Countable or Uncountable nouns – exercises and practice

These nouns can be confusing sometimes and the tricky part is recognising whether you can count the item or not. Identifying that things can be counted is very helpful, and looking at the pictures also helps you to remember them more easily. For example, milk cannot be counted – it is uncountable, but a bottle of milk can be counted – it is countable.

I can say one apple, two apples, three apples. But I can’t say

one milk, two milks, three milks.

Can it be counted? Look:

Don’t worry, this is easy! The best way to work it out is to ask yourself questions.

Can you count peas? Yes, peas are countable (c).

• Countable nouns generally refer to people, places and things because they can be counted.

Can you count information? No, information is uncountable (u/c).

• Uncountable nouns often refer to things like items, emotions and concepts which cannot be counted.

What are determiners and quantifiers?

This is always a difficulty for beginners, so let’s start with some examples of how to show if something is countable or not. We need to use a determiner (a/an/the) or a quantifier (to give information or the number of something) before each noun. Also, we often use à how much or how many.

Indefinite determiner:

Could you give me a pineapple, please?

I want to eat an orange with my orange juice.

I want a glass of orange juice.

Definite determiner:

Please give me the pretty flower.

I want to eat the delicious mango.

Quantifier (countable):

How many chairs are there in the picture?

Quantifier (uncountable):

I don’t like much juice with my breakfast.

I like a little orange juice with my breakfast.

How much money can you lend me today?

Mastering these nouns is a crucial step in English language learning.
So… how do we do this?

Practical exercise 1: determiners / quantifiers

Let’s start practicing! Look at the pictures and see if you can match the determiner or quantifier to the correct noun.

Remember to ask yourself the question – Can the noun be counted?
 

Determiner/ Quantifier	Noun
an	book
how many	money
a	apple
how much	help
little	trees

Practical exercise 2: countable / uncountable nouns

Countable nouns are in parts, they can be counted 1, 2, 3, and they are singular or plural.

Uncountable nouns are wholes, they cannot be counted, and they are singular form only.

Super simple exercise now! Let’s use the pictures to help us complete the tables below. Remember, can you count it or not?

Countable nouns

Singular   Determiner/ Quantifier Noun an apple a   the

Plural   Determiner/ Quantifier Noun (how) many   a few   few / not many

Uncountable nouns

Determiner/ Quantifier	Singular noun
(how) much
a little / a little bit of / not much
quite a bit of

Some and any

Some and any can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns, for even the most delicious things like chocolate, coffee, cake or ice cream! We use any for negative statements and questions, and we use some for positive statements, offers and requests, and questions.

Any	Some
Negative / Questions	Positive / Offers and Requests
There aren’t any apples in the fridge. There isn’t any coffee in the jar.	There are some apples in the fridge. There is some coffee in the jar.
Are there any apples in the fridge?	Would you like some coffee?

Practical exercise 3: free practice

Let’s finish up with our last practice exercise. Look at the wordbank and choose the correct countable or uncountable noun for each sentence (1-8).

TIP! Remember to spot if you can count the item or not!

Apples | Rice | Water | Bread | Orange juice | Eggs | Milk | Tomatoes
 

1. I need to buy some _________________ for the sandwiches.
2. How many ___________________ did you eat for breakfast?
3. Can you pass me the _____________________, please?
4. We need to cook some ____________________ for dinner.
5. There’s not much ___________________ left in the fridge.
6. She bought a packet of _____________________ from the market.
7. Would you like some __________________ with your cereal.
8. Let’s get some __________________ and lettuce to make a salad.

Well done and keep counting these nouns!!

 

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Answers:

Exercise 1:

a book / how much money / an apple / how many trees / little help

Exercise 2: several answers can be correct for this activity.

Countable nouns: an apple / a, the hotdog / a, the hamburger / (how) many bananas, sweets / few, not many pork chops.

Uncountable nouns: how much milk, juice/ a little, a little bit of, not much rice / quite a bit of meat.

Exercise 3:

1. Bread / 2. Eggs / 3. Orange juice / 4. Rice / 5. Water / 6. Apples / 7. Milk / 8. Tomatoes