10 Uncountable Nouns Related to Food

Today, you’re going to learn 10 uncountable nouns related to food. This lesson is suitable for elementary level of English learners.

Nouns are either countable or uncountable:

• if a noun is countable we can count it; countable nouns are seen as individuals

You can say things as:

– We will have two sandwiches.

– There are a few eggs left.

• if a noun is uncountable we can’t count it; uncountable nouns are seen as mass and are always singular

You can say things as:

– There isn’t much honey in the jar.

– I would eat a little chocolate

Take a look at these sentences:

Would you like some coffee?	uncountable because it’s referring to the drink in general
He ordered a coffee.	countable, because it’s referring to a cup of coffee
Would you like some beer?	uncountable, because it refers to n alcoholic drink made from yeast-fermented malt
I’ll have a beer.	countable, because it’s referring to a pint of beer; he ordered a beer.

Uncountable nouns can’t have a number before them. We cannot say: one meat, two breads, three creams. However, many uncountable nouns can be changed to countable nouns if they represent a type, a quantity, a unit, etc. of the nouns in question, particularly when ordering in restaurants.

Examples:

• I’d like a beer, please. = a glass of beer / a bottle of beer

• Would you like a yogurt for a snack? = a cup or bowl of yogurt

• I eat a salad with every meal. =a serving; ‘salad’ is often a countable noun

• Could you bring me a coffee, please? = a cup (It is heard a lot although I rarely say ‘a coffee’.)

Here are 10 uncountable nouns related to food:

1. rice

2. meat

3. bread

4. salt

5. honey

6. pasta

7. soup

8. flour

9. cream

10. oil

Before uncountable nouns we often use some:

• some meat

• some honey

• some pasta

It is also possible to make these nouns countable by saying:

• a piece of meat

• two pieces of bread

Or we can be more specific:

• three slices of bread

• four jars of honey

•  five loaves of bread

• six bowls of soup