• Look at these examples to see how to use countable and uncountable nouns in a sentence.
- I'm making a cup of tea.
- There's some money on the table.
- Have we got any bread ?
- How many chairs do we need ?
- How much milk have we got ?
• Nouns can be countable or uncountable.
• Countable nouns can be counted, e.g. an apple, two apples, three apples, etc.
• Uncountable nouns cannot be counted, e.g. air, rice, water, etc.
• When you learn a new noun, you should check if it is countable or uncountable and note how it is used in a sentence.
COUNTABLE NOUNS
• For positive sentences we can use a/an for singular nouns or some for plurals
- There's a man at the door.
- I have some friends in New York.
• For negatives we can use a/an for singular nouns or any for plurals.
- I don't have a dog.
- There aren't any seats.
UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
• We use some with uncountable nouns in positive sentences and any with negatives.
- There's some milk in the fridge.
- There isn't any coffee.
• Questions In questions we use a/an, any or how many with countable nouns.
- Is there an email address to write to ?
- Are there any chairs ?
- How many chairs are there ?
• And we use any or how much with uncountable nouns.
- Is there any sugar ?
- How much orange juice is there ?
• But when we are offering something or asking for something, we normally use 'some'.
- Do you want some chocolate ?
- Can we have some more chairs, please ?
• We also use some in a question when we think the answer will be 'yes'. Have you got some new glasses ?