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A non-count noun (mass noun or uncountable) is noun for a substance or concept that is indivisible into countable units; a word that normally has no singular or plural form.

Non-count nouns typically identify something abstract or something that is tangible but not identified as separate objects.

  • abstract concepts: love, courage, enjoyment, happiness, interest, control
  • activities and sports: football, hockey, knitting, shopping, fishing, polo
  • academic subjects: Biology, folklore, linguistics, history, physics, math
  • food and drink (some): bread, flour, corn, fish, rice, ginger, water, tea
  • other substances/materials: air, oil, cement, cotton, powder, soil, hydrogen
  • aggregate nouns: furniture, equipment, luggage, silverware, jewelry, accomodations
  • binary nouns: scissors, glasses, tweezers, pants, shorts, pliers

Units of non-count nouns are expressed using a noun called a partitive noun. Examples of partitive nouns are:

  • bowls of rice, grains of rice
  • teaspoons of sugar, pounds of sugar
  • tins of tea, cups of tea
  • tons of aluminum, rolls of aluminum
  • volts of electricity, currents of electricity
  • little knowledge, a great deal of knowledge
  • a piece of furniture, pieces of furniture

The plural forms for non-count foods and some substances are reserved for 'kinds of' or 'types of' such as 'a dish of two rices' means two types of rice used, basmati and wild; a selection of teas, for example black tea, green tea, oolong, and jasmine.

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