B1–B2

Measure Expressions — English Grammar Exercises

tourist or tourists? some advice or an advice? — get it right

Measure Expressions for Uncountable Nouns

When you need to count or quantify an uncountable noun, English uses a partitive structure: a measure word + of + the uncountable noun. The measure word carries the plural inflection; the uncountable noun itself never changes. This structure is not optional — without it, grammatically impossible forms like 'three advices' or 'two breads' result. Research on English for Academic Purposes shows that partitive expressions are among the ten most useful noun patterns for B2 writing, as they appear in every academic register and in everyday spoken English with equal frequency.

Abstract Nouns: A Piece of

The most versatile measure expression is a piece of, which works with nearly all abstract uncountable nouns:

a piece of advice  |  a piece of information
a piece of furniture  |  a piece of equipment

Containers and Packaging

Everyday substances use container nouns that match real-world packaging:

a carton of milk  |  a jar of jam  |  a can/tin of soup
a bar of soap  |  a tube of toothpaste  |  a bottle of water

Food Measures

a loaf of bread  |  a slice of bread / cake / meat
a packet of sugar / rice / crisps  |  a tub of butter

Standard Measurements

Physical measurements turn uncountable substances into countable quantities:

three litres of petrol  |  half a kilo of meat
two metres of silk  |  four sheets of paper

Common Mistakes

✗ She bought three new furnitures. → ✓ She bought three new pieces of furniture.
✗ Can you give me two advices? → ✓ Can you give me two pieces of advice?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between countable and uncountable nouns in English?

Countable nouns refer to things you can count individually: one book, two chairs, three problems. They have a singular and a plural form, and you can use a/an before them. Uncountable nouns refer to substances, concepts, or masses that are not divided into separate units: water, advice, information, furniture, traffic. You cannot say 'an advice' or 'furnitures'. To quantify them, use measure expressions: a piece of advice, a litre of water, two items of furniture.

Which English nouns are uncountable that learners often treat as countable?

The most common errors involve: advice (not 'advices'), information (not 'informations'), furniture (not 'furnitures'), equipment (not 'equipments'), luggage (not 'luggages'), progress (not 'progresses'), homework (not 'homeworks'), and traffic (not 'traffics'). These nouns are countable in many other languages, which is why the error persists even at B2 level. The fix is always a measure expression: 'three pieces of advice', 'a lot of information'.

What are the irregular plural forms of English nouns?

Key irregular plurals: man → men, woman → women, child → children, tooth → teeth, foot → feet, person → people, mouse → mice, goose → geese. Some nouns do not change at all: sheep → sheep, fish → fish, deer → deer, aircraft → aircraft, series → series. Nouns ending in -f/-fe often change to -ves: shelf → shelves, knife → knives, life → lives (exceptions: roof → roofs, chief → chiefs).

Is 'news' singular or plural? What about 'police' and 'mathematics'?

'News' looks plural but is always singular: 'The news is shocking', 'Was the news good?' — never 'the news are'. 'Police' is always plural and has no singular: 'The police are searching'; for one officer say 'a police officer'. Academic disciplines ending in -s (mathematics, physics, economics, athletics, politics) are singular: 'Mathematics is my favourite subject.' Clothing/tool plurals (jeans, trousers, scissors, glasses) are always plural: 'These jeans are too tight.'