What are uncountable nouns?
Uncountable nouns are things that can’t be counted by using a number, such as quantities of liquids or gases, as well as abstract ideas or qualities.
Uncountable nouns are used with a single verb, and do not use an indefinite article such as ‘a’ or ‘an’.
TEST YOUR ENGLISHExample sentences using uncountable nouns
For example, do not say ‘How many moneys will it cost?’
Because ‘money’ is an uncountable noun, you must use adjectives like much, a lot of, little, a little bit of, some, plenty, enough, or no.
Say:
- How much money will it cost?
- Will it cost a lot of money?
- It only costs a little bit of money.
- It will cost you some money, but not a lot of money.
- Do you have enough money?
- I have plenty of money.
- I have no money.
(The only time money is a countable noun is when we are speaking of specific denominations: ‘I have many rupees’, or ‘That sounds like a lot of Euros!’)
Here is a list of common uncountable nouns:
| Things: | Gases: | Abstract: | Activities: |
| furniture | air | art | yoga |
| clothing | hydrogen | love | sports |
| luggage | nitrogen | humour | music |
| equipment | smoke | freedom | homework |
| money | steam | advice | business |
| tools | help | chess | |
| Nature: | welfare | research | |
| Liquids: | sunshine | bravery | cricket |
| fuel | rain | aggression | |
| water | snow | courage | Every Day: |
| petrol | ice | luck | breakfast |
| diesel | lightning | faith | lunch |
| fertiliser | weather | grief | dinner |
| bleach | knowledge | traffic | |
| Food Solids: | attention | transportation | |
| Solids: | cheese | poetry | labour |
| silver | butter | care | paper |
| gold | meat | freedom | |
| dirt | fruit | pride | tea |
| concrete | pastry | privacy | time |
| wood | noodle | warmth | network |
| asphalt | rice | anger | hardware |
| software | |||
| States of Being: | Food Liquids: | Mass: | work |
| sleep | milk | furniture | police |
| stress | juice | foliage | pay |
| childhood | tea | hair | equipment |
| youth | water | stuff | |
| elderly | wine | sheep | |
| sad | oil | public | |
| happy | vinegar | ||