How to Apply Units of Measure or How to Count Non-Count Nouns

Although it may seem obvious when a grammar text notes that people cannot "count" non-count nouns, it is not always obvious in practice.  For example:

Incorrect Sentence	Comments	Correct Sentence, where the noun is being counted or is pluralized
I took my equipments in for cleaning.	Here, the writer is "counting" their equipment without using an explicit quantifier, such as "four."  How do we know?  Because the person has added the letter "s" to the end of the word "equipment."  This pluralizes the noun, so we know that there are "several" pieces of equipment.	I took several pieces of equipment in for cleaning.
Add four flours to the bowl before adding three eggs.	Here, the word "flour" is a non-count noun.  The word "egg" is a countable noun.  It's easy to count eggs--it's not so easy to "count" flour.  Therefore, the writer needs to incorporate a unit of measure in order to tell his or her readers exactly what quantity of flour is required for the recipe.	Add four cups of flour to the bowl before adding three eggs.

There are some websites that can help you on the topic of non-count nouns and how to actually "count" them or pluralize them:

• University of Victoria - a very simple overview of the concept
• Learn English Online - a more advanced overview of the concept
• Quizlet - a list of common "counters" that are used to count non-count nouns