可數名詞與不可數名詞

It's important to distinguish between countable and uncountable nouns in English because their usage is different in regards to both determiners and verbs.

測驗您的知識

在英文中，名詞是可數還是不可數，都會決定前面該用哪個限定詞，也會決定後面的動詞型態，因此務必要區分名詞是可數還是不可數。

可數名詞

可數名詞可以用數字來計算。這種名詞有單數和複數形；單數形的限定詞可以用 a 或 an。如果要詢問某個可數名詞的數量有多少，可以用「How many?」來問，再搭配可數名詞的複數形。

單數	複數
one dog	two dogs
one horse	two horses
one man	two men
one idea	two ideas
one shop	two shops

例句

She has three dogs.
I own a house.
I would like two books please.
How many friends do you have?

不可數名詞

不可數名詞無法用數字來計算。這類名詞可能是抽象的概念，或者太小、非固態的物體（液體、粉狀物、氣體等）。不可數名詞會使用動詞單數形，通常沒有複數形。

舉例

tea
sugar
water
air
rice
knowledge
beauty
anger
fear
love
money
research
safety
evidence

我們不能在不可數名詞前面加 a 或 an，如要表達它的數量，就得用 some、a lot of、much、a bit of、a great deal of 之類的量詞來表達，要更確切的話還可以用 a cup of、a bag of、1kg of、1L of、a handful of、a pinch of、an hour of、a day of 等量詞或測量單位。如果想詢問數量，可以用「How much...?」來問。

例句

There has been a lot of research into the causes of this disease.
He gave me a great deal of advice before my interview.
Can you give me some information about uncountable nouns?
He did not have much sugar left.
Measure 1 cup of water, 300g of flour, and 1 teaspoon of salt.
How much rice do you want?

微妙之處

有些名詞在別的語言中可數，但在英語中卻不可數，因此得遵循不可數名詞的規則。這類名詞最常見的有：
accommodation, advice, baggage, behavior, bread, furniture, information, luggage, news, progress, traffic, travel, trouble, weather, work