Count and Mass Nouns
Count nouns are countable and may be singular or plural (book/books, owl/owls, cup/cups). Mass nouns often refer to uncountable things like qualities and substances (oxygen, anger, peace) and do not have separate singular and plural forms (oxygens, angers, peaces).
Some nouns can be both count and mass, depending on whether you are referring to individual units or an indivisible quantity (the best Brazilian coffees, the sharp smell of coffee in the morning).
Counts nouns can be used with a/an or a number (a book, an owl, two cups); mass nouns cannot (an oxygen, three angers).
Count or countable nouns
Count nouns (also called countable nouns) refer to things that are thought of in terms of number. Thus, they have singular and plural forms.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| house | houses |
| cat | cats |
| cup | cups |
| match | matches |
| thief | thieves |
| woman | women |
| goose | geese |
| radius | radii |
| sheep | sheep |
Count nouns often refer to something concrete (tables, books, cats), but they can also refer to abstract thoughts and concepts (happy memories, interesting ideas).
Mass or uncountable nouns
Mass nouns, also called non-count or uncountable nouns, are thought of as a quantity rather than as individual units of a thing. Since these nouns are not spoken of in terms of number, they have no distinct singular and plural forms.
- Materials and substances: wood, plastic, steel, concrete, cotton
- Liquids and gases: gasoline, nitrogen, air, water
- Concepts and qualities: joy, kindness, contentment, truth, honesty, charity
- Things made up of an uncountable number of particles: salt, rye, hair, flour, rice
- Food and drink: bread, meat, soda, tea, coffee
A noun’s existence as count or mass depends not so much on whether it can be counted as on whether it is thought of in terms of units or as an undifferentiated amount. For example, it is possible to count the pieces of furniture in your house. However, furniture is a mass noun referring to all types of movable articles that make a room habitable, while chair and table are count nouns. Similarly, money is a mass noun, while dollar and cent are count nouns.
- Mass: I don’t have much furniture.
Count: This table comes with four chairs. - Mass: I have a little money to spend today.
Count: This costs five dollars and ninety-nine cents.
You can’t use a number before a mass noun (five nitrogens), but other nouns can be used to measure quantity.
- seven cans of nitrogen
- five loaves of bread
- two gallons of gasoline
- an ounce of kindness
- an act of charity
- three cups of coffee
Singular mass nouns ending in -s
Some mass nouns end in -s and sound like plurals but are treated as singular.
- Fields of study: economics, physics, mathematics, politics, aeronautics, genetics
- Branches of medicine: orthopedics, obstetrics, anesthetics
- Diseases: measles, mumps, shingles, herpes, rabies, rickets, diabetes
- Games: billiards, checkers, darts, cards, skittles
- Other words: news, gymnastics, aerobics
Use singular verbs and pronouns with all such nouns.
- Mathematics is Nesbit’s favorite subject.
- Rabies spreads through a bite or a scratch from an infected animal. It is a disease that can be prevented through vaccination.
- This is wonderful news!
Plural mass nouns
Most mass nouns (like steel and happiness) take singular verbs. However, some mass nouns are plural in form and take only plural verbs and pronouns.
- These are the outskirts of the city.
- Where are my trousers?
- The mechanics of this old car are simple but remarkable.
These nouns behave like mass rather than count nouns. They have no distinct singular form, and you can’t use a number before them.
four outskirts of London/ four areas in the outskirts of Londontwo trousers/ two pairs of trousersthree internal mechanics of boats/ the internal mechanics of three boats
Below, we discuss grammatical differences in how we use and describe count and mass nouns.
Number before a noun
Since count nouns can be counted, you can add a number before them.
- I drank three cups of tea this morning.
- Who were the six wives of Henry VIII?
- Why do humans have thirty-two teeth if they need just twenty-eight?
In contrast, mass nouns like happiness and wisdom can’t be counted or described using a number (three happinesses, seven wisdoms).
A/an before a noun
You can use the article a or an before a count noun, indicating that the noun is indefinite and singular.
- a cup
- a tooth
- an owl
You cannot use the indefinite article (a/an) with a mass noun.
- Why is it so hard to find a person with
anintegrity? - I never thought I would find such
ahappiness. - When you add
acalcium toawater, you getahydrogen andacalcium hydroxide.
Mass nouns can, nevertheless, take the definite article the (just like count nouns).
- The water in this glass is contaminated.
- Who used up all the helium from the balloon?
- The tension in the room was palpable.
Determiners with count and mass nouns
With a singular count noun, you must use a determiner like a/an, this, some, or every to show how the noun is being used .
- Incorrect:I met man coming down stairs morning.
- Correct:I met a man coming down the stairs this morning.
- Incorrect:Who was girl you were speaking to?
- Correct:Who was that girl you were speaking to?
Mass nouns have no such requirement. Determiners may or may not be used with mass nouns, depending on the meaning that needs to be conveyed.
- Correct: I had milk for breakfast this morning.
- Correct: I think this milk has gone sour.
- Correct: In the fridge was some milk and a shrunken human head.
Modifiers with count and mass nouns
To describe a count noun, use modifiers that refer to number (e.g., many, few, fewer).
- This forest is home to many leopards.
- This bottle has fewer pills than that one.
- Here are a few tips on how to be a better editor.
But with mass nouns, use modifiers such as much, little, and less, which refer to amount rather than number.
- There isn’t much water in this bottle.
- There is little hope left for us.
- It will take less time to redo the report than to revise it.
Some modifiers can refer to either number or amount. These can be used with both count and mass nouns.
- Count noun: a lot of leopards
Mass noun: a lot of water - Count noun: no pills
Mass noun: no hope - Count noun: some opportunities
Mass noun: some time
Nouns that are both count and mass
Quite often, the same word can be a count or a mass noun depending on meaning.
- Mass: Is there life on other planets?
life: what distinguishes living things from inorganic matter
- Count: This vaccine has saved millions of lives.
lives: the individual states of existence of humans or animals
- Mass: Contrary to popular belief, playing video games does not make you grow extra fingers.
belief: something accepted as true
- Count: It’s interesting to explore ideas and beliefs different from one’s own.
beliefs: firmly held opinions
- Mass: Could I borrow a sheet of paper and a pencil?
paper: material to write on
- Count: Anita has published three papers on the effects of tea on the immune system.
papers: academic essays
- Mass: I prefer tea to coffee.
coffee: a type of hot beverage
- Count: They serve an amazing blend of Sumatran and Vietnamese coffees here.
coffees: varieties of ground coffee beans
Hair can be either a count or a mass noun, depending on context. When you refer to individual strands (a spider’s tactile hairs), hair is a count noun. However, when you speak of all the hairs on someone’s head collectively, hair becomes an uncountable or mass noun (She has long black hair/hairs).
How to identify count and mass nouns
To avoid making grammatical mistakes, it is important to correctly identify a noun as count or mass.
- Incorrect:He gave me a lot of useful advices.
Advice here is a mass noun and has no plural form.
- Correct:He gave me a lot of useful advice.
To check whether a noun is count or mass, try inserting a number before it. If that sounds wrong (two advices), what you have is a mass noun. With count nouns, it sounds perfectly fine to use a number (e.g., three suggestions).
If you’re still not sure, check the dictionary. For example, advice (meaning guidance) is listed as a mass or uncountable noun in the Oxford English Dictionary. This indicates that the word has no distinct plural form.