COUNTABILITY AND

PLURAL NOUNS

COUNTABLE OR UNCOUNTABLE?

AN APPLE / APPLES FRUIT / SOME FRUIT

A BOTTLE /

A FEW BOTTLESWINE / A LITTLE WINE

A TABLE / MANY TABLESFURNITURE /

MUCH FURNITURE

A CASE /

A GREAT NUMBER OF CASES

LUGGAGE / A LARGE AMOUNT OF LUGGAGE

COUNTABILITY

They have singular and plural form.

You can use numbers with them.

You can use the article a / an with their singular form.

They only have one form.

They are followed by a singular verb.

You can’t use either numbers or the article a /an with them.

COUNTABLE NOUNS UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

Advice, information, accommodation, homework,

knowledge, money, water, time, health, paper, iron,

weather, traffic, equipment, work…..

A few uncountable nouns end in –s, but they follow

the normal rules for uncountable nouns and have a

singular verb:News, billiards, politics, ….

WE CAN COUNT UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS INDIRECTLY BY USING A PHRASE LIKE A PIECE OF …, A BIT OF ….

A bar of chocolate

A loaf of bread A pinch of salt

A slice of bread A carton of milk

A round of applause A bowl of rice

A bottle of, a grain of rice, an item of furniture, a box

of, a packet of, a bag of, a spoon of sugar, a can of

coke, a jar of mermelade, ….

SOME UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS CAN BE USED IN A COUNTABLE WAY WHEN THEY DESCRIBE A CATEGORY

FRENCH CHEESES SPANISH WINES

SOME NOUNS CAN BE COUNTABLE OR UNCOUNTABLE WITH A CHANGE OF MEANING

WOOD A WOOD

CHICKEN A CHICKEN

PAPER A PAPER

TOAST A TOAST

MORE EXAMPLES

IRON (metal) / AN IRON (domestic appliance) BUSINESS (in general) / A BUSINESS (a

company) GOSSIP (talking) / A GOSSIP (a person) HAIR (all together) / A HAIR (a single strand) HELP (in general) / A HELP (a helpful person

or thing) WORK (in general) / A WORK (a work of art/

engineering, …) CHOCOLATE (substance) / A CHOCOLATE (a

box of chocolates)

PLURAL NOUNS

There are some nouns which only have a plural form

and take a plural verb:

Your clothes are great!

More plural nouns: goods, jeans, trousers, means, ….

GROUP NOUNS

Group nouns can be followed by either a singular or plural

verb: I think the government is/ are wrong,

It depends on whether we think of the group as a whole

(singular verb), or its individual members (plural

verb): The audience was very disappointed after the play. The team were given a medal after winning the match.

More group nouns:

army, class, company, crew, crowd, data, media, family,

group, press, public, staff

Remember! People, police and cattle are always PLURAL.