Grammer focus:Countable & uncountable noun

What are COUNT NOUNS?

Look around the room or the classroom you're sitting in — the more "stuff" in the room, the better. Name some things that somebody must have carried into the room.

desks, chairs, flag, clock, computers, keyboards, projector, books, bookcases, pens, notebooks, backpacks, lights, students (Well, maybe the students walked in under their own power!)

Now name some things that are part of the room itself.

floor, wall, ceiling, windows, door, chalkboard

You can imagine there being more than one of everything you've named so far — although you might have to have more than one room to have more than one floor or ceiling. These are all COUNT NOUNS, things that you can count.

Usage Notes:

• Count nouns can be pluralized when appropriate. See the section on Plurals for help with the proper formation of noun plurals.
  
• We can use expressions such as
  
  
  1. many bottles
  2. few bottles
  3. a few bottles
  
  
• These nouns, both singular and plural, can be preceded by the appropriate definite and indefinite articles — the with both singular and plural, a or an with singular count-nouns.
  
• Singular count nouns can be preceded by this and that and by every, each, either, and neither.
  
• Plural count nouns can be preceded by these and those and by some, any, enough, and the zero article. The phrase number of is accompanied by count nouns.
  
• Count nouns cannot be preceded by much. The phrase amount of is also a sure sign that you are not dealing with a count noun.
  

What are MASS (NON-COUNT) NOUNS?

Here is a list of MASS NOUNS for you to consider. Can you count any of these things? Do we use the plural form of any of these words in common speech and writing? What do the things in the first column have in common? the second column? In the first section, above, we named things in the classroom that we could count. What are some things in the same room that we can't count?

wood

cloth

ice

plastic

wool

steel

aluminum

metal

glass

leather

porcelain

hair

dust

air

oxygen


water

milk

wine

beer

cake

sugar

rice

meat

cheese

flour


reading

boating

smoking

dancing

soccer

hockey

weather

heat

sunshine

electricity

biology

history

mathematics

economics

poetry


Chinese

Spanish

English

luggage

equipment

furniture

experience

applause

photography

traffic

harm

publicity

homework

advice

Usage Notes:

• Are there categories of things in the third and fourth columns as well? Click HERE for categories we see.
  
• Generally, these nouns cannot be pluralized. The non-count nouns of the second column (foodstuff) are pluralized when we use the word to express a "type":
  1. There are new wines being introduced every day.
  2. The waters of the Atlantic are much warmer this time of year.
  3. The Dutch are famous for their cheeses.
  4. The spring rains came early.
  
  
• We can use expressions such as
  
  
  1. much harm
  2. little harm
  3. a little harm
  
  
• It is appropriate to precede these nouns with a definite or indefinite article.
  
  
  1. the sunshine
  2. an experience
  3. a wine
  
  But they frequently appear with zero article:
  
  
  1. Smoking is bad for you.
  2. Poetry is beautiful.
  3. Sugar is sweet.
  4. Experience is the best teacher.
  
  
• These nouns can be preceded by some, any, enough, this, that, and much.
  
• Because they are not countable, these nouns cannot be preceded by these, those, every, each, either, and neither.
  
  

What are ABSTRACT NOUNS?

Here is a list of ABSTRACT NOUNS for you to think about. Can you touch or see any of these things in the physical sense? Can you count any of them? Can you create sentences in which some of these words can be used as plurals?

peace

warmth

hospitality

information

anger

education

melancholy

softness

violence


conduct

courage

leisure

knowledge

safety

shopping

justice

chaos

progress


speed

experience

time

friendship

trouble

work

culture

virtue


taste

evil

liberty

democracy

death

grief

piety

Usage Notes:

• Because they refer to ideas, concepts, it is difficult to see how abstract nouns can be pluralized. In fact, many of them cannot be. The abstract nouns in the first two columns (above) cannot be pluralized; the abstract nouns in the second two columns can be. The section below discusses what happens to an abstract noun when it is pluralized.
  
  
  1. The griefs of the nation are too much to bear.
  2. The editors took liberties with our prose.
  3. She formed many friendships at college.
  
  
  
• In terms of quantifiers and words that precede these words, what we say about the non-count nouns, above, can be said about abstract nouns.
  

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How can something be BOTH a COUNT NOUN and a MASS NOUN?

If we conceive of the meaning of a noun as a continuum from being specific to being general and abstract, we can see how it can move from being a count noun to a mass noun. Consider, for example, the noun experiences. When I say

I had many horrifying experiences as a pilot.

I'm referring to specific, countable moments in my life as a pilot. When I say,

This position requires experience.

I'm using the word in an abstract way; it is not something you can count; it's more like an idea, a general thing that people need to have in order to apply for this job.

If I write

The talks will take place in Degnan Hall.

these talks are countable events or lectures. If I say

I hate it when a meeting is nothing but talk.

the word talk is now uncountable; I'm referring to the general, abstract idea of idle chatter. Evils refers to specific sins — pride, envy, sloth, and everyone's favorite, gluttony — whereas evil refers to a general notion of being bad or ungodly.

One more example: "I love the works of Beethoven" means that I like his symphonies, his string quartets, his concerti and sonatas, his choral pieces — all very countable things, works. "I hate work" means that I find the very idea of labor, in a general way, quite unappealing. Notice that the plural form means something quite different from the singular form of this word; they're obviously related, but they're different. What is the relationship between plastic and plastics, wood and woods, ice and [Italian] ices, hair and hairs?

Further, as noted earlier, almost all mass nouns can become count nouns when they are used in a classificatory sense:

1. They served some nice Brazilian wines.
   
2. There were some real beauties in that rose garden.
   
3. We had some serious difficulties in this project.

But some things cannot be made countable or plural: we cannot have furnitures, informations, knowledges, softnesses, or chaoses. When in doubt, consult a good dictionary.