How To Use Count And Non-Count Nouns
Still having a hard time knowing when to add “s” to form the plural of a noun? Unsure about what type of article to use when referring to a subject?
If the above details problems that you need a grammar software to help you through, then you need to learn about count and non-count nouns. Basically, this property of nouns refer to whether they can be counted or not.
Definition Time
Count nouns are things that can be divided into smaller distinct units. Non-count nouns, on the other hand, refer to things that are regarded as a whole and cannot be broken up in parts.
A table, for instance, is a count noun (you can saw it off). Furniture (which refers to a collective whole), on the other hand, is a non-count noun. A book is a count noun; knowledge is a non-count noun. And so on.
Applications
Count nouns are words that can be pluralized by adding “s” at the end. Non-count, on the other hand, cannot have a plural form. Do note that some words in the English language are both count and non-count, depending on use, and can be pluralized with an “s”. Examples of these two-timing words include “light,” “sound,” and “problem.”
As for articles, non-count nouns can only be combined with the articles “the,” “this,” and “that.” Singular count nouns, on the other hand, can be used with “a,” “an,” “the,” “this” and “that,” while plural non-count can only be employed with “the,” “these” and “those.”