Countable vs. Uncountable Nouns   The first step in deciding which article—‘a’, ‘an’, ‘the’ or Ø (zero article)— to use is to determine whether the noun is countable or uncountable. Normally, only a countable noun can occur with an indefinite article. However, under certain circumstances, some nouns can act as "two-way" nouns; that is, they can function as both countable and uncountable nouns with slight differences in meaning.   Countable Nouns Countable nouns are those that can have a plural form. Singular countable nouns can be preceded by an indefinite article (a or an) when they do not refer to a specific instance of that noun:   Nanotechnology offers both an opportunity and a challenge to the scientific community.   Nanotechnology offers both opportunities and challenges to the scientific community.     DETERMINERS In addition to articles, there are other words that can indicate that a noun is about to follow. Such words include numbers (three, three-fifths, Seventy percent), possessive pronouns (our, their, its), demonstratives (this, that, these, those, such, such a), and quantifiers (all, none, some, several, few, many). When one of these words is used, an article is usually not. The Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) has explored this issue in four different sectors: automotive, chemical, electronics, and pulp and paper.   Through its international scientific and technology network, VTT can produce information, upgrade technology knowledge, create business intelligence and value added to its stakeholders.   Several difficulties can be expected when developing a product take-back and recycling system.   One of the goals of this study was to benchmark and compare trends in Japan, northern Europe and the U.S.   QUANTIFIERS The following quantifiers can only occur with plural countable nouns: many, a number of, numerous, no, a few, few, several. Note that these quantifiers require the plural form of the countable noun. Numerous studies have investigated this problem.   A number of researchers have investigated this problem.   This report only attempts to highlight a few important recent examples in the area of high surface area materials.   Few studies have investigated this problem.   No studies have investigated this problem. Be careful to not confuse the quantifiers "few" with "a few"; they have opposite meanings. The first is negative, while the second is positive in meaning.   This study has identified few new areas of research. ( = almost none) This study has successfully identified a few new areas of research. ( = several)     Press the button below to read about uncountable nouns—nouns that have no plural form.

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