A LTHOUGH ALL LANGUAGES HAVE NOUNS, English nouns differ from those in some other languages in various ways, such as their division into count and noncount nouns and the use of plural forms, articles, and other modifiers.

Using count and noncount nouns

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.

Some nouns can be either count or noncount, depending on their meaning.

When you learn a noun in English, you need to learn whether it is count, noncount, or both. Many dictionaries provide this information.