Some advice or an advice: which is correct?

To use articles correctly, you need to understand the difference between countable and uncountable nouns (sometimes called mass nouns). Countable nouns are things you can count, e.g. one pen, two pens, three pens. Uncountable nouns are for things you can’t count, like substances (e.g. water, rock) or abstract nouns (e.g. socialism, anger).

Many dictionaries for learners of English show whether a noun is countable or uncountable, often using codes such as [C] and [U].

A/An with countable nouns only!

Using the articles a and an with uncountable nouns is a very common learner error. This is often because words that are uncountable in English may be countable or plural in other languages. You can use the with uncountable nouns, but only in the normal way, i.e. when you are talking about specific things:

• We need to buy furniture for our new house. (don’t say a furniture or furnitures)
• The furniture we bought was very expensive.

Advice

The word that probably causes more problems than any other is advice. This is an uncountable noun, so you must never put a or an in front of it or an ‘s’ on the end of it. Just to be clear it is never OK to say ‘an advice’!

• I asked my teacher for advice about the exam.
• She gave me some advice.
• They didn’t give us any advice.
• The advice she gave me was very useful.
• NOT: Can you give me an advice? 

A piece of, etc.

We sometimes make uncountable nouns countable by adding a phrase such as ‘a piece of’ or ‘an item of’ in front of them. When you do this, you can use a or an.

• Let me give you a piece of advice. 
• We had to draw an item of clothing.

Other uncountable words that cause problems.

Here are some more common nouns that are uncountable in English. Be careful with them and remember that you can use a good learner’s dictionary to check:

equipment, evidence, fun, furniture, hair, homework, knowledge, machinery, money, progress, traffic, transport, trouble, work

Note that the word accommodation is uncountable in British English, but Americans sometimes talk about accommodations.

For more information about articles see A, an and the: how to use articles in English