Etiquetas

Countable Nouns / Uncountable Nouns

A noun can be countable or uncountable. Countable nouns can be "counted", they have a singular and plural form.

For example:
* A book, two books, threebooks .....
* An apple, two apples, three apples ....

Uncountable nouns cannot be counted, they are not separate objects. This means you cannot make them plural by adding -s, because they onlyhave a singular form. It also means that they do not take a/an or a number in front of them. Often they are things in liquid or mass form or abstract ideas.
For example:
*
* Water
* Work* Information
* Coffee
* Sand

Countable
(use a/an or a number in front of countable nouns) | Uncountable
(there is no a/an or number with uncountable nouns) |
An Apple / 1 Apple |Rice |
I eat an apple every day. | I eat rice every day. (not I eat a rice every day.) |
Add (s) to make a countable noun plural | There is no plural form for an uncountable noun |
apples | rice|
I eat an apple every day. Apples are good for you. | I eat rice every day. Rice is good for you. |
A computer= Computers are fun. | To make uncountable nouns countable add a counting word, suchas a unit of measurement, or the general word piece. We use the form "a ....... of ......." |
An elephant=Elephants are large. | Rice=a grain of rice |
  | Water=a glass of water |
  | Rain=adrop of rain |
  | Music=a piece of music |
You can use some and any with countable nouns.
Some dogs can be dangerous.
I don't use any computers at work. | You can use some and any withuncountable nouns.
I usually drink some wine with my meal.
I don't usually drink any water with my wine. |
You only use many and few with plural countable nouns. 
Too many elephants are an endangeredspecies.
There are few elephants in England. | You only use much and little with uncountable nouns.
I don't usually drink much coffee.
I drink little wine at night. |
You can use a lot of with...