Uncountable Nouns (Mass Nouns)

What are Uncountable Nouns?

Uncountable Nouns, also known as Mass Nouns, are nouns that cannot be counted although they can be measured, such as through kilograms, meters, liters, or inches.


examples:


water

sand

rice

oil

juice

coffee

milk

lotion

alcohol

dust

confetti

perfume

weight


These nouns are often contained in bottles, cups, glasses, plastics, or cans, such as water in a glass or alcohol in a bottle.


When we use Mass Nouns in a sentence, we cannot pair them with numbers or the article "a/an".


examples:


"I drink a water." - incorrect

"I drink 2 waters."  - incorrect


"I drink water." - correct

"I want to have milk." - correct



Since water is a mass noun, it cannot take any number ("... 2 waters") or articles "a/an" ("... a water").


We can only use numbers or articles when we use countable nouns before the mass nouns.


examples:


"I want to drink a glass of water." - correct

"I want to drink two glasses of water." - correct


Glass is a countable noun. In this sentence, it is placed before a mass noun. Therefore, we can use numbers or articles.

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