Mass Nouns

Mass nouns are uncountable by a number. Mass nouns are quantified by a word that signifies amount.

A few examples:

•          Materials, food, metals, and natural qualities: bread, cotton, wood, lightness, adolescence
•         Names of liquids, gases, and substances made of many small particles: cappuccino, oil, smoke, oxygen, rice, sugar, salt, cement, gravel
•          Names of languages: English, Spanish, French, Latin, Sanskrit, Chinese
•          Most gerunds: looking, listening, swimming, running, anticipating

Remember that a number cannot be used to quantify a mass noun. Incorrect: four woods, one rice, three courage's.

To measure or classify mass nouns, use "of" after a measurement: a foot of wood, a pound of rice, an ounce of courage, a bar of chocolate, a piece of music, a bag of money