Nouns can be countable and uncountable in nature. Here, on this page, you find the difference between countable nouns and uncountable nouns.

What is a countable noun?

Countable nouns are the nouns that can be counted.

Example: student, cat, pet, house, dog, man, holiday, bottle.

They usually have a singular and plural form.

Example

Singular countable nouns are usually known by the articles ‘a’ and ‘an’

Example

What is an uncountable noun?

Uncountable nouns are, on the other hand, are the nouns that cannot be counted. They are also known as mass nouns. They have only singular forms and no plural forms. These nouns are considered as a whole thing rather than as part. Most of the abstract nouns are considered uncountable.

Example: money, air, water, milk, flour, snow, luggage, happiness, truth.

Examples of the uncountable noun (singular form)

In some cases, some uncountable nouns can be considered as a countable noun. It depends on the context of the noun.

Example:

She will have two teas. (two teas = 2 cups of tea)

There are two hairs in the bathtub. Both are short.

Words that are used with countable and uncountable nouns.