Tedwonny
Member
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2012
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- Chinese
- Home Country
- Hong Kong
- Current Location
- UK
I have read
fabric noun (CLOTH) - definition in the British English Dictionary & Thesaurus - Cambridge Dictionaries Online
and
fabric - Definition from Longman English Dictionary Online
and it is extremely vague what the difference between fabric and fabricS is. Dictionaries often simply label them as C / U without further elaboration of the usage between the semantic differences between its countable and uncountable forms. I was thinking:
fabric = a material - a concept and hence uncountable and shouldn't be pluralized
fabrics = different types of fabrics? stressing the variety or pieces?
However, the cambridge dictionaries online gave these confusing examples which don't support my distinction above.
- dress fabric
- cotton fabrics
Could someone please shed more light on this please? There are also millions of examples like this and any pointers as to how we can easily distinguish between the two would greatly be appreciated because dictionaries don't often make such distinctions, as mentioned. VERY MANY THANKS
fabric noun (CLOTH) - definition in the British English Dictionary & Thesaurus - Cambridge Dictionaries Online
and
fabric - Definition from Longman English Dictionary Online
and it is extremely vague what the difference between fabric and fabricS is. Dictionaries often simply label them as C / U without further elaboration of the usage between the semantic differences between its countable and uncountable forms. I was thinking:
fabric = a material - a concept and hence uncountable and shouldn't be pluralized
fabrics = different types of fabrics? stressing the variety or pieces?
However, the cambridge dictionaries online gave these confusing examples which don't support my distinction above.
- dress fabric
- cotton fabrics
Could someone please shed more light on this please? There are also millions of examples like this and any pointers as to how we can easily distinguish between the two would greatly be appreciated because dictionaries don't often make such distinctions, as mentioned. VERY MANY THANKS