Intermediate vocabulary: 10 uncountable nouns

Here are 10 uncountable nouns for pre-intermediate / intermediate learners. We have chosen words which learners often mistake for being countable.

This is the definition of uncountable and countable:

• Nouns are either countable or uncountable.
• If a noun is countable we can count it; if a noun is uncountable we can’t count it.
• Uncountable nouns cannot have a number before them (we don’t say: one advice or two news).

10 uncountable nouns:

Before uncountable nouns we often use some or any:

• I need some advice.
• We don’t have any news.
• He doesn’t have much experience.

We can also use a lot of, a little, very little and much:

• There is a lot of information.
• They only have a little equipment.
• They don’t have much luggage.

It is possible to make the following nouns countable by saying:

• a piece of advice
• two pieces of news
  
• three pieces of information
  
• four pieces of equipment
• five pieces of luggage.

The nouns experience, progress, traffic, trouble and accommodation cannot be made countable in the above way.

N.B. Experience also exists as a countable noun, as in this sentence: ‘We had a lot of good experiences on our trip’.

In American English accommodations (with an ‘s’) is used.