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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > Is there a mistake?
Is there a mistake?
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...Alena...
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Is there a mistake?
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Hello everyone!� I need your advise. I �ve found a strange sentence (in my opinion) in my pupil �s book (printed in Russia): "A lot of fruit grows on trees" I would say: "A lot of fruit grow", because in American books I saw the sentence: "Are there any fish in the fridge?" So, does the form of the predicate depend on the sense of the subject or on the form of the subject? What �s your point of view? I do need your opinion.� |
12 Feb 2010
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tahriali
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"fruit" is an uncountable noun that should always be used in the plural.
"Fish", however, in this sentence "Are there any fish in the fridge?" is the irregular plural form of "fish"- Just notice that "fish" has two plural forms: fishes/ fish.
fish noun (pl. fish or fishes). Fish is the usual plural form. The older
form, fishes, can be used to refer to different kinds of fish.
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12 Feb 2010
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roadrunnerr
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tahriali I don �t agree with you for your first opinion which is about "fruit" because fruit is not an always uncountable noun it has also its plural form "fruits" . Thus, both "a lot of fruit" and "a lot of fruits" are acceptable; moreover, a lot of & lots of have the meaning "a great quantity" (but for some experts lots of is more than a lot of)
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12 Feb 2010
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aquarius_gr
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Grammatically, fruit is an uncountable noun always used in singular.
"A lot of fruit grows on trees" is absolutely correct.
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12 Feb 2010
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roadrunnerr
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Yes, but there are situations in which it (fruit) is used to refer the species. |
12 Feb 2010
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yanogator
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roadrunnerr is correct about fruit being countable when it refers to species.
If I heard "A lot of fruit grows on trees", I would think of it as a quantity statement, saying that trees bear a large quantity of fruit.
"A lot of fruits grow on trees" says to me that many different kinds grow on trees, but others grow on vines and bushes.
I don �t think I would ever say, "A lot of fruit grow on trees."
Generally, fish as food is uncountable, and the animal is countable. If I heard "Are there any fish in the fridge?", I would laugh, because I would picture live fish swimming in the vegetable bin. When asking about food, it must be "Is there any fish in the fridge?"
tahriali is correct that you can use "fishes" to refer to different kinds, but we would more commonly say "kinds of fish", as in "There are many kinds of fish in this lake." It �s correct to say "There are many fishes in this lake", but it is very uncommon and doesn �t sound very natural.
Bruce |
12 Feb 2010
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Jayho
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Hi everyone
I think there might be a difference between American and British English usage.
BTW, this has been discussed on the forum before so maybe the previous posts may shed more light.
Cheers
Jayho |
13 Feb 2010
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Spagman63
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In America, fishes is a verb. Fruit is NEVER plural when talking about the food. I had never heard of fruits until I came to Hong Kong. It sounds strange to me. We use fruit for both singular AND plural, much like deer or sheep. Fruits is only to talk about the results of an action:fruits of labor, fruits of hard work etc....
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13 Feb 2010
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yanogator
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Sorry to disagree with you, Spagman63, but I bought three different fruits today - strawberries, bananas and apples.
The experts say to eat five fruits and vegetables every day.
Some fruits contain large seeds called pits.
In Ohio, at least, no one would say "fruit" in any of those sentences.
Bruce |
13 Feb 2010
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eng789
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yanogator - three different, five, some - are quantifiers -so you have to use fruits
But would you ask - Do you eat fruits and vegetables every day?
or Do you eat fruit and vegetables every day?
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13 Feb 2010
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...Alena...
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Dear colleagues,�
thanks a lot for your replies.I �ll correct my mistake.
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13 Feb 2010
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