Count nouns are nouns you can easily count. They can be modified by a number, and they have both singular and plural forms.
Students from a local college recruited forty participants for the study.
We can describe count nouns using articles like the, a, or an. These little descriptors tell us if a noun is singular, plural, specific, or non-specific!
| Count Noun Number and Specificity | Article | Example |
| Non-specific singular |
a/an |
I think I might buy a bike. [any bike] |
| Specific singular |
the |
The hospital down the street is very modern. [a specific hospital] |
| Non-specific plural | no article! | Textbooks are not cheap. [all textbooks in general] |
| Specific plural | the | The substances listed in our proposal were all approved by Health Canada. [specific substances] |
For a detailed breakdown of article use, check out this awesome resource from the University of Waterloo.
Non-Count nouns (also known as mass nouns) can't be modified by a number and are treated as a unit as opposed to something with parts. Non-count nouns cannot be pluralized and cannot be used with the articles a/an.
The study contained information on how to support people experiencing pain.
Our company should consider alternatives to oil.
Many families had difficulty finding flour at the beginning of the pandemic.
| Category | Non-Count Noun Examples | Example Sentences |
| Ideas | Evidence, analysis, information, grammar, joy |
The paper requires additional evidence and analysis. You need to add some research to this report. |
| Foods | Flour, salt, milk, water, rice, quinoa |
Many vegetarians are morally opposed to consuming meat. The dinner comes with wine included. |
| Languages | French, English, Inuktitut | There were two students in my class who were fluent in both Italian and Hindi. |
| Materials | Iron, sand, wood, titanium | The table is made of wood. |
| Activities/Gerunds | Chess, golf, reading, dancing | Sleeping is an important part of my routine. |
| Grouped things | Trash, furniture, luggage, money | The furniture in this room is Rococo. |
| Weather | Sleet, snow, rain | Thunder shook the room. |
| Noun Type | Article | Examples |
| Non-specific Noncount Noun | no article! |
Integrity is essential for success. Time is an illusion. Congestion and traffic in Toronto is an ongoing problem. |
| Specific Noncount Noun | the |
The software required for this course was already paid for by the college. The homework assigned last week is due tomorrow. Our client was impressed by the publicity she received for her new film release. |
For a detailed breakdown of article use, check out this awesome resource from the University of Waterloo.
You can indicate the quantity of many non-count nouns by pairing them with a partitive, like the words piece, cup or bag.
I have a new piece of information that will fascinate you.
This room needs a new piece of furniture.
The class collected five bags of trash.
My new lawnmower requires less than a litre of gas to run.
You can check if a noun is both count and non-count or if it has multiple meanings (some count and some non-count) by using a learner's dictionary.
The word pain has both a count and non-count meaning.
The word time has multiple meanings, and one of those meanings (the time at which something occurs) can be used as either a count or noncount noun.
Memory, meaning the ability to remember things, can be used in both a countable and non-countable way.
If you are referring to types or discrete separate instances of a typically uncountable noun, you are using it in a countable sense.
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