Count and Non-Count Nouns
Count
Count nouns refer to people, places, or things that can be counted. They can be made plural, usually by adding -s or -es at the end. Here is a chart of some Count Nouns, the categories in which they fit, and their singular and plural forms.
| Persons | Places | Things | |||
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural |
| boy teacher janitor assistant president student athlete secretary duchess |
boys teachers janitors assistants presidents students athletes secretaries duchesses |
shop restaurant field area office station laboratory post office zoo |
shops restaurants fields areas offices stations laboratories post offices zoos |
watch hose lawn mower computer disk table knife penny handout staple |
watches hoses lawn mowers computer disks tables knives pennies handouts staples |
Non-Count
Non-Count nouns are used to describe a quality, action, thing or substance that can be poured or measured. They also refer to a whole category made up of different varieties or a whole group of things that is made up of many individual parts. They do not have a plural form. Here are some examples of Non-Count Nouns, and the categories in which they fit.
| Poured / Measured | Qualities | Actions |
| shampoo milk sugar paint |
friendliness honesty integrity reliability |
signing / to sign standing / to stand running / to run driving / to drive |
Here is a chart of individual items within a category (the count nouns), and the name of the category (the non-count nouns).
| Count |
Non-Count |
| Items in Category |
Head of Category |
| strawberries bananas peaches apples |
fruit |
| televisions posters tables chairs |
stuff |
| secretaries assistants computer aides librarians |
staff |
| pants shirts shorts socks |
clothing |
| automobiles trains planes bicycles |
transportation |
| history professors sociology teachers art instructors |
faculty |
Examples
Some nouns, like the word time, can be used as either a count noun, or a non-count noun.
| How much time did it take for you to drive to school? | This is a non-count noun, because it refers to a category that contains smaller items (think of it as a "group" of minutes). |
| How many times did you take the test before you passed? | This is a count noun, because you can count exactly how many separate times you took the test. |
Here are some other nouns that can be used as both count and non-count nouns:
| Used as a Count Noun | Used as a Non-Count Noun | |
| beauty | Miss Gallaudet is a beauty. | Other students envied her beauty. |
| fire | Will you please light a fire in the fireplace? | John Doe's home was destroyed by fire. |
| death | They had a death in the family. | Death is a tragic thing. |
| gossip | Susan is a gossip. | Gossip can destroy people's reputations. |
| foods | Supermarkets have aisles for different foods. | The animals at the zoo wanted food. |
The Much and Many Rule:
- Many is used with count nouns
- Much is used with non-count nouns
| Count Nouns | Non-Count Nouns |
| How many papers do you have to write? | How much homework did you have last night? |
| There were too many books required for that class. | I had to read so much literature for my English class. |
If you're still not sure how to identify non-count nouns and count nouns, you can look them up in the dictionary.
Longman's Dictionary
- n for countable
- n[U] for uncountable
- n[C] for both countable and uncountable.
Newbury House English Learner's Dictionary
- N COUNT for countable nouns
- N UNCOUNT for uncountable nouns.
Developed by Ellen Beck, Rachel Mingo and
Nelson Treece for English Works! 1997.
