What is a Mass Noun?

Mass Noun

Any noun that denotes an item that is impossible or challenging to count, such as air, rice, or intelligence, is referred to as a Mass Noun. Substances, objects, and ideas that cannot be broken down into their components are examples of mass nouns. These nouns are also referred to as “uncountable nouns” or “noncount nouns.”

With the help of mass noun, we can indicate whole group, quantity and categories in one word. In this article, we will provide you with the complete information on mass noun and how to use it.

What is a Mass Noun?

A mass noun is a special kind of word that does not generally refer to particular units of measurement and cannot be pluralized. Instead, it can refer to one or more objects that are not actually tallied.

Definition of Mass Noun

A person, location, or entity is referred to as having mass if it cannot be quantified in any way and does not have multiple words in any language because it is not an individual object and known as mass noun. It is impossible to differentiate between mass words without including a unit of measurement.

When writing a statement, it is common practice to place the noun that is being referred to as the subject of such action that will follow at the beginning of the sentence. In more complicated sentence constructions, nouns are also positioned after adjectives in the same order.

Examples

• I went to the shop in the mall where perfume is sold.
• Your door was unlocked when the jewelry was stolen.
• This coffee is much stronger than the previous one.

Some other examples of mass nouns are traffic, art, chaos, currency, education, furniture, information, luggage, marketing, livestock, music, patriotism, power, wood.

Types of Mass Nouns

Although there are countless others, common mass noun examples include cash, water, clothing, wood, and assistance. It usually fall into one of the following categories:

Category	Example
Concept	gallantry, morality, information, aptitude, patience
Activity	homework, singing, reading, fishing
Food	bread, butter, cheese, fish, milk
Gas	air, helium, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, smoke
Liquid	beer, coffee, petrol, water, wine
Material	cloth, concrete, lumber, wood, metal
Item Category	clothing, furniture, luggage, money
Natural Phenomenon	gravity, heat, humidity, rain, snow, sunshine, thunder
Particles	flour, grit, salt, sugar

When to Use a Mass Noun?

Because mass noun are invisible to the human eye, bulk words are typically not countable. As an illustration, music is something that is audible rather than seen; consequently, native English speakers just wouldn’t say “one music, two musics” because “musics” is not a term. When attempting to indicate the overall magnitude of a mass word, quantifiers are almost always joined with the mass noun in question.

People could ask for a lot of rice or just a little bit of rice, but the individual who gave them the rice would never measure the grains and would instead just offer them a general quantity. In other words, people might request a lot of rice or just a tiny bit of rice.

Uses of Mass Nouns

The determination of whether a word is countable or mass noun depends not so much on whether the noun itself can be tallied but rather on whether the noun is conceived of in terms of units or as a quantity that is not differentiated in any way. If the subject of a verb is a bulk word in the singular or uncountable form, then the verb must be in the singular form as well.

The word will be in multiple forms when the subject of the sentence is a bulk noun that is already in the plural form. Another mass noun guideline states that bulk names are to be treated as if they were singular, despite the fact that English considers them as multiple. For example, you can use the word “is” instead of the more common “are.”

Correct: This juice is fresh.

Incorrect: This juice are fresh

Correct: Greed is not something that you let grow.

Incorrect: Greed are not something that you let grow

In a sentence, if the verb drops an “s” along with plural nouns, then it will keep the “s” for mass nouns.

Correct: The cheese tastes yummy.

Incorrect: The cheese taste yummy

Correct: Your jewelry looks expensive.

Incorrect: Your jewelry look expensive.

Identify a Mass Noun in Sentences

• He went to get bottles of water for us.
• John had five bowls of rice already.
• Patrick likes to know more about different types of literature.

At first glance, it may appear that the nouns “water,” “rice,” and “literature” ought to be in multiple forms. The word would be considered pluralized if we said something like “bowls of vegetables” or “different kinds of literature.” However, we do not pluralize water, rice, or literature because these words are collectively referred to as mass nouns.

Mass Nouns vs. Collective Nouns

A term that stands in for a collection of individuals is referred to as a collective noun (or other things.) As an illustration, a group such as a class, squad, band, company, or swarm. If the noun form is singular, then it must always be paired with a singular word in American English.
A mass noun is a name used to allude to something that, in most cases, cannot be enumerated. In point of fact, it is referred to as an incalculable or non-count word in some circles. It shouldn’t be mistaken with collective names at any point. In this article, we will discuss the mass noun guidelines that must be followed in order to properly use bulk names in your writing.

Examples of Mass Noun

The following are the examples of mass nouns:

• He has shiny and beautiful hair.
• There is fresh green grass in our backyard.
• The cottage is entirely made of wood.
• He needs more room just to stand there with his luggage
• What is that noise coming out of your engine?
• Water is the basic need of every living organism.

Conclusion on Mass Noun

Mass nouns are one of the very essential aspects of English Grammar to make your sentences flawless. We hope with this brief guide you will be able to understand the basics of mass nouns and know how to use them correctly.

Practice Questions on Mass Noun

To make your grasp over the mass noun stronger, here are are few sentences to practice what you have learned so far:

1. The baby’s _______ very soft. (hair is/hair are)
2. I am only worried about increasing my _______. (knowledge/knowledges)
3. Mathematics _______ my strong subject. (is / are)
4. Scissors ________ in the upper drawer of my table. (is / are)
5. Oil ______ an essential role in the economy of every country. (has / have)
6. Water _______ running down the tank. (is / are)
7. My jeans ______ black in color. (is / are)
8. This whole news ______ viral now. (is/are)

Answers: 1. is  2. knowledge 3. is  4. are  5. is  6. is  7. are  8. is

FAQs on Mass Noun

What is a Mass Noun?

Nouns that symbolize things that cannot be tallied are referred to as mass nouns. These nouns are also referred to as “uncountable nouns” or “noncount nouns.” It is erroneous to state bloods or clothings when referring to a mass noun because a mass noun does not have a multiple form. Blood and clothing are common instances of mass nouns.

When should you use a Mass Noun?

‘Wine’ is an example of a mass noun, which is a word that is typically countable but can be used with ‘a’ or ‘an’ or in the multiple when referring to different varieties of the same substance, as in the phrase ‘a selection of Australian wines.’ A bulk noun is essentially the same thing as an uncountable word, according to some explanations of language.

What are some examples of Mass Nouns?

Examples of bulk nouns that are particularly common include money, water, garments, timber, and assistance; however, there are literally hundreds of others. In most cases, general words, such as those used for the weather, feelings, disciplines, languages, and the titles of sports, are also considered to be mass nouns.

What is the purpose of Mass Nouns?

Sometimes a singular word will have the appearance of being multiple when in fact, it is singular. There is a good chance that this word is referred to as a bulk noun. Nouns with the property of being numerous by definition are referred to as mass nouns. You may also hear these referred to as noncount words or uncountable terms. To prevent ourselves from making grammatical mistakes, we use bulk words.