What have infomation, furniture and advice got in common?
They’re all uncountable nouns. Uncountable nouns are concepts or materials which aren’t individual objects or events and therefore can’t be counted. They don’t have a plural form – you can’t say informations, furnitures or advices.
And you can’t use the indefinite article (a/an) with these nouns, instead use some or the definite article (the):
He gave me a really useful advice.
He gave me some really useful advice.
He gave me the best advice I’ve ever received.
Uncountable nouns are followed by the singular form of the verb:
His advice was very useful.
A few more uncountable nouns
| knowledge | progress | accommodation* |
| news | homework | work |
| equipment | bread | research |
* In British English. In US English accommodations is used.
There are many more, of course. But many of them are uncountable in German too (e.g. milk, water, sugar). I’ve concentrated mainly on nouns which are uncountable in English, but countable in German. The ones which cause problems.
Making the uncountable countable
You can often make an uncountable noun countable by adding an expression such as a bit of, an item of, a piece of, or by naming the quantity (e.g. a slice of, 2 litres of). For example:
Where did you get that interesting bit of information?
He gave me a really useful piece of advice.
She ate three slices of bread.
A special case
Because they are liquids, drinks are usually uncountable nouns, but they can also be used as countable nouns:
I’ll have a white wine, please.
Two coffees and three teas, please.
If you’re one of the many who talk about informations, advices and furnitures, why not make a conscious effort to eliminate this one mistake over the next couple of weeks?
