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Classifiers & Measure Words

Learn how to count uncountable nouns in English using measure words like cup, glass, and slice, combined with there is/are.

In English, nouns are divided into countable (nouns you can count, like book) and uncountable (nouns you cannot count directly, like water, coffee, bread). To count uncountable nouns, you must use a measure word (classifier) followed by of:

a cup of coffee / two cups of coffee
a glass of water / three glasses of water
a slice of bread / four slices of bread

For countable nouns, you can count them directly using numbers. They have both singular and plural forms:

There is a book on the desk.

There is a book on the desk.

There are two books on the desk.

There are two books on the desk.

For uncountable nouns, you must use a measure word (classifier) to count them:

There is a cup of coffee on the table.

There is a cup of coffee on the table.

Practice

Follow along with these examples to strengthen your understanding.

Stage 1

What is on the table?

What is on the table?

There is a cup of coffee on the table.

There is a cup of coffee on the table.

Stage 2

What is on the desk?

What is on the desk?

There are two books on the desk.

There are two books on the desk.

Stage 3

What is in the kitchen?

What is in the kitchen?

There are three glasses of water in the kitchen.

There are three glasses of water in the kitchen.

Stage 4

What is on the plate?

What is on the plate?

There are four slices of bread on the plate.

There are four slices of bread on the plate.

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Classifiers & Measure Words | Ringoo