Counting uncountable nouns in English

Uncountable nouns, also known as mass nouns, are substances, materials, or concepts that cannot be counted individually. Examples include water, air, time, and happiness. These nouns do not have a plural form and are often treated as singular entities. To quantify uncountable nouns, we use countable units, which are words or phrases that help us measure or describe the amount or extent of the noun.

In many cases, we can use our versions of countable units, but in most cases, they are fixed. Collective nouns and countable units for uncountable nouns have overlapped in many places. It is all about how we usually say it.

Most importantly, even though we use an indefinite article (a/an) with these nouns, we usually don't count them beyond one because in most cases, they are idiomatic expressions. Counting them with numbers such as three, four, five, etc., will be awkward.

"She gave me four bits of information" sounds awkward, whereas "She gave me some information" is more idiomatic.

Likewise, you can always count them using pronouns such as some, little, a lot of, plenty of, etc.

As a safe bet, you need to remember these most commonly used countable units such as a piece of, an article of, an item of, a pair of, etc.

    A grain of (rice, sand, etc.)

    A drop of (water, oil, etc.)

    A pinch of (salt, sugar, etc.)

    A dash of (spice, flavor, etc.)

    A splash of (color, liquid, etc.)

    A chunk of (ice, wood, etc.)

    A slice of (bread, cake, etc.)

    A piece of (advice, news, etc.)

    A bit of (information, gossip, etc.)

    A speck of (dust, dirt, etc.)

    A spot of (trouble, fun, etc.)

    A streak of (luck, genius, etc.)

    A fragment of (evidence, memory, etc.)

    A shard of (glass, pottery, etc.)

    A dollop of (cream, whipped cream, etc.)

    A thread of (hope, connection, etc.)

    A whiff of (smoke, scent, etc.)

    A glimmer of (light, hope, etc.)

    A flicker of (flame, interest, etc.)

    A sprinkle of (fairy dust, magic, etc.)

    A smudge of (makeup, dirt, etc.)

    A blot of (ink, stain, etc.)

    A patch of (fog, cloud, etc.)

    A ripple of (water, excitement, etc.)

    A tremor of (fear, earthquake, etc.)

    A murmur of (approval, dissent, etc.)

    A hint of (flavor, spice, etc.)

    A tinge of (color, emotion, etc.)

    A shade of (meaning, color, etc.)

    A measure of (success, comfort, etc.)

    A dose of (medicine, reality, etc.)

    A shot of (coffee, energy, etc.)

    A burst of (energy, laughter, etc.)

    A flash of (insight, lightning, etc.)

    A rush of (adrenaline, excitement, etc.)

    A puff of (smoke, air, etc.)

    A pool of (water, light, etc.)

    A stream of (consciousness, data, etc.)

    A beam of (light, hope, etc.)

    A pulse of (energy, life, etc.)

    A surge of (power, emotion, etc.)

    A wave of (motion, feeling, etc.)

    A tide of (opinion, change, etc.)

    A flood of (information, emotion, etc.)

    A trickle of (water, news, etc.)

    A drizzle of (rain, honey, etc.)

    A sprinkle of (dust, glitter, etc.)

    A pinch of (salt, luck, etc.)

    A dash of (color, humor, etc.)

    A splash of (color, fun, etc.)

    A burst of (flavor, music, etc.)

    A gust of (wind, emotion, etc.)

    A peal of (laughter, thunder, etc.)

    A ring of (truth, authenticity, etc.)

    A whisper of (rumor, secret, etc.)

    A shard of (glass, ice, etc.)

    A sliver of (moonlight, hope, etc.)

    A snippet of (information, gossip, etc.)

    A morsel of (food, news, etc.)

    A crumb of (comfort, evidence, etc.)

    A fragment of (memory, time, etc.)

    A glint of (light, amusement, etc.)

    A spark of (creativity, life, etc.)

    A scintilla of (evidence, hope, etc.)

    A modicum of (sense, respect, etc.)

    A soupçon of (flavor, suspicion, etc.)

    A smattering of (knowledge, applause, etc.)

    A spattering of (paint, rain, etc.)

    A splotch of (color, ink, etc.)

    A blotch of (ink, stain, etc.)

    A clump of (grass, hair, etc.)

    A constellation of (stars, skills, etc.)

    A sprinkling of (fairy dust, magic, etc.)

    A dusting of (snow, powdered sugar, etc.)

    A cascade of (water, sound, etc.)

    A cataract of (water, emotion, etc.)

    A chorus of (voices, approval, etc.)

    A clot of (blood, cream, etc.)

    A cloudburst of (rain, emotion, etc.)

    A cluster/flock of (confusion, etc.)

    A coagulate of (blood, etc.)

    A cobweb of (spider silk, deceit, etc.)

    A collage of (art, etc.)

    A continuum of (time, space, etc.)

    A cornucopia of (abundance, etc.)

    A coulee of (water, land, etc.)

    A crescendo of (sound, emotion, etc.)

    A crest of (achievement, etc.)

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