So far in this post, we have seen certain classifications of noun. In this post we will review the classification of nouns into countable or un-countable nouns. This classification is important because it governs use of certain adjectives with these nouns as covered below in this post.
What is Countable Noun?
A countable noun is a word that can be counted and has a plural form. For example:
- The word ‘onion’ is a countable noun because :
- It can be counted as one onion, two onions, three onions etc.
- It has a plural form (onions)
- The word ‘person’ is a countable noun because :
- It can be counted as one person, two persons, three persons etc.
- It has a plural form (persons)
By the same reasoning as above, words such as ‘thing’, ‘job’, ‘coin’, ‘story’ etc. are Countable Nouns.
What is an un-countable Noun?
An un-countable noun is a word that cannot be counted and that usually does not have a plural form. For example:
- The word ‘garlic’ is a non-countable noun because :
- It cannot be counted as one garlic, two garlics, three garlics etc.
- It does not have a plural form (garlics)
- The word ‘knowledge’ is a non- countable noun because :
- It can be counted as one knowledge, two knowledge, three knowledge etc.
- It does not have a plural form (knowledges)
By the same reasoning as above, words such as ‘stuff’, ‘furniture’, ‘money’, ‘rice’, ‘anger’ etc. are non-countable nouns.
How can I determine if a noun is countable or un-countable?
A word is a countable noun if:
- It can be counted as 1 word, 2 words, 3 words
- It has a plural form
A word is an un-countable noun if
- It cannot be counted as 1 word, 2 words, 3 words
- It does not have a plural form
What adjectives can be used with countable and un-countable nouns?
Quantity adjectives such as ‘few’, ‘number’ etc. can only be used with countable nouns. For example:
- You can say ‘few songs’ because here ‘songs’ is a countable noun; but you can’t say ‘few music’ because ‘music’ is a non-countable noun.
- Similarly you can say ‘number of songs’; but you can’t say ‘number of music’ !!
Quantity adjectives such as ‘less’, ‘amount’ etc. can only be used with countable nouns. For example
- You can say ‘less music’ because here ‘music’ is uncountable noun; but you can’t say ‘less songs’ because songs is a countable noun and ‘less’ cannot be used with countable nouns.
- Similarly the expression ‘amount of music’ is correct; while the expression ‘amount of songs’ is incorrect idiomatic usage.
Where can I find more information?
Such usage of quantity adjectives with nouns falls under idiomatic usage. This concept is covered in detail in the concept file titled “Idioms – Quantities” in the e-GMAT Sentence Correction course.
