English/Parts of Speech/Nouns/Countability
| English Wikibook (edit) |
| General: Introduction - Grammar |
| Parts of speech: Nouns - Verbs - Adjectives - Adverbs - Pronouns - Conjunctions - Prepositions - Interjections |
| Parts of the sentence: Subjects - Predicates |
| Word functions: Subjects - Predicates - Direct Objects - Indirect Objects - Objects of the Preposition |
| Types of sentences: Simple Sentences - Complex Sentences |
| Types of Phrases: Adjective - Adverb - Noun |
| Types of Clauses: Adjective - Adverb - Noun |
| Other English topics: Gerunds - Idiomatic Phrases - Spelling - Vocabulary - Punctuation - Syntax - Appositives - Phonics - Pronunciation |
Countability is a very important idea about nouns. Some other ideas depend on countability.
- Count nouns are things that can be counted, like spoons, boys, and houses.
- We can say one spoon, two boys, and three houses.
- Non-count nouns are things that can not be counted, but they can be measured.
- We say: "a cup of milk", but not "3 milks".
- We say: "a pound of sugar", but not "25 sugars".
- We say: "a bucket of sand" but not "100 sands".
- Collective nouns are things that are the name of a group of things, like choirs, sets, and teams.
- A team is one group of people to play a game. Two teams are two groups of people to play a game.
- A school is the building and all the people who go to the school or work at the school.
You may go back to abstract nouns or go on to the next page on noun gender.