green pepper

[uniopp]

Which are correct and is there a rule?

I like green pepper.
I like green peppers.

I like eggplant.
I like eggplants.

Thank you.

 

[SoothingDave]

I like green peppers.
I like eggplant.

Generally, we use the plural form. "Eggplant" is the plural form of eggplant. We may eat peppers, but we eat eggplant.

 

[uniopp]

Is there a rule?

I always use -

I like lettuce.

I like mango.

but in some cases I use -

I like strawberries.

I like bananas.

Thanks.

 

[Rover_KE]

There's no rule.

As a guideline only - if it's small, use the plural; if it's big and you don't eat it all at once, use the singular.

'I like grapes, peas and new potatoes.'

'I like pineapple, grapefruit and pumpkin.'

(But that doesn't work every time.)

Rover

 

[Route21]

Like Rover, I wouldn't say: "I like grape, pea or new potato" - but I might, however, say: "I like mashed potato" rather than "mashed potatoes", which would, I believe, still meet Rover's guidelines (based on not eating it all at once).

Grapefruit, however, is an interesting one:

Although the dictionary gives both plurals, I would, personally, only have used the term "grapefruit" (again in line with Rover's guidelines), whether singular or plural:

grapefruit - definition of grapefruit by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
grapefruit [ˈgreɪpˌfruːt]n pl -fruit, -fruits

Regards
R21

 

[5jj]

Generally, we use the plural form. "Eggplant" is the plural form of eggplant. We may eat peppers, but we eat eggplant.

The plural of eggplant is eggplants. We treat some food items as uncountable nouns:

I like lettuce, eggplant, (mashed) potato, (scrambled) egg, lamb, ...

We treat the plants , animals, etc as countable nouns:

I bought six lettuces, two eggplants, a dozen eggs and a kilo pf potatoes.
I saw several lambs in the field over there.

 

[SoothingDave]

The plural of eggplant is eggplants. We treat some food items as uncountable nouns:

I like lettuce, eggplant, (mashed) potato, (scrambled) egg, lamb, ...

We treat the plants , animals, etc as countable nouns:

I bought six lettuces, two eggplants, a dozen eggs and a kilo pf potatoes.
I saw several lambs in the field over there.

I meant when talked about as a food.

Another interesting thing I thought of: When discussing flavors, it is singular. So we may eat onions, but someone may ask if we like onion in our sauce.

 

[Tdol]

Grapefruit, however, is an interesting one:

Although the dictionary gives both plurals, I would, personally, only have used the term "grapefruit" (again in line with Rover's guidelines), whether singular or plural:

grapefruit - definition of grapefruit by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
grapefruit [ˈgreɪpˌfruːt]n pl -fruit, -fruits

Regards
R21

I did a poll on that a couple of years ago and was surprised by the result because I would use grapefruit for both the singular and the plural, but results are about equal:
Poll: What is the plural of 'grapefruit'? - Language Polls - UsingEnglish.com

 

[5jj]

I did a poll on that a couple of years ago and was surprised by the result because I would use grapefruit for both the singular and the plural, but results are about equal:
Poll: What is the plural of 'grapefruit'? - Language Polls - UsingEnglish.com

That surprised me. Like you and R21, I do not use 'grapefruits'. I do accept it.

 

[Tdol]

If you compare it to the results of the poll on aircraft, the results are very different:
Poll: What's the plural of 'aircraft'? - Language Polls - UsingEnglish.com

 

[5jj]

If you compare it to the results of the poll on aircraft, the results are very different:
Poll: What's the plural of 'aircraft'? - Language Polls - UsingEnglish.com

Another surprise for me. While I have encountered 'grapefruits', I have never heard 'aircrafts'. I would call that incorrect.

 

[SoothingDave]

I can't believe a third of those responding thought "aircrafts" was at least an option.

 

[Tdol]

There's always going to be some noise in the results, but the basic patterns do show a clear difference. There are non-native speakers voting and I am told that you get the odd person on the internet whose knowledge might not be tip-top. ;-)

 

[Route21]

I did a poll on that a couple of years ago and was surprised by the result because I would use grapefruit for both the singular and the plural, but results are about equal:
Poll: What is the plural of 'grapefruit'? - Language Polls - UsingEnglish.com

Hi Tdol

Many thanks

I tried the link, but it only gave the question and 1 comment, without the breakdown of the results.

Don't suppose there might be any possibility of a breakdown of the results, say, for NES's by (declared) AME vs BrE?

Regards
R21

 

[SoothingDave]

You have to vote in order to get the results.

 

[Route21]

I can't believe a third of those responding thought "aircrafts" was at least an option.

In the Middle East, the term "equipments" is very extensively used, both verbally and in documentation, on a daily basis by non-NES personnel - particularly from the Subcontinent.

R21

PS Tdol - have you done, or could you do, a similar poll on the plural of "equipment"?

 

[Tdol]

Don't suppose there might be any possibility of a breakdown of the results, say, for NES's by (declared) AME vs BrE?

I'm afraid not- they appear on some pages of the site and where they appear anyone can vote- it would make them very unwieldy to add too many options, though we have done it with a few.

 

[Tdol]

PS Tdol - have you done, or could you do, a similar poll on the plural of "equipment"?

There's one that might suit:
Poll: Equipment - Language Polls - UsingEnglish.com

If not, I can always add one. ;-)

 

[Route21]

Many thanks, Tdol.

Although it may be a bit archaic in today's context, dating back to 2004, it shows that 24% of the respondents still believe that the plural of "equipment" is "equipments"!

If I hadn't seen it in real life, I wouldn't have believed it! In the Middle East/Asian Subcontinent I suspect it would be substantially higher.

Regards
R21

 

[Tdol]

I doubt that that very much has changed in the space of a few years- mistakes manage to be handed down from generation to generation. ;-)