COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

أسماء تعد وأسماء لا تعد

COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

- Countable nouns are for things we can count

Examples

dog, horse, man, shop, idea.

They usually have a singular and plural form.
الاسماء التي تعد لها مفرد وجمع

Examples

two dogs, ten horses, a man, six men, the shops, a few ideas.

- Uncountable nouns are for the things that we cannot count

Examples

tea, sugar, water, air, rice.

They are often the names for abstract ideas or qualities.
اسماء معنوية مجردة مثل المعرفة والحب والخير والشر

Examples

knowledge, beauty, anger, fear, love.

They are used with a singular verb. They usually do not have a plural form. We cannot say sugars, angers, knowledges.
اسماء مفرد وليس لها جمع

Examples of common uncountable nouns:

• money, furniture, happiness, sadness, research, evidence, safety, beauty, knowledge.
  

We cannot use a/an with these nouns. To express a quantity of one of these nouns, use a word or expression like:
some, a lot of, a piece of, a bit of, a great deal of...
لا تستخدم معه ادوات النكرة
A/An
ولكن ولكن اذا تحدثنا عن اجزاء منها نستخدم
some, a lot of, a piece of, a bit of, a great deal of...</b>

Examples

• There has been a lot of research into the causes of this disease.
  
• He gave me a great deal of advice before my interview.
  
• They've got a lot of furniture.
  
• Can you give me some information about uncountable nouns?
  

- Some nouns are countable in other languages but uncountable in English. Some of the most common of these are:
كلمات لا تعد في اللغة الانجليزية

accommodation سكن advice نصح baggage اشياء المسافر behaviour سلوك bread خبز furniture أثاث information معلومات luggage أشياء المسافر

news أخبار progress تقدم traffic المرور travel السفر trouble متاعب weather الطقس work عمل

BE CAREFUL with the noun 'hair' which is normally uncountable in English:

كلمة "شعر" لا تعد عموما

• She has long blonde hair
  

It can also be countable when referring to individual hairs:

ولكن لو قصدنا شعرات منفصلة فهنا تعد

• My father's getting a few grey hairs now.