One of the common aspects of the noun is the aspect of its count-ability. We can count some nouns on the basis of number or size, while we cannot, for some nouns. In this article, we are going to discuss exactly that – the definitions, examples, and example sentences of Countable and Uncountable Nouns.
Countable and Uncountable Nouns
Some nouns can be counted, and some cannot. Those nouns that we can count in number are known as countable nouns. The nouns that cannot be counted with a certain number are known as uncountable nouns.
Countable Nouns
Some examples of countable nouns are man, pen, dog, etc. Those nouns that can be counted in number will be categorized into this type.
The countable nouns come with the articles a/an or the measurements of quantification such as few/ many placed before the noun. For example,
- Here is a dog.
- A few people are gathered for the meeting.
- Many pencils are lying on the floor.
- In the forest, there lived an elephant.
- A few tigers are roaming in the night.
In all the above examples, we can count all the nouns. Even in examples like ‘few people’, ‘few tigers’, and ‘many pencils’, we can count them no matter how many.
Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns usually come with a singular verb as they are mostly abstract nouns. Let us take some examples.
- Rice
- Knowledge
- Tea
- Honey
- Love
- Evidence, etc.
All these examples can only be used as a singular. Secondly, while using uncountable nouns, ‘a lot of’, ‘much’, ‘some’ etc should be used to measure them. Some example sentences of uncountable nouns are as follows:
- Honey is a better alternative to sugar.
- He has a lot of money in his secret locker.
- Rice is a staple food in this country.
- Can you share some of that information with me?
- He wastes a lot of water when he takes a bath.
These are the various examples of Countable and Uncountable Nouns.
Nouns that are both Countable and Uncountable
Some nouns are classified into both Countable and Uncountable Nouns depending on the context. Some of them are given below
- He has a lot of hair on his body.
- There is a hair in the soup.
In the first example, the word ‘hair’ is an uncountable noun, and hence ‘a lot of’ is used. In the second example, we are talking about a single strand of hair and hence it is a countable noun, and ‘a’ is used before it.
Now let us see another example.
- I made some juice and put it in the fridge.
- The fluid container broke and The floor is filled with some juices.
In the first example, the juice in the fridge is an uncountable noun. In the second example, some juices mean a mixture of apple, orange, etc. which makes it a countable noun.
Also Read: Nouns – Definition, Classification, and Examples
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