In this lesson, you’ll learn about countable and uncountable nouns in both English and Urdu. We will cover definitions, examples, uses, and common phrases to help you understand these types of nouns clearly. This guide will make it easy for you to learn about countable and uncountable nouns and how to use them correctly.
Countable and Uncountable Nouns
Nouns may be countable or uncountable:
Countable Nouns
Countable nouns are the names of separate objects, people, and ideas, which can be counted.
وہ اسم جن کی گنتی ہو سکے۔ انہیں ہم
Countable Nouns
قابل شمار کہتے ہیں۔
We can use numbers and the articles a / an with countable nouns. They have plurals.
| A boy | A book |
| Three boys | Three books |
Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns are the names of material, liquids and abstract qualities. They include such things as ‘water, meat, cheese and so on. We cannot count them. Uncountable nouns have no plural. We cannot use a / an or one before an uncountable noun. But we can use ‘some, much, a large amount of, a lot of, lots of, plenty of, a good deal of, all, any, enough, no, the, this, that, my, our, etc. before Uncountable Nouns.
جن اسموں کی گنتی نہ ہوسکے۔ انہیں ہم
Uncountable Nouns
کہتے ہیں۔ان کی جمع نہیں بنتی۔ ان کے ساتھ
A, an
استعمال نہیں کر سکتے۔ البتہ کچھ دوسرے الفاظ استعمال کرسکتے ہیں۔
Using Uncountable Nouns:
- Uncountable nouns do not have a plural form.
Uncountable nouns
کی جمع نہیں بنتی
For Example:
- Where can we put all the furnitures? (Incorrect)
- Where can we put all the furniture? (Correct)
- Uncountable nouns are not used with a, an or words which have singular OR plural meaning (another, these, many, two, etc.).
Uncountable nouns
کے ساتھ
A, an or the
نہیں لگائے جاتے۔ ہم ان کے ساتھ ایسے الفاظ بھی نہیں لگا سکتے جو واحد اور جمع کے مطالب کے حامل ہوں۔
مثلا ہم ان کے ساتھ
Another, these, many, two etc.
نہیں لگاسکتے۔
For Example:
- She needs an information. (Incorrect)
- She needs some information. (Correct)
- Would you like another bread. (Incorrect)
- Would you like some more bread. (Correct)
Note: We can also use the plural and uncountable nouns on their own, without some or many.
| Plural | Uncountable |
| Aslam told some jokes. | We had some fun. |
| Do you know any jokes? | That won’t be any fun. |
| Aslam usually tells jokes. | We always have fun. |
To refer to a specific amount, use a piece of, a bit of, a slice of, a cup of, etc.
For Example:
- They gave her two pieces of useful information.
- For breakfast, I had three pieces of toast and two cups of tea.
Many and a few go only with plural nouns.
For Example:
- There were not many bottles.
Much and little go with uncountable nouns.
For Example:
- I do not drink much
- There was only a little bread left.
- After an Uncountable noun, the verb is singular.
Uncountable noun
کے بعد ہم
Singular
فعل استعمال کرتے ہیں۔
For Example:
- The traffic seems to get worse every day. (not seem)
- New equipment is urgently needed. (not are)
- The name of illnesses is usually uncountable in English, including those ending in ‘s’. Measles is a dangerous disease for children.
بیماریوں کے نام کو عام طور پر
Uncountable noun
کے طور پر استعمال کیا جاتا ہے۔
The words for some minor ailments are countable e.g. a cold, a sore throat, a headache.
معمولی بیماریوں کو
Countable noun
کے طور پر استعمال کیا جاتا ہے۔
However:
Toothache, earache, stomach, ache, and back ache. (Uncountable Nouns)
Some uncountable nouns are made countable with unit names, nouns of measure and nouns denoting containers.
بعض اسم جن کی گنتی نہیں ہوسکتی اگر انہیں گنتی کے قابل بنان ہو تو ان کے ساتھ کوئی
Unit
اسم، پیمائش ظاہر کرنے والا اسم یا
Uncountable noun
کو اپنے اندر رکھنے والا اسم لگا کر
Countable noun
بنائیں۔
List Of Uncountable Nouns With Equivalent Countable Phrase
| Uncountable Noun | Equivalent Countable Phrase |
| Abuse | A stream/ torrent/ volley of abuse |
| Advice | A bit/ piece/ word of advice |
| Applause | A burst/ round of applause |
| Bedding | A bundle/ roll of bedding |
| Bread | A loaf/ piece/ slice of bread |
| Cheese | A loaf/ piece/ slice of cheese |
| Chocolate | A bar of chocolate |
| Clothing | An article/ item/ a piece of clothing |
| Coffee | A cup of coffee |
| Dust | A cloud/ layer/ speck of dust |
| Equipment | A piece of equipment |
| Evidence | A piece of evidence |
| Furniture | An article/ item/ a piece of furniture |
| Glass | A pane/piece/sheet of glass |
| Homework | A piece of homework |
| Information | A bit/ an item/ a piece of information |
| Ink | A drop/ bottle of ink |
| Jewelry | An article/ a piece of jewelry |
| Laughter | A burst of gale/ peal/ shriek of laughter |
| Lightning | A flash of lightning |
| Luck | A bit/ piece/stroke of luck |
| Luggage | A bit/ piece of luggage |
| Machinery | A piece of machinery |
| Meat | A piece/ slice of meat |
