Count nouns are things you can count individually. They usually have singular and plural forms.
Examples:
– one book, two books
– one chair, three chairs
– one apple, five apples
These are often used with some sort of quantifier, or quantity word, to show how they are counted (e.g., “a pair of” pants, “two pairs of” pants, “some” pants).
Plural-only count nouns: scissors, trousers, binoculars, goggles, slippers etc
Usage Examples:
– a pair of scissors
– two pairs of trousers
– some goggles
a/an → a report, an idea
many/few → many employees, few meetings
these/those → these emails, those clients
s→ one boy, two boys
es→ one box, two boxes
Non-count nouns refer to things we cannot count individually. These have no plural form
and are often treated as mass or abstract concepts.
Common Noncount Categories & Examples:
Mass/Material: furniture, baggage, clothing, machinery
Substances: sand, oil, air, snow, salt
Food items: pasta, butter, tea, flour, cheese
Abstract ideas: freedom, wisdom, justice, love
Games/Sports: baseball, cricket, poker
Diseases: cancer, asthma, pneumonia
Subjects of study: chemistry, literature, math
Languages: French, German, Bengali
Activities (-ing form): painting, jogging, singing
❌ Do not use “a,” “an,” or “one” before them (they cannot be counted individually)
Incorrect: a money, an information
Correct: some money, a piece of information
❌ Do not add –s or –es to make them plural
Incorrect: furnitures, advices
Correct: furniture, advice
✔Always take singular verbs when used as the subject
Incorrect: Information are important.
Correct: Information is important.
✔ Use units or containers to express quantity
Examples:
a glass of water
a piece of furniture
a bottle of milk
two cups of rice
Some nouns can be both count and noncount, depending on how they are used.
Examples:
paper – Paper is expensive. / I bought three papers. (newspapers)
experience – She has experience in teaching. / I had two great experiences in Spain.
glass – Glass is fragile. / There are four glasses on the table.
chicken – Chicken is my favorite meat. / We saw five chickens on the farm.
time – Time flies quickly. / I’ve been there three times.
If you can say “one” or “a” before a noun—like one apple or a pencil—then it’s countable! But if “one money” or “a furniture” sounds weird (and it does!), then you’ve found a non-count noun.
And here’s the cool part: non-count nouns never go plural. Even if they end in -s (like news or mathematics), don’t be fooled – they still refer to something singular and uncountable.
Determiners and quantifiers are words that show how much or how many of something there is—like a, some, any, one, two, several, a lot of, and so on. Some are used only with count nouns, some only with non-count nouns, and a few can be used with both.
We can use these words to help identify whether a noun is countable or not—and vice versa. Just remember: quantifiers must match the type of noun and the context, as they express the specific amount or number involved in the sentence.
Examples:
Determiners used with both count and non-count nouns:
The, This, That, Any, Enough, All, A lot of, Plenty of, More, Most, Some
Examples:
· I have enough water to fill the container. (Non-count)
1.Several of Ernest Hemingway’s novel have inspired filmmakers. (None)
A b C D e
B is wrong.
❌ Incorrect — The noun “novel” should be plural.
✔ Corrected — Several of Ernest Hemingway’s novels have inspired filmmakers.
Explanation: Both the determiner “several of” and the plural verb “have” require a plural noun.
The following collective nouns for groups of animals are treated as singular:
Ex❌ Incorrect —The school of fish are swimming through the coral reef.
✔ Corrected —The school of fish is swimming through the coral reef.:
