Read the following sentences.

• Sugar makes food tastes sweet.

• We must drink plenty of water every day.

• My hair does not grow very long.

• Arrange the books on the table.

• Mother likes red flowers.

• The herd of cattle was grazing in the fields.

• The team will play in the Olympic Games.

In the above sentences, sugar, water, hair, books, flowers, herd, and team are all common nouns. But we can further classify them as mass, count, or collective nouns.

A mass noun is used to name a thing that cannot be counted individually - for example, sugar, water, and hair.

It is usually singular.

A unit of measurement is used to tell the amount of the thing a mass noun names.

Examples:

• 2 tablespoons of sugar

• 12 strands of hair

• 3 gallons of water

A count noun is used to name a thing that can be counted one by one - for example, books and flowers.

It can be singular or plural - for example, book, books.

To form a plural count noun, add -s or -es to the singular form - for example, flower, flowers; city, cities.

However, there are also irregular count nouns like foot whose plural form is feet.

A collective noun refers to a group of people, things, or animals taken together as one - for example, herd and team.

It is singular.