Making Uncountable Nouns Countable

You can make most uncountable noun countable by putting a countable expression in front of the noun.
For example:-
  • A piece of information.
  • 2 glasses of water.
  • 10 litres of coffee.
  • Three grains of sand.
  • A pane of glass.

Sources of Confusion with Countable and Uncountable Nouns

The notion of countable and uncountable can be confusing.
Some nouns can be countable or uncountable depending on their meaning. Usually a noun is uncountable when used in a general, abstract meaning (when you don't think of it as a separate object) and countable when used in a particular meaning (when you can think of it as a separate object).

For example:-
glass - Two glasses of water. (Countable) | A window made of glass. (Uncountable) | glasses - I wear glasses. (Always plural)

Some supposedly uncountable nouns can behave like countable nouns if we think of them as being in containers, or one of several types.
This is because 'containers' and 'types' can be counted.

Believe it or not each of these sentences is correct:-
Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two coffees a day.
(Here coffees refers to the number of cups of coffee)
 
You could write; "Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two cups of coffee a day."
The coffees I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian.
(Here coffees refers to different types of coffee)

You could write; "The types of coffee I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian."
!Note - In good monolingual dictionaries, uncountable nouns are identified by [U] and countable nouns by [C].

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