NEVER say informations or advices – these are not correct in English!
Today we’re going to learn 10 words to which you should never add an -S – because they are considered uncountable nouns. It will help you avoid this common mistake, so you won’t sound weird in English.
To learn more on this topic, you can download my complete guide to countable and uncountable nouns!
It has lots more examples, plus a quiz to help you practice.
What are uncountable nouns?
They are things we can’t easily count individually. We never add -S to these words, and we never use the articles a or an:
So don’t say “I need an information about the course” – instead say “I need information / some information about the course.” Don’t say “She gave me two advices” – instead say “She gave me two pieces of advice”
In your native language, it might be possible to make these words plural – but in English, it is not. So here are the top 10 uncountable nouns that I often see students making mistakes with.
knowledge
❌ I’m impressed by all your knowledges.
✅ I’m impressed by all your knowledge.
music
❌ I love all these musics.
❌ I heard a new music by Taylor Swift.
✅ I love all this music / I love all these songs.
✅I heard a new song by Taylor Swift.
furniture
❌ We bought new furnitures for the office.
✅ We bought new furniture for the office.
✅ I need three pieces of furniture for the bedroom.
equipment
❌ The gym has excellent equipments.
✅ The gym has excellent equipment.
luggage / baggage
❌ You can take two luggages on the plane.
✅ You can take two pieces of luggage on the plane.
✅ You can take two suitcases / bags on the plane.
homework
❌ I have a lot of homeworks today.
✅ I have a lot of homework today.
jewelry
❌ The thief stole so many jewelries.
✅ The thief stole so much jewelry.
money
❌ I don’t have enough moneys to buy that.
✅ I don’t have enough money to buy that.
research
❌ The scientists published their researches.
✅ The scientist published their research.
❌ I was reading about a new research in medicine.
✅ I was reading about some new research in medicine.
✅ I was reading about a new research project in medicine.
news
❌ I heard a good news.
✅ I heard some good news.
❌ They told us two interesting news.
✅ They told us two interesting pieces of news.
✅ They told us two interesting news stories / news reports.
Learn more: Countable and uncountable nouns
There are more rules about uncountable nouns – like we always use much instead of many, and little instead of a few.
These are covered inside my free guide to countable and uncountable nouns, which you can download by clicking here.
You’ll find lots more clear and helpful information (not informations) inside my English Grammar E-Books, with more than 70 lessons helping you understand essential English grammar easily, with lots of examples.
Here’s a great number to count: More than 20,000 English learners have enjoyed these e-books, and I know you will, too!
