3. Uncountable nouns

Note that in normal situations you cannot use the indefinite article with uncount nouns. You often have no article at all, although you can have the definite article in front of the noun.

...the smell of fresh bread.

Make sure the bread is quite cool.

...the first real flash of anger.

...the anger that separated me from her.

Uncountable nouns are of three main types:

• those which refer to concrete substances or materials which are not thought of as separate units, such as 'water', 'bread', and 'salt'.

These are sometimes called mass nouns;

• those which refer to groups of objects, such as 'furniture',

'luggage', and 'machinery';

• abstract nouns like 'love', 'anger', and 'information'.

Unless modified or qualified, uncountable abstract nouns referring to qualities and feelings are usually used without an article.

Love had its claims.

It wasn 't true love.

Some uncountable nouns in English have equivalents in other European languages which are countable nouns or plural nouns; speakers of those languages may have to be careful when using the words in the list below. These nouns do not have a plural and cannot be used with the indefinite article. You cannot say 'She gave me a good advice' or 'I bought a furniture'.

Here is a list of words of this kind.

advice*	health	money	traffic
baggage*	homework*	music*	travel
behaviour	information*	news*	wealth
equipment*	knowledge*	progress	weather
furniture*	luggage*	research*
hair*	machinery*	shopping

Note that 'hair' can be used as a countable noun, as in 'a hair', but it is usually used as an uncount noun to refer to all the hairs on a person's head. For example, you say 'My hair needs washing'. You do not say 'My hairs need washing'.

Here are some examples using these words:

It was on the advice of the librarians that we both depended.

I'oe iust bought some new furniture.

You pay the rest of the money when you complete.

...congested with traffic.

4. Plural nouns

Nouns like 'trousers' which only occur in the plural form behave like uncount nouns with regard to articles. They can have the definite article or no article at all in front of them.

...all the goods lost in the fire.

...a rather sober-looking gentleman in a black coat and striped trousers.

We may have cause to give thanks.

You cannot talk about 'a good' or 'a trouser'. Also, you cannot use numbers with these nouns; it is not possible to say 'ten clothes'. Here is a list of common plural nouns.

arms*	effects*	particulars	stalls*
clothes	funds*	premises*	surroundings
congratulations	goods	regards*	thanks
contents	looks*	remains	troops*
customs*	odds	savmgs*	wages
earnings	papers*	spirits*

Those marked with an asterisk can be used in the singular, but the meaning is different; for example, 'arms' are weapons, but 'an arm' is a part of the body.

Some plural nouns refer to items of clothing and other objects consisting of two parts. Here is a list of plural nouns of this kind: tweezers, binoculars, knickers, pyjamas, spectacles, glasses, leggings, scissors, tights, jeans, pants, shorts, trousers.

You can show that you are talking about one item by using 'a pair of'.

He would like to have a pair of scissors.

You can make do with a pair of jeans.

He held up a pair of glasses.

Some nouns, like 'news', 'economics', 'mathematics', and 'physics', look as if they are plural but in fact are uncount nouns, and are followed by a singular verb form. For example, you say 'The news is bad', not 'The news are bad'.