Countable or Uncountable
A noun is countable if you use numbers to describe, or count, how many there are - one pencil, two notebooks, three chairs. If there is more than one, that noun takes an s to form the plural: notebook + s, chair + s. A noun is uncountable if you use an amount to decribe, or measure, how much there is - a bowl of soup, a lot of dust. Uncountable nouns usually only have a singular form.
Some nouns only have a plural form because they have two parts - jeans, scissors, tongs, pliers.
The indefinite articles a or an are used only with singular countable nouns - I have an orange.
Some nouns are both countable and uncountable.
I found three hairs in my salad.
That dog has a lot of hair.
We need six pizzas for the entire class.
Let's get some pizza.
How many lights are in the house?
The windows do not let in much light.
Would you like an iced coffee?
May I have two coffees to go, please?
The harvest produced a ton of coffee.
The different forms can have different meanings. Lights in the house are different from the light that comes in through the window. A cup of coffee is not the same as the crop.
Many uncountable nouns are made up of countable parts. Boats + clouds = scenery; table + chair = furniture.
Using the vocabulary you already know or from your worksheets, write ten sentences usings numbers or the words a, an, some, any, much or many to describe amounts of countable and uncountable nouns.
For example: I would like an apple. Please bring grandmother some soup.
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