Countable and uncountable nouns
450 fill-in-the-gap exercises, 45 tests of ten
Uncountable nouns have no plural and never take a or an. They take some, any, much and a little instead.
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Which nouns cannot be counted
Substances (water, bread, sugar), abstractions (advice, knowledge, happiness) and collections (furniture, luggage, equipment) are uncountable. So are several that look like ordinary nouns and catch people out:
advice, information, news, furniture, luggage, equipment, research, progress, work, money, traffic, weather, homework
None of them takes a or an, and none has an -s plural.
Counting them anyway
Put a countable word in front:
a piece of advice, two pieces of furniture, a bit of news, a loaf of bread, a liter of water
some and any
The usual split:
- some in positive sentences: There is some milk.
- any in negatives and questions: There isn’t any milk. Is there any milk?
One exception worth knowing: some appears in offers and requests, because you expect the answer yes:
Would you like some coffee? — Could I have some water?
much, many, a lot of
- many with countables: many books
- much with uncountables: much time
- a lot of with both, and the natural choice in positive sentences: a lot of books, a lot of time
Much is unusual in a positive sentence. There is much traffic sounds stiff; There is a lot of traffic is what people say.
a few and a little
- a few with countables: a few chairs
- a little with uncountables: a little milk
Dropping the a changes the meaning to something negative: a few friends means several; few friends means not many.
Words that are both
Some nouns are countable in one sense and uncountable in another:
two coffees (two cups) but coffee is expensive (the substance) a paper (a newspaper) but paper is made from wood
All forms
| Countable singular | Countable plural | Uncountable | |
|---|---|---|---|
| positive | a chair | some chairs | some water |
| negative | not a chair | not any chairs | not any water |
| question | a chair? | any chairs? | any water? |
| how much | — | how many | how much |
| small amount | — | a few | a little |
Examples
Taken from the 450 sentences in this drill. The answer is highlighted.
- Do you need some support with the presentation?
- She doesn't have any free time this weekend.
- He needs a haircut before the wedding.
- He found an unusual stone on the beach.
- She needs to buy some new clothes for the party.
- Does she have any experience in this field?
- My parents want to buy a house in the countryside.
- There is an island in the middle of the lake.
- Some people are waiting in line for tickets.
- Do you have any spare change for parking?
- There was a long line at the post office.
- There was an accident on the main road.
Mistakes to avoid
Wrong: I have many works to do. correct: I have a lot of work to do.
Work is uncountable here: no plural, and many is for countables.
Wrong: There isn't some milk left. correct: There isn't any milk left.
Negative sentences take any.
Wrong: How much people were there? correct: How many people were there?
People is countable, so how many.