Challenging Uncountable Nouns: Fruit and Vocabulary
Some English nouns can be quite confusing to use correctly. To me, two of the most challenging are fruit and vocabulary. Both are usually uncountable nouns, which means they are not typically used with:
The indefinite article “a”
Plural forms like “fruits” or “vocabularies”
However, you do sometimes see them used as countable nouns or in plural forms, for example:
I had a fruit for lunch.
There are two fruits in the basket.
He has a big vocabulary.
Different professions use different vocabularies.
Although fruit and vocabulary behave similarly as uncountable nouns, they are grammatically different in important ways. Let’s take a closer look.
1. Fruit
Usually uncountable — refers to fruit in general or fruit as a material.
I like fruit.
Fruit is good for you.
We ate fruit after dinner.
Countable use — when referring to types or individual pieces of fruit:
I bought three fruits: an apple, a banana, and a mango.
There are two fruits in the basket.
He gave me a fruit to eat.
Why this happens:
Fruit is a material noun (like rock, glass, or paper). Material nouns are uncountable but can act like countable nouns when discussing types or units.
Other examples of material nouns behaving similarly:
I broke glass. (general material
I broke a glass. (one object)
She broke two glasses. (countable items)
2. Vocabulary
Mostly uncountable — refers to the general set of words someone knows or uses:
Vocabulary is important for language learning.
I want to improve my vocabulary.
Unlike fruit, we don’t say “a vocabulary” or “two vocabularies” in the singular or plural countable sense as usual:
❌ I learned three new vocabularies. (incorrect)
Plural “vocabularies” is used only when referring to distinct sets of vocabulary, such as vocabularies of different languages or fields:
Using “a” + adjective + vocabulary to describe the quality or size of the vocabulary as a whole set is correct and common:
I have a big vocabulary.
She has a limited vocabulary.
He’s building a technical vocabulary.
This is similar to how some other uncountable nouns behave, such as lunch:
I had lunch. (uncountable, no article)
I had a big lunch. (countable noun phrase with adjective + article)
Quick Review & Correct Usage
Summary
Fruit usually uncountable but can be plural/countable when talking about types or individual pieces (material noun behavior).
Vocabulary mostly uncountable; plural “vocabularies” for different distinct sets only.
Use “a” + adjective + vocabulary to describe the overall quality/size of vocabulary, but never just “a vocabulary” alone.