| Mass nouns typically refer to material substances in three states: they may be solid, liquid, or gaseous. |
| (1) | My luggage is made of leather. | |
| (2) | He poured water on my bread and blew smoke in my eyes. |
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Abstract non-count nouns.English also provides designations for abstractions in the form of non-count nouns. This includes most nouns formed from verbs using the derivational suffix -ing. The linguist sometimes categorizes the names of languages as non-count nouns and sometimes as proper nouns, possibly because both kinds of noun characteristically lack a plural form. |
| (1) | With more honesty peace might prevail. | |
| (2) | We would like news of his progress. | |
| (3) | He is in training to learn English. |
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Nouns either count or non-count.There is a fuzzy area in the analysis of some nouns in cases where they are seen as either non-count or count depending on the context. The plural form marks a noun as count, clear enough, whether abstract or concrete, but the singular form can often be perceived at some times as designating a mass and at other times as an abstraction. |
| (1) | a. | Men are mortal. | [plural count] | |
| b. | Man is mortal. | [non-count, abstract] | ||
| (2) | a. | He put onions in his stew. | [plural count] | |
| b. | You can taste onion. | [non-count, mass] | ||
| (3) | a. | He had a good education. | [singular count] | |
| b. | He supports the cause of education. | [non-count, abstract] | ||
| (4) | a. | John has a knowledge of cars. | [singular count] | |
| b. | Knowledge is power. | [non-count, abstract] |
| In the first two examples, men and onions it appears that the abstract version is a derivation of the count noun. In the last two examples, education and knowledge it appears that the count noun is derived from the abstraction. |
