COUNTIF, not SUMIF

From help for SUMIF:
"Microsoft Excel provides additional functions that can be used to analyze
your data based on a condition. For example, to count the number of
occurrences of a string of text or a number within a range of cells, use the
COUNTIF function. To have a formula return one of two values based on a
condition, such as a sales bonus based on a specified sales amount, use the
IF function."
--
David Biddulph

"ElGordo" wrote in message
...
I have data in letter form: M=male and F= female. I have tried SUMIF but
cant
get a total of aal the "M"s or"F"s in a column.What am I doing wrong as
the
help pages dont ma ke it clear?