Making Non-Count Nouns Countable

Abstract Ideas

When we want to quantify abstract concepts like advice, information, kindness, luck, space, or time:

Common expressions:

• a little bit of (kindness/luck/space/time)

A little bit of kindness brightens up people’s lives.
A little bit of luck is all we need to win.

• a piece of (advice/information/news)

This is a useful piece of information.
She gave me a piece of advice that changed my life.

• a word of (advice/encouragement/sympathy/wisdom)

He was full of words of wisdom and useful pieces of advice.
A word of encouragement can make a big difference.

Activities and Sports

For activities and sports that are normally uncountable:

Common expressions:

• a game of (basketball/chess/soccer/tennis)

We played a few games of basketball over the weekend.
Would you like a game of chess after dinner?

• a match of (boxing/tennis/wrestling)

I watched a match of boxing yesterday.

• a round of (golf/negotiations)

They completed a round of golf before lunch

Food

For food items that are normally uncountable:

Common expressions:

• a box of (cereal/chocolates/pasta)
• a bunch of (bananas/grapes/parsley)
• a can of (beans/soda/tuna)
• a grain of (rice/salt/sugar)
• a loaf of (bread)
• a package/packet of (butter/cereal/cheese)
• a piece/slice of (bread/cake/cheese/meat)
• a pound of (flour/meat/sugar) (about 0.45 kilograms)
• a serving of (food/pasta/rice)

Examples:

I need a bunch of parsley and a packet of cereal.
Could you buy a loaf of bread and two slices of ham?
The recipe calls for a pound of flour and a can of tomatoes.

Liquids

For liquids that are normally uncountable:

Common expressions:

• a bottle of (milk/water/wine)
• a cup of (coffee/tea/water)
• a glass of (juice/milk/water)
• a drop of (blood/oil/water)
• a gallon of (gas/milk/water) (about 3.8 liters)
• a quart of (milk/oil) (about 0.95 liters)

Examples:

At the café, we ordered two cups of coffee and a glass of juice.
Add a drop of oil to the pan before cooking.
We filled the car with a gallon of gas.

Miscellaneous

Other useful expressions for various non-count nouns:

• an act of (bravery/kindness/violence)

Helping me move was an act of kindness.

The soldier was awarded a medal for an act of bravery.

• an article/item of (clothing/furniture)

What is your favorite item of clothing?

We need to buy a new article of furniture for the living room.

• a piece of (clothing/equipment/furniture/music/news)

That’s a fantastic piece of equipment!

I heard an interesting piece of news today.

• a work of (art/fiction/literature)

This painting is my favorite work of art.

The novel is considered a classic work of literature.

📌 Common Measurement Units

When using specific measurements, we can make almost any uncountable noun countable:

Time: a minute of, an hour of, a day of, a week of

Weight: a gram of, a kilogram of, an ounce of, a pound of, a ton of

Volume: a liter of, a milliliter of, a gallon of, a pint of

Length: a meter of, a kilometer of, a foot of, a yard of

Area: a square meter of, a hectare of, an acre of