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Old 21-Sep-2003, 01:54
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Default Slang vs slangs

As I know that slang is an uncountable noun. But can we add an ' s ' to mean different types of slang like what we do on ' foods ' and ' peoples ' ?

eg. I am running a company dealing in wine and foods.

eg. Peoples from different nations come to attend the world conference.

Thanks
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Old 21-Sep-2003, 02:21
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Default Re: Slang vs slangs

Quote:
Originally Posted by whl626
As I know that slang is an uncountable noun. But can we add an ' s ' to mean different types of slang like what we do on ' foods ' and ' peoples ' ?

eg. I am running a company dealing in wine and foods.

eg. Peoples from different nations come to attend the world conference.
Slang is slang. I don't know of any reason to use slangs.

The first sentence should be: "I am running a company dealing in wine and food."

The second sentence should be: "People from different nations come to attend the world conference." Use peoples only when discussing nationalities. For example, you might say discuss the peoples of Europe or the peoples of Asia. There is probably no need for peoples unless you are writing a sociology paper.

:)
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Old 21-Sep-2003, 02:30
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Thanks :)

It has cleared the mess :). In fact, I knew so well about the usages. It was just because they were not used in line with the grammar that made me wonder if rules were somewhat changed to fit the current trend.
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Old 21-Sep-2003, 02:32
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Re:
Peoples from different nations come to attend the world conference.

It is better to say countries there rather than nations. A nation is not so much a place as it is a people.

:)
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Old 21-Sep-2003, 06:16
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" Restrict the amount and frequency of sugary foods. "

Regarding ' food ', I just came across this from a Darlie toothpaste advertisement. Even the formal advertisement also came to use plural on food.
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Old 21-Sep-2003, 17:22
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Default RE: foods & slangs

There are signs in North American supermarkets that read "frozen foods" and "fruits".

I've heard the word "slangs" used as a blend for "slang (adjective) words (plural noun)":

How many slang words do you know?
I know a million slangs.
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Old 21-Sep-2003, 19:34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whl626
" Restrict the amount and frequency of sugary foods. "

Regarding ' food ', I just came across this from a Darlie toothpaste advertisement. Even the formal advertisement also came to use plural on food.
Since it is common to pluralize words by using an s ending, perhaps some non-native speakers pluralize words native-English speakers would not. In your example sentence, in this country (USA) we would not use foods. However, while it is rare, there are times when we would use it. Example: "Chicken is one of the foods I eat." Here is another: "It's one of the world's favorite foods." (I got the idea for that one via a Web search.)

Of course, more common is something like: "I'm going to go out to buy some food."

Foods is, apparently, used in many company names and also when discussing things like grain foods and other kinds of food.

If foods is in common usage where you are as the "plural" of food then it is probably the thing to do to join the crowd.

:wink:
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Old 21-Sep-2003, 19:42
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Default Re: RE: foods & slangs

Quote:
Originally Posted by Casiopea
There are signs in North American supermarkets that read "frozen foods" and "fruits".
I've never seen such signs, but maybe I'll look for them now.

:wink:
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Old 21-Sep-2003, 22:17
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Default Plurals

Food and water are regarded as mass nouns and take singular verbs, while people is plural and takes a plural verb except in exceptional circumstances.

From a Google search:
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Old 21-Sep-2003, 23:17
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Default Re: Slang vs slangs

Quote:
Originally Posted by whl626
As I know that slang is an uncountable noun. But can we add an ' s ' to mean different types of slang like what we do on ' foods ' and ' peoples ' ?

eg. I am running a company dealing in wine and foods.

eg. Peoples from different nations come to attend the world conference.

Thanks
Yes- Cockney rhyming slang is an identifiablt and localised slang. It is different from others, so the plural would be possible if we were thinking about local, etc, variations.
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