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Count & Non-Count Nouns

March 10, 2016

Early on, English students learn that plural nouns end in -s and singular nouns need an article such as a, an, or the. When students realize that some nouns (e.g., collective, mass, abstract, etc.) don’t end in -s or don’t need an article, they are understandably worried about how to recognize these types of nouns. Giving students a list of categories of uncountable nouns can ease their minds and help them remember when to use articles or add -s. Scroll down for a handy list and teaching tips!

Count Nouns

Count (or countable) nouns are people, places, or things that you can easily number (e.g., one apple, two apples). Singular and plural count nouns follow common rules. Singular count nouns are preceded by an article (a/an/the), a quantifier, a possessive adjective, or a number and are followed by a singular verb, while plural count nouns take the (never a or an), a quantifier, a possessive pronoun, a number, or no article and a plural verb.

  • A friend is a gift.
  • Two friends are better than one.
  • The car in the driveway has pink tires.
  • Dogs enjoy going for walks.

Non-Count Nouns

Non-count (or uncountable) nouns are things you can’t count because they’re abstract (i.e., you can’t see them), part of a group, or too small to count. Non-count nouns follow specific rules. They never use a number or a general article such as a or an (though they can be preceded by a specific determiner such as the, a quantifier, or a possessive adjective), never end in -s, and must be followed by a singular verb.

  • Rice is part of most Japanese meals.
  • Faith gives people hope.
  • The snow was piled high this morning.
  • My furniture looks dusty.

Categories of Non-Count Nouns

Screenshot of Non-Count Nouns resource

Grammar & Usage Resources – Non‑Count Nouns

Exceptions

Certain non‑count nouns end in -s, such as news or school subjects (physics, mathematics), but they still follow most of the rules for non‑count nouns. They are never preceded by a number or a/an, and they must be followed by a singular verb. Remind students that we can’t count these words (we can’t say one new, two news or one physic, two physics).

  • The news brings information to people all over the world.
  • Physics is a difficult subject.

Practice

Put these tips and chart to the test in our Grammar Practice Worksheets lesson on Count & Non‑Count Nouns.

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Comments (12)

Geraldine J.(Teacher)

Hello - in the second example above, '2 friends are better than 1', is this a 'plural countable noun'? There is a number preceding the noun - could you clarify this please?
Thanks in advance

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Tanya Trusler(Author)

Hi Gerry,

Thanks a lot for your comment. Yes, “friends” is a plural countable noun. I realize now that my previous explanation was unclear because I didn’t list all the determiners that are possible with plural count nouns. I’ve reworded the text to the following:

“Singular count nouns are preceded by an article (a/an/the), a quantifier, a possessive adjective, or a number and are followed by a singular verb, while plural count nouns take the (never a or an), a quantifier, a possessive pronoun, a number, or no article and a plural verb.”

I appreciate you bringing this to my attention! Thanks.

akash (Guest)

is the word thr recipe count or non count noun?

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Tanya Trusler(Author)

It's a count noun. For example, you could say 'I loved the cookies and brownies you brought to the picnic. Can I get the recipes?'

Jeannie R.(Teacher)

Articles are so important for English Learners because they are not going to learn this concept in another setting, and because using these little words in everyday language helps students sound more fluent. Replying to your comment above. “Singular count nouns are preceded by an article (a/an/the), a quantifier..."
When I teach this concept early on, I teach students about articles, I may say the word determiner, but I don't go into a lot of detail. Later, when they are mastering the use of articles with a singular noun, then I introduce determiners which is a natural segue because most students can say "my iPhone!" :)

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Tanya Trusler(Author)

Hi Jeannie, thanks for sharing your insights. It can be a fine line knowing what to include in a "rule" and when. Sometimes it is best not to overwhelm our students with too much at once, so I like your suggestion. I give the more complete rule if I think my students can handle it or introduce one thing at a time if I think they can't. I find it often depends on the class.

Jeannie R.(Teacher)

Also, sharing a teaching tip:
I make a ridiculous show of naming articles in particular as noun markers. I actually fling my finger in the air and say, "Bing! Here comes a noun!" I did this even when I taught native speakers. It just helps students id what is a noun and then answer the question what is that noun doing? (Subject, object?)

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    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Great tip, Jeannie! Thanks again for sharing your insights. I love tips like this that usually make students laugh, which definitely helps with engagement and retention!

    Nationalities Esl N.(Teacher)

    Are there are times when the distinction between count and noncount depends on the context in which you use a noun?

    For example, my students were trying to decide if "salmon" is count or noncount in the context of making a grocery list. I said it was non-count, sort of like beef or meat. I don't say, "I bought many salmons;" I have to quantify it by saying "many fillets of salmon" or something like that. But one of my students asked, "what about when there are many fish swimming?" I wasn't sure how to respond. I could say "there are many salmon swimming upstream." The connotation is that there are many individual, countable fish, which makes me feel like, in the context of live fish, salmon is a count noun?

    I wasn't sure how to respond here in a way that wouldn't overwhelm students...

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    This is a great question that doesn't have an easy answer for our students! Your explanation was great. When talking about food, we would normally use the noun in an uncountable form (e.g., I had salmon and chicken for dinner). When talking about animals, we would normally use the noun in a countable form (e.g., I caught two salmon / I have five chickens in my henhouse). Unfortunately, some nouns are count, like chicken, in the animal form, while some remain non-count (salmon, fish, deer, etc.). This gets even more complicated when we talk about types of an animal. For example, you could say "There are five fish in my pond" (five fish total) or "There are five fishes in my pond" (five types of fish). I found a good explanation that you could share with your students here: https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/eb/qa/Using-Fish-as-Singular-and-Plural#:~:text=There%20are%20many%20different%20fishes,the%20fishes%20of%20the%20sea.

    As for the verb that follows, usually we are thinking of the animals as individuals, so a plural verb sounds more natural. For example, we'd usually say "The fish in Hawaii are colorful" for animals (and "Fish is delicious" for food).

    In summary, here are some rules you could share with students (though there are exceptions, of course!):
    - Food non-count nouns usually have no -s ending and take a singular verb.
    - Animal non-count nouns usually take a plural verb.
    - Animal non-count nouns usually have no -s ending, but they can for different types. (Food non-count nouns can sometimes do this too, though it's less common, I'd say. For example, "Various meats were served at the Brazilian restaurant.")

    Teacher B.(Teacher)

    Why do some people (BrE mainly) say maths?

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    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi there, if I had to guess, it's just another way to abbreviate the word "mathematics." Here in Canada and in the US, we use the first four letters, but in the UK they include the -s from the end of the word as well.

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