Nouns in English can be either count nouns or noncount nouns. Count nouns refer to distinct individuals or things that can be directly counted: a doctor, an egg, a child; doctors, eggs, children. Noncount nouns refer to masses, collections, or ideas without distinct parts: milk, rice, courage. You cannot count noncount nouns except with a preceding phrase: a glass of milk, three grains of rice, a little courage.
Count nouns usually have singular and plural forms: tree, trees. Noncount nouns usually have only a singular form: grass.
| count | noncount |
| people (plural of person) | humanity |
| tables, chairs, beds | furniture |
| letters | |
| pebbles | gravel |
| suggestions | advice |
Some nouns can be either count or noncount, depending on meaning.
| count | Before video games, children played with marbles. |
| noncount | The palace floor was made of marble. |
When you learn a noun in English, you need to learn whether it is count, noncount, or both. Many dictionaries provide this information.
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LearningCurve > For multilingual writers: Nouns and noun phrases