 Uncountable nouns take a singular verb and are not used with a / an. Some, any, much, no can be used with them (e.G. Milk comes from cows. I need some food.)

 Uncountable nouns are:

• mass nouns (fluids, solids, food, gases, particles) beer, blood, bread, air, oxygen, corn, flour, etc;

• subjects of study: accountancy, chemistry, economics, history, literature, mathematics, physics, etc;

• languages: Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, etc;

• sports: baseball, billiards, cricket, cycling, darts, football, etc.;

• diseases: chickenpox, flu, measles, mumps, pneumonia, tuberculoses, etc;

• natural phenomena: darkness, fog, gravity, hail, snow, sunlight, etc;

• some other nouns: accommodation, advice, anger, applause, assistance, behaviour, business, chaos, countryside, courage, dirt, education, equipment, evidence, fun, hair, homework, housework, information, intelligence, knowledge, luck, music, news, peace, progress, research, seaside, shopping, traffic, truth, wealth, weather, work, etc.

• collective nouns: baggage, crockery, cutlery, furniture, jewellery, litter, luggage, machinery, money, rubbish, stationary.

Note 1.with expressions of duration, distance or money meaning ‘a whole amount’ we use a singular verb (Five thousand pounds was too much to lose in a casino.)

Note 2. We use a / an, one, two etc. with uncountable nouns such as coffee, tea, beer, etc. when we order something in a restaurant, cafe, etc. (We’ll have three beers, please.)

• Many uncountable nouns can be made countable: a piece of advice / cake / furniture / information / paper; a glass / bottle of beer / water / wine; a jar of jam; a rasher of bacon; a pint of beer; a sheet of paper; a packet of tea; a slice / loaf of bread; a pot / cup of tea; a tube of toothpaste; a bar of chocolate; a bit / piece of chalk; an ice cube; a lump of sugar; a bag of flour; a pair of trousers; a game of chess; an item / piece of news; a drop / can of oil; a can of Coke; a carton of milk, etc.

• Some nouns can be used as countable or uncountable with a difference in meaning.

- Would you like a glass of lemonade?

- Tina can’t see without her glasses. (spectacles)

- The vase is made of glass. (material)

- He went to the newsagent’s to buy a paper. (newspaper)

- He wrote my phone number on a piece of paper. (material)

- Don’t forget to bring all necessary papers. (documents)

- Susan has got short, dark hair. (all the hair on her head)

- There’s a hair in my soup!

- I’ve bought an iron as a wedding gift for Tom and Jane. (for ironing clothes)

- The fence is made of iron. (material)

- You shouldn’t eat too much chocolate.

- We gave her a box of chocolates. (chocolate sweets)

- The room is a mess!

- We haven’t got enough room to put you up. (space)

- The table is made of wood. (material)

- A lot of wolves live in the woods. (forest)

- Mr. Davis has a lot of experience in accounting. (length of time doing it)

- He had a few of unpleasant experiences while living abroad. (events)

- I haven’t got any time to lose.

- How many times did Tom phone? (occasions)