不可數(shù)名詞沒有表示復(fù)數(shù)的“-s”標(biāo)志，因此前面不可有數(shù)目字，只可以有數(shù)量詞。例如我們可以說①， 不可以說②：
①There is not much furniture in the office.
②There are not many furnitures in the office.
這是不是說不可數(shù)名詞就不可數(shù)呢？不然。相反的，不可數(shù)名詞也是可數(shù)的，主要方法是借重單位詞（unit word），如：
a piece of, a cup of, a drop of, a lump of, a handful of, a flash of, a blade of, a head of, a bar of, an ear of等。
如果數(shù)目是超過“一”，就以確實數(shù)目取代“一”。例如：
two pieces of, three cups of 和 five lumps of 等。
現(xiàn)在試試把上述這類單位詞和適當(dāng)?shù)牟豢蓴?shù)名詞連用。
① Mr Li has just bought a piece of new furniture.
② Give me a cup of cold water, please.
③ Please put two lumps of sugar in my coffee.
④ The boy picked up two handfuls of sand from the beach.
⑤ We saw a flash of lightning in the sky.
⑥ The gardener pulled out blades of wild grass from the garden.
⑦ She gave bars of chocolate to the visiting children.
有些名詞如 scissors, trousers, spectacles, tongs, pliers 等，都以復(fù)數(shù)形式出現(xiàn)， 如：
⑧ The scissors are lying on the table.
⑨ The spectacles fit me nicely.
如果要給這些名詞表示單數(shù)“一”的意思，就要借重單位詞了。例如：
⑩ Mary has just bought a pair of scissors.
(11) The mechanic repaired the machine with a set of pliers.
現(xiàn)代英語注重簡潔，合成形容詞便應(yīng)運而生，其中有一種是用來表示數(shù)目的，方法是：
“數(shù)目+名詞”，如：a five-year plan, a ten-dollar note, a two-hour meeting, a three-day conference等。
必須注意的是，這種合成形容詞中的名詞，只能以單數(shù)形式出現(xiàn)。如果用復(fù)數(shù)，就錯了，如：
a five-years plan, a ten-dollars note, a two-hours meeting, a three-days conference.
這類錯誤，雖然頻率不是很高，但也是要留意才好。
如果沒有把握，不妨用完整的表達(dá)方式，如：
a five-year plan→a plan of five years, a ten-dollar note→a note of ten dollars, a three-day conference→a conference of three days 等。