Countable and Non-Countable Nouns
MEANING OF NOUNS
There are two kinds of nouns in English:
Countable Nouns can be singular or plural
Singular countable nouns can be used with a / an
Plural Countable Nouns can be regular or irregular
Regular nouns can be made into a plural add -s. Do not use a or an before a plural
Irregular nouns do not take -s in the plural form. Some change spelling
– Non-Countable Nouns – objects seen as one thing (clothing, water, air)
INDEFINITE ARTICLES WITH SINGULAR COUNTABLE NOUNS
Count nouns can be singular or plural.
| a | an |
|---|---|
| a flower
a book a car |
an hour
an orange an elephant |
| A is used before a word starting with a consonant sound. | An is used before a word starting with a vowel sound. |
SPELLING OF REGULAR PLURAL COUNTABLE NOUNS
Plural count nouns can be regular or irregular. Add -s to most regular count nouns. Do not use a or an before a plural noun.
| If the nouns ends in: | ||
|---|---|---|
| consonant + y | change y to i, add -es | city – cities ferry – ferries |
| consonant + o | add -es | potato – potatoes tomato – tomatoes |
| fe or f | change f to v, add -es | life – lives knife – knives |
| sh, ch, ss, x, z | add -es | class – classes watch – watches |
IRREGULAR PLURAL NOUNS
Some nouns use s for the plural. They are called irregular
– Some irregular nouns change spelling.
child – children man – men woman – women person – people foot – feet
tooth – teeth foot – feet goose – geese hippopotamus – hippopotami
– Some irregular nouns do not change spelling
NON-COUNTABLE NOUNS
| Count Nouns | Non-Count Nouns |
|---|---|
| – can be used with a / an
This is a book. That is an elephant. |
– cannot be used with a / an or one
Moose live in Canada. |
| – can be plural He has two cars. |
– cannot be plural She has information. |
| – can be used with singular or plural verbs
This watch is expensive. These watches are expensive. |
– are always used with singular verbs.
Housing is expensive in Indonesia. |
