countable uncountable nouns

COUNTABLE & UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

By Belinda Baardsen, American Ex Pat, TEFL Certified ESL Instructor, Juris Doctor, B.S., The University of Florida, and Endicott College

Some nouns are countable: A book ~ two booksAn egg ~ six eggs

A book.One

book.Book.The

book.Your book.

My book.Her book.

It.

Countable

Six books.Books = 6

There are six books on the shelf.

I have six books.She has six books.

We have six books. Those six books are for

his English class.Why do we need six

books?Six books?

How did you finish all six books so fast?

Where are those six books I was talking

about?Six books for sale!

Countable

Can I have one egg, please?

I need one egg for breakfast.

Would you like an egg?One egg.Egg = 1

Where is that egg?Where did you get that

egg?How did you find that

egg?Only one egg?

She wants one egg.

Countable = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Eggs = plural

She wants three eggs.He wants more eggs. I want a dozen eggs.

Where did you get those eggs?

How many eggs do you want?

Why can’t I find any eggs?Who wants eggs?

Countable – egg(s)

Some nouns are uncountable.

Bread

Rice

Water

Air

Hair

Rice

Water

Air

Hair

Countable Nouns Singular Plural

a bookOne book

BooksTwo books

Some booksA lot of booksMany booksA few books

A countable noun

Singular:A + noun

One + noun

Plural:

Noun + -s

Egg

Eggs

Pearl

Pearls

Non countable Noun ~

RiceSome riceA lot of riceMuch riceA little rice

Singular

Plurals?

None

A non countable noun ~

Singular ~Do not use a.

Do not use one.

Plural ~A non countable noun does not have

a plural form.

MoneyMail

HomeworkInformation

TrafficWeather

MilkMeatTea

WaterSaltSoup

Common non countable nouns

Work JewelryBread

CheeseFoodFruitRice

Pepper

Underline the noun. Is it noun countable, or non countable?

COUNTABLE --------- NONCOUNTABLE

1. He sits on a chair.2. He sits on furniture.3. She has a coin.4. She has some money.5. She has some letters.6. She has some mail. 7. The street is full of traffic.

Chair - countable

-s

Chairs