One interesting thing about basic containers is that they also serve as measure words in Chinese (and also in English, and probably any language). For example: 一瓶水 ("a bottle of water"), 一袋苹果 ("a bag of apples"). Sometimes words like 瓶 and 袋 are taught as measure words, but I don't think this is necessary. They automatically already are measure words. Also, for substances that exist in a continuous form (such as water), or as the concept of some kind of material (such as gold), then this kind of measure word must be used. We cannot say "two waters" or "two golds" - it makes no sense. We could also use some standard unit of measure, such as 两升水 ("two litres of water") or 两磅黄金 ("two pounds of gold").
One interesting thing about basic containers is that they also serve as measure words in Chinese (and also in English, and probably any language). For example: 一瓶水 ("a bottle of water"), 一袋苹果 ("a bag of apples"). Sometimes words like 瓶 and 袋 are taught as measure words, but I don't think this is necessary. They automatically already are measure words.
Also, for substances that exist in a continuous form (such as water), or as the concept of some kind of material (such as gold), then this kind of measure word must be used. We cannot say "two waters" or "two golds" - it makes no sense. We could also use some standard unit of measure, such as 两升水 ("two litres of water") or 两磅黄金 ("two pounds of gold").