Why does it sound wrong to say "I have so much things!" or "I have so many stuff!" Both essentially mean the same thing. Stuff and things are examples of countable and uncountable nouns, respectively. These concepts come up on almost every ACT® English Test. Remembering this example can make this whole topic incredibly intuitive.
This is one topic non-native speakers know better than native speakers, often because they have had to study this topic very hard. When you tell a native speaker that English has this thing called countable nouns, they usually give you a nickcanonconfusedface.jpg.
It's true. We do have these words called countable nouns. The ACT® English section cares about them, typically at least once a test.
Between vs. Among
The rule here is you can only use 'between' for 2 things You can only use 'among' when there are 3 or more things. You can't use whichever you want for the purpose of ACT® Test. You have to know the rule and apply it.
Whether or not a noun is countable depends on whether it can be made plural. Water can't be made plural. You can have a few "waters" in the fridge, but what you're really saying is that you have a couple of bottles of water in the fridge.
Refer back to the example above and ask yourself, "so many things" or "so much stuff?" Water. I have so many water or so much water? water. So I need to use uncountable modifiers.
Money. So many money or so much money? Much money. Uncountable. Book? So muany books. Countable.
There are actually several words that require you to know if a noun is countable or uncoutnable before you can use the right one.
Table of Countable and Uncountable Terms
| Countable | Uncountable |
|---|---|
| Things | Stuff |
| Many | Much |
| Fewer | Less |
| Number | Amount |
The English saying "there's no honor among thieves" makes sense grammatically in this context. To test whether this for yourself, ask whether there can only ever be two thieves in all of existence. Conventional wisdom tells us there are at least 3 thieves at any given time. The saying wouldn't make sense if it read "honor between thieves."
Try playing Among Us with two people. It doesn't work.
The important part of this topic is not so much whether a word is countable or uncountable as much as whether the word modifying it modifies a countable or uncountable or countable noun. That's to say, it's less important to know that "things" is countable. It's much more important to know that "many" modifies countable nouns, which "things" is an example of, whereas much only modifies uncountable nouns.
You may have noticed that uncountable nouns don't tend to take an -s or -es at the end. That's not a great rule to follow, but it can help. Cattle is plural and countable, but doesn't take an S. So many cattle. Mathematics is uncountable but ends in an S. So much mathematics. Hence the table above.
Less vs. Fewer
The ACT® English Test asks about the difference between less and fewer somewhatfrequently. Less and fewer map onto the countable/uncountable table. It's a simple decision between whether or not the noun is countable. Referring back to the table above: I have fewer things than you, not less things. I have less stuff than you, not fewer stuff.
More Practice: Featuring Game of Thrones
Watch this video and try to answer the following question:
Why does Stannis think "fewer" is the correct word?
Click for the Answer
Answer:
Stannis thinks "fewer" is the correct word because he's referring to a countable quantity. In the context of the scene, they're likely counting discrete, countable items "Fewer" is the correct term to use with countable nouns, while "less" is used with uncountable nouns.
Click for Video Transcript
Video Transcript:
...and it's four less fingernails to clean
fewer
pardon
four fewer fingernails to clean
...them die? we got our own to worry about. less enemies forus!
Fewer
What?
Even More Practice
If you want to learn more about this topic, figure out which is correct at the supermarket: 15 items or less? or fewer?
Click for the Answer
Correct Answer: 15 items or fewer
Explanation:
"Fewer" is the correct term to use with countable nouns like "items". Since we can count the individual items in your grocery cart, the grammatically correct phrase would be "15 items or fewer".
Whether or not you feel the need to point out that a grocery story uses "incorrect grammar" is a personal choice I will leave to you. For the ACT® English test, always remember to use "fewer" with countable nouns.