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Contributors:PaulLynch,AllenBrizee.
Summary:

Thishandoutdiscussesthedifferencesbetweencountnounsandnoncountnouns.
Countnounscanbepluralizednoncountnounscannot.

CountandNoncountNouns:BasicRules
AdjectiveswithCountableandUncountableNouns

TheBasicRules:CountandNoncountNouns

Acountnounisonethatcanbeexpressedinpluralform,usuallywithan"s."For
example,"catcats,""seasonseasons,""studentstudents."

Anoncountnounisonethatusuallycannotbeexpressedinapluralform.For
example,"milk,""water,""air,""money,""food."Usually,youcan'tsay,"Hehad
manymoneys."

CountandNoncountNounswithAdjectives

Mostofthetime,thisdoesn'tmatterwithadjectives.Forexample,youcansay,"The
catwasgray"or"Theairwasgray."However,thedifferencebetweenacountableand
uncountablenoundoesmatterwithcertainadjectives,suchas"some/any,"
"much/many,"and"little/few."

Some/Any:Someandanycountableanduncountablenouns.

"Thereissomewateronthefloor."
"Therearesomestudentshere."
"Doyouhaveanyfood?"
"Doyouhaveanyapples?"

Much/Many:Muchmodifiesonlyuncountablenouns.Manymodifiesonlycountable
nouns.

"Wedon'thavemuchtimetogetthisdone."
"ManyAmericanstraveltoEurope."

Little/Few:Littlemodifiesonlyuncountablenouns.

"Hehadlittlefoodinthehouse."
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"Thedoctorhadlittletimetothinkintheemergencyroom."

Fewmodifiesonlycountablenouns.

"Therearefewdoctorsintown."
"Fewstudentslikeexams."

Otherbasicrules

Alotof/lotsof:Alotof/lotsofareinformalsubstitutesformuchandmany.Theyare
usedwithuncountablenounswhentheymeanmuchandwithcountablenounswhen
theymeanmany.

"Theyhavelotsof(much)moneyinthebank."
"Alotof(many)AmericanstraveltoEurope."
"Wegotlotsof(many)mosquitoeslastsummer."
"Wegotlotsof(much)rainlastsummer."

Alittlebitof:Alittlebitofisinformalandalwaysprecedesanuncountablenoun.

"Thereisalittlebitofpepperinthesoup."
"Thereisalittlebitofsnowontheground."

Enough:Enoughmodifiesbothcountableanduncountablenouns.

"Thereisenoughmoneytobuyacar."
"Ihaveenoughbookstoread."

Plentyof:Plentyofmodifiesbothcountableanduncountablenouns.

"Theyhaveplentyofmoneyinthebank."
"ThereareplentyofmillionairesinSwitzerland."

No:Nomodifiesbothcountableanduncountablenouns.

"Thereisnotimetofinishnow."
"Therearenosquirrelsinthepark."

Contributors:PaulLynch,AllenBrizee.
Summary:

Thishandoutdiscussesthedifferencesbetweencountnounsandnoncountnouns.
Countnounscanbepluralizednoncountnounscannot.

CountandNoncountNouns(with
Plurals,Articles,andQuantityWords)
Section1:DefinitionofCountandNoncountnouns

CountorNoncount?

Themaindifferencebetweencountandnoncountnounsiswhetheryoucancountthe
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thingstheyrefertoornot.

Countnounsrefertothingsthatexistasseparateanddistinctindividualunits.They
usuallyrefertowhatcanbeperceivedbythesenses.

Examples:

table
finger
bottle
chair
remark
award
word
girl
candidate

Examplesentences:

Isteppedinapuddle.(Howmanypuddlesdidyoustepin?Justone.)

Idrankaglassofmilk.(Glassesofmilkcanbecounted)

Isawanappletree.(Appletreescanbecounted)

Noncountnounsrefertothingsthatcan'tbecountedbecausetheyarethoughtofas
wholesthatcan'tbecutintoparts.Theyoftenrefertoabstractionsandoccasionally
haveacollectivemeaning(forexample,furniture).

Examples:

anger
courage
progress
furniture
education
weather
warmth
leisure
precision

Examplesentences:

Idoveintothewater.(Howmanywatersdidyoudiveinto?Thequestiondoesn'tmake
anysensethereforewaterisnoncountable.)

Isawthemilkspill.(Howmanymilks?Milkcannotbecounted.)

Iadmiredthefoliage.(Howmanyfoliages?Foliagecannotbecounted.)

Thinkofthebatterfromwhichacakeismade.Beforeyouputthebatterintotheoven,
itcan'tbedividedintopartsbecauseit'sathickliquid.Onceithasbeenbaked,it
becomessolidenoughtobecutintopieces.Noncountnounsarelikecakebattercount

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nounsarelikepiecesofcake

Note:Sincetheissueiscomplicatedandalmostnoruleisabsolute,therewillbe
exceptionstotheabovedefinitionshowever,wecanshowsomegeneralpatterns.
Bearinmindthatwhatiscountableinanotherlanguagemaynotbecountablein
English,andviceversa.

Section2:UsesofCountandNoncountNouns

Pluralizing

TheRule

Fromthedefinitionsofmassandcountgivenaboveyoumayhavealreadyguessedthe
ruleforpluralizingthem:

mostcountnounspluralizewiths
noncountnounsdon'tpluralizeatall

Thisruleworksforallofthenounsinthelistsofexamplesinthefirstsection.Check
thisruleforyourselfbeforereadingfurther.

AnExceptiontotheRule

Foranumberofnouns,theruleneedsslightrevision.CertainnounsinEnglishbelong
tobothclasses:theyhavebothanoncountandacountmeaning.Normallythe
noncountmeaningisabstractandgeneralandthecountmeaningconcreteandspecific.
Compare:

Count

I'vehadsomedifficultiesfindingajob.(referstoanumberofspecificproblems)
ThetalkswilltakeplaceintheKrannertbuilding.(referstoanumberofspecific
lectures)
Thecitywasfilledwithbrightlightsandharshsounds.(referstoanumberof
specificlightsandnoises)

Noncount

Shesucceededinschoolwithlittledifficulty.(referstothegeneralideaof
schoolbeingdifficult)
Idislikeidletalk.(referstotalkingingeneral)
Lighttravelsfasterthansound.(referstothewaylightandsoundbehavein
general)

Note:Aspecialcaseoftheuseofnoncountnounsinacountsensehastodowith
classification.Sometimesausuallynoncountnouncanbeunderstoodasoneitem
separateanddistinctfromotheritemsofthesamecategory.Thenounsthatfunctionin
thiswayoftendenotefoodsandbeverages:food(s),drink(s),wine(s),bread(s),
coffee(s),fruit(s),andsoon.Examples:

ThereareseveralFrenchwinestochoosefrom.(=kindsofwine)
IpreferSumatrancoffeestoColombian.(=kindsofcoffee)
Weuseavarietyofdifferentbattersinourbakery.(=kindsofbatter)

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Arecententryintothisclassishomework,whichatleastamongsomestudentshasthe
countpluralhomeworksinadditiontoitsnoncountuse.(Forexample,"You'remissing
threeofthehomeworksfromthefirstpartofthecourse.")Becausethisusageisnot
firmlyestablishedandislikelytobeconsiderednonstandard,youshouldcheckwith
yourinstructorbeforeusingitinwriting.

ARevisionoftheRule

Theseexceptionsrequirethattheruleforpluralizingberevised:countnounsand
nounsusedinacountsensepluralizenoncountnounsandnounsusedinanoncount
sensedonot.

Thetwopossibilitiesineachhalfoftherulerequiredifferentchoices.Ifyouknowthat
aparticularnounmustbeeithercountornoncountandcannotbeboth,youneedto
decideonlyifitispossibletopluralizethenoun.Ontheotherhand,ifyouknowthata
particularnounmaybeusedineitheracountornoncountsense,thenyouneedto
decidewhetheritisappropriatetopluralize.

Tosummarize,wemayputtheruleinachart,likethis:

Pluralizeswiths Doesn'tPluralize
CountNoun XX
CountUse XX
NoncountNoun XX
NoncountUse XX

Articles

NounsandArticles

Choosingwhicharticletouse(ifany)withanounisacomplexmatterbecausethe
rangeofchoicesdependsonwhetherthenouninquestionis1)countornoncountand
2)singularorplural.Bothcountnouns(whethersingularorplural)andnoncount
nounstakearticles.

CombinationsofNounsandArticles

Thefollowingchartshowswhicharticlesgowithwhichkindsofnouns.Noticethat
this,that,these,andthosehavebeenincludedbecause,likethe,theymarkthenoun
thattheymodifyasdefinite,whichmeansthatthenounrefers1)toauniqueindividual
or2)tosomeperson,event,orobjectknowntoboththewriterandreaderfromtheir
generalknowledgeorfromwhathasbeenpreviouslymentionedinapieceofwriting.

these,
a,an the this,that noarticle
those
Count
XX XX XX
singular
Count
XX XX XX
plural
Noncount XX XX XX

Examples:

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CountSingular:
Iateanapple.
Irodethebus.
Doessheliveinthishouse?No,shelivesinthathouseoverthere.

CountPlural:
Iliketofeedthebirds.
Doyouwantthesebooks?No,Iwantthosebooksupthere.
Catsareinterestingpets.

Noncount:
Thewateriscold.
Thismilkisgoingsour.
Musichelpsmerelax.

QuantityTerms

Thefollowingchartshowswhichquantitywordsgowithwhichkindsofnouns.Note
thatquantitywordscanbeusedincombinationssuchasmanymore,manyfewer,
muchmore,andmuchless,anyofwhichcanbeprecededbyhowtoformquestionsor
relativeclauses.Negativeslikenotandnocanalsobeappliedtomanyoftheseterms.

some,any, many,both,
much,less, most,more, several,
each,every,
little,alittle, all,alotof, few/fewer/fewest,
any,one
verylittle no,noneof afew,oneofthe,
the acoupleof
Count
XX
singular
Count
XX XX
plural
Noncount XX XX

Examples:

CountSingular:
Ipracticeeveryday.
I'dlikeonedonut,please.

CountPlural:
CanIhavesomechips?
Shehasalotofbooks,andmanyareautographed.
Ihavefewerpencilsthanyou.

Noncount:
CanIhavesomewater?
Shehasalotofstrength,andmuchisduetoherupbringing.
Ihavelesscouragethanyou.

Contributors:PaulLynch,AllenBrizee.
Summary:

Thishandoutdiscussesthedifferencesbetweencountnounsandnoncountnouns.
Countnounscanbepluralizednoncountnounscannot.
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CountandNoncountNouns(with
ArticlesandAdjectives)
CountableNouns

Countablenounsrefertothingsthatwecancount.Suchnounscantakeeither
singularorpluralform.

Concretenounsmaybecountable.

Thereareadozenflowersinthevase.
Heateanappleforasnack.

Collectivenounsarecountable.

Sheattendedthreeclassestoday.
Londonishometoseveralorchestras.

Somepropernounsarecountable.

TherearemanyGreekslivinginNewYork.
TheVanderbiltswouldthrowlavishpartiesattheirNewportsummermansion.

UncountableNouns

Uncountablenounsrefertothingsthatwecannotcount.Suchnounstakeonly
singularform.

Abstractnounsareuncountable.

Thepriceoffreedomisconstantvigilance.
Herwritingshowsmaturityandintelligence.

Someconcretenounsareuncountable(whenunderstoodintheirundividedsense).

Thepriceofoilhasstabilizedrecently.
MayIborrowsomerice?

Whileuncountablenounsdonotgenerallytakeapluralform,sometimestheymaybe
pluralizedwhenusedinacountablesense.Thedifferencebetweentheuncountable
andcountablemeaningsofnounsthatareusedineithersensecanbeseeninthe
followingchart:

UncountableSense CountableSense
Artisoftencalledlimitationof Ireadabookaoutthefolkarts
life. ofSweden.
Lifeisprecious. Acathasninelives.
Religionhasbeenapowerful Manyreligionsarepracticedin
forceinhistory. theUnitedStates.

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Shehasbeautifulskin. Thehullofakayakismadeof
animalskins.
Dr.Moultonisanexpertin Wehaveseveralsculpturesin
ancientGreeksculpture. ourhome.
Weuseonlyrecycledpaperin Wherearethoseimportant
ouroffice. papers?

UsingArticleswithCountableandUncountableNouns

Acountablenounalwaystakeseithertheindefinite(a,an)ordefinite(the)article
whenitissingular.Whenplural,ittakesthedefinitearticleifitreferstoadefinite,
specificgroupandnoarticleifitisusedinageneralsense.

Theguestofhonorarrivedlate.
Youarewelcomeasaguestinourhome.
Theguestsatyourpartyyesterdaymadealotofnoise.
Guestsarewelcomehereanytime.

Uncountablenounsnevertaketheindefinitearticle(aoran),buttheydotakesingular
verbs.Theissometimesusedwithuncountablenounsinthesamewayitisusedwith
pluralcountablenouns,thatis,torefertoaspecificobject,group,oridea.

Informationisapreciouscommodityinourcomputerizedworld.
Theinformationinyourfilesiscorrect.
Sugarhasbecomemoreexpensiverecently.
Pleasepassmethesugar.

CategoriesofUncountableNouns

NonPluralswith
Abstract Material Generic
s
advice meat fruit mathematics
help rice wildlife economics
information bread equipment physics
knowledge cake machinery civics
trouble coffee furniture ethics
work icecream mail mumps
enjoyment water luggage measles
fun oil jewelry news
recreation grass clothing tennis
relaxation hair money (othergames)

QuantityAdjectiveswithCountableandUncountableNouns

Some,Any

Bothwordsmodifyeithercountableoruncountablenouns.

Therearesomecookiesinthejar.(countable)
Thereissomewateronthefloor.(uncountable)
Didyoueatanyfood?(uncountable)
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Doyouserveanyvegetariandishes?(countable)

Much,Many

Muchmodifiesonlyuncountablenouns.

Howmuchmoneywillweneed?
Theyatesomuchcakethattheystartedtofeelsick.
Mucheffortwillberequiredtosolvethisproblem.

Manymodifiesonlycountablenouns.

Howmanychildrendoyouhave?
Theyhadsomanybooksthattheyhadtostacktheminthehall.
ManyAmericanstraveltoEuropeeachyear.

Alotof,Lotsof

Thesewordsareinformalsubstitutesformuchandmany.

Lotsofeffortwillberequiredtosolvethisproblem.(uncountable)
AlotofAmericanstraveltoEuropeeachyear.(countable)

Little,Quitealittle,Few,Quiteafew

Littleandquitealittlemodifyonlyuncountablenouns.

Wehadalittleicecreamafterdinner.
Theyofferedlittlehelpformyproblem.(meaning"onlyasmallamount")
Theyofferedquitealittlehelpformyproblem.(meaning"alargeamount")(Seequite
abitof,below.)

Fewandquiteafewmodifyonlycountablenouns.

Afewdoctorsfromthehospitalplayonthesoftballteam.
Fewrestaurantsinthistownoffervegetariandishes.(meaning"onlyasmallnumber")
Quiteafewrestaurantsinthistownoffervegetariandishes.(meaning"alarge
number")

Alittlebitof,Quiteabitof

Theseinformalphrasesusuallyprecedeuncountablenouns.Quiteabitofhasthesame
meaningasquitealittleandisusedmorecommonly.

There'salittlebitofpepperinthesoup.(meaning"asmallamount")
There'squiteabitofpepperinthesoup.(meaning"alargeamount")

Enough

Thiswordmodifiesbothcountableanduncountablenouns.

Idon'thaveenoughpotatoestomakethesoup.
Wehaveenoughmoneytobuyacar.

Plentyof

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Thistermmodifiesbothcountableanduncountablenouns.

ThereareplentyofmountainsinSwitzerland.
Shehasplentyofmoneyinthebank.

No

Thiswordmodifiesbothcountableanduncountablenouns.

Therewerenosquirrelsintheparktoday.
Wehavenotimelefttofinishtheproject.

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