Count vs Non-Count Nouns

many and much

Countable nouns are nouns you can count, and uncountable nouns are nouns you can't count. Countable nouns can take the singular or the plural form of a verb. Uncountable nouns always take the singular form of the verb.

What Are Countable Nouns?

Countable nouns are individual objects, people, places, etc. which can be counted. Nouns are considered content words meaning they provide people, things, places, and ideas. For example: an apple, a book, a government, a student, an island.

A countable noun can be both singular—a friend, a house, etc.—or plural—a few apples, lots of trees, etc.

Use the singular form of the verb with a singular countable noun:

There is a book on the table.
That student is excellent!

Use the plural form of the verb with a countable noun in the plural:

There are some students in the classroom.
Those houses are very big, aren't they?

What Are Uncountable Nouns?

Uncountable nouns are materials, concepts, information, etc. which are not individual objects and can not be counted. For example, words like information, water, understanding, wood, and cheese.

Uncountable nouns are always singular. Use the singular form of the verb with uncountable nouns:

There is some water in that pitcher.
That is the equipment we use for the project.
That is a lot of information.
The teacher gives too much homework!

NOTE:

Obviously, uncountable nouns (especially different types of food) have forms that express plural concepts. These measurements or containers are countable:

water - a glass of water
equipment - a piece of equipment
cheese - a slice of cheese

MUCH vs MANY

Here are some of the most common containers / quantity expressions for these uncountable nouns:

accommodation - a place to stay, a hotel
advice - a piece of advice, a suggestion, a recommendation
baggage - a piece of baggage
bread - a slice of bread, a loaf of bread
butter - a stick of butter
cheese - a slice, a chunk, or a piece of cheese
equipment - a piece of equipment
furniture - a piece of furniture
garbage - a piece of garbage, a bag of garbage, a bin of garbage
information - a piece of information, an idea
ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard - a bottle of, a tube of ketchup, etc.
knowledge - a fact
liquids (water, beer, wine, etc.) - a glass, a bottle, a jug of water, etc.
luggage - a piece of luggage, a bag, a suitcase
meat - a piece, a slice, a pound of meat
money - a note, a coin, a dollar
news - a piece of news, a news report
pasta - a plate of pasta, a serving of pasta
research - a piece of research, a research project
travel - a journey, a trip, a vacation
work - a job, a position

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Anglais pré-collégial © 2023 by Rebecca Peters, Cégep Édouard-Montpetit/Entente Canada-Québec is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/