We can count separate items: one egg, two eggs, three eggs.
An egg → two eggs.
A sandwich → three sandwiches.
One egg is ready. Two eggs are ready.
Grammar · A1
Countable and uncountable nouns
Count the eggs. Count the bottles and slices. Order what you need.
There are two cups of tea.
01 · The idea
Look. Compare these examples.
Count the eggs. Count the bottles and slices. Order what you need.
02 · More examples
Look at what changes.
Here we mean the drink or food. Say some water, some bread, some rice.
There is some water.
The bread is fresh.
The rice is ready.
Water stays water. We count the bottles. Bread stays bread. We count the slices.
One bottle of water → two bottles of water.
One slice of bread → three slices of bread.
A bowl of rice → two bowls of rice.
Look a little closer
One serving
In a café, two coffees can mean two cups of coffee.
Two cups of coffee, please.
A bowl of soup. Two bowls of soup.
Other everyday words
Say some information, some advice and some furniture, without an s.
The information is correct.
A piece of advice. Two pieces of furniture.
03 · Build a sentence
Make a choice. See what changes.
Change one choice at a time. Watch the sentence blocks.
There is one bottle of water.
What?
How many containers or pieces?
04 · Try it together
Choose the correct answer.
Quick check 1
For breakfast we need two ___.
Count the separate items. One egg, two…?
Quick check 2
We mean the drink. The milk ___ cold.
What are we counting: one cup, two cups, or the drink itself?
Quick check 3
Count the container: two ___ of water.
Count the container or piece. Is there one, or more than one?
05 · Real-life English
Use it in a conversation.
A: I'd like two slices of bread, please. B: Anything to drink? A: A bottle of water, please.
Buy bread and a drink. Count the slices, bottles or cups.
A: A bowl of rice? B: Two bowls of rice, please. A: And tea? B: One cup of tea, please.
Order for two people. Change one bowl to two bowls, or one cup to two cups. Keep rice and tea unchanged.
06 · Common mistakes
Which sentence is correct?
07 · Keep this
The lesson in three small steps.
One egg. Two eggs.
One egg is ready. Two eggs are ready.
Water. Bread. Rice.
Some water. Some bread. Some rice. No extra s here.
Count the bottle or slice
One bottle of water → two bottles of water. One slice of bread → two slices.
08 · Practice
Ready to try?
Choose mixed practice or one type of activity.
RecommendedMixed practiceTry all three activity types.Start →Multiple ChoiceChoose the answer →Fill in the BlanksType the missing word →Sentence OrderingPut the words in order →
Choose Practice Mode or Test Mode on the next page. Mixed sessions: 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 questions. The same five sizes are available for each activity type.