The English language has countable and mass nouns, with countable nouns having singular and plural forms. Mass nouns do not change with number. Exceptions exist, such as “air” which is a mass noun but can have a different meaning as a countable noun in certain contexts.
The English language contains countless nuances and subtleties, making it a difficult language for non-native speakers to learn. One obstacle is the countable noun and its distinction from mass nouns. A countable noun is, generally, a noun that has both singular and plural forms, as opposed to a mass noun which has no distinction of number. While this definition seems straightforward, the distinction between a countable name and a mass name can become blurry when exceptions to the rule occur.
An example of a countable noun is as follows:
–John has a bicycle.
–John has two bicycles.
Note that adding the number “two” changes the form of the name from “bici” to “bici”. The first noun is singular, while the second is plural.
Here is an example of a mass name:
–The bin is full of rubbish.
–The bin is filled with a lot of rubbish.
Note that the noun “garbage” has not changed, despite the addition of the word “lots”, which indicates more than one. In other words, it would not be correct to say:
–The bin is filled with a lot of rubbish.
The mass name in this case cannot be changed from a singular or plural form, nor does the number or amount change the form of the name. A countable noun will change under these circumstances, thus distinguishing itself from a mass noun.
Here are some other examples:
(countable noun) – I wear a tie.
(countable noun) – We all wear ties.
The name is tie; it is changed to “ties” when the subject is pluralized. It would not be correct to say “We all wear ties”.
(mass name) – The mail has just arrived.
(mass name) – All mail has just arrived.
The name is “posta”; remains “mail” even if the determinant “All” has been added. It would not be correct to say “All mails have just arrived”.
There are exceptions to this rule, however. For example, the word “air” is a mass name that does not change when changed by number. For example:
– I breathed the air.
–I couldn’t breathe much air out of that tube.
However, when used in another context, such as in the term “putting on airs,” the noun appears to be a countable noun. This is not the case; in this example, the noun “air” has changed meaning from its original use (air as a substance we breathe) to its second use (false attitude or presentation). Thus, the word “air” does not have the same meaning as the word “air” and thus remains a mass noun rather than a countable noun.
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