coursework is countable or uncountable

Stack Exchange Network

Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.

Q&A for work

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

What is the plural form of the word “coursework”?

I wonder what is the plural form of the word “coursework”?

Courseworks seem to be incorrect.

• plural-forms

2 Answers 2

"Coursework" is a mass noun, which means it is uncountable and used in similar ways to other mass nouns you might be more familiar with. Think water , love , or ass-kicking .

Here is a sentence from Cambridge English Corpus

Studio courses are intended as the point of integration for all other coursework and educational experiences. ( source )

Similarly, words such as "schoolwork" and "homework" are also mass nouns. You can't count them or pluralize them.

My science teacher always sets a lot of homework.

• Ass-kicking is not a mass noun. "If you don't finish this soon I will give you an ass-kicking." Water is primarily a mass noun, and love is commonly a mass noun ('Love is the most important thing to have in your life.'), but is often a countable noun as well ('She is the love of my life.'; 'Find a new love.'). –  Brandin Nov 8, 2018 at 7:02
• Thanks. Is there any website that I can use to find out if a noun is accountable or not? –  Lei Xun Nov 8, 2018 at 7:49
• @Brandin A lot of words are not strictly mass nouns. Of course, we could find words that are "more" uncountable than others, whose plural forms are considered non-idiomatic, as examples. I was just giving examples off the top of my head and wasn't trying to list "pure" mass nouns. "Ass-kicking" is also a mass noun. "I have some ass-kicking to do." –  Eddie Kal Nov 8, 2018 at 15:43
• @LeiXun Try MacMillan and Cambridge Dictionaries. –  Eddie Kal Nov 8, 2018 at 15:44

Coursework (uncountable) can encompass a wide range of activities, including practice, experimentation, research, and writing. As for the latter, the term is a coursework essay , for example:

There was a pile of coursework essays on the table. How many coursework essays have you read today?

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for browse other questions tagged plural-forms ., hot network questions.

• Does it make sense for giants to use clubs or swords when fighting non-giants?
• Projective space as Grassmannian
• Missing items in my list of abbreviations
• Is 1.5 hours enough for flight transfer in Frankfurt?
• Does the Gunner feat let you ignore the Reload property?
• Advice on DIY Adjusting Rheem Water Heater Thermostat
• Is the barrier to entry for mathematics research increasing, and is it at risk of becoming less accessible in the future?
• Draw Memory Map/Layout/Region in TikZ
• Python matrix class
• Am I seeing double? What kind of helicopter is this, and how many blades does it actually have?
• Can I travel with my child to the UK if I am not the person named in their visitor's visa?
• How to make Bash remove quotes after parameter expansion?
• A peculiar problem on geometry relating to finding the angle between the diagonals of a cyclic quadrilateral
• Are there any jobs that are forbidden by law to convicted felons?
• Do we know how the SpaceX Starship stack handles engine shutdowns?
• Why is the Mean Value Theorem called "Gauss's"?
• Has ever a country by its own volition refused to join United Nations, or those which havent joined it's because they aren't recognized as such by UN?
• Book recommendation introduction to model theory
• Have I ruined my AC by running it with the outside cover on?
• What is the point of triggering of a national snap election immediately after losing the EU elections?
• Inductance after core saturation
• Is a porch light with integrated outlet safe / to code?
• Why is killing even evil brahmins categorized as 'brahma hatya'?
• Why don't professors seem to use learning strategies like spaced repetition and note-taking?

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Nouns: countable and uncountable

Countable nouns.

Some nouns refer to things which, in English, are treated as separate items which can be counted. These are called countable nouns. Here are some examples:

a car , three cars

my cousin , my two cousins

a book , a box full of books

a city , several big cities

Singular and plural

Countable nouns can be singular or plural. They can be used with a/an and with numbers and many other determiners (e.g. these, a few ):

She’s got two sisters and a younger brother .

Most people buy things like cameras and MP3-players online these days .

These shoes look old now.

I’ll take a few magazines with me for the flight .

Determiners ( the, my , some , this )

Singular and plural nouns

Uncountable nouns

In English grammar, some things are seen as a whole or mass. These are called uncountable nouns, because they cannot be separated or counted.

Some examples of uncountable nouns are:

Ideas and experiences: advice, information, progress, news, luck, fun, work

Materials and substances: water, rice, cement, gold, milk

Weather words: weather, thunder, lightning, rain, snow

Names for groups or collections of things: furniture, equipment, rubbish, luggage

Other common uncountable nouns include: accommodation, baggage, homework, knowledge, money, permission, research, traffic, travel .

These nouns are not used with a/an or numbers and are not used in the plural.

We’re going to get new furniture for the living room.

Not: We’re going to get a new furniture for the living room . or We’re going to get new furnitures for the living room .

We had terrible weather last week.

Not: We had a terrible weather last week .

We need rice next time we go shopping.

Some nouns always have plural form but they are uncountable because we cannot use numbers with them.

I bought two pairs of trousers .

Not: I bought two trousers .

Other nouns of this type are: shorts, pants, pyjamas, glasses (for the eyes), binoculars, scissors .

Some nouns which are uncountable in English are countable in other languages (e.g. accommodation, advice, furniture, information ):

They can give you some information about accommodation at the tourist office.

Not: They can give you some informations about accommodations at the tourist office .

Can you give me some advice about buying a second-hand car?

Not: Can you give me some advices about buying a second-hand car?

A good learner’s dictionary will tell you whether a noun is countable or uncountable.

Quantity expressions ( a bit/piece )

To refer to one or more quantities of an uncountable noun , expressions such as a bit of, a piece of , an item of or words for containers and measures must be used:

He bought a very expensive piece of furniture for his new apartment.

Maggie always has some exciting bits of news when she comes to see us.

I think we’ll need five bags of cement for the patio.

There’s a litre of milk in the fridge for you. And I bought you a bar of chocolate .

Determiners ( my, some, the )

Uncountable nouns can be used with certain determiners (e.g. my, her , some, any , no , the, this, that ) and expressions of quantity (e.g. a lot of, (a) little ):

They gave me some information about courses and scholarships and things.

Have you heard the news ? Fran’s getting engaged.

She’s been studying hard and has made a lot of progress .

There’s no work to do here, so you can go home if you like.

This milk ’s a bit old, I’m afraid.

Countable phrases for uncountable nouns

We can sometimes use countable noun phrases to talk about an individual example of the thing an uncountable noun refers to.

Finding a place to live is difficult if you’re a student and you’ve got no money. (or Finding accommodation … )

Not: Finding an accommodation …

She brought two big suitcases and a rucksack with her.

Not: She brought two big luggages …

I read a poem once about someone riding a horse at night.

Not: I read a poetry …

We went on a trip to the Amazon when we were in Brazil.

Not: We went on a travel …

Countable and uncountable nouns with different meanings

Some nouns can be used either countably or uncountably, but with different meanings.

Uncountable nouns used countably

Measures and examples.

Sometimes uncountable nouns are used countably, to mean ‘a measure of something’ or ‘a type or example of something’:

Can I have two teas and one coffee , please? (two cups of tea and one cup of coffee …?)

A: How many sugars do you want in your tea? (How many spoonfuls/lumps of sugar?) B: Just one, please .

To some degree we tend to eat the foods that we ate as children. (i.e. types of food)

Abstract nouns

Some abstract nouns can be used uncountably or countably. The uncountable use has a more general meaning. The countable use has a more particular meaning.

Nouns of this type include: education, experience, hatred, help, knowledge, life, love, sleep, time, understanding .

Word of the Day

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

an animal that produces eggs and uses the heat of the sun to keep its blood warm

Worse than or worst of all? How to use the words ‘worse’ and ‘worst’

Learn more with +Plus

• Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
• Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
• Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
• Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
• English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
• English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
• English–Dutch Dutch–English
• English–French French–English
• English–German German–English
• English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
• English–Italian Italian–English
• English–Japanese Japanese–English
• English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
• English–Polish Polish–English
• English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
• English–Spanish Spanish–English
• English–Swedish Swedish–English
• Dictionary +Plus Word Lists

To add ${headword} to a word list please sign up or log in.

Add ${headword} to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{message}}

Something went wrong.

There was a problem sending your report.

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.

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.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and site URL in my browser for next time I post a comment.

Sign me up for the newsletter!

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, automatically generate references for free.

• Knowledge Base
• Nouns and pronouns
• How to Tell If a Noun Is Countable or Uncountable | Examples

How to Tell if a Noun is Countable or Uncountable | Examples

Published on 15 August 2022 by Fiona Middleton . Revised on 18 April 2023.

Uncountable nouns, also known as mass nouns or noncount nouns, refer to a mass of something or an abstract concept that can’t be counted (except with a unit of measurement). In contrast, countable nouns can be counted as individual items.

The main rules to remember for uncountable nouns are that they cannot be pluralised, and that they never take indefinite articles (‘a’ or “an”).

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Be assured that you'll submit flawless writing. Upload your document to correct all your mistakes.

Table of contents

Countable noun or uncountable noun, are uncountable nouns singular or plural, using articles with uncountable nouns, numbers and amounts, ‘research’ and ‘data’.

Some nouns in English, like those in the table above, are always (or nearly always) uncountable. Many other nouns, however, can be countable or uncountable depending on the context.

To identify whether a noun is countable or uncountable in a particular context, consider whether you are referring to a single tangible item, entity or type of something, or if you are describing a general mass or idea of something.

The only proofreading tool specialized in correcting academic writing

The academic proofreading tool has been trained on 1000s of academic texts and by native English editors. Making it the most accurate and reliable proofreading tool for students.

Correct my document today

Uncountable nouns should be treated as singular, and thus should always be used with singular verbs to ensure correct subject-verb agreement .

• Knowledges are power.
• Knowledge are power.
• Knowledge is power.

Singular countable nouns generally require an article or other determiner (e.g., ‘the interview’, ‘a participant’, ‘my hypothesis’). Uncountable nouns, in contrast, can usually stand alone without an article.

Because uncountable nouns can’t be counted as a single item,  indefinite articles (‘a’ or ‘an’) should never be used with them.

• The admissions office can provide an advice about arranging accommodation.
• The admissions office can provide advice about arranging accommodation.

The definite article ‘the’ can be used when you are referring to a particular instance or specific mass of an uncountable noun.

• All living things require water to survive.
• We wanted to swim but the water was too cold.

Many uncountable nouns are associated with words that break them up into countable units. This is helpful when you want to refer to a single or numbered instance or unit.

• A piece of advice.
• A head of broccoli.
• A bolt of lightning.
• Ten items of feedback.

Finding the correct term to describe amounts can be tricky. Many terms that describe amount (e.g., ‘some’, ‘ a lot of’ and ‘most’) can be used with both uncountable and countable nouns (although note that these terms are often  too vague to use in academic writing).

• Uncountable: Some vegetation has started to grow over the study site.
• Countable: Some chickens have also been spotted in the area.
• Uncountable: After 5 minutes most of the calcium carbonate should be dissolved.
• Countable: Most of the chemicals are not easy to obtain.

However, there are certain terms that can only be used with either uncountable or countable nouns. Make sure to choose correctly between ‘less’/’fewer’, ‘much’/’many’, and ‘amount’/’number’.

In academic writing, ‘research’ and ‘data’ are two uncountable nouns that are notoriously difficult to use correctly.

Never add ‘s’ to pluralise ‘research’ or ‘data’. (Note that the word ‘researches’ is only correct when used as the third-person singular of the verb ‘to research.’)

• We review researches about the financial crisis of 2007.
• We review research about the financial crisis of 2007.
• The experiments produced a large amount of datas .
• The experiments produced a large amount of data .

Always use ‘research’ as a singular noun.

• Research are lacking in this area.
• Research is lacking in this area.

Data, however, can be used as a singular or plural noun .

• Data was collected through semi-structured interviews.
• Data were collected through semi-structured interviews.

Sources for this article

We strongly encourage students to use sources in their work. You can cite our article (APA Style) or take a deep dive into the articles below.

Middleton, F. (2023, April 18). How to Tell if a Noun is Countable or Uncountable | Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 9 June 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/nouns/uncountable-noun/

Aarts, B. (2011).  Oxford modern English grammar . Oxford University Press.

Butterfield, J. (Ed.). (2015).  Fowler’s dictionary of modern English usage  (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Garner, B. A. (2016).  Garner’s modern English usage (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Is this article helpful?

Fiona Middleton

Other students also liked, what is a pronoun | definition, types & examples, comma before or after and | rules & examples, comma splice | definition, examples, & rules.

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

• Pronunciation & Conversation
• Writing Skills
• Reading Comprehension
• Business English
• Resources for Teachers
• TESOL Diploma, Trinity College London
• M.A., Music Performance, Cologne University of Music
• B.A., Vocal Performance, Eastman School of Music

There are many different types of nouns in English. Objects, ideas, and places can all be nouns. Every noun is either countable or uncountable.

Countable nouns are nouns you can count, and uncountable nouns are nouns you can't count. Countable nouns can take the singular or the plural form of a verb. Uncountable nouns always take the singular form of the verb. Study the rules and examples below.

What Are Countable Nouns?

Countable nouns are individual objects, people, places, etc. which can be counted. Nouns are considered content words meaning they provide the people, things, ideas, etc. about which we speak. Nouns are one of the eight parts of speech . For example, apple, book, government, student, island.

A countable noun can be both singular—a friend, a house, etc.—or plural—a few apples, lots of trees, etc.

Use the singular form of the verb with a singular countable noun :

• There is a book on the table.
• That student is excellent!

Use the plural form of the verb with a countable noun in the plural:

• There are some students in the classroom.
• Those houses are very big, aren't they?

What Are Uncountable Nouns?

Uncountable nouns are materials, concepts, information, etc. which are not individual objects and can not be counted. For example, information, water, understanding, wood, cheese, etc.

Uncountable nouns are always singular. Use the singular form of the verb with uncountable nouns:

• There is some water in that pitcher.
• That is the equipment we use for the project.

Adjectives With Countable and Uncountable Nouns.

Use a/an with countable nouns preceded by an adjective(s):

• Tom is a very intelligent young man.
• I have a beautiful grey cat.

Do not use a/an ( indefinite articles ) with uncountable nouns preceded by an adjective(s):

• That is very useful information.
• There is some cold beer in the fridge.

Some uncountable nouns in English are countable in other languages. This can be confusing! Here is a list of some of the most common, easy to confuse uncountable nouns.

• accommodation
• information

Obviously, uncountable nouns (especially different types of food) have forms that express plural concepts. These measurements or containers are countable:

• water - a glass of water
• equipment - a piece of equipment
• cheese - a slice of cheese

Here are some of the most common containers / quantity expressions for these uncountable nouns:

• accommodation - a place to stay
• advice - a piece of advice
• baggage - a piece of baggage
• bread - a slice of bread, a loaf of bread
• furniture - a piece of furniture
• garbage - a piece of garbage
• information - a piece of information
• knowledge - a fact
• luggage - a piece of luggage, a bag, a suitcase
• money - a note, a coin
• news - a piece of news
• pasta - a plate of pasta, a serving of pasta
• research - a piece of research, a research project
• travel - a journey, a trip
• work - a job, a position

Here are some more common uncountable food types with their container / quantity expressions :

• liquids (water, beer, wine, etc.) - a glass, a bottle, a jug of water, etc.
• cheese - a slice, a chunk, a piece of cheese
• meat - a piece, a slice, a pound of meat
• butter - a bar of butter
• ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard - a bottle of, a tube of ketchup, etc.
• Essential Basic English Lessons
• Guide to Expressions of Quantity
• Countable and Uncountable Nouns Explained for ESL
• Conversations in Restaurants for ESL Beginners
• Passive Voice Usage and Examples
• ESL Lesson Plan on Countable and Uncountable Nouns
• Express Quantity in English for Beginning Speakers
• Learn the Seven Types of English Nouns
• Countable and Non-Countable Nouns: Using How Much and How Many
• Voiced vs. Voiceless Consonants
• Common Mistakes in English: A Little vs. a Few, Little vs. Few
• Some or Any for Absolute Beginner English
• Expressing Quantity for Large Amounts
• Writing Sentences for Beginners
• Plural Noun Forms
• Common Writing Mistakes

200 Common Errors in English

Grammar errors.

• Errors Quiz Lesson 1
• Errors Quiz Lesson 2
• Errors Quiz Lesson 3
• Errors Quiz Lesson 4
• Errors Quiz Lesson 5
• Errors Quiz Lesson 6
• Errors Quiz Lesson 7
• Errors Quiz Lesson 8
• Errors Quiz Lesson 9
• Errors Quiz Lesson 10
• Errors Quiz Lesson 11
• Errors Quiz Lesson 12
• Errors Quiz Lesson 13
• Errors Quiz Lesson 14
• Errors Quiz Lesson 15
• Errors Quiz Lesson 16
• Errors Quiz Lesson 17
• Errors Quiz Lesson 18
• Errors Quiz Lesson 19
• Errors Quiz Lesson 20
• Errors Quiz Lesson 21
• Errors Quiz Lesson 22
• Errors Quiz Lesson 23
• Errors Quiz Lesson 24
• Errors Quiz Lesson 25
• Errors Quiz Lesson 26
• Errors Quiz Lesson 27
• Errors Quiz Lesson 28
• Errors Quiz Lesson 29
• Errors Quiz Lesson 30
• Errors Quiz Lesson 31
• Errors Quiz Lesson 32
• Pronunciation Errors Lesson 33 – Errors with similar sounds
• Lesson 34 – Errors with difficult sounds
• Lesson 35 – Errors with confusing combinations of letters
• Lesson 36 – Errors with words that have deceptive spelling (Part 1)
• Lesson 37 – Errors with words that have deceptive spelling (Part 2)
• Lesson 38 – Errors with syllables
• Learning & Mindset Problems Lesson 39 – Learning mistakes (Part 1)
• Lesson 40 – Learning mistakes (Part 2)
• Lesson 41 – Mindset mistakes (Part 1)
• Lesson 42 – Mindset mistakes (Part 2)
• Your Feedback & Next Steps

Lesson 1 – Introduction & Errors with countable and uncountable nouns

Welcome to the 200 Common Errors in English Course!

I’m excited to help you fix your mistakes and improve your English so that you can speak more confidently and fluently – without worrying that you’re doing something wrong.

Today I’m going to explain the structure of the course and the lessons.

The first 21 lessons focus on  grammar mistakes.  I’ll show you the wrong way to say it – the common error – and then the right way, the way a native English speaker would say it. And then I’ll briefly explain why, and I might also give a couple more examples to help you see how the grammar is used correctly.

The next section is all about  vocabulary mistakes  – using the wrong word. The English language has a lot of words that seem similar, but are actually different. I’ll teach you how to avoid mistakes made by both English learners and native English speakers, so that you’ll know how to use these words the right way.

After that, we’ll study  spelling mistakes , which are so easy to make because English pronunciation and spelling are very irregular! A lot of words are spelled differently from how they might sound, and trying to learn spelling “rules” is frustrating because there are so many exceptions. But in these lessons you’ll learn the most common misspellings and how to fix them.

Next, we’ll work on  pronunciation  – and this section requires your active participation, as I’ll ask you to listen and repeat after me in order to say things correctly and avoid the common errors! Don’t be shy; give it a try. Practicing and fixing pronunciation mistakes will help you reduce your accent, so that other people can understand you better when you speak English.

The final part of the course focuses on  learning and mindset mistakes.  It’s about correcting bad study habits or bad thinking habits that language learners tend to have. In some ways, this is the most important section of the course because these things are at the foundation of everything you do when you’re trying to improve your English – so ask yourself if you’re making any of these errors!

THE FORMAT FOR EACH LESSON IS SIMPLE:

First,  watch the video . You can pause it if you need to take notes.

Next,  try the quiz  so that you can review and test your understanding. You can check your answers by clicking “Finish quiz” and then “View questions.”

One extra thing you can do is to try creating your own sentences, putting into practice what you learned in the lesson.

As you finish each activity, make sure to click “Mark Complete” to check it off:

You’ll have permanent access to this course, so you can go back and review the videos anytime in the future. If you have any technical trouble, just send me an e-mail and I’m happy to help.

By the end of this course, you’ll know all about the most common errors in grammar, vocabulary, spelling, pronunciation, and learning and mindset – so that you can avoid them and speak better English.

Go ahead and start Lesson 1!

Hello students!

We’re going to start our course by learning about the most common grammar mistakes.

Before we begin, I’d like to remind you that when we speak English, our grammar is not always perfect (especially when it comes to sentence structure). The grammar of spoken English is a little more “flexible” than what we expect in written English. That means that usually people can understand you, even if you’ve made a small mistake with a preposition or a verb tense.

I don’t want you to think that grammar mistakes are serious or disastrous, and I definitely don’t want the fear of mistakes to prevent you from trying to use your English.

Mistakes are nothing to be afraid of… but of course we do want to fix them or avoid them – that’s why you’re taking this course!

Just remember: don’t be afraid of mistakes, and don’t let them stop you from speaking. But let’s learn how to avoid the most common ones together. We’ll begin with some common errors involving nouns and pronouns.

• I need some informations .
• He gave me a lot of advices .
• I need some information .
• He gave me a lot of advice .

Information and advice are considered uncountable nouns, and they are never plural.

In English, we have two types of nouns – countable nouns:

• one book , two books
• one person , ten people
• one picture , a hundred pictures

And we have uncountable nouns, which are often things we can’t count, or can’t divide into individual parts.

Here are some examples of uncountable nouns:

• Ideas and concepts: love, fun, sadness, work, money, peace, safety
• Information: advice, information, news, knowledge
• Categories: music, furniture, equipment, jewelry, literature, stuff, luggage
• Liquids/foods that can’t be counted as units: water, butter, rice, flour, milk

Uncountable nouns are NEVER plural, so it’s always incorrect to say advices, equipments, informations , etc.

Some uncountable nouns – especially information, advice, news, furniture, equipment, jewelry, and luggage – can be quantified by using the word “piece”:

• We bought two pieces of furniture – a bookcase and a dresser.
• She gave me three pieces of advice: study hard, have fun, and make friends.

There are some complications – for example, some nouns can be countable in some situations and uncountable in others.

The word room is countable when referring to the specific places in a house, apartment, hotel, etc. And it is uncountable when referring to space in general:

• Our house has five rooms: the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, living room, and family room. (countable)
• I’ll make some room for these new books in the bookshelf. (uncountable)

If you want to see more examples of nouns that can be both countable and uncountable, click here .

There’s also a big list of uncountable nouns, which also identifies the nouns that can be both: https://ieltsliz.com/uncountable-nouns-word-list/

• How many equipment is in the factory?
• I have few knowledge in this area.
• How much equipment is in the factory?
• I have little knowledge in this area.

With uncountablenouns, we can use much, little , and amount of:

• How much stuff was stolen?
• I spent a little money at the store.
• The recipe calls for a small amount of butter.

With countablenouns, we can use many, few, and number of:

• How many machines are in the factory?
• I’ve read a few bookson this topic.
• The video was seen by a large number of people .

We can use some and a lot of / lots of with both:

• We bought some equipment / some machines .
• I’ve read a lot of books . / I have a lot of knowledge.
• He put lots of sugar in his coffee. / She ate lots of cookies.

Remember that a lot is always two words, never “alot.” That’s a simple mistake that a lot of native English speakers make as well!

That’s all for today – now you can take a quiz to practice and review these two mistakes and the correct way to say things. See you in the next lesson!

Download:  Text & Quiz  /  Audio Right-click each link and select “Save as…”

Training or trainings: what is the correct plural form?

We use the word “training” everyday. As a premium provider of language and communication training, it might even be one of the words we use most! But one question keeps creeping up. Is the correct plural “training” or “trainings”?

Photo credit: Camylla Battani

Is training countable or uncountable?

That depends on whether you view “training” as a mass noun or a count noun. English-language experts fervently disagree on this matter. What is the difference between a mass noun and a count noun? According to the Oxford Dictionary , a mass noun “denot[es] something that cannot be counted (e.g. a substance or quality)”. Whereas a count noun, as the name implies, can be tallied.

The meaning of “trainings” in other languages

Before we look at the correct English-language translation of “die Trainings”, let’s first look at how this noun is used in German. Surprisingly, “das Training” isn’t as new as you might think. It has, according to Wolfgang Pfeifer’s Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen , been used in German since the second half of the nineteenth century. While “das Training” may have originally denoted a fitness regimen or a drill, its figurative meaning as an educational exercise or lesson has increased in popularity in business German over the past 20 years.

Google Ngram viewer , a tool that measures a word or phrase’s popularity within millions of published texts, illustrates this well. While Google Ngram is not without its drawbacks , it offers the layperson the means to assess the popularity of specific terms over time. Its plural form, which always refers to the figurative use of the word, is roughly 1.75 times more popular than the plural form of the Germanic equivalent “Schulungen”. (Note: some of these iterations of “Trainings” could be the genitive form.) This trend began around the year 2000. Other European languages have also since adopted the term. The word “training” and its plural “trainings” have found a home in French and Spanish business terminology too, for example.

But the English language that first exported the word training does not necessarily agree with the plural form that other languages have embraced. For years, I translated the plural “die Trainings” as “training” in English because I considered it a mass noun like the word education. To talk about multiple episodes of training, you say training events, training sessions or training seminars.

The plural of “training” in British vs. American English

But language is ever changing. And things are indeed changing for the word “training”. I was first alerted to this when recently speaking with my sister, a native speaker of American English who lives and works in the US. Although I, too, am a native speaker, I’ve been in Germany long enough that sometimes my language feels influenced by popular German Anglicisms. My sister said to me: “We have to schedule a lot of trainings at work.”

My jaw dropped. Has this become an acceptable plural in English? And here’s what I found out: yes, it is acceptable to use the plural form “trainings”. But only in American English and only when emphasising training sessions as individual entities.

The most authoritative American English dictionary, Merriam-Webster , agrees that the plural of training is “trainings”. British dictionaries, such as the Oxford Dictionary, however, disagree that it can function as a count noun. For arbiters of British English, there is still no plural of training.

Google Ngram shows us that dictionaries are mirroring written language, as well. The word has been popping up in the plural form more and more since 2000 – with a higher occurrence in American than British English. It’s not surprising that Merriam-Webster has accepted the plural form and Oxford still has yet to do so. Which language uses it with a plural form the most, though? German: 23 times as much as US English. Perhaps it was even the Germans and other Europeans with their use of “trainings” who imported this plural back into English.

Our final answer

To go back to the original question, its only officially correct usage in British English is as a mass noun, and American English also often uses it as a mass noun. So we’d keep the sentence above as “we offer training” in British and American English, but we might say in American English that a company “booked five trainings” with us. In British English, we’d say that a company “booked five training sessions” with us.

Can our language experts help you or your company? Find out more about our professional language services .

Join our network:

Other interesting articles:

Why (and how) you should still master telephone skills in 2023

When in rome, do as the romans do. easter customs around the world., new year traditions from cultures around the globe, englishbusiness gmbh, search our page, opening hours: monday to friday 8:30 till 18:30.

Join our network!            Certified by:  

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))

25 Accesses

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

© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

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

How to Use Countable and Uncountable Nouns: A Comprehensive Guide

• Mathematics

• Rules/Help/FAQ Help/FAQ
• Members Current visitors
• Interface Language

Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.

Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.

• Spanish-English / Español-Inglés
• Spanish-English Grammar / Gramática Español-Inglés

housework: countable or uncoutable?

• Thread starter Sintabaco
• Start date Jun 13, 2013

Senior Member

• Jun 13, 2013

Can you help me? I am not sure if housework is countable or uncountalbe . I would say it is uncountable as I have never used it in the plural form.  

housework - definition NOUN [ UNCOUNTABLE ] ( MacMillan Dictionary ) Click to expand...

housework noun ( Cambridge Dictionary ) Click to expand...

Uncountable.  

Thank you very much  

• 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 application noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

• application

for job/course

• a planning/patent/visa application
• We have received applications from more than 3 000 students.
• You need to complete the online application form .
• application for something an application for asylum/a licence
• (formal) an application for leave to appeal against the conviction
• application to do something After graduating she made an application to join the BBC.
• application to somebody (for something) His application to the court for bail has been refused.
• application to somebody to do something They submitted an application to the council to build two houses.
• on application to somebody Further information is available on application to the principal.
• look for work
• look for/​apply for/​go for a job
• get/​pick up/​complete/​fill out/ (British English) fill in an application (form)
• send/​email your (British English) CV/ (North American English) résumé/application/​application form/​covering letter
• be called for/​have/​attend an interview
• offer somebody a job/​work/​employment/​promotion
• find/​get/​land a job
• employ/ (especially North American English) hire/​recruit/ (especially British English) take on staff/​workers/​trainees
• recruit/​appoint a manager
• arrive at/​get to/​leave work/​the office/​the factory
• start/​finish work/​your shift
• do/​put in/​work overtime
• have/​gain/​get/​lack/​need experience/​qualifications
• do/​get/​have/​receive training
• learn/​pick up/​improve/​develop (your) skills
• cope with/​manage/​share/​spread the workload
• improve your/​achieve a better work-life balance
• have (no) job satisfaction/​job security
• have a job/​work/​a career/​a vocation
• find/​follow/​pursue/ (especially North American English) live (out) your vocation
• enter/​go into/​join a profession
• choose/​embark on/​start/​begin/​pursue a career
• change jobs/​profession/​career
• be/ (both especially British English) work/​go freelance
• do/​take on temp work/​freelance work
• do/​be engaged in/​be involved in voluntary work
• leave/ (especially North American English) quit/​resign from your job
• give up work/​your job/​your career
• hand in your notice/​resignation
• plan to/​be due to retire in June/​next year, etc.
• take early retirement
• Admission is obtained by written application.
• Applications are invited for the post of Lecturer in French.
• I am pleased to tell you that your application for the post of Assistant Editor has been successful.
• It takes time to process each application.
• Prospective members fill out an online application.
• There has been a drop in visa applications.
• We accept permit applications year-round.
• an application to the local authority
• I've made an application for a loan of £3 000.
• We received over 100 applications for the job.
• by application
• on application
• application for

Questions about grammar and vocabulary?

Find the answers with Practical English Usage online, your indispensable guide to problems in English.

practical use

• The invention would have a wide range of applications in industry.
• What are the practical applications of this work?
• application (of something) to something the application of new technology to teaching
• the reported therapeutic applications of bee venom
• The program is designed for general application.

of paint/cream

• It took three applications of paint to cover the graffiti.
• lotion for external application only (= to be put on the skin, not swallowed)

of rule/law

• strict application of the law
• a database application
• beta version
• interactive
• spreadsheet
• Users access the applications via the Web.
• You can run several applications at the same time.
• an operating system that can integrate other applications
• Success as a writer demands great application.

Other results

• killer application
• application programming interface
• application programming interfaces

Nearby words