the noncount noun recognize a noncount noun when you see one
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THE NONCOUNT NOUN
RECOGNIZE A NONCOUNT NOUN WHEN YOU SEE ONE.
Nouns name people, places, things, and ideas.
Most nouns have a singular and plural form. a surfer/ two surfers a pickle/ two pickles
Some nouns, however, have only a singular form; you cannot add a number to the front or an s to the end of these words. This group of nouns is called NONCOUNT NOUNS.
Examples: After two months of rainstorms, Chris carries his umbrella everywhere in anticipation of more bad weather.
rainstorms = count nounweather = noncount noun
Because Big Toe Joe has ripped all four chairs with his claws, Rachel wants to buy new furniture and find the cat a new home.chairs = count nounfurniture = noncount noun
Know the different categories of noncount
nouns.
Abstractions
Example: We practice patriotism by celebrating the Fourth of July.
advice, courage, enjoyment, fun, help, honesty, information, intelligence, knowledge, patience, etc.
Activities
Example: We played Monopoly for six hours last Saturday.
homework, swimming, housework, music, Scrabble, Monopoly, reading, singing, sleeping, soccer, tennis, work, etc.
Food
Example: Grandma Brown baked homemade bread for dinner.
beef, bread, butter, fish, macaroni, meat,
popcorn, pork, poultry, toast, etc.
Particles or Grains
Example: Do you like pepper on your french fries?
corn, dirt, dust, flour, hair, rice, salt, sugar, wheat, and pepper (black, white or ground, but not green or bell)
Gases
Example: Exhaust from cars can cause pollution.
air, exhaust, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, pollution, smog, smoke, steam, etc.
Groups of Similar ItemsExample – Katy placed her suitcase on the rack with her family’s luggage.
Noncount Countluggage suitcaseclothing shirt furniture chair mail letterjewelry necklace money dollar
Things Made of Small Pieces
Example:Mr. Brown was unhappy when his wife insisted they plant more grass in the front yard.
grass, sand, gravel, dirt, clay, etc.
Liquids
Example: Sam tried to fill the pool by pouring water from a bucket.
blood, coffee, gasoline, milk, oil, soup, syrup, tea, water, wine, etc.
Natural Events Example: When he first moved to Wisconsin, Jose liked snow, but after five years he was missing sunshine.
electricity, gravity, heat, humidity, moonlight, rain, snow, sunshine, thunder, weather, etc.
Materials
Example: We had a big stack of lumber in the back yard.
aluminum, asphalt, chalk, cloth, concrete, cotton, glue, lumber, wood, wool, etc.
Understand that some nouns are both noncount and count!
Sometimes a word that means one thing as a noncount noun has a slightly
different meaning if it also has a countable version. Remember, then, that the
classifications count and noncount are not absolute.
Time is a good example. When you use this word to mean the unceasing flow of experience that includes past, present, and future, with no distinct beginning or end, then time is a noncount noun.
Read this example:Time dragged as Simon sat through yet another boring chick flick with his girlfriend.Time = noncount because it has no specific beginning and, for poor Simon, no foreseeable end.
When time refers to a specific experience which starts at a certain moment and ends after a number of countable units [minutes, hours, days, etc.], then the noun is count.
Here is an example:
On his last trip to Disney World, Joe rode Space Mountain twenty-seven times.Times = count because a ride on Space Mountain is a measurable unit of experience, one that you can clock with a stopwatch.
Kobe Bryant uses a basketball (count noun)to play the game of basketball (noncount noun).