paper!!!countable or uncountable?

[zoobinshid]

Hello everybody,
Can anyone please tell me why paper is not countable?Because it make sense for me that I`m not a native to say"There are two papers on the desk.

Thanks in advance,;-)

 

[rewboss]

Like many things, "paper" is sometimes countable and sometimes uncountable.

Normally it's uncountable, but often "a paper" can mean a written composition, an official document or a newspaper. When used in those senses, it's countable.

In your sentence, I'd guess the "papers" are either written reports or newspapers, but without some more information I can't say for sure.

Here's another example of a normally uncountable noun used in a countable sense: "Tea with two sugars, please." Here, "two sugars" means two lumps or two spoonfuls of sugar.

 

[rewboss]

Re-reading your post, I realise that you asked a slightly different question.

Yes, paper is normally uncountable. It's a material, and materials are usually uncountable: wool, cement, wood, silk... these are all uncountable in their usual senses. Unless you do mean reports or newspapers, you have to say "two sheets of paper".