COUNT AND NON-COUNT NOUNS

A count noun is something we can count. It has a singular form and a plural form. ex: one book, three books; a leg, two legs; an apple, six apples; N.B. A singular count noun must have a Determiner .

A non-count noun is something we dont count. It has no plural form. We use quantifiers before non-count nouns: ex: fruit, some fruit; bread, a slice of bread; homework; a lot of homework; information, a little information

The following are non-count nouns:

Abstract nouns:
advice art beauty confidence courage crime education enjoyment experience fun grammar happiness education hate health help homework honesty hospitality importance information intelligence justice knowledge laughter life love luck music news noise nutrition patience patience pride progress slang time truth unemployment vocabulary work

Groups with individual parts

cash change clothing equipment food fruit furniture garbage

hardware homework jewelry junk junk luggage machinery mail

makeup money news postage research scenery slang traffic

Things with no definite form:

Liquids beer blood coffee cream gasoline honey juice milk

Gases air carbon monoxide fire fog hydrogen oxygen pollution smoke

Solids butter cheese cotton film flour glass ice ice cream

oil shampoo soup tea water wine

steam

meat powder salt soap sugar toothpaste wood wool

Things that have tiny parts too small to count

corn dirt dust

grass hair rice

salt sugar wheat

Natural phenomena

darkness dew electricity fire fog gravity

heat humidity light lightning rain

snow sunshine thunder weather wind

Ailments

cancer cholera flu

heart disease malaria polio

smallpox strep throat

Academic subjects

art biology chemistry economics engineering

history linguistics literature mathematics

music physics poetry psychology science

Languages

Russian, Spanish, French, etc.

Words that can be count and non-count

Food (non-count) chicken lamb liver

Animal or animal part (count) a chicken a lamb a liver

fish non-count wine food fruit meat education experience non-count glass (the material)

a fish count (means "a kind of ___") a wine, wines a food, foods a fruit, fruits a meat, meats an education an experience count a glass (something to put liquid in) a paper (a report or newspaper)

paper (the material)

an iron (for pressing clothes) a fire (one specific occurrence of fire)

iron (the metal) fire (the gas)

a time, times (a specific occurrence or period)

time (an abstract idea)

Determiners:

Articles:

Possessives:

Quantifiers:

a/an (indefinite) the (definite)

my our yours

some a few lots of

Demonstratives: this that these those

their her his its

several each every any most many all much no