Countable and uncountable nouns

In English, there are some things (nouns) you can count, but there are some others you can’t. For example, you can say 1 apple, 2 apples, 3 apples, but you can’t say 1 rice, 2 rices, 3 rices, that is not common.

There are also some differences. Maybe, in your language you can count a noun that in English is not possible. For example, in Spanish you can say 1 tarea, 2 tareas 3 tareas, but in English you just say: homework. It is not possible to count it. Check the examples to have a better idea.

Countable
Singular

An apple

A carrot

A banana

Plural

Apples

Carrots

Bananas

Uncountable

Rice

Water

Bread

As you can see, the nouns we count are the ones you can number, for example:

There’s an apple.

There’s a carrot.

There’s a banana.

There are three apples.

There are four carrots.

There are five bananas.

The uncountable nouns are the ones we cannot count, we cannot say the number of them, for example:

There’s rice in the bowl.

There’s water in the glass.

There’s bread in the basket.

Check the next chart to see the most common nouns:

Countable
Singular

an egg

a salad

a vegetable

a tomato

a carrot

a potato

a mushroom

a pea

an avocado

an onion

a candy

a cookie

a cupcake

a strawberry

a pineapple

an orange

a banana

an apple

Plural

eggs

salads

vegetables

tomatoes

carrots

potatoes

mushrooms

peas

avocados

onions

candies

cookies

cupcakes

strawberries

pineapples

oranges

bananas

apples

Uncountable

bread

butter

cereal

cheese

coffee

jam

orange juice

fish

olive oil

fruit

rice

meat

pasta

lettuce

chocolate

ice-cream

sugar

milk

bacon

If you need help with vocabulary you can visit https://dictionary.cambridge.org

Drag and Drop exercise

Drag and drop. Put the food in the correct cabinet. Correct answers will appear in green.

Countable and uncountable
Countable and uncountable
Countable and uncountable
Countable and uncountable
Countable and uncountable
Countable and uncountable
Countable and uncountable
Countable and uncountable
Countable and uncountable
Countable and uncountable
Listening Writing exercise

Listen and write in the box C if the noun is COUNTABLE or U if the noun is UNCOUNTABLE.

Countable and uncountable
milk
coffee
avocado
orange
eggs
bacon
strawberries
candy
water
lettuce
cheese
Complete all the gaps to get feedback.