Nouns
Nouns refer to a person, place, thing, event, substance or quality.
Uncountable Nouns refer to things we consider as a “mass” and not as separate objects. {See Nouns - Countable & Uncountable, A1 level}
Uncountable Nouns refer to things we consider as a “mass” and not as separate objects. Below you can find the most common Uncountable Nouns:
| ONLY SINGULAR | ONLY PLURAL | BOTH UNCOUNT. & COUNT. |
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- Only Singular Uncountable Nouns
- My baggage is so heavy because of the camera in it!
- Her energy as a salsa dancer is incredible!
- Their money was not enough to buy the painting.
- Only Plural Uncountable Nouns
- Could you get the groceries?
- He told me some news about your journey.
- We send our thanks to the director.
- Both Uncountable and Countable uses
- Can I borrow some coffee? / Shall I get a coffee? (=a cup of coffee)
- She has a lot of glass bowls. / Does she want a glass of coke?
- We need some typing paper. / Can they give me today’s paper, please? (=newspaper)
Uncountable Nouns usually refer to abstract ideas, substances, materials, gases and liquids.
- There are Uncountable Nouns which have only singular form;
- There are Uncountable Nouns which have only plural form;
- Some nouns are Uncountable when they refer to a general meaning and Countable when they refer to a specific thing or mean “a type of”, “a kind of”, etc., or an object made of a material.
Uncountable Nouns are nouns which we cannot count easily or what we refer to as “mass”.
Uncountable Nouns have singular with no plural: Advice, baggage, information, energy, furniture, homework, money, etc.
Sometimes they can be plural with no singular: News, groceries, clothes, thanks, regards, etc.
Many Uncountable Nouns have both Countable and Uncountable uses, sometimes with differences in meaning. For example, words for materials are Uncountable but we can use them as Countable when we refer to something made of that material: Paper/ a paper, coffee/ a coffee, glass/ a glass.
For example:
— “Can I have some coffee?” = The word “coffee”, in this case, refers to coffee as a powder, for this reason it is considered Uncountable.
— “Can I have a coffee?” = In this case the word “coffee” has the implicit meaning of “a cup of coffee”, for this reason it is considered Countable.
Let’s revise this content within the [Form] section. And take a look to the [Examples] that show its use within a context.