Uncountable Nouns

Don’t add -s to make uncountable nouns plural:

1. Advice (Advices)

Can you give me some advice please?

You can give someone *a* suggestion or “suggestions”, but you never give someone *an* advice or “advices”. A suggestion is a specific “piece” of advice. Advice is a general, sort of limitless thing. I can give you three pieces of advice (that is, three suggestions).

2. Clothing (Clothings)

This word does not need an ‘s’ on the end. Even though you can count the number of pieces of clothing, you should still use the word clothing without the s.

3. Equipment (Equipments)

The word equipment should never end with an ‘s’. For example this is wrong: You may have all the latest gear, but you don’t have many equipments.

Singular: a piece of equipment, a type of equipment

Plural: a lot of equipment, a huge amount of equipment

4. Feedback (Feedbacks)

If you receive feedback from many sources, you do not have feedbacks. I have collected all the feedback, not feedbacks.

5. Footwear (Footwears)

Footwear is prohibited in the prayer hall.

6. Furniture (Furnitures)

How much furniture? “We have too much furniture.” (uncountable) “We have too many chairs.” (countable)

7. Information (Informations)

Although ‘information’ is countable in many languages, it is uncountable in English.

Wrong: I need some informations about the course.

Correct: I need some information about the course.

8. Luggage (Luggages)

Luggage should not be written as luggages. This word should be written with a singular verb. For example: I haven’t brought much luggage with me. I forgot my luggage in the car boot when I was rushing off to catch the plane. The same goes for baggage.

9. Staff (Staffs)

If you are talking about the personnel or employees of your company only use staff – never staffs. In BrE staff can be singular: a staff of ten or plural: I have ten staff working under me. The staff in this shop are very helpful.

10. Stuff (Stuffs)

For example good stuff, cool stuff etc., but there cannot be cool stuffs.

Reason

Uncountable nouns are words that we can’t count, or can’t divide into separate parts:

• Ideas and concepts – love, fun, sadness, work, money, peace, safety
• Information – advice, information, news, knowledge
• Categories – music, furniture, equipment, jewelry, literature, meat
• Liquids and foods that can’t be counted – water, butter, rice, flour, milk

With uncountable nouns, you can use much, a little, some, or any (rather than many and fewer):

• Our teacher gives us too much homework!
• Add a little butter to the recipe.
• We heard some great music on the radio this morning.
• He doesn’t have any furniture in his new house.