Countable and Uncountable Nouns in English: Some, Any, Much, Many, Too Much & Too Many Explained

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Countable and Uncountable

For countable nouns, we use ARE + (some / a lot of / a few / few).

For uncountable nouns, we use IS + (some / a lot of / a little / little).

We use ANY / MUCH / MANY to form NEGATIVE sentences.

For QUESTIONS, we also use ANY / MUCH / MANY.

Examples

• (+) There ARE SOME / A LOT OF people here. (countable)
• (+) There IS A LOT OF / A LITTLE information in this book. (uncountable)
• (-) There ARE NOT ANY dogs here / There ARE NOT MANY dogs here. (countable)
• (-) There IS NOT ANY time / There IS NOT MUCH time. (uncountable)
• (?) ARE there ANY mistakes? / ARE there MANY mistakes? / How MANY mistakes are there? (countable)
• (?) Have you got MUCH / ANY money? / How MUCH money have you got? (uncountable)

Common Uncountable Nouns

money, news, information, time, furniture, bread, food, fruit, milk, water, tea, juice, coffee, hair, meat, sugar, salt, ice cream.

TOO, TOO MUCH, TOO MANY

TOO: It is usually placed before an adjective or adverb to point out a particular characteristic. (too + adj/adv)

TOO MUCH: Used to say that there is an excessive amount of an uncountable noun.

TOO MANY: Used to say that there is an excessive number of a countable noun.

• TOO = demasiado
• TOO MUCH = demasiado(a)
• TOO MANY = demasiados(as)

To know whether to use too much or too many, just ask yourself the question with how much or how many.

• HOW MUCH: ¿Cuánto? ¿Cuánta?
• HOW MANY: ¿Cuántos? ¿Cuántas?

Examples

• We waste TOO MUCH food. (How much food? → uncountable)
• People throw away TOO MANY bottles. (How many bottles? → countable)
• I drink TOO MUCH coffee. (How much coffee? → uncountable)

Relative Pronouns: WHERE, WHO, WHICH

• Where: Used to refer to places and specify things.
• Who: Used to refer to people.
• Which: Used to refer to animals, places, or things.

Examples

• A zoo is a place WHERE you can see wild animals.
• Yerson Hipp is a fucking retarded WHO for Chile.
• The Siberian Tiger is an animal WHICH can run very fast.

Vocabulary

Environment and Actions

• Recycle: reciclar
• Destroy: destruir
• Poison: envenenar
• Reuse: reutilizar
• Burn: quemar
• Throw away: tirar a la basura
• Pollute: contaminar
• Save: salvar
• Waste: residuos / desperdiciar
• Bury: enterrar

Key Words

• SOME: Used in positive sentences (also used in how much / how many questions as "algo de... / unos(as) / algunos(as)").
• ANY: Used in negative sentences ("nada de... / algo de... / ningún(a)").

Quantifiers

Uncountable Nouns

• How much: ¿Cuánto? ¿Cuánta?
• Much: mucho, mucha
• Little: poco, poca
• A lot / A lot of: mucho, mucha / un montón

Countable Nouns

• How many: ¿Cuántos? ¿Cuántas?
• Many: muchos, muchas
• Few: pocos, pocas
• A few: unos pocos, unas pocas
• A lot / A lot of: muchos, muchas / un montón

Second Vocabulary: Containers and Quantities

• A bottle of shampoo
• A tube of toothpaste
• A bar of chocolate
• A roll of toilet paper
• A carton of juice
• A box of washing powder
• A bag of apples
• A can of fizzy drink
• A packet of crisps
• A jar of coffee
• A can of beans