Countable and uncountable nouns / The use of the Indefinite Article a/an

Countable Uncountable I eat a banana every day.I like bananas.Countable nouns can be singular or plural. So we can use numbers with countable nouns. “one banana, two bananas.”

Kate was singing a song.There’s a nice beach near here.Do you have a ten-pound note?It wasn’t your fault. It was an accident.There are no batteries in the radio.We haven’t got enough cups.

I eat rice every day.I like rice.An uncountable noun has only one form (rice)We cannot use numbers with uncountable nouns. We cannot say ”one rice”, etc.

Kate was listening to (some) music.There’s sand in my shoes.Do you have any money?It wasn’t your fault. It was bad luck.There is no electricity in this house.We haven’t got enough water.

We can use a/an with countable nouns:A beach, a student, an umbrella

We cannot use singular countable nouns alone. (without a/the/my etc.)I want a banana. NOT I want banana.We can use plural countable nouns alone.I like bananas. (=bananas in general)

We cannot normally use a/an with uncountable nouns. We do not say “a sand, a music”But we can use a … of For example. a bowl / a packet / a grain of rice.

We can use uncountable nouns alone (without the/ my / some etc.I eat rice every day.There’s blood on your shirt.Can you hear music?

We can use some and any with plural countable nouns:We sang some songs.Did you buy any apples?We use many and few with plural countable nouns.We didn’t take many photographs.I have a few things to do.Do not use some when you are talking about things in general.I love bananas. She writes books.

We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:We listened to some music.Did you buy any apple juice?We use much and little with uncountable nouns.We didn’t do much shopping.I have a little work to do.

Many nouns can be used as countable or uncountable nouns, usually with a difference in meaning:

Did you hear a noise just now? (a specific noise) I can’t work here. There’s too much noise. I bought a paper to read. (a newspaper) I need some paper to write on. There’s a hair in my soup. (one singular hair) You’ve got very long hair.You can stay with us. There’s a spare room. You can’t sit here. There isn’t room.I had some interesting experiences while I was traveling. They offered me a job because I had a lot of experience. (Things that happened to me) (not experiences) Enjoy your trip. Have a good time! I can’t wait. I haven’t got time.

NB! Coffee/tea/beer (drinks) are normally uncountable: I don’t like coffee very much. But we can say a coffee =a cup of coffee), two coffees.. Two coffees and an orange juice, please.The following nouns are usually uncountable: accommodation, behaviour, damage, luck, permission, traffic, advice, bread, furniture, luggage, progress, weather, baggage, chaos, information, news, scenery, work.

Don’t use a/an with these nouns.These nouns are not usually plural. (Let me know if you need more information. ) NOT informationsNews is uncountable, not plural. (The news was very depressing)

Countable UncountableI’m looking for a job. I’m looking for work.What a beautiful view! What beautiful scenery!It’s a nice day today. It’s nice weather today.We had a lot of bags and cases. We had a lot of baggage/luggage.These chairs are mine. This furniture is mine.That’s a good suggestion. That’s good advice.

1. We use a/an ..to say what kind of thing or person something/somebody is:

That’s a nice table. (singular)Those are nice chairs. (plural, the noun is alone)

A dog is an animal. Dogs are animals.I’m an optimist. We are optimists.Tom’s father is a doctor. My friends are students. Are you a good driver? Are they good students?Jill is a nice person. Jill’s parents are nice people. What a lovely dress! What awful shoes!

2. Remember to use a/an when you say what somebody’s job is. Sandra is a nurse.Would you like to be an English teacher?

3. We use a/an when we talk about something for the first time.I had a sandwich and an apple. The sandwich wasn’t very good, but the apple was nice.

a) Uncountable nouns include:1. many types of food: flour, yoghurt, butter,

meat, ….2. liquids: coffee, lemonade, oil, petrol, wine,

water, ….3. materials: crystal, wood, plastic, silver,

china, glass,….4. abstract nouns: knowledge, beauty, justice,

help, freedom, education, love, …5. others: research, luggage, baggage, hair,

weather, behaviour, advice, news, accommodation, information, fun, equipment, litter, rubbish, furniture, crockery, cutlery, jewellery, machinery,

money,….b) We use the following nouns with uncountable nouns to show quantity:a piece of cake; a glass/bottle of water; a rasher of bacon; a packet of rice; a loaf of bread; a pot of yoghurt; a cup of tea; a kilo of meat; a tube of toothpaste; a can of soda; a carton of milk; a bowl of sugar, …

We say:once a week /three times a day / How often you go to the cinema? About once a month.How much are the potatoes? £1.50 a kilo.Helen works eight hours a day, six days a week.