making uncountable nouns countable, convertir en contables los sustantivos no contables, countable nouns, uncountable nouns, sustantivos contables y no contables

A PIECE OF... A (LITTLE) BIT OF...
You can make many uncountable nouns singular by adding a piece of or a (little) bit of. Similarly, you can make such nouns plural with pieces of or (less frequently) bits of. Let see some examples:

Maria bought an attractive piece of furniture at an antique shop.
(María adquirió un interesante mueble en una tienda de antigüedades.)
~~a furniture~~ (un mueble) is NOT correct.

I'll need a little bit of information before making a decision.
(Necesitaré un poco de información antes de tomar una decisión.)
~~an information~~ (información) is NOT correct.

Frederick Chopin wrote some wonderful pieces of music in 1840.
(Federico Chopin escribió maravillosas obras musicales en 1840.)
~~some wonderful musics~~ (obras maravillosas) is NOT correct.

Let me give you a bit of advice if you want to buy such an old house.
(Déjame darte algunos consejos si piensas comprar una casa tan antigua.)
~~an advice~~ / ~~advices~~ (un consejo/consejos) is NOT correct.

WEATHER: A SPELL OF... A FLASH OF... A GUST OF...
A number of weather-related words go with specific uncountable nouns:

In Argentina we are having a long spell of melting hot weather this summer.
(En Argentina estamos teniendo una temporada de excesivo calor este verano.)
~~a melting hot weather~~ (una temporada de excesivo calor) is NOT correct.

The thunder came immediately after the flash of lightning.
(El trueno vino inmediatamente después del relámpago.)
~~a lightning~~ (un relámpago) is NOT correct.

A sudden gust of wind turned my umbrella inside out.
(Una repentina ráfaga de viento dio vuelta mi paraguas.)
~~a wind~~ (un viento) is NOT correct.

CONTAINERS: A LOAF OF... A SLICE OF... A BAR OF...
Many familiar groceries or container-related words are usually used with uncountable nouns. Let's check them:

Could you get me a loaf of bread, please?
(¿Podrías traerme un pan, por favor?)
~~a bread~~ (un pan) is NOT correct.

Would you like another slice/piece of toast?
(¿Te gustaría otra tostada?)
~~another toast~~ (otra tostada) is NOT correct.

I'm going out to buy a bar of chocolate round the corner.
(Saldré a comprar un chocolate aquí a la vuelta.)
~~a chocolate~~ (un chocolate) is NOT correct.

If you go to the supermarket, please buy three bars of soap.
(Si vas al supermercado compra tres jabones, por favor.)
~~three soaps~~ (tres jabones) is NOT correct.

Did you remember to buy a tube of toothpaste?
(¿Te acordaste de comprar un dentífrico?)
~~a toothpaste~~ (un dentífrico) is NOT correct.

NATURE AND OTHERS: CLOUD OF... BREATH OF... STROKE OF...
Some nature-related words and other expressions can also go with uncountable nouns. Pay attention to these examples:

What happened? Look at that cloud of smoke over there!!
(¿Qué ocurrió? ¡¡ Mira ese humo allí !!)
~~a smoke~~ (un humo) is NOT correct.

It's really hot in here!! Let's go out now and get a breath of fresh air.
(¡¡ Hace mucho calor aquí adentro !! Salgamos ya por un poco de aire fresco.)
~~a fresh air~~ (un aire fresco) is NOT correct.

I had an incredible stroke of luck this morning. I won the lottery!!
(Tuve una suerte increíble esta mañana. ¡¡ Gané la lotería !!)
~~a luck~~ (una suerte) is NOT correct.

A USEFUL PHRASE: A STATE OF...
The phrase a state of (estado, circunstancia, situación, etc.) can also be useful to make uncountable nouns singular. But those nouns are usually abstract and include affairs, emergency, uncertainty, chaos, disrepair, confusion, poverty, health, mind, and flux.

We moved over a month ago, but we are still in a state of chaos.
(Nos mudamos hace más de un mes pero todavía es un caos.)
~~a chaos~~ (un caos) is NOT correct.

Sandra seems to be in a state of confusion now, but she will be better soon.
(Sandra parece estar en una confusión ahora, pero pronto estará mejor.)
~~a confusion~~ (una confusión) is NOT correct.

GLOSSARY: container-related: relativos a recipientes o contenedores; groceries: productos de almacén; nature-related: relativos a la naturaleza; affairs: asuntos, casos, acontecimientos; uncertainty: duda, incertidumbre; chaos: caos, desorden; disrepair: desarreglo, descompostura; poverty: miseria, pobreza; health: sanidad, salud; flux: fusión.