can we say like this?

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rainyday

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can we say " Don't mess with dirt over there. You have already taken the bath. Do you want to get dirty again? " ?
 
rainyday said:
can we say " Don't mess with dirt over there. You have already taken the bath. Do you want to get dirty again? " ?
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Don't play in the dirt! You just took a bath!
 
I think we can use "You have already taken a bath" although the "you just took a bath" sounds more natural.
Can we remove "a" before "bath" ?
Thank you very much !
 
crazYgeeK said:
I think we can use "You have already taken a bath" although the "you just took a bath" sounds more natural.
Can we remove "a" before "bath" ?
Thank you very much !
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No, you can't remove the "a".

For info: "take a bath" - AmE; "have a bath" - BrE
 
emsr2d2 said:
No, you can't remove the "a".

For info: "take a bath" - AmE; "have a bath" - BrE
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Is there any expression like "take two/three/four baths" ?
If it isn't, how can we express that meaning ?
Let me try first, "take three times of bath", is it correct ?
About your sentences?
Thank you very much !
 
crazYgeeK said:
Is there any expression like "take two/three/four baths" ?
If it isn't, how can we express that meaning ?
Let me try first, "take three times of bath", is it correct ?
About your sentences?
Thank you very much !
Click to expand...

There's nothing wrong with "I've had three baths this week" etc.
 
Is the use of "bath" similar to the use of "milk", "coffee" as a countable noun?
E.g: "take a milk", "take a coffee"
Milk and coffee aren't countable nouns, are they ? So why can we use them as countable nouns in some contexts ? Is these the short ways of speaking (I mean "a milk" = "a cup of milk") or idioms ?
Is there any principle to do the same with other uncountable nouns ?
Thank you very much !
 
crazYgeeK said:
Is the use of "bath" similar to the use of "milk", "coffee" as a countable noun?
E.g: "take a milk", "take a coffee"
Milk and coffee aren't countable nouns, are they ? So why can we use them as countable nouns in some contexts ? Is these the short ways of speaking (I mean "a milk" = "a cup of milk") or idioms ?
Is there any principle to do the same with other uncountable nouns ?
Thank you very much !
Click to expand...

"To have/take a bath" is simply another way of saying "to bathe". It just makes it clearer that you're talking about doing so in a bathtub, as opposed to bathing in the sea.

"To have a coffee" is indeed just a short way of saying "To have a cup of coffee".

It doesn't work with all uncountable nouns though. "Bread", for instance, is uncountable but we wouldn't say "I'll have a bread" instead of "I'll have a slice of bread".
 
emsr2d2 said:
"To have/take a bath" is simply another way of saying "to bathe". It just makes it clearer that you're talking about doing so in a bathtub, as opposed to bathing in the sea.

"To have a coffee" is indeed just a short way of saying "To have a cup of coffee".

It doesn't work with all uncountable nouns though. "Bread", for instance, is uncountable but we wouldn't say "I'll have a bread" instead of "I'll have a slice of bread".
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So "bath" here is a real countable noun. (and also an uncountable noun as I know) ?

Does "two milks" mean "two cups of milk" ?
Did you mean we don't have any principle to know what uncountable nouns can be used as countable nouns like "milk", "coffee" ?
We must remember all these to use in right contexts, mustn't we?
If so, can I get all list of these nouns to learn ?
Thank you very much !
 
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crazYgeeK said:
So "bath" here is a real countable noun. (and also an uncountable noun as I know) ?

Does "two milks" mean "two cups of milk" ?
Did you mean we don't have any principle to know what uncountable nouns can be used as countable nouns like "milk", "coffee" ?
We must remember all these to use in right contexts, mustn't we?
If so, can I get all list of these nouns to learn ?
Thank you very much !
Click to expand...

I guess "two milks" would mean "two cups/glasses of milk" if you were ordering them in a café or something. I don't think I've ever heard it but that doesn't mean it's wrong. I just don't drink plain milk and nor do any of my friends!!!

I don't think there's a rule you can learn for nouns that can be countable and uncountable. However, I found this website which might help:

Nouns - Countable & Uncountable
 
emsr2d2 said:
I guess "two milks" would mean "two cups/glasses of milk" if you were ordering them in a café or something. I don't think I've ever heard it but that doesn't mean it's wrong. I just don't drink plain milk and nor do any of my friends!!!

I don't think there's a rule you can learn for nouns that can be countable and uncountable. However, I found this website which might help:

Nouns - Countable & Uncountable
Click to expand...

Thank you for the good website, but I think I have 1 rule at least. I think all foods, drinks in bars, restaurants can be called as countable nouns. That ways of call may be correct and understandable to the hosters but not correct grammatically, mayn't they ?
If that's right, I think your website supplied me some nouns that can be used as countable and uncountable nouns grammatically. But the nouns I mean are those which can only be used as uncountable nouns grammatically. They can also be used as countable nouns but only in spoken English and at somewhere such as restaurants...
Thank you very much !
 
Thanks for your answers and nice discussion on the word BATH!
 
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