Countable nouns, uncountable nouns, counting uncountable nouns, countable and uncountable nouns, singular/plural uncountable nouns, introduction.

Nouns in English grammar can be either countable or uncountable . Countable nouns refer to individual things and we can use them in the singular or plural (e.g. coin/coins ). Most nouns in the English language are countable. Uncountable nouns, also known as mass nouns , refer to things we consider a whole or mass and cannot be counted (e.g. money ). Many abstract nouns (e.g. happiness ) are uncountable in English.

Learn the rules for countable and uncountable nouns in English grammar with Lingolia’s online grammar explanations and interactive exercises.

Mike and his sister Sandra are shopping. They need milk , apples , and bread .

Sandra wants to make a cake tomorrow. She needs 6 eggs , 400 grams of flour, a bar of chocolate and some strawberries .

At the checkout, Mike doesn’t have any money , just a few coins in his pocket – oops!

• Most English nouns are countable nouns . This means they can be used in both the singular and the plural. Example: An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Apples are healthy.
• We can put numbers and indefinite articles in front of countable nouns. Example: one banknote, two banknote s one coin, two coin s a cake a sister
• We cannot use singular countable nouns without articles or possessive pronouns (a/the/your). Example: I saw your sister yesterday. ( not: I saw sister yesterday. )Can you give me a hand? ( not: Can you give me hand? ) However, we can use plural countable nouns alone. Example: Did you buy apples ? Yes, but I forgot to buy stawberries .
• We can use some/any /(a) few / many with plural countable nouns. Example: We need some apples. I don’t have any eggs. There are a few strawberries in the fridge. Mike dosen’t have many coins.
• Some collections of countable nouns have a corresponding uncountable noun which describes them as a whole/mass. Example: suitcases, bags, trunks = baggage tables, chairs, couches = furniture peaches, bananas, apples = fruit ( but: one vegetable, two vegetables) socks, dresses, t-shirts = clothes
• Some English nouns are uncountable nouns. This means they only have one form. Most uncountable nouns are singular, but some are plural see below singular/plural uncountable nouns. Example: I drink milk everday. Milk is healthy. ( not: Milks are healthy. ) My trousers are too big. (not: My trouser is too big. )
• We cannot usually put numbers in front of uncountable nouns. Example: money ( not : one money/two moneys ) milk ( not: one milk / two milks ) bread ( not: one bread/ two breads )
• We can use many uncountable nouns without an article or possessive pronoun. Example: We need flour and chocolate to make a cake. ( not:  … a flour and a chocolate… ) Can you buy milk on the way home? ( not: can you buy a milk… )
• We use some/any/ little / much with uncountable nouns. Example: We can buy some bread at the bakery. We don’t have any milk. There’s a little flour in the pantry. Mike doesn’t have much money.
• Materials, liquids, and collections are often uncountable nouns. Example: materials – paper, wood, gold, glass etc. liquids – water, milk, oil, coffee, etc. collections – furniture, luggage, traffic etc.

Although we can’t count uncountable nouns themselves, we can use different units, such as a bottle/grain/ glass/loaf/ piece/kilo/gram of, to count them. Here, we are counting the units rather than the actual uncountable nouns.

Some nouns have both a countable and an uncountable form. The countable form usually refers to something more specific and the uncountable form to something more general.

Some uncountable nouns are used in plural and some are used in singular.

• Singular uncountable nouns are used with verbs in the third person singular. Here is a list of common singular uncountable nouns: advice, bread, chewing gum, equipment, fun, furniture, grass, information, knowledge, luck, luggage, money, milk, news, pasta, poetry, progress, rain, research, rice, snow, traffic, travel, weather, work, … Example: money – Money makes the world go around. ( not: Money make the world go around. ) milk – The milk has gone sour. ( not: The milk have gone sour. ) news – The news was wonderful. ( not: The news were wonderful. )
• Plural uncountables are used with verbs in the plural. Here is a list of common plural uncountable nouns: clothes, remains, thanks, groceries, glasses, jeans, scissors, trousers/pants Example: clothes – His clothes are too big. ( not: His clothes is too big. ) groceries – The groceries were expensive.. ( not: The groceries was expensive. )

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• Proper Nouns

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

• Gerunds and Infinitives
• Types of Nouns
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• Collective Nouns
• Compound Nouns
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• Common Noun
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Countable Noun Examples

• There are at least twenty Italian restaurants in Little Italy.
• Megan took a lot of photographs when she went to the Grand Canyon.
• Your book is on the kitchen table .
• How many candles are on that birthday cake ?
• You have several paintings to study in art appreciation class .
• There’s a big brown dog running around the neighborhood .

Uncountable Noun Examples

• There is no more water in the pond.
• Please help yourself to some cheese .
• I need to find information about Pulitzer Prize winners.
• You seem to have a high level of intelligence .
• Please take good care of your equipment .
• Let’s get rid of the garbage .

Countable and Uncountable Nouns Exercises

Is the underlined noun countable or uncountable?

• The children fell asleep quickly after a busy day of fun.
• Be careful! The water is deep.
• The parade included fire trucks and police cars.
• We like the large bottles of mineral water.
• My mother uses real butter in the cakes she bakes.
• How many politicians does it take to pass a simple law?
• Most kids like milk , but Joey hates it.
• Most pottery is made of clay .
• Michael can play several different musical instruments .
• I was feeling so stressed that I ate an entire box of cookies .