DG 05 – Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns are usually abstract things like 

-feelings (e.g. happiness)

-qualities (e.g. intelligence)

-substances (e.g. water, meat, gas) 

we cannot count.

We cannot use the indefinite article (a/an) or numbers with uncountable nouns.

They do not have plural forms.

However, we can use the definite article with uncountable nouns (the water, the furniture). 

Some other determiners (e.g. my information, any news, this advice).

News is not a plural noun; it’s uncountable and needs a singular verb.

Many uncountable nouns have very general meanings.

Furniture, for example, is an uncountable noun which refers to many different objects. 

If we want to be more specific, we can use the countable nouns sofa, table, chair, etc. Here are some more examples: