Countable Noun
(What It Is & How To Use It)
“A Countable Noun Is A Noun Which Is “Counted” By Number, Rather Than Measured By Its Mass Or Volume”
What Is A Countable Noun?
n Traditional English Grammar — The Term “Noun” is classified as one of the so-called “Parts Of Speech” — or sometimes, as a “Word-Class”. However — those traditional Terms are imperfect, and also lead to the confusion that so many people experience with English Grammar.
herefore — in The Grammar Of The Common Tongue — I have replaced those imperfect Terms, with the more suitable and precise Term: “Grammatical Unit”. The Noun is one of the eight “Base Grammatical Units” in The Common Tongue Of The English Language. And a “Countable Noun” is a specific type of Noun.
Bonus! — To comprehend why this change of Terms was necessary — simply click any of the links in the explanation above, or anywhere else on this page to read the proper, logical, & correct descriptions of the Grammatical Terms used in this article. 😉
he Term “Countable Noun” is the Grammatical Term which is used to refer to specific types of Nouns in The English Language. These are Nouns which can be “Counted”, and are usually preceded by a Number or an Article and — when in the Plural Form — usually end with an “-s” or “-es” Suffix.
his is as-opposed-to what are called “Un-Countable Nouns” — which are Nouns that represent things which can NOT be measured by Number — but are measured by their Mass, Scale, or Volume. For example: “Sand” (Mass), “Production” (Scale), or “Water” (Volume). We do not say that there is “one water”. We say that there is “some water” (or some other unit of measure).
here are also many Nouns which are considered as “Un-Countable Nouns” — or what, in The Common Tongue, we call “Non-Countable Nouns” (read that post for a description of why the name change) — because actually counting each individual unit of that thing would be very difficult. For example: “Sand”. It is POSSIBLE to count every single grain of sand… But it would be incredibly difficult. So we treat it as an Non-Countable Noun.
ountable Nouns are also sometimes — wrongly — referred to as a “Count Noun”. This is more common in British English. It is wrong because the word “Count” is a Verb. But by adding the Suffix “-able” to the word — it turns into an Adjective — thus making it Grammatically Correct. So calling it a “Count Noun” is wrong. 😎
Examples Of Countable Nouns:
An Awesome Car
A Bad-Ass Apple
The Coolest Teacher In The Universe
Three Hip Dancing Gorillas And A Chubby Crying Baby
Two (Obviously) Very Intelligent Soldiers
n these examples — The Articles: A, An, & The — along with the Numbers: One, Two, & Three — indicate How Many of each Noun they are referring to. In Traditional Grammar, these Articles & Numbers are referred to as “Quantifiers” because they indicate the “Quantity” (how many) of the Nouns there are — or how many they are referring to.
owever — all Quantifiers act “Adjectivally”. And since the Word-Class of “Quantifiers” include Nouns, Numbers, & Adjectives — as well as their Phrase & Phrasal Forms — we do not often use the Term “Quantifier” in The Grammar Of The Common Tongue.
What Are The Differences Between Countable & Non-Countable Nouns?
ountable Nouns are different from Non-Countable Nouns because they refer to Individual Units. Non-Countable Nouns are Nouns which refer to things which — when increased in “size” or “amount” — do not necessarily increase in Number. Instead — they increase in “Mass” or “Volume” (which is why some people logically call them, “Mass Nouns”. However, that Term is very un-common, and is still not fully correct.)
owever — just like with Countable Nouns — Non-Countable Nouns are also wrongly referred to as “Non-Count Nouns”. And once again, this is usually only in British-English. But the Prefix “Non-“ is used to say that something is “Not” what the Prefix is attached to. But since the word “Count” is a Verb — then “Non-Count” is Grammatically wrong! It makes no logical sense. But by adding the Suffix “-able” — it BECOMES both Logical AND Correct. 😉
Notice! — Only Countable Nouns Can Be Pluralized. Non-Countable Nouns Are Never Pluralized. (However, there are a number of Non-Countable Nouns which British-English speakers actually treat as “Countable”… But they are wrong.) 😆
Examples Of Non-Countable Nouns:
A Glass Of Wine
A Shovel-Full Of Sand
A Couple Cups Of Sand
any Non-Countable Nouns are things which are intangible. In other words — they are not “physical” things. Some of these types of Nouns are things like: Ideas, Philosophies, Feelings, etc..
Fright & Fear
Pain
Happiness & Joy
ecause Non-Countable Nouns are never Pluralized — we use different types of Quantifiers when referring to these types of Nouns. Quantifiers such as: Some, A Lot Of, Much, A Little Bit Of, etc..
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And That’s That!
Have An Excellent Day!
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