Uncountable Noun/Mass Noun

Definition

Uncountable noun can be defined as “They may be the names for abstract ideas or qualities or for physical objects that are too small or too amorphous to be counted (liquids, powders, gases, etc).”

Explanation

Uncountable nouns are nouns that cannot be counted using numbers. Uncountable nouns can be anything like abstract ideas, qualities, physical objects, substances, concepts, etc that are very small to be counted.

Uncountable nouns can be in the form of gas, liquid, powder, etc and used with a singular verb in the sentence because generally they do not have a plural form. Uncountable nouns are not individual objects even though they are always singular.

Examples of uncountable nouns are milk, water, music, happiness, art, love, news, advice, information, furniture, rice, sugar, luggage, butter, gas, electricity, power, money, currency, tea, air, knowledge, beauty, anger, fear, money, research, safety, evidence, etc.

For Example:

• I saw, pond was empty without water.
• There is no more milk in the kitchen.
• Please bring some cheese from the market.
• I need to get information about my final exam.
• My class teacher has high level of intelligence.
• Please take good care of your furniture.
• Through your garbage properly in the dustbin.
• I have a very important news.
• My luggage is very heavy.

Uncountable nouns can be made plural by using words expressing plural concept such as:

• I saw nine bags of garbage on the road.
• I drink eight glasses of water daily.
• Our class teacher gives us many useful advice.
• I have bought a loaf of bread.
• My chemistry lab has many expensive equipments.
• There are ten slices of cheese in my bag.

Categorized Examples

Following are the categorized examples of uncountable noun:

• Liquids and Gases: milk, water, coffee, tea, air, oxygen, etc.
• Solid and Granular Substances: sand, wood, rice, metal, cheese, sugar, etc.
• Subjects: Hindi, French, English, chemistry, economics, maths, science, History, etc.
• Information and Abstract Concepts: advice, information, education, intelligence, democracy, etc.
• Energy Words and Forces: electricity, heat, sunshine, radiation, magnetism, etc.

Rules to be Followed

In order to express quantity of an uncountable noun, we can use ‘a’ word or ‘a bit of’, ‘a lot of’, ‘a great deal of’, ‘much’ or words showing exact measurement like ‘a cup of’, ‘a bag of’, ‘a pinch of’, ‘a handful of’, ‘an hour of’, ‘a day of’, etc.

Generally, we do not use indefinite article ‘a’ or ‘an’ just before the uncountable nouns as we cannot say that ‘a rice’, ‘a milk’ ‘an information’ or ‘a music’. However, we can use indefinite article with the words showing exact measurement before uncountable noun such as:

• I have a piece of news.
• Give me a bottle of water.
• He has a grain of rice.
• I drink a glass of milk.
• I need some orange juice.

Use ‘some’ and ‘any’ words with uncountable nouns:

• He gave me some money.
• Have you got any advice?
• I have some important news.
• I have no any information.

Use of ‘little’ and ‘much’ words with uncountable nouns:

• My parents give me a little money.
• He gave me much rice.
• Please give me a little water.
• I need much information.

Exercises for You

We have provided below some uncountable noun exercises in order to help you to improve your knowledge about uncountable noun. You need to get detail information about uncountable noun provided above and check your skill through following exercises.

1. Drink at least eight glass of water daily.
2. My mother gives me butter with bread in the breakfast.
3. Most kids do not like milk, but I like very much.
4. People use clay pot in the villages.
5. I learn music from the best musician.
6. Happiness is the tool to remove all problems.
7. I like to make nice art.
8. I love my parents very much.
9. I read news daily from the newspaper.
10. One of my best friends gives nice advice.
11. We can store more information in smart phone.
12. My dad has bought lots of furniture for office.
13. We always eat rice in the lunch.
14. I do not like to eat sugar.
15. I have Indane gas connection.
16. There is no problem of electricity in my colony.
17. I have power to fight anyone.
18. My dad earns much money.
19. US currency is dollar.
20. I drink only two tea daily.
21. Air pollution is increasing day by day.
22. Knowledge gives us confidence.
23. Greenery in the environment is the beauty of nature.
24. Anger may spoil anybody.
25. I always have fear of dogs.
26. It is confirmed by the research that people having sedentary lifestyle are more prone to diseases.
27. Safety is very important for everyone.
28. No evidence is found yet for that case.

Answers: 1 – water, 2 – butter, 3 – milk, 4 – clay, 5 – musician, 6 – Happiness, 7 – art, 8 – love, 9 – news, 10 – advice, 11 – information, 12 – furniture, 13 – rice, 14 – sugar, 15 – gas, 16 – electricity, 17 – power, 18 – money, 19 – currency, 20 – tea, 21 – Air, 22 – Knowledge, 23 – beauty, 24 – Anger, 25 – fear, 26 – research, 27 – Safety, 28 – evidence.

Related Topics:

Noun
Proper Noun
Common Noun
Compound Noun
Countable Noun
Collective Noun
Possessive Noun
Concrete Noun
Abstract Noun
Singular Noun
Plural Noun