Material Nouns: Definition and Examples

What are Material Nouns?

Material nouns are the raw elements or objects existing in nature.

Examples

cotton	gold	fiber
calcium	plastic	Iron
diamond	brass	marble

Let us look at some examples in sentences.

Cotton dress is cheap.
Calcium is good for health.
This is a shop for diamonds.
I purchased a gold ring.
Plastic is for ordinary use.
Brass was used in the old days.
Fiber is widely used in all industries.
Iron is a very useful metal.
This is a building of marbles.

Learn All About Nouns and Types of Nouns with Examples

Different Types of Pronouns in English

Things to remember when using Material nouns

Material nouns do not take plural forms. It takes only singular forms and singular verbs.

Material nouns are uncountable nouns. It can be measured or weighed.

Some examples of material nouns from nature.

water	silver	gold
air	iron	coal
copper	sand	rock

Some examples of material nouns from plants.

fruits	food	oil
coffee	tea	rubber

Some examples of material nouns from animals.

egg	meat	honey
milk	leather	wool

Some examples of man-made material nouns.

acid	brick	butter	cheese
alcohol	cement	medicine	cloth

Rules to remember when using material nouns.

Rule 1

Do not use a numeral adjective (one, two, three, four, many, few, a few, etc.) before a material noun.

For example,

Two luggage have been stolen.(incorrect sentence)

Two items of luggage have been stolen.(correct sentence)

There are ten furniture in this room. (incorrect sentence)

There are ten items of furniture in this room. (correct sentence)

Rule 2

Do not use articles (a, an , the) before material nouns.

For example,

Please give me a paper to write on.( incorrect sentence)

Please give me paper to write on.(correct sentence)

Please give me a piece of paper to write on.(correct sentence)

Rule 3

Do not use 's' or 'es' after material nouns.

For example,

The bottle is made of glasses. ( incorrect sentence)

The bottle is made of glass. (correct sentence)

These books are made of papers. ( incorrect sentence)

These books are made of paper. (correct sentence)

These sweaters are made of wools. ( incorrect sentence)

These sweaters are made of wool. (correct sentence)

But there are some exceptions to Rule 3.

When we add 's' after some material nouns its meaning totally changes.

For example,

Tie this dog with irons. (irons means fetters - chain made of iron)

Some more words of this type.

iron	irons (fetters)
copper	coppers (coins made of copper)
tin	tins (container made of tin)
gold	gold’s (coins made of gold)
sand	sands (desert)
water	waters (ocean)
wood	woods (forest)
paper	papers (document, permit, license)

I hope this explanation will help you to understand material nouns better.

See Also

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