Is the word idea countable or uncountable

Исчисляемые и неисчисляемые существительные

1.21
Исчисляемые существительные (countable nouns) обозначают то, что можно пересчитать. Они могут употребляться с числительными и неопределенным артиклем a/an и имеют форму множественного числа. К исчисляемым существительным относятся названия, обозначающие следующие понятия:

a) люди, животные, растения и т.п.: friend, cat, bird, rose.
b) конкретные объекты, имеющие форму: ball, car, hat, hand, house.
с) единицы измерений, общества, языка и т.п.: metre, hour, dollar, family, word.
d) отдельные части чего-либо: part, element, atom, piece, drop.
e) некоторые отвлеченные понятия, которые мыслятся как отдельное целое: idea, nuisance, scheme.

Неисчисляемые существительные (uncountable nouns) обозначают материалы, жидкости, отвлеченные понятия и т.п. – все, что не имеет выраженных границ, и что нельзя себе представить как отдельные предметы. С неисчисляемыми существительными не употребляются числительные и в большинстве случаев они не употребляются во множественном числе или с неопределенным артиклем a/an (хотя и есть некоторые исключения). К неисчисляемым существительным относятся названия, обозначающие следующие понятия:

a) твердые вещества: earth, bread, rice, cotton, nylon.
b) жидкости, газы: water, oil, tea, air, oxygen, steam, smoke.
с) языки languages: English, French, German, Russian, Chinese, Spanish.
d) многие отвлеченные понятия: equality, honesty, ignorance, peace, safety.

□ Большинство форм с окончанием -ing являются неисчисляемыми, когда используются как существительные: camping, cooking, clothing, parking, training (можно сравнить: a camping site; a kitchen/ a cooker; a garment/ an article of clothing; a parking place; a training course/a training center).
Но исчисляемыми являются слова: blessing, helping, wedding.

□ Существительное weather как правило является неисчисляемым, но употребляется во множественном числе в выражении go out in all weathers. (при этом climate является исчисляемым существительным, в отличие от русского: What a beautiful climate!)

□ Существительное money, как правило, употребляется как неисчисляемое, но в финансовом языке может иметь форму множественного числа moneys со значением ‘sums of money’.

Таким образом, основную трудность при расстановке артиклей создают отвлеченные понятия – часто трудно определить, выражаются ли они исчисляемыми или неисчисляемыми существительными. Эту «исчисляемость-неисчисляемость» надо будет запоминать и то, что такие слова как, например, news, advice, lightning или permission относятся к неисчисляемым существительным, может казаться очень непривычным.

1.22
Иногда для обозначения двух близких понятий может употребляться неисчисляемое существительное для одного и исчисляемое – для другого:

Fruit is very expensive, but

vegetables are

cheap.
Wheat is used to make bread;

oats are

used to make porridge.

1.23
Некоторым неисчисляемым существительным соответствуют близкие по смыслу исчисляемые:

bread / a loaf
clothing / a garment
laughter / a laugh
luggage / a suitcase
money / a coin
pay / a payment
permission / a permit
poetry / a poem

При этом a play означает «пьеса» (а не любое игровое действие), а work употребляется как исчисляемое существительное в таких сочетаниях как a work of art, the works of Shakespeare, road works.

1.24
Неисчисляемые существительные, как правило, не употребляются с a/one и не имеют множественного числа. Какое-то определенное количество в таких случаях может быть выражено

a) словами a drop (для жидкостей) и a piece или a bit (для всего остального):

a piece/a bit (разговорно) of paper, string, advice, information, furniture.
an article of clothing, furniture.
an item of news/ a news item.
a drop of water, oil, blood.

□ Piece и bit можно использовать и как про-формы (pro-forms):

I want a piece/a bit of paper. Ah, here’s a piece/a bit.

b) используя слова, обозначающие определенную форму:

a ball of string
a heap of earth
a sheet of paper/ metal
a bar of chocolate
a loaf of bread
a slice of bread/ meat
a blade of grass
a lump of coal
a stick of chalk/ dynamite
a block of ice
a roll of cloth
a strip of cloth/ land

□ Ball, bar, slice и т.п. можно использовать как про-формы:

Have some more bread. May I give you another slice?

с) называя емкость для такого содержимого:

a bag of flour
a bottle of milk
a basket of fruit
a bucket of water
a suck of coal

d) называя количество в каких-либо единицах измерения:

a gallon of oil
a kilo of sugar.

□ Для обозначения нескольких таких частей употребляется множественное число некоторых слов:

bits of paper
drops of water
items of news
slices of bread,

1.25
Часто одно и то же слово может употребляться и как неисчисляемое для обозначения вещества или материала в общем смысле, и как исчисляемое, когда речь идет о каком-либо отдельном предмете сделанном из этого вещества или более конкретном выражении какого-либо понятия:

All plants need light. /Do you have

a light

by your bed?
Houses were built of stone. /Wait! I have

a stone

in my shoe.
I will come with pleasure. /It will be

a pleasure to see you

.
Have pity! Have you no shame?/What

a pity

What

a shame

!
This is the age of science./ Physics is

a science

.
A city without art is dead. /Painting is

an art

.
Honour must be satisfied. /It is

an honour

for me to be here.
Most men want success. /Your play was

a great success

. George was

a great success

in it.
He shook with fear./He has

a fear of heights

.
Don’t hurry — there’s plenty of time./Have

a good time

. There are

times when I just want to stop work

.
Life is complicated./ He’s had

a really difficult life

.
She hasn’t got enough experience for the job./ I had

some strange experiences

last week.
Your plan needs more thought. /I had

some frightening thoughts

in the night.
I need to practise conversation. Jane and I had

a very interesting conversation

.

К таким словам относятся, например: bone, brick, cake, hair, noise, sound, space, time, fire, pain, war, worry, duty, history, hope, thought, activity, agreement, decision, kindness, injustice, justice, language, virtue.

□ Dress как исчисляемое существительное используется для обозначения одежды для людей обоего пола (особенно для специальных случаев), а a dress – обозначает женское платье. A justice обозначает человека, исполняющего правосудие (justice), а an injustice – пример несправедливости (injustice).

1.26
Некоторые слова также употребляются двумя способами, но как исчисляемые они имеют особое значение, которые непосредственно не вытекают из названия материала:

a cloth = скатерть для стола
a glass = стакан/зеркало
an iron = утюг
a paper = газета/ экзаменационный билет.
a wood = лес

I’d like some typing paper. / I’m going out to buy

a paper

(= a newspaper).
The window’s made of unbreakable glass. /Would you like

a glass

of water?

Это же относится к словам business, trade and traffic, для которых в употреблении их как исчисляемых и неисчисляемых есть определенная разница:

Mr Price has gone to London on business.
He runs a small business (a small shop)

Trade (exchange of goods) between our two countries is flourishing.
I think every boy should learn

a trade

(a way of earning his living, especially by manual work)

Traffic roars through the city all day long.
Mr. Price was convicted of conducting

an illegal traffic

in drugs.

□ Слово hair употребляется как неисчисляемое (но в отношении отдельных волос оно является исчисляемым):

His hair is black.
So why has he got two blonde hairs on his jacket?

1.27
Слова, обозначающие вещества могут быть использованы в разговорной речи как исчисляемые, когда речь идет о виде вещества или его какой-либо порции (т.е. это можно рассматривать просто как сокращения — give me a water = give me a bottle of water):

This is a very good butter. (= a good kind of butter)
You’ve only brought me one butter. I asked for two (butters). (= packets of butter)

В разговорной речи можно говорить также a coffee, two coffees и т.п.

This is a very good butter (a good kind of butter).
You’ve only brought me

one butter

. I asked for

two (butters)

– сокращение от ‘packets of butter’.

I don’t drink coffee.
Would you like

a coffee

? (= a cup of coffee)

1.28
И наоборот, слова, которые обычно обозначают исчисляемые предметы (например, onion) могут употребляться как неисчисляемые в таких случаях:

This soup tastes of onion (лук входит в суп уже не как имеющий какую-то определенную форму).

1.29
Некоторые отвлеченные понятия обычно употребляются как неисчисляемые, но могут употребляться и неопределенным артиклем, когда речь идет о некоторой разновдиности (обычно это усиливается прилагательным). К таким словам относятся education, importance, knowledge:

In most countries, education is the responsibility of the state. Scott received a very strict education.
I attach importance to regular exercise, but some people attach an exaggerated importance to it.
It is said that knowledge is power. A (good) knowledge of English is essential.

Слова education, importance и knowledge не употребляются с числительным one или в множественном числе.

1.30
Некоторые исчисляемые существительные (например: difference, point, reason, idea, change, difficulty, chance, question) могут употребляться с определителями much и little, которые характерны для неисчисляемых существительных:

There’s not much difference between ‘begin’ and ‘start’.
I don’t see much point in arguing about it.
We have little reason to expect prices to fall.
I haven’t got much idea of her plans.
Do you think we have much chance of catching the train?
They experienced little difficulty in stealing the painting.

Часто употребляется выражение have difficulty (in) … ing: I have difficulty (in) remembering faces. (неправильно: ‘I have difficulties…’ )

1.31
Исчисляемые существительные в единственном числе могут употребляться как неисчисляемые, чтобы подчеркнуть идею количества:

There’s enough paint for 20 square metres of wall.
I’ve got too much nose and not enough chin.
If you buy one of these you get plenty of car for your money.

1.32
Некоторые неисчисляемые существительные употребляются во множественном числе в определенных сложившихся выражениях:

He goes running in all weathers.
Did you meet anybody exciting on your travels?

1.33
Некоторые неисчисляемые существительные имеют неизменяемую форму множественного числа (но не употребляются с числительными):

I’ve bought the groceries. (не ‘…a grocery’ или ‘…three groceries’)
The Dover customs have found a large shipment of cocaine. (не ‘The Dever custom has…’)
Many thanks for your help.

1.34
Существительные, обозначающие материалы и жидкости, могут употребляться как исчисляемые, когда речь идет о разных типах этих веществ:

Not all washing powders are kind to your hands.
We have a selection of fine wines at very good prices.

1. 1

   countable a thought that you have about how to do something or how to deal with something

   have an idea:

   Then I had an idea: we could stay with Mark.

   idea for:

   an idea for a new TV show

   get an idea for something:

   Where do you get the ideas for your stories?

   Collocations and examples

   Synonyms and related words

   1. Synonyms and related words

   2. 1b

      how you imagine something to be

      be my idea of heaven/paradise/bliss (=something that is extremely enjoyable):

      Lying by the pool with a good book is my idea of heaven.

      Synonyms and related words

   ---

   ---

   Adjectives frequently used with idea

   ▪ bad, bright, brilliant, clear, excellent, good, strange, vague

2. 2

   singular/uncountable information or knowledge that you have about something

   have no idea (=not know at all):

   They had no idea what time they were supposed to arrive.

   not have the slightest/faintest/foggiest/remotest idea (=not know at all):

   He didn’t have the slightest idea of how she really felt.

   Collocations and examples

   Synonyms and related words

   Synonyms and related words

3. Synonyms and related words

4. Synonyms and related words

You probably already know that nouns are words that name people, places, things, or ideas. You might also remember that there are different categories of nouns based on certain features they share. For example we can distinguish abstract and concrete nouns.

Another way we can categorize nouns is whether they are countable or uncountable. In this article, we’ll explain the difference between these two categories, look at the examples of both and see why it is important to know whether a noun is countable or uncountable.

So, as we’ve already mentioned, nouns in English can be countable or uncountable.

As their name suggests, countable nouns are those that refer to something that can be counted. For example, we can count cars:

• one car, two cars, three cars…

Even if the number might be extraordinarily high (like counting all the stars in the sky), countable nouns can be individually counted.

Some more examples of countable nouns:

• car, man, bottle, house, key, idea, accident
• dog, cat, animal, man, person
• cup, plate, fork
• table, chair, suitcase, bag, etc.

Concrete nouns may be countable.

• New cars are very expensive.
• I got some books from the library yesterday.

Collective nouns (words that denote a group of people or things) are countable.

• She attended three classes last week.
• This house is perfect for two families.

Even some proper nouns are countable.

• There are many Italians in New York.
• There are five Johns in the room.

Singular and Plural

Since countable nouns can be counted, they can be singular (=one) and plural (=two or more):

singular	plural
accident	accidents
banana	bananas
couch	couches
dream	dreams
neighbourhood	neighbourhoods

You probably remember that plural forms of nouns usually have the ‘-s‘ (‘-es‘) ending. For example:

• There is an egg.
• There are four eggs.
• They’ve got great toys for babies here.
• We need to get some new dishes for this evening.

Learn more about how to form the plural forms here.

Note that singular verbs are used with singular countable nouns, while plural verbs are used with plural countable nouns.

• Your book is on the kitchen table.
• How many candles are on that birthday cake?

Determiners

Countable nouns can be used with articles such as a/an and the, numbers or quantifiers such as a few, a lot and many. These words in general are called determiners because they describe nouns, i.e. make it clear what a noun refers to. For example:

• I bought a jacket and a shirt.
• My house is near the center.
• There’s a lot of flowers in the garden.
• She’s got two sisters and a younger brother.

You can’t use singular countable nouns alone, i.e. without a/the/my, etc.

• We can’t get into the house without a key. (not key)
• I want a banana. (not banana)
• Paris is an interesting city.

A/an

We use ‘a’ and ‘an’ with singular countable nouns when we do not need to make clear which person or thing we are talking about:

• an accident, a banana, a couch, a dream, a neighbourhood.

Learn more about using a/an with nouns here.

The

When people can understand which person or thing we mean, we use ‘the‘ with singular and plural countable nouns:

• The pie won the prize but the judges didn’t like the cookies.

Learn more about using the with nouns here.

No Article

We use no article (the so-called ‘zero article‘) with plural countable nouns and with uncountable nouns when we are talking in general:

• Dogs usually don’t like cats.
• Good health is more important than money.

Unlike singular countable nouns, plural countable nouns can be used alone:

• I like bananas.
• Accidents can be prevented.

We can use ‘some’ and ‘any‘ with plural countable nouns meaning ‘a bit, a quantity of‘. We use ‘some’ in affirmative sentences and ‘any’ in negative sentences and questions:

• I’d like some bananas, please.
• Did you buy any apples?

We use ‘many‘ and ‘few‘ with plural countable nouns.

• We didn’t take many pictures.
• I have a few words to say.

Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns are seen as a whole or mass. They cannot be separated or counted and come in a state or quantity that is impossible to count. For example, we cannot count air:

• one air, two airs, three airs…

Examples of uncountable nouns include:

– abstract nouns: homework, knowledge, money, permission, research, traffic, travel
– ideas and experiences: advice, information, progress, news, luck, fun, work
– materials and substances: water, rice, cement, gold, milk
– food and drinks: juice, wine, meat, rice, bread, cheese, coffee
– weather words: weather, thunder, lightning, rain, snow
– names for groups or collections of things: furniture, equipment, rubbish, luggage

Uncountable nouns are always considered to be singular. They have no plural, even if they end in ‘-s‘. The verb form is singular and we can use some.

• Put some sugar.
• How much wine is there?
• Your hair is really long!
• The news was a complete shock!

NOT: advices, informations, moneys, musics, waters. 

Thus, uncountable nouns have always only one form:

money — the money — my money — some money — much money etc.

• I’ve got some money.
• There isn’t much money in the box.
• Money isn’t everything.

There are, however, some uncountable nouns that are plural and are followed by a plural verb. Be careful with the following words:

• clothes
• Your clean clothes are on the bed.

• jeans
• Your new jeans look great!

Determiners

Uncountable nouns can stand alone or be used with determiners (e.g. my, her, some, any, no, the, this, that) and expressions of quantity (e.g. a lot of, (a) little, some, much):

• She’s been studying hard and has made a lot of progress.
• This coffee is a bit old, I’m afraid.
• I’d like some water, please.
• There is a lot of snow on the road.
• They gave me some information about the courses.

Since uncountable nouns have no plural, we can’t use ‘a’ and ‘an’ with them:

NOT: an advice, an information, a money, a music, a water.

As we have seen, some determiners can be used with all nouns whether countable or uncountable. For example, the word ‘some‘ can be used with both:

• I would like some crackers.
• He would like some water.

However, other determiners can only be used with countable nouns and some can only be used with uncountable nouns. For example, the article ‘a‘ is used with singular countable nouns and isn’t used with uncountable nouns:

• I would like a sandwich.
• I would like some juice. (Not: I would like a juice.)

With uncountable nouns we use the determiners ‘much‘ and ‘little‘:

• There isn’t much milk in the bottle.
• They have little money.

Making Uncountable Things Countable – Quantity Expressions

Uncountable nouns can be paired with words expressing plural concept. These are words and phrases like ‘a glass of’, ‘a bottle of’ or ‘a piece of’ or words for containers and measures. We cannot say ‘an information’ or ‘a music’. But we can say a ‘something’ of.

In short, uncountable nouns can become countable when the noun is in a container. For example:

• some sugar — a bag of sugar
• some water — a bottle of water
• some cereal — a bowl of cereal

Thus, you can’t say ‘two waters’ but you can say ‘two bottles of water’.

• Try to drink at least eight glasses of water each day.
• I’d like a glass of water, please.
• We bought two bottles of wine.
• This is a beautiful piece of music.
• I bought you a bar of chocolate.

Note: In informal English, we can say 'a coffee', 'three waters', etc. with
the meaning 'a cup of coffee', 'three glasses/bottles of water', etc.

Sometimes uncountable nouns are used as countable, to mean ‘a measure of something’ or ‘a type of something’:

• Can I have two teas and one coffee, please? (two cups of tea and one cup of coffee …?)
• There are some juices on the table. (different types of juice)

Nouns That Can Be Countable and Uncountable

Sometimes, the same noun can be both countable and uncountable, often with a change of meaning. The meaning will depend of the context.

Consider the following examples:

• Our house has seven rooms. – Is there room for me to sit here? (‘rooms’ vs ‘space’)
• Have you got a paper to read? – I want to write a letter. Have you got some paper? (‘magazine’ vs ‘paper’)
• There are four lights in our bedroom. – Close the curtain. There’s too much light! (‘lamps’ vs ‘light’)
• I had some interesting experiences while I was travelling. – They offered me the job because I had a lot of experience. (‘things that happened to me’ vs ‘not experiences’)

TIP: Some words that are uncountable in English may be countable in other
languages. In English these words are uncountable - that means that we
can't say 'a/an' ... (a bread, an advice) and they can't be plural
(advices, furnitures):

accommodation	advice	information
fruit	homework	news
transport	traffic	luggage
music	pasta	money
damage	behavior	weather

How to Use Countables and Uncountables

Why is it so important to know whether a noun is countable or uncountable? That’s because we use different words with countables and uncountables — see the rules below.

Countable Nouns

Statements

In positive sentences, we use:

A / AN + singular countable noun	SOME + plural countable noun
There is a cat in the garden.	There are some birds in the trees.
I’ll have a cup of coffee.	He has some great ideas.

Note: Though 'any' is mainly used in negative sentences and questions,
we can use it in positive statements with the meaning 'not important which'.
- You can have any three items of clothing you like for $30.
- They should be here any minute.

Negatives

In negative sentences, we use:

A / AN + singular countable noun	ANY + plural countable noun
There isn’t a dog in the garden.	There aren’t any birds in the tree.
He hasn’t got a car.	We didn’t take any pictures.

See more examples:

To make pancakes…

• … you need a frying pan.
• … you don’t need an electric mixer.
• … you need some plates.  
• … you don’t need any chopsticks.

Questions

In questions, we use a/an, any and how many:

A / AN + singular countable noun	ANY + countable noun	HOW MANY + plural countable noun
Is there an apple on the tree?	Are there any chairs in the garden?	How many books are there?
Do you have a car?	Are any of your friends here?	How many lessons will you have tomorrow?

Uncountable Nouns

Statements

In positive sentences, we use:

SOME + uncountable noun

I need some sugar in my coffee.

There is some milk on the floor.

Negatives

In negative sentences, we use:

ANY + uncountable noun

He didn’t buy any apple juice.

He doesn’t have any money left.

Questions

In questions, we use any and how much:

ANY + uncountable noun	HOW MUCH + uncountable noun
Is there any sugar?	How much wine is there?
Do you have any luggage?	How much luggage do you have?

Compare:

How many + plural countable noun	How much + uncountable noun
How many eggs are there? – Six.	How much milk is there? – A litre.
How many plates are there? – Four.	How much flour is there? – 500g.

LET’S SUMMARIZE:

Note the verb forms. Singular nouns take singular verbs, while plural nouns take plural verbs:

• There is a frying pan. (singular noun)
• There aren’t any eggs. (plural noun)
• There is some milk. (uncountable noun)
• There isn’t any flour. (uncountable noun)

Grammar in Action

So, how should we use expressions with countable and uncountable nouns in everyday situations?

1. We use a/an, some and any with nouns to talk or ask about the quantity of something, for example, when talking about food:

• Have you got any cheese or meat? I could make a pasta dish. – Great idea. I’ve got some tomatoes and a chilly pepper. We could add them, too.

2. We use a/an and some with nouns to make requests, for example, when we are at a restaurant:

• We’ll have some water and some bread, please. – I’d also like a glass of orange juice.

3. We use some with nouns when we offer something, for example, to our guests:

• Would you like some toasts or some cake? – Yes, with pleasure.

Here’s a good video from mmmEmglish explaining what countable and uncountable nouns are and how they are used:

See also:

Abstract and Concrete Nouns

Plural and Singular Nouns

Pronouns and Determiners: Quantifiers