Countable Nouns

What Are Countable Nouns? (with Examples)

A countable noun is a noun with both a singular and a plural form. (Most nouns are countable nouns for they name anything that can be counted.)

Countable nouns are the opposite of non-countable nouns.

Examples of Countable Nouns

Here are some examples of countable nouns:
Singular FormPlural Form
bearbears
coincoins
countrycountries
grapegrapes
manmen
oniononions
stadiumstadia
tabletables

Here are some non-countable nouns: hydrogen, meat, furniture, dancing.

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How to Spot Countable and Non-Countable Nouns

Countable nouns attract the question how many.

For example: Non-countable nouns attract the question how much.

For example:

Quantifiers with Countable and Non-Countable Nouns

Quantifiers tell us about number or amount.

The following terms are quantifiers: a little, a lot of, several, and a few.

Some quantifiers can only be used with countable nouns, some can only be used with non-countable nouns, and some can be used with both. Here is a list of some common quantifiers:
Quantifiers for countable nouns Quantifiers for non-countable nouns Quantifiers for both
A few [cakes]
A number of [cakes]
Several [cakes]
A bit of [baking]
An amount of [baking]
A little [baking]
A lot of [baking / cakes]
Any [baking / cakes]
Lots of [baking / cakes]
No [baking / cakes]
Some [baking / cakes]

Read more about quantity, amount, and number.

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See Also

What are nouns? What does singular mean? What does plural mean? What are non-countable nouns? Using quantity, amount, and number Glossary of grammatical terms