70 Examples of Countable and Uncountable Nouns in English - encyclopedia

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Examples of countable nouns
Examples of uncountable nouns

The English nouns they are words that designate fixed entities. They differ from other words like adjectives (that indicate characteristics and properties of nouns) and of verbs (manifesting actions).

The countable nouns are those that can be considered in units. We can refer to one unit or several units, but the important thing is that each unit is distinguished as such.
The countable nouns they have a singular and a plural form.

For example, I can say that I have one friend or that I have three friends. The unit "friend" is present in reality and also as a concept.

“I have three friends.”/ I have three friends

Uncountable nouns are those that designate entities that do not have a unit, or that do not have a plural. For example, friendship is not an accounting thing that can be distinguished into units.

“We have a beautiful friendship.”/ We have a beautiful friendship.

To distinguish the concrete nouns of the abstract, you can try using a cardinal numeral adjective. If the phrase makes sense, it is a countable noun. For example:

We have two bottles of water. / We have two bottles of water. Bottles / bottles is a countable noun.
We have two waters. / We have two waters.

This sentence is not correct. Water / Water is an uncountable noun.

However, it is important to note that there is no unbreakable rule, as uncountable nouns can be used figuratively. In other words, uncountable nouns cannot be measured directly but through a unit of measurement, which in this case is “bottle” (bottle).

Some nouns are countable in one meaning while they are uncountable in another meaning. For example:

Time: meaning "once". Accountant. I already told you three times that you can't go to the party. / I already told you three times that you can't go to the party.
Time: means time. Uncountable. We haven't seen each other in a long time. / We haven't seen each other in a long time.

Both countable nouns and uncountable nouns can be:

Abstract: concepts that designate entities imperceptible by the senses but understandable through thought. Examples: intelligence (intelligence), love (love), idea (idea).
- Accountant: Opinion / Opinion. We want to discuss three different opinions. / We want to discuss three different opinions.
- Uncountable: Love / amor. She looked at him with love in her eyes. / She looked at him with love in her eyes.
Concrete: designate what is perceived through the senses. Examples: house (house), person (person) table (table).
- Accountant: Dog / Dog. They have three dogs in the house. / They have three dogs in the house.
- Uncountable: Rice / Rice. They feed them rice because it's cheap. / They give them rice because it is cheap.

Examples of countable nouns

Manzana / Apple. I had an apple for dessert. / I had an apple for dessert.
Grams / grams. Add eleven hundred grams of sugar to the preparation. / Add one hundred grams of sugar.
Leaf / Leaves. Two leaves fell from the tree. / Two leaves fell from the tree
Plane / plane. Two plans are leaving for Rio today. / Two planes leave for Rio today.
Piece / portion. They had two pieces of cake. / They ate two slices of cake.
Man / man. Three men came to see you. / Three men came to see him.
Window / window. The room has two windows. / The room has two windows.
Neighbor / neighbour. I know some of my neighbors. / I know some of my neighbors.
Floor / floor. That building has eight floors. / This building has eight floors.
Brush / Brush. There are two brushes in the box. / There are two brushes in the box.
Tiger / Tiger. I have a pictura of a tiger. / I have a photograph of a tiger.
Liter / Liter. You must drink two liters of water every day. / You should drink two liters of water every day.
Familia / Family. I have met many families in the neighborhood. / I have met many families in the neighborhood.
Thunder / Thunder. If you hear a thunder, it means it will start raining. / If you hear thunder, it means it will start to rain.
Student / Student. Those five students were punished. / Those five students were punished.
To put / meter. It’s two meters away. / It is two meters away.
Kilograms / kilograms. This month we bought one hundred kilograms of flour. / This month we buy 100 kilos of flour.
Song / song. I will learn a new song today. / Today I will learn a new song.
Chair / chair. They need to buy six chairs. / They need to buy six chairs.
Balloon / balloon. There were six balloons in the door. / There were six balloons on the door.
Shirt / Shirt. We will give his a shirt for his birthday. / We will give you a shirt for your birthday.
Week / Week. We’ll meet again in two weeks. / We will meet again in two weeks.
Slice / slice. I have two slices of bread for breakfast. / I eat two slices of bread for breakfast.
Ticket / entry. One ticket, please. / One ticket, please.
Kilometers / kilometres. We run five kilometers every day. / We run five kilometers every day.
Tooth / tooth. My son is just lost a tooth. / My son just lost a tooth.
Bottle / bottle. We’ll have a bottle of wine. / We will have a bottle of wine.
Tear / tear. He was holding back the tears. / He was holding back tears.
Plate / plate. We need four more plates. / We need four more plates.
Storm / storm. There were two storms this month. / There were two storms this month.

Examples of uncountable nouns

Oil / Oil. My mother uses too much oil when she cooks. My mother uses too much oil when she cooks.
Toilet / Water. Can I have some water, please? / Can I have some water, please?
Air / Air. We need some fresh air. / We need some fresh air.
Sugar / Sugar. I put two spoons on sugar in my coffee. / I put two tablespoons of sugar in my coffee.
Joy. The house was filled with joy with the arrival of the children.
Sees it / Love. Love is in the air. / love is in the air.
Pain / Pain. The wound caused him a lot of pain. / The wound caused him a lot of pain.
Sand / Sand. Take the sand off your shoes. / Remove the sand from your shoes.
Rice / Rice. I don't want any more rice. / I don't want any more rice.
Wood / Wood. The table is made of wood. / The table is made of wood.
Kindness / Kindness. I will always be grateful for your kindness. / I will always thank you for your kindness.
Coffee / Coffee. We always drink coffee together. / We always have coffee together.
Heat / Hot. With this heat, I hope we find a swimming pool. / In this heat, I hope we find a pool.
Meat / Meat. We bouth two kilograms of meat. / We buy two kilos of meat.
Food / Food. There’s not enought food for all of us. / There is not enough food for all of us.
Advice / Advice (unlike Spanish, in which advice it is accountable). Let me give you some advice. / Let me give you some tips.
Courage / Courage. They gave him a medal for his courage. / They gave him a medulla for his bravery.
Joy / Bliss. You could see the joy on his face. / His face showed his happiness.
Energy / Energy. I don't have a lot of energy on Mondays. / I don't have much energy on Mondays.
Gasoline / Gasoline. Gasoline is very expensive. / Gasoline is very expensive.
Smoke / Smoke. The room was full of smoke. / The room was full of smoke.
Information / information. This new information changes everything / This new information changes everything.
Juice / Juice. He always drinks a glass of juice in the morning. / Always drink a glass of juice in the morning.
Milk / Milk. Children should drink a lot of milk. / Children should drink lots of milk.
Rain / Rain. The rain is more frequent here. / Here the rain is more frequent.
Light / Light. There is very little light in this room.
Music / Music. He likes all kinds of music. / He likes all kinds of music.
Hate / hate. He felt so much hate he couldn’t hide it. / He felt so much hatred that he couldn't hide it.
Pride / Pride. His pride is stronger than his will. / His pride is stronger than his will.
Dust / Powder. The piano was covered in dust. / The piano was covered in dust.
Cheese / Cheese. I'll have another piece of cheese, please. / I'll have another slice of cheese, please.
Furniture / Furniture. I have to buy some furniture. / I have to buy some furniture.
Luck / luck. He doesn’t have a lot of luck. / He's not very lucky.
Soup / Soup. We love the soup they make here. / We love the soup they make here.
Torch / Tea. I’ll have some tea. / I'm going to have some tea.
Temperature / Temperature. The temperature is higher here than anywhere else. / The temperature is higher here than anywhere else.
Time / Weather. I can't wait a lot of time / I can't wait long.
Work / Job. I have a lot of work. I have a lot of work
Wind / Wind. There’s so much wind in this city. / There is so much wind in this city.
Wine / Wine. We serve all kinds of wine. / We serve all kinds of wines.