Mangoes are my favourite fruit.

[Tait-ka]

1. Mangoes are my favourite fruit.
2. Mango is my favourite fruit.
3. My favourite fruit is mango.
4. My favourite fruit is mangoes.

I wrote the above sentences.

Which one would you use in conversation?

 

[BobK]

1. Mangoes are my favourite fruit.
2. Mango is my favourite fruit.
3. My favourite fruit is mango.
4. My favourite fruit is mangoes.

I wrote the above sentences.

Which one would you use in conversation?

I would use 1, but I'm a BE speaker in my mid seventies. 2 and 3 are fine. But 4 is gaining traction in some parts of the world and in some age groups.

 

[emsr2d2]

1. Mangoes are my favourite fruit.
2. Mango is my favourite fruit.
3. My favourite fruit is mango.
4. My favourite fruit is mangoes.

I'd use #1 or "My favourite fruit is a/the mango".

In #4, "is mangoes" sounds very jarring. Interestingly, with a different fruit, it would sound OK to me. "My favourite fruit is blueberries". I suspect the difference is that we always eat more than one blueberry so, like strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants etc, we almost always refer to them in the plural. With "mango", we'd eat one, or pieces of the fruit. If I were specifying a number, I'd have to say "Can you buy four mangoes please?" but without a number I'd use the uncountable "mango" in almost every situation.

 

[Tait-ka]

"My favourite fruit is a/the mango".

What's the difference in meaning between using "a mango" and "the mango" here?