Countable and Uncountable Nouns in English for Smart Kids and Teachers Online classes with Pictures
Countable and uncountable nouns
It’s important to distinguish between countable and uncountable nouns in English because their usage is different in regards to both determiners and verbs.
Countable nouns
Countable nouns are for things we can count using numbers. They have a singular and a plural form. The singular form can use the determiner “a“ or “an“. If you want to ask about the quantity of a countable noun, you ask “How many?“ combined with the plural countable noun.
Singular Plural
one dog two dogs
one horse two horses
one man two men
one idea two ideas
one shop two shops
Examples
She has three dogs.
I own a house.
I would like two books please.
How many friends do you have?
Uncountable nouns
Uncountable nouns are for the things that we cannot count with numbers. They may be the names for abstract ideas or qualities or for physical objects that are too small or too amorphous to be counted (liquids, powders, gases, etc.). Uncountable nouns are used with a singular verb. They usually do not have a p