Count/Non-Count Nouns: Animals and Meat

Count & Non-Count Nouns
Animals and Meat

There is an interesting relationship between the count and non-count versions of the nouns used to name some animals.

Have a look at the following sentences.

1. ​I like chickens.
2. I like chicken.

In the fist sentence, the noun 'chickens' is a plural count noun.
In the second sentence, the noun 'chicken' is a non-count noun.

What's the difference? Check out these two pictures.

I like chickens.

I like chicken.

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For many animals, the count noun refers to the animals, while the non-count noun refers to the meat from the animals.

This is not true for all animals, of course. Beef is the name used for meat from cows, and pork is the name used for meat from pigs. There are many other examples, as well.

However, here are a few other examples of the count/non-count relationship.

ducks

duck

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rabbits

rabbit

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lambs

lamb

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Do you know any other animals like these that have this count/non-count relationship?

Feel free to comment or ask questions.

Thanks!