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:

glass

bottle

water

milk

a cup of

tea

coffee

a spoonful of

sugar

salt

slice

piece

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.

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