Counting Uncountable Nouns

Remember It

QuestionsHow much ....? = uncountable nouns

For example: How much coffee do you drink?

How many ....? = countable nouns

For example: How many cups of coffee do you drink?

Learn It How do you count uncountable nouns? You can't, but you can measure them. You have to use

‘counters’

Noun

UncountableSugar Jewellery Cheese Wine Furniture Money

Uncountable Question

How much sugar is there?

How much jewellery is there?

How much cheese is there?

How much wine is there?

How much furniture is there?

How much money is there?

AnswerThere's a lot of sugar.

There's some jewellery.

There's a lot of cheese.

There's some wine.

There's some furniture.

There's a lot of money.

Add a word bowl piece round bottle piece bag

Make it Countable

A bowl of sugar.

A piece of jewellery.

A round of cheese.

A bottle of wine.

A piece of furniture.

A bag of money.

Countable Question

How many bowls of sugar are there?

How many pieces of jewellery are there?

How many rounds of cheese are there?

How many bottles of wine are there?

How many pieces of furniture are there?

How many bags of money are there?

Answer

There's one bowl of sugar.

There are two pieces of jewellery.

There are three rounds of cheese.

There's only one bottle of

wine.

There are two pieces of furniture.

There are four bags of money.

Other words you can add to make uncountable nouns countable:-You can put something into a container to count it, but the thing you're counting doesn't take the plural form. The container takes the plural form:-

bag A bag of money.

barrel Two barrels of beer.

bottle Three bottles of wine.

bowl Four bowls of sugar.

box Five boxes of cereal.

bucket Six buckets of water.

can Seven cans of Coke.

carton Eight cartons of milk.

cup Nine cups of coffee.

glass Ten glasses of water.

jar Eleven jars of honey.

packet A dozen packets of butter.

a saucepan Thirteen pans of rice.

tank Fifteen tanks of petrol.

tin Sixteen tins of custard.

tub Seventeen tubs of margarine.

tube Eighteen tubes of toothpaste.

 

You can measure something to count it, but it still doesn't take the plural form. The measurement takes the plural form:-

For example:-

litre1 and a half litres of milk.

pint Two pints of beer.

pound / ounce / kilo etc... Two pounds / ounces / kilos of butter.

 

You can measure uncountable nouns in other ways, using shapes or portions. Again the measurement takes the plural form.

ballTen balls of wool.

barThree bars of soap.

pinchTwo pinches of salt.

sliceFive slices of cake.

spoonFourteen spoonfuls of sugar.

squareTen squares of chocolate.

Learn It

Some, AnyCountable Uncountable

There are some

people.cups.books.newspapers.chairs.shoes.Euros.

There is some

money.traffic.paper.time.coffee.food.

  Countable Uncountable

Statements:We can use some in positive sentences with plural countable nouns:-

We can use some in positive sentences with uncountable nouns:-

Positive:I read some books. I would like some coffee.

Countable Uncountable

There aren't any

people.cups.books.newspapers.chairs.shoes.Euros.

There isn't any

money.traffic.paper.time.coffee.food.

Statement:We can use any in negative sentences with plural countable nouns:-

We can use any in negative sentences with uncountable nouns:-

Negative:I don't read any books. I don't want any coffee.

Countable Uncountable

Are(n't) there any people?cups?

Is(n't) there any money?traffic?

books?newspapers?chairs?shoes?Euros?

paper?time?coffee?food?

Questions:

We can use any in questions with plural countable nouns:-

We can use any in questions with plural uncountable nouns:-

Positive Q:Are there any books? Do you need any coffee?

Negative Q:

Aren't there any books? Don't you need any coffee?

!Note! When you expect the answer to be "Yes." to an offer or polite request, you can ask a question using some.

  Countable Uncountable

Question:Can I have some books, please? Would you like some coffee?

A few, A little

There are a few

peoplecupsbooksnewspaperschairsshoesEuros

There is a little

moneytrafficpapertimecoffeefood

  Countable Uncountable

Statements:

Positive: "I meet a few people every day." "There is a little paper in the printer."

"I only have a few Euros." "I only have a little money."

Many, MuchThere aren't many people

cupsbooksnewspapers

There isn't much moneytrafficpapertimecoffee

chairsshoes food

  Countable Uncountable

Statements:

Negative:I don't read many books. I don't drink much coffee.

Questions:

Positive Q:Are there many books? Do you need much coffee?

Negative Q:Aren't there many books? Don't you need much coffee?

Sources of confusion with countable and uncountable nouns:

The notion of countable and uncountable can be confusing.

Some nouns can be countable or uncountable depending on their meaning. Usually a noun is uncountable when used in a general, abstract meaning (when you don't think of it as a separate object) and countable when used in a particular meaning (when you can think of it as a separate object).

For example:-

glass - Two glasses of water. (Countable) | A window made of glass. (Uncountable) | glasses - I wear glasses. (Always plural)

Some supposedly uncountable nouns can behave like countable nouns if we think of them as being in containers, or one of several types.

This is because 'containers' and 'types' can be counted.

Believe it or not each of these sentences is correct:-

Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two coffees a day. (Here coffees refers to the number of cups of coffee) You could write; "Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two cups of coffee a day."

The coffees I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian. (Here coffees refers to different types of coffee)You could write; "The types of coffee I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian."

some, any, much, many, a lot of, a few

Choose the correct answer:

1. Prague has got interesting old buildings.

2. Are there parks in your town?

3. You can find interesting museums in London.

4. There aren't street lamps in the village.

5. There weren't cheap places to stay in the city.

6. Is there traffic near your house?

7. There are restaurants in town, but not many.

8. There isn't pollution in the countryside.

Put the suitable word or words from the box in to the blanks below:

Amy : Mum, I’m hungry.

Mother: Do you want a Mediterranean Omelette?

Amy : Yes, and I want to learn how to make it.

Mother : Alright. Come on then – Let’s make one together.

Amy : Thanks , mum ! OK. I need ________ eggs, but ___________ do I need ?

Mother : Two . You also need a small onion, a small green pepper, a large tomato and butter, but there isn’t _________ butter in the refrigerator.

Amy : ___________ butter ?

Mother : About 25 grams.

Amy : Do I need ________ salt and pepper ?

Mother : Yes, you do .

Amy : Do I need _________ flour ?

Mother: No, you need _________ flour. We need _________ vegetables. We have _________ onions , _________ green peppers. There are __________ tomatoes but there aren’t __________ mushrooms. OK. It’s not problem.

Amy : Shall I cut them into pieces to help you , mum ?

Mother : Yes, thank you . Put __________ butter into the frying pan.

Amy : Do I put the vegetables in the frying pan now ?

Mother : Yes, fry them for about three minutes. OK. Break the eggs into a bowl. Add _________ salt and pepper. Good... now beat them well.... like that . Right. I think the vegetables are ready now, so add the eggs to the frying pan. It’s ready in __________ minutes.

Amy : Is it ready ?

Mother : Not yet. Turn the omelette over. Have we got _________ bread ?

Amy : No, there is _________ bread. Can I buy __________ ?

Mother : OK. Serve it with bread. It’s delicious.

Amy : I want to drink _________ coke with it . Unfortunatelly, we have _________ coke left. I’ll buy two cans of it.

Mother : It looks delicious and attractive.

 

Choose the best underlined word from each sentence:

I haven’t got much / many money today. I’ve got a few / a little fruit and a lot of / many vegetables . They don’t seem to have much / many free time these days.He has only read a few / a little chapters of that new book, but he likes it. A : Does he show much / many interest in sports ? B : Yes, a lot / a lot of . There aren’t many / much huge buildings and traffic problems in the small cities so there is no / any stress there.

Put some , any , a little , a few or , no into the blanks in the sentences :

A : How was your skiing weekend ?

B : Terrible ! There wasn’t _________ snow on the mountains.

A : Hurry up ! There is _________ time to waste. The bus will be here soon .

B : I’m really ready.

A : What would you like in your coffee ?

B: Just _________ sugar, please.

A : There are still _________ tickets left for the concert on Friday night.

B : Great . I’ll go and buy one now.

A : I bought _________ great books from the book-fair this afternoon.

B : Really ! Let me see them .