In English, nouns can be countable or noncountablealso called uncountable. Knowing the difference helps you choose the right articles, quantifiers, and verb forms.
| Type | Form | Can you count it? | Articles/Quantifiers | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Countable | Singular & plural forms | ✅ Yes (one, two, three…) | a/an, many, a few, several, a number of | one apple, two apples |
| Noncountable | Usually no plural | ❌ No (use units/containers) | some, much, a little, a lot of, a piece of, a bottle of | some water; a piece of advice |
Use: Things we can count as individual items.
Use: Substances, abstract ideas, categories, or activities that we do not count individually.
| Unit / Container | Examples | Model sentence |
|---|---|---|
| a piece of | advice, furniture, news, paper | I got three pieces of advice. |
| a bottle/glass/cup of | water, juice, milk, tea, coffee | She drank a glass of water. |
| a loaf/bag of | bread, rice, flour | We bought two loaves of bread. |
| a bit of / a little (bit of) | salt, sugar, help, luck | Add a bit of salt. |
| For Countable | For Noncountable | Both |
|---|---|---|
| many, a few, few, several | much, a little, little | some, a lot of, lots of, plenty of, enough |
These nouns do not take -s in the plural: ❌ informations, ❌ advices, ❌ furnitures.
| Countable | Noncountable | Example sentences |
|---|---|---|
| a cake / cakes | cake (as a food) | We baked two cakes. / I ate some cake. |
| a hair / hairs | hair (on your head) | I found a hair on the table. / She has long hair. |
| a paper / papers | paper (material) | I read a paper. / This box is made of paper. |
| a coffee / coffees (cups) | coffee (drink in general) | Two coffees, please. / I like coffee. |