Count Nouns vs. Non-Count Nouns
Count nouns: can be counted as one or more.
- pen, computer, bottle, spoon, desk, cup, television, chair, shoe, finger, flower, camera, stick, balloon, book, table, comb, etc.
Take an s to form the plural.
- pens, computers, bottles, spoons, desks, cups, televisions, chairs, shoes, fingers, flowers, cameras, sticks, balloons, books, tables, combs, etc.
Work with expressions such as (a few, few, many, some, every, each, these, and the number of).
- a few pens, a few computers, many bottles, some spoons, every desk, each cup, these televisions, the number of chairs, a few shoes, a few fingers, many flowers, some cameras, every stick, each balloon, these books, the number of tables, many combs, etc.
Work with appropriate articles (a, an, or the).
- a pen, the computer, a bottle, the spoon, a desk, the cup, a television, the chair, a shoe, the finger, a flower, the camera, a stick, the balloon, a book, the table, a comb, etc.
Do NOT work with much (for example, you would never say much pens or much computers).
Non-count nouns: cannot be counted. They usually express a group or a type.
- water, wood, ice, air, oxygen, English, Spanish, traffic, furniture, milk, wine, sugar, rice, meat, flour, soccer, sunshine, etc.
Generally cannot be pluralised.
Work both with and without an article (a, an, or the), depending on the context of the sentence.
- Sugar is sweet.
- The sunshine is beautiful.
- I drink milk.
- He eats rice.
- We watch soccer together.
- The wood is burning.
Work with expressions such as (some, any, enough, this, that, and much).
- We ate some rice and milk.
- I hope to see some sunshine today.
- This meat is good.
- She does not speak much Spanish.
- Do you see any traffic on the road?
- That table is very old.
Do NOT work with expressions such as (these, those, every, each, either, or neither).