Concrete and abstract nouns

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Many countable nouns are concrete (having an individual physical existence) for example

Persons, animals, plants a girl a horse a geranium

Objects a bottle a desk a typewriter

Groups an army a crowd a herd

Units of measurement a franc a kilo a litre a metre

Parts of a mass a bit a packet a piece a slice

Concrete uncountable nouns (sometimes having physical but not

'individual' existence) include words like

Materials, liquids, gases cotton milk air

'Grains' and 'powder' barley rice dust flour

Activities camping drinking eating sailing

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2 Nouns

A few countable nouns are abstract: e.g. a hope, an idea a nuisance a remark a situation. A number of abstract nouns can be used only as countables: e.g. a denial a proposal a scheme a statement Many uncountable nouns are abstract: e.g. anger, equality, honesty

Nouns which can be either countable or uncountable

Some nouns may be countable or uncountable depending on their use.

2.16.1 Nouns we can think of as 'single items' or 'substances'

e.g. a chicken/chicken an egg/egg. a ribbon/ribbon

When we use these as countables, we refer to them as single items; when we use them as uncountables, we refer to them as substances.

countable (a single item) uncountable (substance/material)

He ate a whole chicken! Would you like some chicken?

I had a boiled egg for breakfast There's egg on your face

I tied it up with a ribbon I bought a metre of ribbon

Nouns which refer to objects or material

e.g. a glass/glass an ice/ice, an iron/iron, a paper/paper

When we use such nouns as countables, we refer to e.g. a thing which is made of the material or which we think of as being made of the material; when we use them as uncountables, we refer only to the material.