Exercise 1 Uncountable Nouns

Do the following exercise to get  a sense of what we mean "uncountable" in English.

Look at the following sentences. Underline the uncountable nouns. Ask yourself,  "Can I count
this thing?"

1. Presents made from gold are highly valued in almost any culture. 
2.  He asked me to buy salt at a grocery store.
3. Wind can be a serious problem for a small boats.
4. She bought a shampoo and a pencil at a drugstore.
5. We had soup at the restaurant down the street.
6. Most people love music.
7. Swimming is a very healthy activity.
8. Find as much information as you can in the library

                       

Uncountable noun

Uncountable nouns are nouns which we cannot count.

Example :                              
                                                  Rice

                                                                                                    


                                                  Oil
                             
                                

                                                   
                                                     Sugar

                                       


We cannot use "a" or "an" before an uncountable noun.

Example : a rice          an oil          a sugar

Uncountable nouns cannot have plural forms.

Example : rices          oils              sugars

We can only use "is" with uncountable nouns. We cannot use "are".

Example : There is rice int the pot. (✓)
                 There are rice in the pot. (✕)
                 Palm oil is used for cooking. (✓)
                 Palm oil are used for cooking. (✕)
                 Sugar is sweet. (✓)
                 Sugar are sweet. (✕)

More examples for uncountable nouns.

Uncountable Nouns
bread	air
butter	food
jam	dust
porridge	soup
meat	ice