Uncountable
Nouns
Comprehensive Notes and Practice for ESL Learners

sugar

lumps of sugar

Online version: www.roadtogrammar.com/uncountablenouns

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Section1

Introduction
What is an uncountable noun?

An uncountable noun cannot be counted. For example, we can
count cars, but we cannot count water. Water is a substance.
Notice that ‘sugar’ is an uncountable noun. We can count lumps of
sugar, but not sugar in general.
Note that ‘people’ is a countable noun. Even though there is no –s
ending, we can count people (3 people, 4 people etc)
*Note - Countable nouns are sometimes called count nouns and uncountable nouns are
sometimes called non-count nouns.
Examples of Countable Nouns:
car
book
person
phone
cat

table
noun
day
cookie
kid

Examples of Countable Nouns:
Uncountable nouns are often types of food, materials or abstract concepts.
salt
sugar
information
work
wool

weather
butter
oil
advice
pepper

oxygen
milk
luck
meat
honesty

patience
knowledge
homework
happiness
honey

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Exercise 1
Which of these words are uncountable?
Tick the words that are uncountable. Answers are on page 12.

□ methane
□ advice
□ smoke
□ wool
□ meat

□ shoe
□ target
□ chocolate
□ mustard
□ mouse

Do you need more practice? Try many more exercises at
www.roadtogrammar.com/uncountablenouns

Section 2

Amounts and Quantities
Let’s review some rules:
1 We do not use numbers with uncountable nouns.
Wrong:
Right:

He told me three informations.
He told me three pieces of information.

2 We do not add –s to uncountable nouns.
Wrong:
Right:

These informations is wrong.
This information is wrong.

3 We treat an uncountable noun as a singular verb:
Wrong:
Right:

these information
this information

Wrong:
Right:

Your information are correct.
Your information is correct.

□ finger
□ battery
□ kid
□ pasta
□ cellphone

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4 We can use ‘some’ and ‘any’ with both uncountable and countable nouns:
He gave me some information.
He gave me some apples.

5 With countable nouns, we use ‘few’ and ‘a few’. With uncountable nouns, we use
‘little’ and ‘a little’:
I ate a few apples.
I ate a little cheese.

6 Because ‘a’ means ‘one’, with uncountable nouns, we can use ‘the’, but not ‘a’:
Correct:
Wrong:

The bread from that shop is tasty.
I bought a bread from that shop.

7 With uncountable nouns, we cannot use ‘many’, but we can use ‘lots of’, ‘a lot of’
and ‘much’:
Wrong:
Right:
Right:
Right:

They bake many bread in that shop.
They bake a lot of bread in that shop.
They bake lots of bread in that shop.
Do they bake much bread in that shop?

8 We can use ‘more’ with uncountable nouns:
Would you like some more water?

Exercise 2
Are the following sentences grammatically correct? If not, try to think of a way to
correct them. (Answers are on page 12.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Can you pass a salt?
Could you pass the salt?
This sugar is lovely.
Can you pass me a meat?
I have so many homeworks to do.
Most of this information are
correct.
7. Do you have any information
that would be useful?
8. My work is difficult.
9. These jam looks tasty.

10. This pasta taste great!
11. Can I borrow a little wool from
you?
12. We’re having some great
weather at the moment.
13. Add lots of oil to the pan.
14. I only have a few money left.
15. Henry gave me a useful advice.
16. My sister doesn’t give me much
advice.

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Section 3

Difficult and Special Cases
Let’s review some words that can be especially confusing:
Furniture (uncountable)
Furniture may seem like a countable noun, but it is uncountable.
Furniture always refers to a group of objects.
We bought some furniture for our new apartment.

Equipment (uncountable)
Like furniture, equipment always refers to a group of items. It is uncountable.
We bought some new equipment for our factory.

Luggage (uncountable)
Like furniture, luggage always refers to a group of items (a group of bags or
suitcases). It is uncountable. Baggage is also uncountable.
He brought plenty of luggage with him.

Jewelry (uncountable)
Jewelry is another group noun.
Correct: I have a lot of jewelry
Wrong: I have a lot of jewelries.
Traffic (uncountable)
Traffic is a group noun.
There was so much traffic on the road this morning!

Fruit (uncountable)
Fruit refers to a group of items (pieces of fruit). It is uncountable.

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Strawberry, banana, apple etc are all countable nouns.
I ate some fruit.
I ate some bananas.

News (uncountable)
News is an uncountable noun even though it is spelled with an –s:
Correct: We have some good news.
Wrong: We have a good news.
Coffee (uncountable and sometimes countable)
Strictly speaking, coffee is an uncountable noun:
I like to drink coffee.

However, when ordering in a café or restarant, it is used as a countable noun:
Could I have three coffees, please?

Words for other drinks, such as tea, wine and beer are used in the same way.
Paper (countable or uncountable, depending on the meaning)
Usually paper is uncountable:
Could I have some paper?
I need three sheets of paper.

When the meaning is ‘report’, it is countable:
Dr Kaki has published a paper on Global Warming.

Money (uncountable)
Money is uncountable. However, units of money (dollars, euros) are often countable:
Could I borrow some money?
Could I borrow three dollars?

Other units of currency are countable, but do not take a plural –s (meaning that they
are irregular plurals):
It cost me 200 yen.
The price is fifty lira.

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'Cash' is uncountable
Chicken (countable or uncountable, depending on the meaning)
The word chicken is countable when it refers to the animal, but uncountable when it
refers to the food.
The farmer has over three hundred chickens.
Would you like some more chicken?

Software (uncountable)
Software is uncountable, ‘program’ is countable, as is ‘application’.
We need to purchase some software.
We need to purchase some computer programs.
We need to purchase some applications.

Like software, hardware is uncountable.
Work (uncountable or countable, depending on the meaning)
Work, homework and housework are all uncountable.
I have some work to do.
I have some homework to do.
I have several tasks to do.
I have several assignments to do.

There is another meaning of work, as in ‘work of art’. This meaning of work is
countable:
Several works of art were stolen from the museum.

Time (uncountable or countable, depending on the meaning)
Time, in general is uncountable:
I don’t have much time.

Time, when it means ‘occasion’, is countable:
How many times have you watched that movie?

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Hair (uncountable or countable, depending on the meaning)
When referring to strands (pieces) of hair, the word is countable, but hair is usually a
group word, referring to all the individual hairs on a person’s head.
She has beautiful hair.
There’s a hair in my salad!

Fish (countable or uncountable, depending on the meaning)
When 'fish' describes the food, it is always uncountable:
We ate some delicious fish.

To describe the living creature, this word is countable but is usually spelled
without -es:
There were three fish in the pond.
There were three fishes in the pond.

(correct, but less common)

Section 4

Adding –s to Uncountable Nouns
Adding –s changes the meaning
We know that ‘food’ is an uncountable noun. Yet you may sometimes see the word
‘foods’.
For example, on a shop sign:

Harry’s Fine Foods

In this case, ‘foods’ = kinds of food
We can use most uncountable nouns in this way:
Coffees = kind of coffee
Teas = kinds of tea
Many teas are imported from Sri Lanka

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Meats = kinds of meat
Meats that are low in cholesterol include chicken and turkey.

Even though ‘people’ is not an uncountable noun, it follows this rule:
Peoples = kinds of people
The peoples of the South Pacific include islanders from Fiji, Kiribati and Samoa.

Exercise 3
This exercise will test you on the previous two points:
Difficult and special cases
Adding -s to uncountable nouns
Circle the correct options: (Answers are on page 13.)
Can you help me to move the _________?

furniture

furnitures

We bought some new _________ for the factory.

equipment

equipments

She wears a lot of _________.

jewelry

jewelries

She wears a lot of _________.

rings

rings

This car cost a lot of _________.

money

moneys

The price was ten thousand _________.

dollar

dollars

The _________ so bad that I didn’t get home until eight.

traffic was

traffics were

There were so many slow-moving _________ on the road.

vehicle

vehicles

I love eating _________.

fruit

fruits

I love eating _________.

banana

bananas

I have _________ good news to tell you!

a

some

We have had _________ good news recently.

a lot of

many

How _________ luggage did you bring?

much

many

How _________ did you bring?

much bag

many bags

I’d like to order a couple of _________, please.

coffee

coffees

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Section 5

Container Words
We often make nouns countable by using them together with ‘container words’.
For example, we can’t say ‘two soaps’ but we can say ‘two bars of soap’.
The most common container word is ‘piece’; for instance, ‘a piece of news’.
Some uncountable nouns can be used with more than one container word:
A cup of coffee
A jar of coffee.

More examples.
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A

slice of cheese.
slice of toast.
sheet of paper.
bar of soap.
bar of chocolate.
blade of grass.
bolt of lightning.
pinch of salt.
tube of toothpaste.

A grain of sand.
A packet of rice.
A drop of water.
A loaf of bread.
A member of staff.
A moment of time.
A pint of milk.
A herd of cattle

A
A
A
A
A
A
A

piece
piece
piece
piece
piece
piece
piece

of
of
of
of
of
of
of

news.
furniture.
cake.
chocolate.
luck.
jewelry.
advice.

Exercise 4
Complete the phrases without looking back at the notes. (Answers are on page 13.)
1 a _______ of cheese
2 a _______ of grass
3 a _______ of advice
4 a _______ of bread
5 a _______ of jewelry

6 a _______ of news
7 a _______ of sand
8 a _______ of toast
9 a _______ of chocolate
10 a _______ of staff

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Exercise 5
Final exercise (Answers are on page 14.)
Circle the correct option:
1.

Which of these words is countable?

chair

furniture

2.

Which of these words is countable?

equipment

machine

3.

Which of these words is countable?

rice

cookie

4.

Can you pass me a _______ of paper?

sheet

slice

5.

I have so _______ homework to do.

much

many

6.

Have you made _______ progress?

many

any

7.

I need _______ advice.

an

some

8.

Is _______ milk fresh?

this

these

9.

Most of this food _______ tasty.

is

are

10.

Let’s order a couple of _______ and have a chat.

coffees

coffee

11.

I bought some chewing _______.

gums

gum

12.

I don’t have enough _______ to finish this assignment.

time

times

13.

I enjoyed all the _______ we went dancing together.

time

times

14.

Which of these words is uncountable?

garbage

can

15.

Which of these words is uncountable?

flour

flower

16.

A _______ of cheese.

bar

slice

17.

A _______ of soap.

slice

bar

18.

I have _______ good news to tell you.

some

a

19.

I can lend you _______ money if you need it.

a few

a little

20.

I can lend you _______ dollars if you need money.

a little

a few

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Section 6

Answer key
Exercise 1
Which of these words are uncountable?
Words in bold are uncountable:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

methane
advice
smoke
wool
meat
shoe
target
chocolate

9
10
11
12
13
14
15

mustard
mouse
finger
battery
kid
pasta
cellphone

Exercise 2
Sentences in bold are correct:
1 Can you pass a salt?
(…the salt)
2 Could you pass the salt?
3 This sugar is lovely.
4 Can you pass me a meat?
(…the meat/some meat)
5 I have so many homeworks to do.
(homework)
6 Most of this information are correct.
(… is correct)
7 Do you have any information that would be useful?
8 My work is difficult.
9 These jam looks tasty.
(This jam…)
10 This pasta taste great!
(tastes)
11 Can I borrow a little wool from you?
12 We’re having some great weather at the moment.
13 Add lots of oil to the pan.
14 I only have a few money left.
(…a little money)
15 Henry gave me a useful advice.
(…some useful advice)
16 My sister doesn’t give me much advice.

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Exercise 3
Answers are in bold:
Can you help me to move the _________?
We bought some new _________ for the factory.
She wears a lot of _________.
She wears a lot of _________.
This car cost a lot of _________.
The price was ten thousand _________.
The _________ so bad that I didn’t get home until eight.
There were too many slow-moving _________ on the road.
I love eating _________.
I love eating _________.
I have _________ good news to tell you!
We have had _________ good news recently.
How _________ luggage did you bring?
How _________ did you bring?
I’d like to order a couple of _________, please.

Exercise 4
Complete the phrases:
1 a _______ of cheese
2 a _______ of grass
3 a _______ of advice
4 a _______ of bread
5 a _______ of jewelry
6 a _______ of news
7 a _______ of sand
8 a _______ of toast
9 a _______ of chocolate
10 a _______ of staff

slice/piece/lump
blade
piece/bit/word
slice/piece/loaf
piece
piece/bit
grain
slice/piece/bit
bar/piece
member

furnitures
equipments
jewelry
rings
moneys
dollars
traffic was
vehicles
fruits
banana
a
a lot of
much
much bag
coffees

furniture
equipment
jewelries
ring
money
dollar
traffics were
vehicle
fruit
bananas
some
many
many
many bags
coffee

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Exercise 5
1.

Which of these words is countable?

chair

2.

Which of these words is countable?

machine

3.

Which of these words is countable?

cookie

4.

Can you pass me a _______ of paper?

sheet

5.

I have so _______ homework to do.

much

6.

Have you made _______ progress?

any

7.

I need _______ advice.

some

8.

Is _______ milk fresh?

this

9.

Most of this food _______ tasty.

is

10.

Let’s order a couple of _______ and have a chat.

coffees

11.

I bought some chewing _______.

gum

12.

I don’t have enough _______ to finish this assignment.

time

13.

I enjoyed all the _______ we went dancing together.

times

14.

Which of these words is uncountable?

garbage

15.

Which of these words is uncountable?

flour

16.

A _______ of cheese.

slice

17.

A _______ of soap.

bar

18.

I have _______ good news to tell you.

some

19.

I can lend you _______ money if you need it.

a little

20.

I can lend you _______ dollars if you need some money.

a few

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A Final Word
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