{"id":2209,"date":"2015-09-16T09:30:36","date_gmt":"2015-09-16T16:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?p=2209"},"modified":"2020-12-10T13:45:16","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T21:45:16","slug":"introduction-to-non-countable-nouns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/introduction-to-non-countable-nouns\/","title":{"rendered":"Introduction to Non-Countable Nouns"},"content":{"rendered":"

On this blog, I\u2019ve already showed you a lot of the rules for the use of articles<\/em>\u2014the short words \u201ca,\u201d \u201can,\u201d<\/a> and \u201cthe\u201d<\/a> which are sometimes used before nouns. The rules for these articles are important to good English speech and writing.<\/p>\n

But while it is important to know how to use these articles, it\u2019s just as important to know when not<\/em> to use these articles. There are certain types of nouns that are less likely to have an article attached to them, and are especially unlikely to come after \u201ca\u201d or \u201can.\u201d<\/p>\n

In case you hadn\u2019t guessed, I\u2019m talking about non-countable<\/em> nouns. These kinds of nouns label things that cannot be counted as individual items. Let me give you an example: sugar. Sugar is a non-countable noun, because it can only be measured in volume<\/em>, not in numbers. You can\u2019t say that you want to mix two sugars<\/em> into your cookie dough. Instead, you have to talk about sugar in terms of measurement\u2014adding 500 grams of <\/em>sugar or two cups of<\/em> sugar, or something like that. In contrast, \u201cgram\u201d and \u201ccup\u201d are countable. You can\u2019t have a larger volume of grams, but you can have more than one gram. Cups too are separate individual items\u2014there can be one cup, two cups, three, etc\u2026<\/p>\n

There are other examples of non-countable nouns that can\u2019t be measured at all, because the nouns label completely abstract ideas instead of things that are measured in volume. Happiness<\/em> is a good example of this. Happiness labels an experience, not a tangible object or substance. So happiness<\/em> would be non-countable.<\/p>\n

There are certain rules all non-countable nouns follow. Below are five simple rules to remember when you use non-countable nouns:<\/p>\n