hypothesis is countable or uncountable noun

Create account
Contributions
Bahasa Indonesia
La .lojban.

Pronunciation [ change ]

IPA ( key ) : /haɪˈpɒθɪsɪs/

Noun [ change ]

( countable ) A hypothesis is a guess about what will happen, usually in scientific experiments . We will test the hypothesis that the change will have no effect. The results of the experiment support the hypothesis .
( uncountable ) A guess with no evidence to support it. This idea is purely a hypothesis . It has not been proven

Synonyms [ change ]

speculation

Countable nouns
Uncountable nouns
Toggle limited content width

All you need to know about countable and uncountable nouns

What’s the difference between countable and uncountable nouns , and what grammar rules do you need to know to use them correctly?

Also known as count and noncount nouns , this vocabulary point can trip you up when you’re learning English as a second language. It’s especially tricky because:

There are no concrete rules for classifying nouns as countable or uncountable (although there are some general guidelines that we will explain later).
Certain nouns that are countable in other languages may be uncountable in English, so you’ll have to un-learn what you know from your native language and learn a different set of rules for English words.

So, let’s take a detailed look at countable vs uncountable nouns, with plenty of examples showing how to use them with the correct articles, quantifiers, and other determiners.

a table spread with countable and uncountable nouns foods

The basics of countable and uncountable nouns

What is a countable noun.

A countable noun (also called a count noun) is a noun naming something that can be counted using standard numbers. Countable nouns usually have singular and plural forms.

Examples of countable nouns include chair, table, rabbit, page, part, and lemon .

So, we can have one chair, five tables, ten rabbits, twenty-three lemons, and three hundred pages .

You are probably already familiar with this pattern of counting things in English.

What is an uncountable noun?

An uncountable noun (also called a mass noun or a non-count noun) is a noun naming something that cannot be counted in English using standard numbers. These nouns cannot be made plural.

Examples of uncountable nouns include rice, money, advice, news, and happiness .

We cannot have one rice, five monies, two advices, or a happiness .

Instead, we must use different determiners to quantify these particular things: a cup of rice , a bag of money , and a piece of advice .

Now you know these basics, it’s time to take a deeper look at what this means in practice. You need to know whether you’re dealing with a countable or uncountable noun so you can select the correct determiners and plural forms in your writing and speech.

Rules for using countable nouns

We’ll begin by going over the rules for using countable nouns, since these are most straightforward.

Countable nouns:

Can be separated into whole, individual, countable units
Broadly refer to people, places, and things
Have a singular and a plural form (with a few exceptions like sheep, deer, fish) – see this site for more about how to form plurals
May take indefinite articles (a/an) as well as the definite article (the)
May take other determiners such as this/that/these/those, some/any/few/many/several, my/your/his/her/our/their
To form a question about a countable noun, we say ‘How many…’

Countable noun example sentences

Most of the nouns we use in English are countable. Here are some example sentences showing correct usage:

I have two cats as pets .
She bought a few books from the store .
We went to the zoo and saw several giraffes .
The school has six classrooms for different subjects .
He has a collection of ten stamps .
My father owns a few bikes .
The store has a variety of balloons in different colors.
He has five siblings : three brothers and two sisters .
There are many oranges in the fruit basket .
The bakery doesn’t have any bread left.
I would like to buy that handbag .
How many meals should I order at the restaurant ?

Read about the difference between few vs a few here.

Rules for using uncountable nouns

Uncountable nouns are used less often in English, and they:

Are abstract ideas, qualities, or masses that can’t be separated and counted individually
Do not have a plural form and are treated as singular nouns (and therefore take the singular form of the verb)
May take the definite article (the) but do not take the indefinite articles (a/an)
May take other determiners such as much/little/less/any/some and my/your/his/her/our/their
Can be quantified with phrases that contain countable nouns (e.g. a bag of rice)
To form a question about an uncountable noun, we say ‘How much…’

See also: What’s the difference between less and fewer?

Uncountable noun examples

We can group uncountable nouns into some broad categories. Although we cannot list them all here, the following groups are a general guide that may make it easier for you to identify others in the future:

This may seem like a long list of uncountable nouns; however, there are hundreds more.

Quantifying an uncountable noun

Although we can’t quantify uncountable nouns using numbers, we can add a countable unit of measurement to refer to one or more quantities of these things. Below are some of the most common quantifiers we can use to refer to things that are uncountable.

A piece of… advice, art, cheese, equipment, evidence, furniture, homework, information, luck, luggage, music, news, paper, poetry, publicity, rubbish, software
A bottle of… beer, water, wine, sauce, salad dressing
A carton of… juice, milk, cream
A packet of… ketchup, rice, gum
A plate/bowl of… cereal, pasta, rice
A drop of… blood, oil, rain, water
A game of… badminton, chess, football, soccer, tennis
A ray of… hope, light, sun
A grain of… sand, rice, sugar, dignity
A cube of… ice, sugar
A blob of… toothpaste, mayonnaise, glue
A pane of glass
A round of applause
A bar of soap
A mode of transport
A bolt of lightning
A blade of grass
A rasher of bacon
A sheet of paper

Determiners for count and noncount nouns

You’ll have seen from the examples above that certain determiners can only be used for one type of noun, whereas others can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns. Here’s a handy reference table for these, although this is not an exhaustive list.

Most other adjectives can modify both countable and uncountable nouns.

See also: What’s the difference between advice vs advise?

Some nouns can be countable and uncountable

You might often hear people say something like “I take two sugars in my tea”. What they really mean is “two teaspoons of sugar”, but the noun “sugar” has taken on that meaning and become countable.

In this way, uncountable nouns can sometimes be used as countable when referring to a complete unit or measurement of something, normally in relation to food and beverages. Here are some more examples:

I’ll have three coffees , please. (three cups of coffee)
I’ve had too many beers tonight! (glasses/cans/bottles of beer)
Could I get two more ketchups ? (two sachets of ketchup)

Uncountable nouns may also be used as countable when they refer to a specific type, example, or category of something . For example:

You should have at least five different cheeses on your cheese board.
The best wines in the world are produced in France.
We used three woods to make this beautiful box.
They encountered a lot of difficulties while completing the project.
These juices are all freshly squeezed.

These plural countable nouns are exceptions to the rule given earlier.

Nouns with different countable and uncountable meanings

To make things even more confusing, certain nouns in English have two or more meanings. When a noun refers to different things, one countable and one uncountable, you must remember which is which in order to form a correct sentence. Here are some common examples of words with dual meanings:

As you can see, English can be hard to learn . Fortunately, you can always check in a dictionary to see whether a noun is countable or uncountable. Some dictionaries, such as Oxford Dictionaries , specify this in the definition.

We hope this information about countable vs uncountable nouns has been helpful. It can be quite a tricky English grammar topic to get right because, even once you have mastered the rules of count and noncount nouns, there is still no hard-and-fast way to know which words are which, unless you look them up.

Leave a comment below if you have any more questions about this topic or want to check your understanding of a particular point we’ve mentioned.

Learn a new language from home - get Lifetime Access to Mondly with 95% OFF!

Search form

A1-A2 grammar

Countable and uncountable nouns

It’s the day of Oliver and Alfie’s cooking competition. Daisy is filming the chefs in action, and Mum is on her way home.

Instructions

As you watch the video, look at the examples of countable and uncountable nouns. They are in red in the subtitles. Then read the conversation below to learn more. Finally, do the grammar exercises to check you understand, and can use, countable and uncountable nouns correctly.

Daisy: So, our first chef is Alfie. Alfie, let’s see your ingredients. Alfie: OK, well, I’ve got a lemon, an apple and some garlic, some butter and some chicken breasts ... livers! Ah, chicken livers! Daisy: Mmm ... chicken livers ... an unusual choice. Are you feeling confident? Alfie: Well, sort of. It’s a challenge! Daisy: OK ... now to Oliver. Hi, Oliver. Oliver: Hello. Daisy: What ingredients have you got, Oliver? Oliver: OK, well I’ve got a steak, some red chilli peppers, some potatoes, cream, onions and some giant prawns. Daisy: Wow – an interesting selection. How do you feel about the competition? Oliver: I’m pretty confident. I mean ... steak and prawns, or chicken livers ... I know which I prefer! Daisy: OK, well, we’ll be back later.

Mum: Hi, love. Daisy: Hi, Mum. Where are you? Mum: At the airport. What’s going on there? Daisy: Well, right now Alfie and Ollie are having their Master Chef cooking competition. Daisy: Only 53 minutes left! Mum: OK, love, see you soon. Daisy: Bye, Mum – if you’re lucky, you’ll arrive home in time to taste the dishes! Mum: Hmm ... shall I bring some fish and chips just in case?

Daisy: Let’s taste the pâté first, Mum. Mum: OK, it smells and looks delicious! Oliver: OK, OK. Try it first, judges. It’s all in the taste. Daisy and Mum: Oooooh, that’s amazing! Mum: Mmmm! I could eat it all! Alfie: Wow, thanks Sophie! Oliver: OK, leave some space for my dish! Daisy: Mmmm ... it’s tasty ... whoa! How many chili peppers? Mum: Wow, it’s good, Oliver! It’s a taste of Thailand! It’s going to be a difficult decision. Mum and Daisy: This year’s Master Chef champion is ...

Some nouns in English are countable – we can use them in singular and plural forms. Some are uncountable – they only have one form.

We often use a/an with singular countable nouns and some with plurals. We can also use some with uncountable nouns.

What are examples of countable nouns?

Here are a few:

I've got a steak, some red chilli peppers, some potatoes… OK, well, I've got a lemon, an apple … and some chicken breasts. I'd like a blue pen, please.

OK, so for things you can count, like one pen, two pens … Why did you say a pen , not one pen ?

We often use a/an before singular countable nouns. Before words that start with a vowel sound, we use an , and before words that start with a consonant sound, we use a .

So is one wrong? As in Would you like one drink?

It sounds as if you're saying one (not two). If you're offering someone a drink, you'd say Would you like a drink?

But someone who works in a café might say, So that's one coffee and two lemonades.

So it's usually a or an for singular countable nouns and a number or some for plurals. How many is some ?

It can be any number more than one.

I got some new jeans at the weekend. (a pair of new jeans) Some teachers left at the end of the year. (we don't know how many)

Is some or a number always used with plurals?

No, have a look at these examples

I'm frightened of dogs . (dogs in general) Strawberries have a lot of vitamin C. (strawberries in general)

What about uncountable nouns?

These are nouns that don't have a plural form.

I've got some garlic and some butter . I'm looking for i nformation about early rock and roll. I haven't got enough paper . You have to get permission from the head teacher. Do you want some cake ?

So, I can use some with uncountables too?

Yes, we use some with both countables and uncountables.

How do I know whether a noun is countable or uncountable?

A dictionary will tell you. Usually dictionaries use symbols [C] for countable and [U] for uncountable.

Just a minute. You said cake was uncountable. What about I made a cake this morning ?

Yes that's correct, but there's a difference in meaning.

I made a cake this morning. (a whole cake – countable) Do you want some cake ? (a piece of cake – uncountable) A box of chocolates . (individual chocolates – countable) I'd like some chocolate too. ( a piece or pieces of chocolate from a bar of chocolate – uncountable)

I thought coffee and lemonade were uncountable too.

Yes, they are usually.

I love coffee with hot milk. (uncountable) Can you get some coffee ? (uncountable) I'll have a coffee , please. (a cup of coffee, countable)

Wow, so it's more complicated than I thought.

No, they're not really very difficult.

OK, they're easy. It's a piece of cake !

Yes, simple! A piece of cake !

Check your grammar: picture matching - countable and uncountable nouns

Check your grammar: gap fill - countable and uncountable nouns, check your grammar: multiple choice - countable and uncountable nouns, worksheets and downloads.

The expression a piece of cake means something is really easy. Is speaking English a piece of cake for you?

hypothesis is countable or uncountable noun

We will process your data to send you our newsletter and updates based on your consent. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of every email. Read our privacy policy for more information.

Countable and Uncountable Nouns in English

Countable nouns, uncountable nouns, counting uncountable nouns, countable and uncountable nouns, singular/plural uncountable nouns.

Lingolia Plus English

Introduction

Nouns in English grammar can be either countable or uncountable . Countable nouns refer to individual things and we can use them in the singular or plural (e.g. coin/coins ). Most nouns in the English language are countable. Uncountable nouns, also known as mass nouns , refer to things we consider a whole or mass and cannot be counted (e.g. money ). Many abstract nouns (e.g. happiness ) are uncountable in English.

Learn the rules for countable and uncountable nouns in English grammar with Lingolia’s online grammar explanations and interactive exercises.

Mike and his sister Sandra are shopping. They need milk , apples , and bread .

Sandra wants to make a cake tomorrow. She needs 6 eggs , 400 grams of flour, a bar of chocolate and some strawberries .

At the checkout, Mike doesn’t have any money , just a few coins in his pocket – oops!

Most English nouns are countable nouns . This means they can be used in both the singular and the plural. Example: An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Apples are healthy.
We can put numbers and indefinite articles in front of countable nouns. Example: one banknote, two banknote s one coin, two coin s a cake a sister
We cannot use singular countable nouns without articles or possessive pronouns (a/the/your). Example: I saw your sister yesterday. ( not: I saw sister yesterday. )Can you give me a hand? ( not: Can you give me hand? ) However, we can use plural countable nouns alone. Example: Did you buy apples ? Yes, but I forgot to buy stawberries .
We can use some/any /(a) few / many with plural countable nouns. Example: We need some apples. I don’t have any eggs. There are a few strawberries in the fridge. Mike dosen’t have many coins.
Some collections of countable nouns have a corresponding uncountable noun which describes them as a whole/mass. Example: suitcases, bags, trunks = baggage tables, chairs, couches = furniture peaches, bananas, apples = fruit ( but: one vegetable, two vegetables) socks, dresses, t-shirts = clothes
Some English nouns are uncountable nouns. This means they only have one form. Most uncountable nouns are singular, but some are plural see below singular/plural uncountable nouns. Example: I drink milk everday. Milk is healthy. ( not: Milks are healthy. ) My trousers are too big. (not: My trouser is too big. )
We cannot usually put numbers in front of uncountable nouns. Example: money ( not : one money/two moneys ) milk ( not: one milk / two milks ) bread ( not: one bread/ two breads )
We can use many uncountable nouns without an article or possessive pronoun. Example: We need flour and chocolate to make a cake. ( not: … a flour and a chocolate… ) Can you buy milk on the way home? ( not: can you buy a milk… )
We use some/any/ little / much with uncountable nouns. Example: We can buy some bread at the bakery. We don’t have any milk. There’s a little flour in the pantry. Mike doesn’t have much money.
Materials, liquids, and collections are often uncountable nouns. Example: materials – paper, wood, gold, glass etc. liquids – water, milk, oil, coffee, etc. collections – furniture, luggage, traffic etc.

Although we can’t count uncountable nouns themselves, we can use different units, such as a bottle/grain/ glass/loaf/ piece/kilo/gram of, to count them. Here, we are counting the units rather than the actual uncountable nouns.

Some nouns have both a countable and an uncountable form. The countable form usually refers to something more specific and the uncountable form to something more general.

Some uncountable nouns are used in plural and some are used in singular.

Singular uncountable nouns are used with verbs in the third person singular. Here is a list of common singular uncountable nouns: advice, bread, chewing gum, equipment, fun, furniture, grass, information, knowledge, luck, luggage, money, milk, news, pasta, poetry, progress, rain, research, rice, snow, traffic, travel, weather, work, … Example: money – Money makes the world go around. ( not: Money make the world go around. ) milk – The milk has gone sour. ( not: The milk have gone sour. ) news – The news was wonderful. ( not: The news were wonderful. )
Plural uncountables are used with verbs in the plural. Here is a list of common plural uncountable nouns: clothes, remains, thanks, groceries, glasses, jeans, scissors, trousers/pants Example: clothes – His clothes are too big. ( not: His clothes is too big. ) groceries – The groceries were expensive.. ( not: The groceries was expensive. )

How good is your English?

Find out with Lingolia’s free grammar test

Take the test!

Maybe later

Dictionaries home
American English
Collocations
German-English
Grammar home
Practical English Usage
Learn & Practise Grammar (Beta)
Word Lists home
My Word Lists
Recent additions
Resources home
Text Checker

Definition of hypothesis noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

formulate/advance a theory/hypothesis
build/construct/create/develop a simple/theoretical/mathematical model
develop/establish/provide/use a theoretical/conceptual framework/an algorithm
advance/argue/develop the thesis that…
explore an idea/a concept/a hypothesis
make a prediction/an inference
base a prediction/your calculations on something
investigate/evaluate/accept/challenge/reject a theory/hypothesis/model
design an experiment/a questionnaire/a study/a test
do research/an experiment/an analysis
make observations/calculations
take/record measurements
carry out/conduct/perform an experiment/a test/a longitudinal study/observations/clinical trials
run an experiment/a simulation/clinical trials
repeat an experiment/a test/an analysis
replicate a study/the results/the findings
observe/study/examine/investigate/assess a pattern/a process/a behavior
fund/support the research/project/study
seek/provide/get/secure funding for research
collect/gather/extract data/information
yield data/evidence/similar findings/the same results
analyze/examine the data/soil samples/a specimen
consider/compare/interpret the results/findings
fit the data/model
confirm/support/verify a prediction/a hypothesis/the results/the findings
prove a conjecture/hypothesis/theorem
draw/make/reach the same conclusions
read/review the records/literature
describe/report an experiment/a study
present/publish/summarize the results/findings
present/publish/read/review/cite a paper in a scientific journal

Join our community to access the latest language learning and assessment tips from Oxford University Press!

2 [ uncountable ] guesses and ideas that are not based on certain knowledge synonym speculation It would be pointless to engage in hypothesis before we have the facts.

Other results

Nearby words.

English Grammar
Parts of Speech
Countable And Uncountable Nouns

Countable and Uncountable Nouns - Meaning, Definition, Usage and Examples

Nouns , as you already know, are words that are used to name a person, place, animal, thing or idea. Having learnt about the types of nouns, singular nouns and plural nouns, you might be wondering what countable and uncountable nouns are. Is it any different from singular and plural nouns? Well, let’s find out. Go through the article to learn all about it, the meaning and definition of countable and uncountable nouns, and how they are formed and used in sentences along with examples.

List of countable nouns, list of uncountable nouns, using countable nouns and uncountable nouns in sentences, examples of countable and uncountable nouns, check your understanding of countable and uncountable nouns, frequently asked questions on countable and uncountable nouns, what is a countable noun – meaning and definition.

A countable noun, as the name suggests, refers to nouns that can literally be counted. The number or quantity of countable nouns can be quoted exactly. To identify if a noun is countable, you can ask the question ‘how many’. A countable noun, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, is defined as “a noun that has both a singular and a plural form and names something that can be counted because there can be one or more of it”. The Macmillan Dictionary defines a countable noun as “a noun that has singular and plural forms. In the plural, countable nouns usually add an ‘s’ or ‘es’, for example ‘mistakes’, ‘problems’, and ‘buses’. When it is singular, a countable noun usually comes after a determiner such as ‘a’, ‘this’, ‘any’, or ‘a lot of’, for example ‘this house, ‘a week’, and ‘the way’.”

A countable noun is also defined as “a noun (such as bean or sheet) that forms a plural and is used with a numeral, with words such as many or few, or with the indefinite article a or an”, by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, and “a noun such as ‘ bird’, ‘ chair’, or ‘ year’ which has a singular and a plural form and is always used after a determiner in the singular” by the Collins Dictionary.

Here is a list of a few countable nouns and its plural forms for your reference.

You can check out the articles on singular nouns and plural nouns for more examples.

What is an Uncountable Noun? – Meaning and Definition

Any noun that cannot be counted can be classified as an uncountable noun. Nouns like water, rice, oil, etc. belong to this category. Unlike countable nouns, uncountable nouns do not have a plural form. If the noun in a sentence does not have a specific quantity and answers the question ‘how much’, then it can be considered an uncountable noun. The definition of an uncountable noun according to the Cambridge Dictionary is “a noun that has one form with no plural and names something that there can be more or less of but that cannot be counted”. According to the Macmillan Dictionary, an uncountable noun is “a noun that has no plural form” and also those that “usually refer to abstract things such as ‘advice’, ‘luck’, and ‘information’, or to substances such as ‘milk’, ‘blood’, and ‘smoke’.” Furthermore, “a noun such as ‘ gold’, ‘ information’, or ‘ furniture’ which has only one form and can be used without a determiner” is classified as an uncountable noun by the Collins Dictionary.

Here is a table with some uncountable nouns for your reference.

Once you know what countable and uncountable nouns are, the next step is to learn how to use them in sentences. There is just one fact that makes the usage of countable and uncountable nouns different from each other. Countable nouns are always used with a determiner. Determiners include articles (a, an, the) and quantitative adjectives such as a number, collective nouns that indicate a particular number such as a dozen (12), a pair (2), a score (20), a baker’s dozen (13), etc. and words like a few, lots of, a number of, etc. On the other hand, uncountable nouns can appear with or without a determiner as there is no specific number being referred to. However, there are instances where you can combine an uncountable noun with a countable noun to indicate the exact quantity of the particular noun.

Let us look at a few examples of both countable and uncountable nouns and the different ways in which they are used in sentences.

First, let us look at how countable nouns work.

I have a dog.
My mom bought half a kilo of oranges and apples on her way to visit my grandmother in the hospital .
I had to pick up two of my friends on the way.
Banu found a few books that could help our research.
Jason bought a dozen eggs .

Let us now check how uncountable nouns are used in sentences.

Would you like to have some milk before you go to bed?
Firoz asked his son to throw out the garbage before he went to college.
Sanu had blood on her hand; nobody including her knew what had happened.
Is there any water left in the jug?
We were asked to collect information about the new education policy before noon.

As already mentioned, uncountable nouns can be combined with countable nouns at times. Let us look at some examples to see how it can be done.

The doctor has asked me to drink at least eight glasses of water a day.
We had only two packets of oil left.
I guess I added an extra teaspoon of sugar to it.
Veronica needed one more piece of equipment to work on her project.
I found five packs of unused paper stashed in the top row of my shelf.

Go through the following sentences and identify if the underlined nouns are countable or uncountable.

1. All successful candidates will be notified within a week.

2. I don’t prefer to have tea in the morning.

3. Does anyone have an extra blue pen?

4. The students who had not completed their homework were asked to stay back after class and complete it.

5. My mom’s watch stopped working.

6. The soil used has to be really fertile if you want the plants to grow well.

7. Chitra broke her spectacles while playing volleyball.

8. You have to saute all the vegetables and add rice only after the vegetables are half cooked.

9. How many apples did you buy?

10. Will the food be enough for our guests?

Let us find out if you identified the nouns correctly. Check out the answers given below.

Candidates – Countable, Week – countable

Tea – Uncountable

Blue pen – Countable

Students – Countable

Watch – Countable

Soil – uncountable, Plants – Countable

Spectacles – Countable

Vegetables – – Countable, Rice – uncountable

Apples- Countable

Food – Uncountable

What is a countable noun?

What is an uncountable noun?

Give some examples of countable nouns.

Nouns such as elephant, man, girl, baby, watermelon, tomato, onion, plant, bus, train, ticket, pencil, book, page, peacock, etc. are some examples of countable nouns.

Give some examples of uncountable nouns.

Rice, soil, oil, water, advice, hair, air, pressure, blood, pain, luggage, smoke, data, etc. are a few examples of uncountable nouns.

Register with BYJU'S & Download Free PDFs

Nouns: plurals, countable versus uncountable, etc

First Online: 26 May 2024

Cite this chapter

Adrian Wallwork 3

Part of the book series: English for Academic Research ((EAR))

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Available as EPUB and PDF
Read on any device
Instant download
Own it forever
Compact, lightweight edition
Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

English for Academics, Pisa, Italy

Adrian Wallwork

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

About this chapter

Wallwork, A. (2024). Nouns: plurals, countable versus uncountable, etc. In: English for Academic Research: Grammar Exercises. English for Academic Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-53168-2_1

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-53168-2_1

Published : 26 May 2024

Publisher Name : Springer, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-031-53167-5

Online ISBN : 978-3-031-53168-2

eBook Packages : Education Education (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Find a journal
Track your research

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

We're Hiring!
Help Center

Abstract Nouns and Countability

Related Papers

Roberto Zamparelli

The paper addresses the problem of nouns which have frequent mass and count uses. After a review of the literature and a brief classification of possible meaning shifts, it focuses on the multifarious class of abstract nouns (e.g. "fear/fears"), analyzing their relation with kinds and the presence of an extent readings ("a certain speed" = a certain AMOUNT of speed), drawing from corpus searches and the Bochum Countability Lexicon.

Halima Husić

Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung 24

The count/mass distinction is a widely discussed topic across languages and linguistic theories have covered a great part of peculiarities which appear in relation to this phenomenon. Abstract nouns have often been left out of consideration, possibly due to the fact that their reference is abstract and the application of some relevant features of count or mass reference, such as cumulativity, divisiveness or atomicity, does not seem to be possible. This paper presents a thorough study of lexical features of a subset of abstract nouns and their distribution in COCA which suggests that countability in abstract nouns has to be determined relative to their semantic category. Focusing on eventuality denoting nominals which comprise a substantial part of abstract nouns, I argue that these nouns resemble concrete nouns in that the countability distinctions are expressed in surprising similarity. I find that the core feature underlying the distinction between abstract count and abstract mass nouns is the vagueness of the minimal components, an approach pursued by Chierchia (2010) for concrete nouns. The minimal components of the count eventualities appear to be stable in all precisifications, unlike those of mass eventualities which are not determined and vary.

Antonio Fábregas

Philosophical Analysis

Byeong-Uk Yi

Abstract singular nouns (e.g., ‘whiteness’, ‘humanhood’), on the standard account, refer to attributes. But many of them (e.g., ‘whiteness’) are mass nouns. Like concrete mass nouns (e.g., ‘water’), they can combine with determiners relating to amounts of stuff (e.g., ‘a little’, ‘much’, ‘less’). Levinson (1978; 1980) argues that this means that a large group of attributes are stuffs of some kind: abstract stuffs. This view, the stuff view, is widely considered indefensible. But it would be hard to resist the view without rejecting the usual account of determiners that combine with mass nouns, the quantity account, according to which such determiners relate to amounts of stuff. This paper argues against both the stuff view and quantity account, and presents an account of abstract mass nouns based on an adequate account of determiners that combine with them.

Masahiro Kodera

Things and Stuff: The Semantics of the Count-Mass Distinction

henry laycock

"Linguists often distinguish count and non-count nouns (count+ and count-- nouns; CNs and NCNs, for short). The distinction, though hardly simple, is both exhaustive and entirely natural. In philosophical writings, by contrast, it is more usual to posit a dichotomy of count nouns and mass nouns (CNs and MNs) — a dichotomy which is very commonly (and however vaguely) supposed to be of metaphysical or ontological significance. But this dichotomy, unlike that of CNs and NCNs, is deeply problematic; here in consequence I speak only of a supposed dichotomy of CNs and MNs, and by the same token, of a putative category of MNs." http://fr.slideshare.net/sonu_pal/concise-encyclopedia-of-philosophy-of-language

Houman Zolfaghari

All natural languages seem to distinguish at the semantic level between count nouns (CNs) and mass nouns (MNs). Some natural languages, like English, mark the distinction at the syntactic level. Prototypical of CNs is ‘dog’ and of MNs is ‘matter’ (in the sense of physical stuff, not in the sense of concern or affair). One syntactic difference is that usually CNs take the plural (‘dogs’) whereas MNs do not. Other syntactic distinctions relate to the determiners and quantifiers. One can say a dog, another dog, many dogs, two dogs, etc.; one cannot correctly say *a matter, *another matter, *many matter, *two matter, etc. It seems that the distinction in English grammar was introduced by Otto Jespersen [6, p198].

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences

Natalia Khokhlova

Countable and Uncountable Nouns with a/an, some and any

Loading ad...

Read the dialogue and complete it with the most suitable word.

Google Classroom
Microsoft Teams
Download PDF

Students and teachers: is "fruit" countable or uncountable?

7 answers from our tutors

Best answer.

Can be either. You can eat a lot of fruit or eat a lot of fruits. The version with “fruits” implies more types of fruit, where as the “fruit” version implies total quantity.

Hi It depends on generally speaking fruit or specifically, that kind of fruit. So both Best Regards

Both Countable - There were five apples in the bag. Uncountabke - You should eat fruit to maintain good health / There were a ton of fruit at the supermarket.

Check your English level for free

Take our quick and free test to find out your current level of English

Usually uncountable, eg, there was fruit everywhere.

In general, "Fruit" is definitely an uncountable noun, so it is correct to say "I love fruit" not "I love fruits". But, if you talk about a particular type of fruit, then this word becomes countable: e.g. This area is good for growing citrus fruits.