Count and Non-Count Nouns

Reflect for a moment on the use of the nouns in the following sentences:

• I have many pens, but not much ink.
• I have a few coins, but only a little money.

Count nouns are things that we count. Examples are pens, coins, chairs, tables, books, cups, and pencils. Count nouns have singular and plural forms. We use a /an or one with the singular form. In the plural, we add an –s to the noun, preceded by a number, or one of the following: some, a lot of, many, a few.

Most nouns are count nouns. Some nouns can be either count or noncount, as in food/foods, meat/meats, bread/breads, etc. The change in countability depends on the context. There is a significant difference between ordering some chicken and ordering a chicken.

Noncount nouns are things that we usually don’t count and they do not have a plural form. Examples are ink, money, water, rice, sugar, coffee, meat, furniture, homework, and weather. If we want to express multiples, we say a lot of, some, much, a little, or bottles of water, grains of rice, packets of sugar, etc. 

• I have many pens (count), but not much ink (noncount).
• I have a few coins (count), but only a little money (noncount).

Countability causes problems for many English language learners whose languages do not have such categories. Or, if their language has count and noncount nouns, those nouns may be in different categories! For instance, the word for homework, a noncount word in English, is les devoirs in French. The French word is a count noun, used in the plural form when referring to homework.

The use of count versus noncount nouns is difficult for all learners at all levels of proficiency. Some student errors may result from transfer issues from their first language, as in the French example given above, but other errors simply stem from the challenge of mastering this grammar point. 

Activities that help students practice this grammar point are more meaningful if they have a real-life context. For example, as part of a food unit, make a grocery shopping list and then circle the items that are noncount, or sort the pictures or words into two groups.