Count Nouns and Noncount Nouns

 
Nouns are divided into the categories of Count and Noncount Nouns. The basic distinction is that count nouns can take the plural form, while noncount nouns cannot.

Singular

Plural

      
apple apples      
car cars      
         
music No plural form      
furniture No plural form      
 
Typically, count nouns refer to things that you can easily count.
bananas boats bottles cars countries
houses pencils ships sticks students
 
Noncount nouns refer to things that by their nature are not easily countable. Often they are things in liquid or mass form or abstract ideas.
sand beauty butter electricity honesty
music sand satisfaction truth water
 
Other noncount nouns are not as easy to determine and can lead to confusion.
advice behavior bread chaos clothing
dirt equipment food fruit furniture
grammar homework housework information jewelry
luck luggage mail money music
news permission progress scenery slang
stuff traffic vocabulary weather work
 
Some nouns can be both count and noncount nouns. Usually there is a difference in meaning.
John has some chickens on his farm. (the whole birds)
Mary ate some chicken for dinner (the stuff you eat)
John has a fish in his aquarium. (the whole fish)
Mary had some fish for lunch. (the stuff you eat)
There are two hairs in my soup. (two individual hairs)
Your hair is pretty. (all of the hair on your head)
 

Test your knowledge
Directions: The phrase a lot of is used before noncount nouns and plural count nouns. Choose the best answer to fill in the blank. (10 problems)
 
 

More Activities on this Topic
Count/Non count Nouns (eflnet)(Beginner)
Count/Non count Nouns GAME (eflnet)(Beginner to Intermediate)
Count/Non count Nouns (ESL Blues)(Beginner)
Count/Non count Nouns (ESL Blues)(Beginner)
Count/Non count Nouns (ESL Blues)(Beginner)
Much/Many, A lot of (AESL)