Is Uncountable Noun Singular Or Plural(7 Important Facts)

‘Is uncountable noun singular or plural?’ in this article we are going to find the answer for this question with the help of various uncountable noun examples, explanations and interesting facts.

As all the other types of nouns, uncountable nouns or mass nouns also do the function of naming. Uncountable nouns are the ones which can never be counted as they cannot be isolated into discrete components.

The following are a few examples of uncountable nouns.

• 1. You should control your anger.
• 2. I will join you later as I have a lot of work to finish.
• 3. Rice is rich in carbohydrates and hence it will give you strength.
• 4. You should drink a lot of water so that your body is dehydrated.
• 5. Have you finished packing your luggage?

The words which are italicized in the above sentences are uncountable nouns as they cannot be counted or quantified into individual or separate parts. You can also note that, all the uncountable nouns which are italicized are singular in number and not plural. We will see below, why are all of them singular in number.

Can uncountable nouns be singular?

‘Yes’ is the answer to this question as countable nouns can certainly be singular.

Example: It will be good if you add a little more sugar to the juice.

‘Sugar’ and ‘juice’ are the uncountable nouns in this sentence, as both of them are food items of which juice is a liquid. Both ‘sugar’ and ‘juice’ are singular in number here.

Hence, uncountable nouns can definitely be singular in number.

When uncountable nouns are singular?

Unlike countable nouns which can either take singular or plural form based on the context, uncountable nouns are always singular in number. They never take a plural form.

Example: The love that she has on her mother is shown in her actions.

‘Love’ is the uncountable noun utilized in the above sentence because love is an abstract noun which cannot be measured or counted. To be more particular, the uncountable noun ‘love’ is always singular irrespective of the context it is used, because love can never be counted.

Thus, uncountable nouns are singular at all places.

Which uncountable nouns are singular?

All types of uncountable nouns are singular. Uncountable nouns like liquids, substances, weather, food, emotions, feeling and so on are singular in number.

Example: Coffee is Sonali’s all time favorite beverage.

‘Coffee’ is the uncountable noun in this sentence and it is singular in number as it is a liquid that we cannot count.

Example: My father used to give me a lot of advice when I was small.

The uncountable noun utilized in this sentence is ‘advice’ and it is used in a singular form because advice is an abstract noun that cannot be quantified.

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Example: The food will taste delicious if you add a little more salt.

‘Food’ and ‘Salt’ are the uncountable nouns utilized in the above sentence and both of them are singular in number as food and salt cannot be separated and counted.

Why are uncountable nouns always singular?

Uncountable nouns are nothing but nouns which never be counted as we cannot part them or separate them into individual particles. Since they cannot be counted, they are always used only in the singular form and never do they take a plural form.

Example: We got an important piece of information from him last evening.

‘Information’ is the uncountable noun in this sentence and it is singular in number as we cannot count the information by dividing it into parts.

Example: We got two important pieces of information from him last evening.

Just like the first example, even in this sentence, ‘information’ is an uncountable noun and it is singular. Though, the plurality is depicted through the words ‘two pieces’, the uncountable noun does not take the plural form as ‘informations’. It remains as ‘information’

Since we could not count the uncountable nouns, they always remain singular.

Singular uncountable noun examples

Do go through the following singular uncountable noun examples to get a better understanding about the uncountable nouns that are singular.

• 1. My mother prepares fresh homemade ghee at our house.
• 2. We bought new furniture for our house last week.
• 3. My sister does not like milk and never does she drinks it.
• 4. I was listening to music while I was travelling to Bangalore.
• 5. The smoke from the vehicles is polluting the air to a great extent.
• 6. Rishabh has a good knowledge about this subject.

Singular uncountable noun examples with explanations

We shall now identify the uncountable nouns in each sentence and analyze why they are singular.

1. My mother prepares fresh homemade ghee at our house.

‘Ghee’ is the uncountable noun utilized in the above sentence. Since, ‘ghee’ cannot be counted and cannot take the plural form as ‘ghees’, it is a singular uncountable noun.

2. We bought new furniture for our house last week.

Furniture’ is the singular uncountable noun in this sentence as we cannot count it and it does not take the plural form as ‘furnitures’.

3. My sister does not like milk and never does she drinks it.

‘Milk’ is the uncountable noun utilized in the above sentence. Since, ‘milk’ is a liquid it cannot be counted. ‘Milk’ can never take a plural form as ‘milks’ and hence it is a singular uncountable noun.

4. I was listening to music while I was travelling to Bangalore.

‘Music’ is the uncountable noun utilized in the above sentence. Only songs can be counted, but however we cannot count music using numbers. ‘Music’ can never take a plural form as ‘musics’ and hence it can be regarded as a singular uncountable noun.

5. The smoke from the vehicles is polluting the air to a great extent.

‘Smoke’ and ‘air’ are the uncountable nouns used in this sentence. Both ‘smoke’ and ‘air’ cannot be numerically counted as one, two, three and so on. ‘Smoke’ and ‘air’cannot take plural forms as ‘smokes’ and ‘airs’ and hence they are regarded as singular countable nouns.

6. Rishabh has a good knowledge about this subject.

The uncountable noun in this sentence is ‘knowledge’. ‘Knowledge’ is an abstract noun which cannot be counted or quantified using numbers. The uncountable noun ‘knowledge’ does not have a plural form like ‘knowledges’ and hence it can be regarded as a singular uncountable noun.

Can uncountable nouns be plural?

Well the answer to this question is ‘no’. Uncountable nouns cannot be plural.

Example: There is only very less salt left in the jar.

‘Salt’ is the uncountable noun here and it is singular in number because salt is a substance which cannot be counted and hence it does not take the plural form as ‘salts’.

Hence, uncountable nouns cannot be plural as they do not take the plural form anytime.          

Why are uncountable nouns not plural?

Uncountable nouns are never plural as they do not take plural form. Since they cannot be separated and counted, they always remain singular.

Example: I would like to have some more cheese on my pizza.

‘Cheese’ is the uncountable noun here and it is singular in form, as the food material,cheese cannot be counted as one, two, three or anything. The plurality is denoted by the word ‘some more’ and not by adding the letter ‘s’ to the word ‘cheese’ to make it plural as ‘cheeses’.

Hence, uncountable nouns do not take plural forms by adding ‘s’ to it. They always remain in the singular form. However the plurality is denoted by certain words like ‘some’, ‘more’, ‘little’ etc.

Conclusion

Hence from this article we came to know that uncountable nouns are always singular in number. They cannot take up the plural form because they cannot be counted in numbers and that is why uncountable nouns are also regarded as mass nouns or the non-count nouns.