List of Words Without Plural Form (Uncountable Nouns)

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uncountable nouns


I have no knowledges or information whatsoever about antique furnitures and jewelleries.

Can you spot the mistakes in the sentence above? I’ll give you a clue: there are four letters too many. Yes, it’s the letter S! Can you say knowledges? No, you can’t. Why? This word, just like information, furniture and jewellery, has NO PLURAL FORM.

I have no knowledge or information whatsoever about antique furniture and jewellery.

Sounds much better, doesn’t it?

Most words that have no plural form are uncountable which means, not surprisingly, that you cannot count them. Unfortunately, the concept of what is countable and what is not, varies from language to language.

For example, BREAD may be countable in your language, but not in English. So, you can’t say ‘My gorilla had fifteen breads for breakfast.’ The correct from is: ‘My gorilla had fifteen loaves of bread for breakfast.’ Notice that the wordbread doesn’t end with -s in the correct version. That’s because it has no plural form.

Some of the MOST COMMON UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS are:

FOOD AND DRINKS

WATER
WINE
MILK
RICE
PASTA
BREAD
BEEF
PORK
FRUIT
SUGAR
SALT
FLOUR
CHEESE
BUTTER
TEA
HONEY
JAM

  • Could you get my imaginary friend some water?
  • Do you think vampires like wine?
  • My cat hates milk.
  • I’ve found a grain of rice in my pocket.
  • Let’s have some pasta for breakfast!
  • I’m not allowed to eat bread, but I’ve just had a slice with my soup.
  • How much beef do you eat?
  • I never eat beef. I always have pork instead.
  • Did dinasours like fruit?
  • Yes, they loved strawberries with sugar on top.
  • Just add a pinch of salt and it’s ready.
  • My daughter’s making flowers out of flour.
  • I want to jump into a pool of cheese.
  • Butter won’t melt in his mouth.
  • Mrs Lipton takes her tea with honey.
  • I love scones with jam.

 
Then, there are some concepts to do with thinking or feeling:

LOVE
FUN
WISDOM
KNOWLEDGE
INFORMATION
ADVICE
HELP
ASSISTANCE
COURAGE
BRAVERY
SATISFACTION
CURIOSITY
AGGRESSION
BEAUTY
FREEDOM
FAITH
GRIEF
GUILT
HUMOUR

  • Love is in the air.
  • Have fun and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.
  • Wisdom is when you learn not to feel regret ever again.
  • To the best of my knowledge, Barbie and Ken have split up.
  • Could you give me some information about your Learn English in Two Days program?
  • Just call my mother-in-law if you need any advice.
  • I don’t need any help, thanks. I can tie my shoelaces on my own now.
  • Hulk got so upset, we had to call for assistance.
  • I need to pluck up my courage and see a dentist.
  • Nelson Mandela’s bravery was inspiring to millions of people.
  • I can get no satisfaction.
  • Curiosity killed the cat.
  • Aggression is the most common behavioural problem among superheroes.
  • Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
  • Freedom is a basic human right.
  • I have no faith in our system anymore.
  • Grief has turned the Beast bitter.
  • Guilt is what you feel when you take the last piece of chocolate from the box without asking anyone whether they’d like to have it.
  • Dracula wasn’t well-known for his good sense of humour.

Recommended for you:
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Is ”Person” an uncountable noun?
Is ‘sweets’ a Countable and Uncountable Noun
Difference between British and American Uncountable Nouns

 

Look at these HOLIDAY, TRAVEL and FREE TIME words:

ACCOMMODATION
BAGGAGE/ LUGGAGE
TRAVEL
TRAFFIC
TRANSPORTATION
NATURE
CURRENCY
ART
POETRY
LITERATURE
CHESS
JUDO/ YOGA
ENTERTAINMENT
APPLAUSE
GRASS

  • Have you found accommodation yet or are you planning to spend the night in the car?
  • What shall we do with our luggage while we’re chasing butterflies in the park?
  • After the space travel, all I needed was a bath.
  • She didn’t have transportation, so she decided to hitch-hike.
  • Let nature take its course.
  • I don’t believe in the single European currency.
  • That’s not art. It’s just a dot on a blank canvas.
  • They recited dark poetry in the moonlight every night.
  • Literature is not about writing random words one after the other.
  • We’ll play chess later, but now I’d like to watch The Simpsons.
  • Yoga is not only about meditation, it’s also hard physical exercise.
  • The only entertainment in our village was when some drunkards got into a fight.
  • We always gave the winner a round of applause when they finished fighting.
  • We can’t have a picnic here. I want green grass and hopping hares.

 

How about some everyday things?

TIME
AIR
HEAT
HOUSEWORK
HOMEWORK
EDUCATION
EQUIPMENT
BUSINESS
ATTENTION
GARBAGE/ RUBBISH/ LITTER
OIL
PAPER
DIRT
DUST
FURNITURE
GAS/ PETROL
LAND
MUD
LIGHTNING
RAIN
SUNSHINE
UNDERWEAR
MAIL

  • Batman and Robin were running out of time.
  • They were also running out of air quickly.
  • The heat was inbearable in the coffin.
  • Alfred, the butler, was doing housework in the meantime.
  • He was reminiscing about the days he was helping Master Bruce with his homework.
  • Bruce Wayne received good education.
  • But he had no idea how household equipment worked.
  • He was more concerned about his business with Catwoman.
  • Batman was secretly craving for her attention.
  • Alfred lifted the bin liner carefully and took out the rubbish. It was collection day.
  • He hoped that Batman had checked the oil in the Batmobile before he left.
  • He made a quick note on a piece of paper he’d found in his pocket.
  • He wondered where the dirt in his pocket came from.
  • Alfred considered household dust his worst enemy.
  • The furniture appreciated the gentle care.
  • Did the Batmobile run on petrol?
  • One day this land will be free of villains.
  • It had been raining for days in Gothem City. Their garden became a huge pile of mud.
  • And lightning kept flashing. It even struck twice in the same place.
  • Everybody was waiting for the rain to stop.
  • ‘I’ll be dancing in my underwear at the first ray of sunshine’ Alfred was thinking to himself.
  • He sighed and went to the letterbox to check the mail.

 

Your BODY:

HEALTH
HAIR
HEIGHT
WEIGHT
STRENGTH
HUNGER
THIRST
LAUGHTER
NUTRITION
OBESITY
VISION

  • I’m concerned about my parrot’s health.
  • He used to have such shiny hair. Wait a minute. Parrots don’t have hair.
  • It’s hard to tell my parrot’s height. He keeps dancing.
  • He definitely has no weight problems.
  • Whose strength is greater? Harry Potter’s or Voldemort’s?
  • Hunger for material goods is destroying our planet.
  • Voldemort quenched his thirst with a glass of iced lemonade.
  • I think I can hear laughter coming from below.
  • Blood doesn’t provide enough nutrition, so vampires like to go to fast food restaurants every now and then.
  • Former WWE champions tend to suffer from obesity.
  • Catwoman’s vision was blurred by unshed tears.

 
As you might see, all the words in the above list are followed by SINGULAR VERBS. That’s because they’re uncountable.

However, there are also some COUNTABLE NOUNS that have NO PLURAL FORMS. To be more precise, they have plural forms, but the plural forms are the same as the singular ones. Beacuse of their being countable, these nouns may be followed by PLURAL VERBS:

SHEEP
FISH
SALMON
DEER
SWINE
OFFSPRING
AIRCRAFT

  • When I can’t sleep, I count sheep. One sheep, two sheep, three sheep, one hundred sheep.
  • Master Bruce kept five fish in the pond. He named them after his favourite superheroes.
  • Yogi bear caught three salmon for breakfast.
  • My two deer follow me everywhere.
  • Look! There are some swine in the mud.
  • I want to have ten offspring (children).
  • I think Ironman needs two more aircraft.

 
There are also some nouns that look plural, but in fact, they are uncountable ones in disguise. You can’t trust them at all. Remember to follow these nouns with singular verbs:

NEWS
BILLIARDS
MATHEMATICS
PHYSICS
MEASLES

  • The news is worrying.
  • Billiards is my favourite game.
  • Mathematics is not my forte.
  • Physics is difficult too.
  • Measles is a really nasty respiratory disease.

Finally, let’s look at the rare occasions when uncountable nouns are used with plural forms:

  • Hannibal Lecter drinks only the best of wines.
  • I don’t know much about local cheeses.

In the above sentences WINES means different TYPES of wine. Similarly, CHEESES refers to different TYPES of cheese.

Recommended for you:
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YOU Singular vs YOU Plural in English!
What are possessive nouns, and how do we use possessive’s
Some – Any – A – An

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