Countable and uncountable nouns: Rules & examples

Do you know how to use a, some, any, much, and many? Enhance your knowledge with a lesson given below and the grammar explanation to guide you better.

Check out these examples to see how countable and uncountable nouns are used in sentences:

• I'm reading a book.

• There's some water in the fridge.

• Do we have any apples?

• How many people are coming to the event?

• How much sugar do you need for the recipe?

Grammar explanation - Nouns: countable and uncountable

Nouns can be either countable or uncountable. Countable nouns are things you can count, like one apple, two apples, three apples. Uncountable nouns are things you can't count, like air, rice, water. When learning a new noun, it's important to check if it's countable or uncountable and see how it's used in a sentence.

1. Countable nouns

In positive sentences, we use a/an for singular nouns and some for plural nouns.

• There's a cat in the garden.

• I have some books on my shelf.

In negative sentences, we use a/an for singular nouns and any for plural nouns.

• I don’t have a bicycle.

• There aren't any tickets left.

2. Uncountable nouns

Here are some examples of uncountable nouns:

• flour

• tea

• knowledge

• equipment

We use some with uncountable nouns in positive sentences and any in negatives.

• There's some sugar on the counter.

• There isn't any juice left.

3. Questions In questions, we use a/an, any, or how many with countable nouns.

• Is there a pen I can borrow?

• Are there any sandwiches?

• How many tickets do we have?

For uncountable nouns, we use any or how much.

• Is there any milk in the fridge?

• How much butter do you need?

When offering or requesting something, we often use some.

• Would you like some tea?

• Can we get some more napkins, please?

• We also use some in a question when we expect the answer to be 'yes'.

• Did you buy some new shoes?

4. Other expressions of quantity

A lot of (or lots of) can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.

• There are lots of birds in the park.

• There's a lot of rain today.

We don't usually use many or much in positive sentences; instead, we use a lot of.

• She has a lot of homework.

However, in negative sentences, we use not many with countable nouns and not much with uncountable nouns.

• There are lots of oranges, but not many bananas.

• There's a lot of milk, but not much water.

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