The use of nouns in English has many nuances. But do not lose heart: as you know, nothing is impossible for a person with intelligence! Let's learn how countable and uncountable nouns combine with articles and adjectives and how they form the plural.

Countable or uncountable?

To understand the difference between countable and uncountable nouns, you just need to try what they stand for.

Countable nouns denote things that exist as separate units. Usually we can perceive such objects with the help of the senses. For example: pen, car, wall, cat, sentence, building.

Uncountable nouns refer to things that cannot be counted or divided into parts. Usually such nouns denote abstract or collective concepts. For example: water, oil, joy, happiness, collaboration, attitude, development, interaction.

Keep in mind that countable nouns in English may be uncountable in other languages, and vice versa.

Plural formation

• I bought a car.
• Tom kicked the ball.
• Does he like this tall girl? No, Tom likes that girl of medium height.

• Jane likes water the flowers.
• Did you plant these trees? No, I planted those trees.

Uncountable

• The paper is white.
• This bread is going dry.
• Progress is inevitable.

Collective words

The use of nouns with collectives is presented in the form of a table. Some of them can be used in combination: manymore, manyfewer, muchmore, muchless.

Consider examples of the use of nouns with different collective words:

Calculated in singular

• Jane has online lessons every day.

Calculated in plural

• Today most ESL students choose online courses by skype.
• Tom tried a couple of online lessons by skype and was pleased with them.

Uncountable

• He likes to take some milk for breakfast.
• The engine was producing little power so was delivered for repair.

Now you know how to use countable and uncountable nouns with articles, collective words. In addition, you learned what are the exceptions and special rules in the formation of the plural of nouns in English.

This topic is often found in entrance exams and will be useful to you when.

In English, there are countable and uncountable. In short, countables can be counted with a finger, but uncountables cannot. In this article, we'll look at the difference between countable and uncountable nouns, as well as the cases where a noun can belong to both categories.

What are countable nouns

Countable nouns (countable nouns) denote objects, phenomena, concepts that can be counted in the speaker's mind. For example: egg (egg), house (house), suggestion (offer), minute (minute). Countable nouns in English can be used both in the singular and in:

I have a puppy. - I have puppy.

My sister has puppies. - My sister has puppies.

Other examples of countable nouns:

I have a few questions. - I have some questions.

There is an old tree in the valley. – In the valley there is an old wood.

May I have a donut?- May I donut?

take any umbrella you want. - Take any umbrella, what you want.

This is my sister's photo.- This is a photo my sister's.

As you can see, countable nouns are combined with words that are suitable specifically for “piece” and not abstract objects, for example, with the article: we can say “a donut”, which is literally perceived as “one donut”, the article itself is “a \an" already implies "pieceness", "separation" of the subject. We can say “a few questions” because questions are not solid, tangible objects, but still something that can be counted.

Uncountable nouns cannot be combined with such words.

What are uncountable nouns

Uncountable nouns(uncountable nouns) denote objects, substances, concepts that cannot be counted. These include the names of abstract concepts, substances, various masses, bulk materials and products, liquids: art- art, oil- oil, oil, salt- salt, tea- tea. Uncountable nouns are used only in the singular:

We ran out of sugar. - We're out of sugar.

Art is immortal. - Art immortal.

oil is flammable. - Oil flammable.

Other examples of uncountable nouns:

• Abstract concepts:

Kids have a lot of energy.- Children have many energy.

You can't stop progress.- Can't be stopped progress.

• liquids, loose bodies, Food:

I mean, food, when it comes to not one, say, stick of sausage, but sausage in general as a product.

I split milk.- I spilled milk.

This jar holds two pounds of sugar.- This jar holds two pounds Sahara.

My girlfriend doesn't eat meat.- My girlfriend doesn't eat. meat.

• Languages, games, academic disciplines

Sorry, amigo, I don't speak Spanish.“Sorry, amigo, I don’t say in Spanish.

I can't play volleyball.- I can't play volleyball.

We have chemistry now, and then math.- We have now chemistry, and then mathematics.

• Metals, Natural resources, gaseous substances

This pendant is made of iron and gold.– This pendant is made of gland and gold.

We don't have that much wood.- We don't have that much wood.

I couldn't see anything in the bathroom because of steam.– Nothing could be seen in the bathroom due to pair.

The list can be continued by adding, for example, natural phenomena(thunder - thunder), but I think that the general meaning is clear: uncountable nouns appear to us as something NOT "piece", as something that cannot be counted with a finger, as something generalized.

Uncountable nouns cannot be plural, cannot be combined with , meaning that we are talking about something separate, countable, and such pronouns as “a few” - a few. Although in a certain context, a word that is usually uncountable can become countable.

When an uncountable noun becomes a countable noun

Sometimes a noun is used as countable in one context and uncountable in another. For example, if we are talking about coffee in general, as a drink in general, then coffee is an uncountable noun:

Do you like coffee?- Do you like coffee?

If we are talking about coffee as a serving of a drink, meaning one cup or glass, then coffee is already a countable noun.

May I have a coffee, please? – Can I have a coffee, please? (Cup of coffee)

Note: in English it so happened that not every drink can be said “a + drink”, meaning a glass of drink. You can say “a coffee”, “a tea”, “a whiskey”, but they usually say about water “a glass of water” - a glass of water.

“A Piece of Advise” and other ways to make the uncountable countable

When it comes to a separate part, portion, element of something incalculable, well-established combinations are used. There is something similar in Russian. For example, when talking about “portion”, one unit of chocolate, we usually say “chocolate bar”, because chocolate is usually sold in the form of bars, the very phrase “chocolate bar” for us is something familiar, well-established, like “a cup of tea” or "piece of furniture" Here are some “portion” combinations in English:

• a bar of chocolate- chocolate bar
• a bar of soap- a piece of soap
• a loaf of bread- bun/loaf of bread
• a slice of pizza- a slice of pizza (slice - a piece cut off with a knife)
• a bottle of whiskey- a bottle of whiskey
• a cup of tea- Cup of tea
• a piece of furniture- piece of furniture
• a tube of toothpaste- tube of toothpaste

Separately, I will highlight:

• a piece of advice- advice

In English, the word "advice" (advice) is uncountable, so you cannot say "an advice".

Why is it necessary to divide nouns into countable and uncountable?

Which practical use because we know that “milk” is an uncountable noun and “table” is a countable one? The benefit is that sometimes the choice of a word to pair with a noun depends on whether the noun is countable or uncountable.

1. Articles.

If any is possible before a countable noun, then “a \ an” cannot be put before an uncountable noun, since it implies piecework.

There is a table in the room. - There is a table in the room.

It takes courage to follow your heart. “It takes courage to follow your heart.

2. Pronouns denoting quantity.

One can say about countable objects many but you can't say much. And vice versa. For us, this is strange, because both many and much in Russian mean “a lot”, and in Russian “many” is combined with both countable and uncountable nouns. In English, many is “a lot of countable”, and much is “a lot of uncountable”.

We don't have much time! We don't have much time!

I've never seen so many people. “I have never seen so many people.

She has many friends who have much power. She has many friends who have a lot of power.

Nouns are divided into countable and uncountable.

1. Countable nouns include the names of objects, objects and concepts, countable. They are used in the singular and plural, both with the indefinite and with definite article. For example:

a) subject: a pupil student(s) - five pupils five pupil(s); a table table - many tables many tables; an engineer engineer - engineers engineers.

b) Collective: a family family - families families, an army army - armies armies, a team team - ten teams ten teams.

2. Uncountable nouns include the names of substances and concepts that can't be counted. These include real and abstract (abstract) nouns. Uncountable nouns are used only in singular and are not used with indefinite article. When separating them from the category of substances or concepts, they are preceded by a definite article.

As a subject, they are used with a singular predicate and can be replaced by a singular pronoun (most often: it).

Uncountable nouns combine with pronouns much lot, little little, little some a few, some any any, any.

a) Real(materials; bulk, liquid, gaseous substances; foodstuffs): water water, bread bread, tea tea, wool wool, oil oil, air air.

b) abstract(actions, states, natural phenomena, feelings, etc.): life life, time time, music music, news news, cold cold, freedom freedom, bravery courage, sleep sleep, winter winter.

Cases of transition of nouns from the category of uncountable to countable

Many uncountable nouns become countable and are used with the corresponding articles in the following cases:

1. Real nouns are used to denote an object (or objects) from a given material or when the whole and its elements are denoted by the same word: hair hair - a hair hair.

A coal fell out of the fire.- A coal fell out of the fireplace.

The ground was as hard as stone. The earth was hard as stone.

The boy threw two stones into the water. The boy threw two stones into the water.

2. Real nouns are used to refer to different varieties and types of something or to refer to a portion of something that can, for example, be bought:

He made some tea. - He made tea.

This is an Indian tea. - This is one of the Indian teas.

I hate coffee. - I can't stand coffee.

He bought a coffee and a sandwich. He bought (a cup of) coffee and a sandwich.

3. Abstract nouns denote specific items or persons (to be specified):

My room is full of light. - My room is full of light.

We saw a light in the distance. - We saw a light in the distance.

Some of the uncountable nouns are almost never used as countable nouns, for example: freedom freedom, weather weather, news news, news, advice advice, progress success, money money.

4. If the ending -s (-es) is added to the stem of an uncountable noun, then it is usually converted to a countable noun, for example:

Uncountable noun:	Countable noun:
iron - iron	irons - shackles, chains
color - color	colors - banners
sugar - sugar	(two) sugars - (two) pieces of sugar
tin - tin, tin	tins - jars, canned goods
beauty - beauty	beauties - beauties
hair - hair	hairs - hairs

Note. In addition to the noun, the ending -s (-es) accepts only the verb-predicate in Present form Simple to agree with the subject in the 3rd person singular. numbers.

In other cases, the ending -s (-es) certainly indicates that we have a noun in front of us. For example, other parts of speech, such as adjectives, adverbs, etc., taking the ending -s, go into the category of a noun: yellows yolks, goods goods, whys reasons, ups and downs, ups and downs, etc.

We are accustomed to not paying attention to which category a noun belongs to. In English, everything is different. For example, some words that were uncountable, after adding the ending, not only become, but their meaning changes dramatically. But let's look at everything in order

With countable nouns, everything is more or less clear. They include everything that we are able to count. In the singular, the article a|an, the is used; in the plural, the zero article or the. With uncountable nouns, the situation is somewhat more complicated.

The main features of Uncountable nouns in English

• We never use them with the articles a\an, while they are freely used with the
• After them, there must be a verb in the required form according to the general scheme of the sentence.
• They are preceded by the words little, any, much, etc., and not just pronouns:

Flour is produced in many foreign counties - Flour is produced in many foreign countries

The latest news was good Latest news were good

Knowledge was his main weapon - Knowledge was his main weapon

Category of uncountable nouns: we study in more detail

Learning and remembering all nouns and their category separately is difficult and completely useless. How to determine which word is in front of you? Everything is very simple. In English, uncountable nouns include whole categories of concepts. For example, look at this list of uncountable nouns. There are many exceptions in English, but we will consider the basic rules.

solids, food	butter - butter (The butter is not tasty today - butter is not tasty today), spagetti - spaghetti (Italians adore spagetti but I don't - Italians love spaghetti, but I don't), coal - coal (The coal was used for healing - Coal was used as a medicine)
Liquids	water - water, blood - blood (The blood differs the water - Blood is not water). oil - oil (Give me some oil please, i'll bake something - Give me some oil, I'll bake something). coffee - coffee (If you like coffee you should try this one - If you like coffee, you should try this variety)
gases	pollution - pollution (The air pollution is caused by humanity - Air pollution is caused by humanity) smoke - smoke from cigarettes (When we entered the room we felt the smoke - When we entered the room, we smelled cigarette smoke). oxygen - oxygen (We need oxygen not only for breathing - We need oxygen not only for breathing)
Games	Chess (I don't like chess but adore droughts - I don't like chess, but I love checkers)
Languages ​​of the world	Greek(If you think that English is difficult try Greek or Chinese - If you think English is difficult, try to learn Greek or Chinese)
Diseases	flu - influenza She had flu a year ago - She had the flu a year ago
natural phenomena	darkness - darkness (All little children are afraid of darkness - All little children are afraid of the dark), heat - heat (If you like heat you should visit Malta - If you like heat, you definitely need to visit Malta), fog - fog (The fog and rain is what I dislike in England - Fog and rain is what I don't like in the UK), weather - weather, I don't like such a weather - I don't like this weather
Collective nouns	rubbish - garbage (There is a lot of rubbish after all the contests - After any event there is a lot of garbage), luggage - luggage (I lost my luggage twice! - I lost my luggage twice)
abstract nouns	behavior - behavior (Your behavior is awful - Your behavior is awful), information - information (If you need more information, ask Julie - If you need more information, ask Julie)
School subjects and scientific disciplines	Math - mathematics (Math is the Queen of all the subjects - Mathematics - the queen of sciences), history - history (History and geography are sisters - History and geography - sisters)

Those insidious nouns!

Since nouns are the oldest part of speech in English, they represent one of the most difficult topics for development. The problem is that an uncountable noun can easily change its category, and this needs to be monitored. For example, when concretizing with the addition of an article, not only the category changes, but the whole meaning. Below is a small table of uncountable nouns that change category and meaning:

I visited them a few times - I visited them several times

Time went by - Time has gone ...

Your life is worth fighting - Your life is worth fighting for

A life of the man was difficult - The life path of this man was thorny

If an uncountable noun is used to denote part of a whole, then it changes category and becomes countable, subject to the same rules. For example:

I like tea. Give me a tea - I love tea. Pour me a cup.

The wine is useful, would you like a wine? “Wine is good, would you like a glass?”

I’d like a coffee and a cake please - Please give me a cup of coffee and one cake.

He hated coffee - He hated coffee

He hated an Indian coffee - He hated Indian coffee

Added ending - changed category

When adding an ending to some nouns, they change their meaning and category. This transformation very clearly demonstrates the mechanism of word formation and the transition of one meaning to another. For example:

The color of her eyes was dark blue - She had dark blue eyes

They saw the king's colors and cheered him up - They saw the king's colors and began to greet him

Strike iron while hot - Strike the iron while it's hot

The irons were too heavy for the boy - The chains were too heavy for the boy

Articles with uncountable nouns

Both articles and uncountable nouns in English are difficult topics, to put it mildly. But nothing is impossible if there is a desire to learn and develop. Below we give a short list of rules with examples that will help you figure out how to use articles with uncountable nouns.

The article the is placed before real uncountable nouns if not the whole substance is meant, but a specific part. For example, in the following sentence it is clearly seen that the article serves to clarify the quantity.

I bought the bread at the supermarket - I bought a loaf of bread at the supermarket

Put the milk into my bag - Put the milk in the bag.

In this case, it refers to a bottle of milk that both the speaker and the listener are aware of.

The meat was too hot - The meat chop was too hot

Here the article also indicates that we are talking about a piece of meat, and not about the meat as a whole.

They won't ship the ore today - They won't ship the ore today

This proposal refers to a consignment of goods that, for one reason or another, cannot be loaded onto a ship.

Also, the article the is used with real nouns as a general rule. According to which it is put in the event that the object or substance has already been mentioned in the text and the listeners already know what it is about.

We bought some tea and some coffee. The tea was awful but the coffee was amazing. We bought tea and coffee. The tea was terrible, but the coffee was great.

I ordered some milk for my cat. They told me that the milk was spoiled. — I ordered milk for my cat, but they told me that the milk was spoiled.

That is, we see that in both examples, when the substance is mentioned again, the article the is put according to the general rule.

If an uncountable noun somehow stands out from the class of its own kind. That is also used with the article the.

The silk made by these worms is the best- The silk that this type of silkworm produces is the best.

The ore explored in Africa will help our industry

The stone used for this castle was delivered from Egypt - The stone that was used to build this castle was brought from Egypt.