Countable and uncountable nouns
Nouns can be either countable or uncountable.
Countable nouns can be:
- preceded by a (a dog),
- both singular and plural (dog, dogs)
- counted (one dog, two dogs, three dogs, thirty dogs).
Examples:
- programme
- case
- pen
- book
- girl
- carpet
- shelf
Countable nouns are sometimes referred to as count nouns.
Uncountable nouns cannot normally be:
- preceded by a (we can use some instead)
- plural
- counted.
Examples:
- water
- truth
- bread
- music
- heat
- oil
- news
BUT: Some uncountable nouns can, depending on the context, also be used as countable nouns.
Examples
- I would like some cake (uncountable)
- I bought three cakes (countable)
Uncountable nouns are sometimes referred to as non-count nouns or mass nouns.
