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Count Nouns and Mass Nouns: Crops, Produce, and the Plural of Seed

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2017

Charles L. Mohler  and
Linda A. Heyne
Charles L. Mohler*
Affiliation:
Senior Research Associate, Section of Soil and Crop Sciences, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
Linda A. Heyne
Affiliation:
Professor, Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Charles L. Mohler, Section of Soil and Crop Sciences, School of Integrative Plant Science, 907 Bradfield Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853. (E-mail: clm11@cornell.edu)
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Abstract

The distinction between count nouns and mass nouns affects thinking and writing about various types of crops and produce. Count nouns are words that indicate discrete, countable objects (e.g., forks, viewpoints), whereas mass nouns are words that indicate some relatively undifferentiated substance (e.g., water, energy). We explain the grammar of these two forms and point out some writing pitfalls to avoid. The word seed is one of the few English nouns that is both a count noun and a mass noun. An argument is presented for using seeds as the plural when several individuals are counted and for using seed as the singular when referring to seeds in the aggregate.

Keywords

Andrew Kniss, University of WyomingBeanscabbagegrammaroatspluralsingularsoybean
Type
Education/Extension
Information
Weed Technology , Volume 32 , Issue 2 , April 2018 , pp. 221 - 223
Copyright
© Weed Science Society of America, 2017 

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References

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