Difficulties With Countable Nouns

By Matthew, 15 October 2008 - 7:01pm
5
 
 
Contributing author(s): 
Johan
Grammar name (English): 
Countable Nouns

This language point explains the difficulties of countable nouns.

There are some difficult points with countable nouns. Sometimes it is difficult to know if a noun is countable or not.

Some nouns can be both countable and uncountable. Often the meaning is different when a word is used as a countable noun and when it is used as an uncountable noun.

Look at the table below:

Countable Countable Example Uncountable Example
Glass Could I have a glass of water, please. A window is made of glass.
Hair I found a hair in my soup. Her hair is beautiful.
Paper Can I get a paper, please? We should recycle paper.

At times, two nouns may seem very similar, but one is countable and one is uncountable. We may think that a noun is countable, but it is really uncountable.

Look at the table below:

Fruit Uncountable
Vegetable Countable
Broccoli Uncountable
Cucumber Countable

If you are unsure, it is best to look up the word in a dictionary. Remember that "Count Noun" means "Countable Noun" and "Mass Noun" means "Uncountable Noun".

Find online dictionary tips here | Learn more about countable nouns.