Countable Nouns

Countable Nouns
Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example:
"pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more
countable nouns:
dog, cat, animal, man, person
bottle, ______________
coin, _________________
cup, ____________________
table, chair, ______________
Countable nouns can be singular or plural:
My dog __________ playing.
My dogs __________ hungry.
We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:
_________ dog is ________ animal.
When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:
I want ________ orange. (not I want orange.)
Where is _________ bottle? (not Where is bottle?)
When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:
I like ______________.
Bottles can ____________.
We can use some and any with countable nouns:
I've got ___________ dollars.
Have you got ___________ pens?
We can use a few and many with countable nouns:
I've got ______________ dollars.
I haven't got ________________ pens.
"People" is countable. "People" is the plural of "person". We can count people:
There is ________ person here.
There are ____________ people here.

Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate
elements. We _______________" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can
count "____________ of milk" or "___________ of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself.
Here are some more uncountable nouns:
music, art, _________________
________________________________
______________________
rice, sugar, __________________________
_______________________________________
__________________, currency
We usually treat uncountable nouns as _________. We use a singular verb. For example:
____________ news _____________ very important.
Your luggage _______________ heavy.
We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say
"an information" or "a music". But we can say a something of:
_________________ news
___________________ water
_________________________ rice
We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:
I've got _________________ money.
Have you got ______________ rice?
We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:
I've got ______________ money.
I haven't got ______________ rice.
Uncountable nouns are also called "mass nouns
Here are some more examples of countable and uncountable nouns:
Countable Uncountable

UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
Liquids: -
Powders and grains: -
Materials: -
Foods that we cut: -
General Emotions: -
General Categories:
Others: -

Note that an uncountable noun can often be transformed into a countable noun by
adding a quantifier.
Examples: -A cup of coffee.
-A _______ of rice.
-A ____________ of bread.
-A ____________ of furniture

Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable
Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of
meaning.
Countable

Uncountable
There ________________ in my coffee! hair I don't have _____ hair.
There are _____________ lights in our
bedroom.
light
Close the curtain. There's _____
____________ light!
Shhhhh! I thought I heard ____ noise.
There are so many different ___ in the
city.
noise
It's difficult to work when there is so
___________ noise.
Have you got _____paper to read?
(newspaper)
Hand me ________ student papers.
paper
I want to draw a picture. Have you got
__________ paper?
Our house has _______ rooms. room ____ there room for me to sit here?
We had ____ great time at the party.
How many ______ have I told you no?
time
Have you got ___________ for a cup of
coffee?
Macbeth _________ one of Shakespeare's
greatest works.
work
I have no money. I need _______!

Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are usually uncountable. But if we are thinking of a cup
or a glass, we can say (in a restaurant, for example):
______ teas and ___________ coffee please.

Decide whether these nouns are countable (C) or uncountable (U)
1. The children are playing in the garden.
2. I don't like milk.
3. I prefer tea.
4. Scientists say that the environment is threatened by
pollution.
5. My mother uses butter to prepare cakes.
6. There are a lot of windows in our classroom.
7. We need some glue to fix this vase.
8. The waiters in this restaurant are very
professional.
9. My father drinks two big glasses of water every
morning.
10. The bread my mother prepares is delicious.
11. Drivers must be careful; the road is slippery.
12. Some policemen are organizing road traffic to avoid any
accidents.
13. I bought three bottles of mineral water for our
picnic.
14. I'd like some juice please!
15. Successful candidates will join the camp later this
year.
16. A rise in oil prices is inevitable since there is more and more world demand for
energy.
17. The exercises on this website are interesting.
18. Dehydrated babies must drink a lot of water.
19. Adult illiterates learn through a special
government program.
20. I met some nice people when I was walking along the
beach.

and uncountable nouns exercise 1: Verbs
Choose an appropriate verb (and tense) to complete the sentences. Answers are below with
explanations.
There _______ dozens of pigs in the road.
There are dozens of pigs in the road. Pigs are countable, and a plural, so we need are.
There _______ lots of pork on the table.
There is lots of pork on the table. Pork is uncountable, so is treated as singular.
1. This tomato _______ ripe.
2. Now my pyjamas _______ stains on them!
3. Those cups of tea _______ very hot. Because the tea _______ boiling.
4. Can I _______ some cake?
5. The glasses _______ full of whisky.
6. That pair of glasses _______ broken.
7. They _______ questioning him now, but the police _______ no evidence.
8. The crowd _______ dispersing.
9. Janette and Paul _______ been together for fourteen years.
10. Our reserves of grain _______ running out. But the grain _______ Our reserves of
grain _______ running out. But the grain _______ still good.
11. My scissors _______ getting blunt.
12. Your pizza _______ cold, you should reheat it.

Countable and uncountable nouns exercise 2: Quantifiers
Choose an appropriate quantifier to complete the sentences. The spaces can include single words or
multiple words (for example many / lots of). Answers are below with explanations.
Do you have _______ sugar?
Do you have any/some sugar? Sugar is uncountable, so it uses a quantifier. Any/some might be
used for countable or uncountable nouns, but would be incorrect for a countable singular noun.
Do you have _______ car?
Do you have a car? Car is countable and needs an indefinite article.
1. Can I have _______ water?
2. Please give me _______ ticket.
3. How _______ burgers would you like? And how _______ sauce?
4. People seem to care _______ about appearance now.
5. Its busy because there are _______ dogs in the park.
6. We needed _______ potatoes for dinner.
7. They didnt have _______ cheese left, but there werent _______ cheeses to choose
from to begin with.
8. Clifford had too _______ cake, hell be sick.
9. You need to invite _______ people, or the party will be too crowded.
10. If this bill passes, I hope there will be _______ litter on the streets.
11. The supermarket has _______ bread, but not _______ milk.
12. Please pass me _______ paper, I seem to have run out.
13. I went to the shop to get _______ carton of milk.

Countable Nouns

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Countable Nouns

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