English has a series of nouns called uncountable nouns or non-count nouns. Many of these are similar to Portuguese, but some of them are confusing. This short series of posts is going to look at the different types of uncountable nouns.
Uncountable nouns are always considered singular
Uncountable nouns do not use “a/an” but they can use “the”
Uncountable never use “many.” They use “much” or “a lot of”
So, now we have talked about the different kinds of uncountable nouns. We know that we cannot use uncountable nouns in the plural, but what happens when you need multiples of an uncountable noun? If you go to the bakery to purchase bread, how can you say you want three of them? What if you are at a restaurant four people want water?
You cannot say “three breads”
You cannot say “four waters”
However there is a solution. Most uncountable nouns have an associated word which can be counted.
Three pieces of bread
Four glasses of water
Two grains of rice
Five pieces of information
Using these words allows you to “count” the uncountable.
