13.    Uncountable nouns (also known as non-count nouns or mass nouns)

A1.     Names of substances considered generally:

bread        cream        gold       paper       tea

beer          dust          ice         sand        water

cloth         gin           jam        soap         wine

coffee        glass         oil          stone        wood

2     Abstract nouns:

advice         experience        horror              pity

beauty        fear                information       relief

courage       help                knowledge         suspicion

death          hope               mercy               work

3     Also considered uncountable in English:

baggage         damage          luggage        shopping

camping        furniture        parking        weather

These, with hair, information, knowledge, news, rubbish, are sometimes countable in other languages.

B     Uncountable nouns are always singular and are not used with a/an: / don't want (any) advice or help. I want (some) information. He has had no experience in this sort of work.

These nouns are often preceded by some, any, no, a little etc. or by

nouns such as bit, piece, slice etc. + of:

a bit of news           a grain of sand         a pot of jam

a cake of soap         a pane of glass          a sheet of paper

a drop of oil           a piece of advice

C.     Many of the nouns in the above groups can be used in a particular sense and are then countable. They can take a/an in the singular and can be used in the plural. Some examples are given below. hair (all the hair on one's head) is considered uncountable, but if we consider each hair separately we say one hair, two hairs etc.:

Her hair is black Whenever she finds a grey hair she pulls it out We drink beer, coffee, gin, but we can ask for a (cup of) coffee, a gin, two gins etc. We drink wine, but enjoy a good wine We drink it from a glass or from glasses We can walk in a wood/woods

experience meaning 'something which happened to someone' is countable:

He had an exciting experience/some exciting experiences

(= adventure/s) last week work meaning 'occupation/employment/a job/jobs' is uncountable:

He is looking for work/for a job

works (plural only) can mean 'factory' or 'moving parts of a machine'. works (usually plural) can be used of literary or musical compositions:

Shakespeare's complete works

D.    Some abstract nouns can be used in a particular sense with a/an: a help:

My children are a great help to me.       A good map would be a help. a relief:

It was a relief to sit down. a knowledge + of:

He had a good knowledge of mathematics. a dislike/dread/hatred/horror/love + of is also possible:

a love of music      a hatred of violence

a mercy/pity/shame/wonder can be used with that-clauses introduced by it:

// 's a pity you weren 't here.       It's a shame he wasn 't paid. it + be + a pity/shame + infinitive is also possible:

It would be a pity to cut down these trees

E.     a fear/fears, a hope/hopes, a suspicion/suspicions

These can be used with that-clauses introduced by there:

There is a fear/There are fears that he has been murdered. We can also have a suspicion that. . . Something can arouse a fear/fears, a hope/hopes, a suspicion/suspicions.