What is a mass noun?
A mass noun is something that cannot be counted. It can be something abstract (e.g. happiness), and it can also be physical (e.g. rice). You obviously cannot count happiness, but you can count rice—but you will need a measure word (e.g. two grains of rice or three bags of rice).
Rules for mass nouns
- A mass noun is (almost) never plural.
- A mass noun is not used with the indefinite article (a/an).
- A mass noun can be used with the definite article (the), though differently from countable nouns. Learn more from this article.
Below is a guide for using certain words with mass (uncountable) and countable nouns.
Mass vs count nouns
If you are unsure, you can check lexico. This dictionary uses the label [mass noun]. If a word is not labelled, it is a count noun.
Mass + count nouns
Some nouns are both countable and mass. Each definition of the word may be labelled either [mass noun] or [count noun] or not have a label.
In the examples below,
In the examples below,
- Since the word is labelled as a mass noun, definition 1 is a mass noun.
- Since the word is not labelled, definition 1 is a count noun.
Telling the difference
I know you don't want to check the dictionary every time. The other approach to telling the difference is considering whether the noun is being treated as a collective (mass) or as multiple individuals (count).
As a collective: the noun refers to something whose quantity is more or less irrelevant; instead, we are interested in its quality (i.e. what it is).
As a collective: the noun refers to something whose quantity is more or less irrelevant; instead, we are interested in its quality (i.e. what it is).
- Our kitchen is in need of renovation.
- We did our best to keep down the noise.
- We bought some soundproofing material.
- We busied ourselves with the renovations.
- We made all kinds of weird noises.
- There was a long list of materials to buy.
