Countable and Uncountable Nouns Explained for ESL

Nouns are words that represent things, places, ideas, or people. For example, computer, Tom, Seattle, history are all nouns. Nouns are parts of speech which can be both countable and uncountable.

Countable Nouns

A countable noun is something you can count such as apples, books, cars, etc. Here are some sentences using countable nouns:

How many apples are on the table?
She has two cars and two bicycles.
I don't have any books on this shelf.

Uncountable Nouns

An uncountable noun is something you can't count such as information, wine, or cheese. Here are some sentences using uncountable nouns:

How much time does it take to go to the station?
Sheila doesn't have a lot of money.
The boys enjoy eating cake.

Uncountable nouns are often liquids or items that are difficult to count such as rice and pasta. Uncountable nouns are also often concepts such as honesty, pride, and sadness. 

How much rice do we have at home?
She doesn't have much pride in her country.
We bought some past for lunch.

Nouns That Are Both Countable and Uncountable

Some nouns can be both countable and uncountable such as "fish" because it can mean the meat of the fish or an individual fish. This is true with words like "chicken" and "turkey" as well.

I bought some fish for dinner the other day. (meat of the fish, uncountable)
My brother caught two fish last week at the lake. (individual fish, countable)

Test Your Knowledge

Check your understanding of common countable and uncountable nouns with this short quiz:

Are the following words countable or uncountable?

1. car
2. wine 
3. happiness 
4. orange 
5. sand 
6. book
7. sugar 

Answers:

1. countable
2. uncountable
3. uncountable
4. countable
5. uncountable
6. countable
7. uncountable

When to Use A, An, or Some

• Use "a" with objects we can count that begin with a consonant like a book, a car, or a house.
• Use "some" with objects we cannot count like some milk, some time, or some pasta.
• Use "an" with objects we can count that begin with a vowel like an orange, an ocean, or an eternity.

Test your knowledge with this exercise. Do we use a, an or some for these words?

1. book 
2. wine
3. rice 
4. apple 
5. music 
6. tomato 
7. rain 
8. CD
9. egg 
10. food 

Answers:

1. a
2. some
3. some
4. an
5. some
6. a
7. some
8. a
9. an
10. some

When to Use Much and Many

The use of "much" and "many" depends on whether a word is countable or uncountable. "Much" is used with a singular verb for uncountable objects. Use "much" in questions and negative sentences. Use "some" or "a lot of" in positive sentences.

How much time do you have this afternoon?
I don't have much fun at parties.
Jennifer has a lot of good sense.

"Many" is used with countable objects with a plural verb conjugation. "Man" is used in questions and negative sentences. "Many" can be used in positive questions, but is more common to use "some" or "a lot of."

How many people are coming to the party?
She doesn't have many answers.
Jack has many friends in Chicago.

Test your knowledge. Complete the questions and sentences "some," "a lot of," "much," or "many."

1. How ____ money do you have?
2. I don't have ____ friends in Los Angeles.
3. How ____ people live in your city?
4. She wants _____ time off work this month.
5. How____does that book cost?
6. They don't have ______ time this afternoon.
7. How ____ rice is there?
8. I would like to have _____ wine, please.
9. How ____ apples are there in the basket?
10. Peter bought ______ glasses at the store.
11. How ____ gas do we need?
12. He doesn't have _____ rice on his plate.
13. How ____ children are in the class?
14. Jason has _____ friends in Miami.
15. How ____ teachers do you have?

Answers:

1. much
2. many
3. many
4. some 
5. much
6. much
7. much
8. some, a lot of
9. many
10. some, a lot of, many
11. much
12. much, a lot of
13. many
14. many, some, a lot of
15. many

Here are some final tips to help you understand how to use "how much" and "how many."

Use "how many" for questions using countable or plural objects.

How many books do you have?

Use "how much" for questions using a non-countable or singular object.

How much juice is left?

Use "how much" for questions asking about one object.

How much does the book cost?

Test your knowledge of what you have learned on this page. Take the "Much or Many?" quiz!