Countable Nouns
Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable nouns:
* dog, cat, animal, man, person
* bottle, box, litre
* coin, note, dollar
* cup, plate, fork
* table, chair, suitcase, bag
Countable nouns can be singular or plural:
* My dog is playing.
* My dogs are hungry.
We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:
* A dog is an animal.
When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:
* I want an orange. (not I want orange.)
* Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)
When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:
* I like oranges.
* Bottles can break.
We can use some and any with countable nouns:
* I've got some dollars.
* Have you got any pens?
We can use a few and many with countable nouns:
* I've got a few dollars.
* I haven't got many pens.
Uncountable nouns are those that have only one form and we cannot count them.
water rain petrol bread meat golf tennis
We do not use a or one, two, three etc, before uncountable nouns.
We'll give a list of common uncoutable nouns, and some of the words we use in front of them:
a glass
bottle
of water
milk
a cup of tea
coffee
a spoonful of sugar
salt
a slice
piece
of bread
cheese
ham
cake
We can use some with all these words. We also use grams/kilos/litres etc. in shops:
Can I have three litres of milk, please?
* Some nouns can be countable or uncountable:
UNCOUNTABLE:
I like coffee.
My hair is blonde.
I haven't got time.
I always have sugar in my tea,
COUNTABLE:
I'll have two coffees, please (cups of coffee)
There's a hair in my tea
We had a good time.
Three sugars in my milk, please.