Lesson 4Beginner

Countable vs Uncountable Nouns

What it means

Countable nouns are things you can count one by one: one apple, two apples. Uncountable nouns are things we see as a mass or an idea. We cannot count them directly, and they have no plural: water, rice, money, information, advice.

How to make it

Countable → use a/an with one: an egg, a chair
Countable plural → add -s / -es: eggs, boxes
Uncountable → no a/an and no -s: water, rice, sugar, furniture, information
Uncountable nouns take a singular verb: The information is useful.
To count an uncountable noun, add a unit: a glass of water, a bowl of rice, a piece of information, two cups of tea

When to use it

many / a few / how many + countable: How many eggs do we need? I have a few friends.
much / a little / how much + uncountable: How much sugar do you want in your tea? I have a little money.
a lot of / some + both: a lot of books, a lot of water, some eggs, some advice
Unit + uncountable: Could I have a glass of water, please?

Compare

a few apples → a little water
many books → much time
a chair → some furniture (or a piece of furniture)

Common mistakes

❌ Thank you for the informations. → ✅ Thank you for the information. (uncountable – no -s)
❌ She gave me an advice. → ✅ She gave me some advice / a piece of advice. (no a/an with uncountable nouns)
❌ How much eggs? → ✅ How many eggs? (eggs is countable)

💡 Tip: Try putting a number in front. "Two eggs" sounds fine → countable. "Two informations" sounds wrong → uncountable, so use a unit: two pieces of information.

Examples

Hover or tap a word to see its meaning · grammar

?
"eggs" is countable, so we use "how many".
?
"sugar" is uncountable, so we use "how much".
, ?
"a glass of" is a unit that makes uncountable "water" countable.
.
"information" is uncountable — never "informations".
💡 Wrong: "Thank you for the informations."

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