1. COUNTABLE AND
UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS IN
ENGLISH

2.  PLURAL: belongings,
congratulations, earnings,
goods, outskirts, particulars,
premises (meaning ‘building’),
riches, savings, staff[1], stairs,
surroundings, thanks, jeans,
people, police, pyjamas,
shoes.
 SINGULAR: aerobics,
athletics, diabetes, news,
economics, genetics, measles,
mumps, politics, rabies.

[1] Also singular.

3. Collective nouns can be SINGULAR or PLURAL:
 army, association, audience,
band, cast, class, club, college,
committee, community, company,
crew, crowd, department,
electorate, enemy, family, media,
press, generation, government,
group, jury, opposition, orchestra,
population, press, public, school,
team, university.
 The tendency is to use a
singular verb in formal
contexts (The government
has/have planned…)

4. Adjectivos referring to groups of people
Definite article + verb in PLURAL:
The homeless are the first to be evacuated
from the area.

5.  Persons usually appears in formal
contexts and instructions. Ex:
We have the right to exclude unauthorized
persons form the site.
It should be avoided and people should
be used instead. Ex:
Young people (not persons) cannot be
allowed to clean this machine.
 Peoples conveys the idea of different
races and nationalites. Ex.
I respect the equal rights of peoples and
their right to self-determination.
In certain contexts, person or persons
can have a pejorative meaning. Ex.
Snubby is one of those persons whom
it’s better to look back to.

6. UNCONTABLES (they can neither be
used with a/an nor in the plural form)
 Advice
 Applause
 Assistance
 Camping
 Cash
 Chaos
 Clothing
 Conduct
 Employment
 Equipment
 Evidence
 Furniture
 Health
 Homework
 Information
 Leisure
 Luggage
 Machinery
 Money
 Music
 Parking
 Pollution
 Research
 Scenery
 Shopping
 Sightseeing
 Transport

7. The police found some evidence of the
crime.
He gave me some advice/a piece of
advice

8. Some nouns can be used
as uncountable when they refer to a general idea and
as countable when they refer to a specific idea:
The desire for knowledge is a
fundamental human instinct.
You’d be able to get a basic
knowledge of some statistical
techniques.
Nouns in this group are: business,
knowledge, sound, land,
abuse, conversation,
(dis)agreement, difficulty,
improvement, pain, pleasure,
protest, space, thought, war.