Fry or fries (American English)

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Teo

#342337 Fri, 23 Mar 07 03:59 AM

I'll have a cheeseburger and a large ____.

Which word should I use to fill in the blank, fry or fries?

Teo

Joined on Tue, Sep 28 2004

Taiwan

Contributing Member (1,631)

Thank you very much for your reply.

American English

khoff

#342338 Fri, 23 Mar 07 04:24 AM

The best way to say this would be to say "a large order of fries," but my sense of grammar would not be offended to hear someone omit the "order of" and say "a large fries." On the other hand, if I heard someone order "a large fry" I would half expect to see a single french fry about a foot long. (I was going to say "the size of a baseball bat," but I guess that would be "an extra-large fry.")

khoff

Joined on Sun, Mar 6 2005

Denver, Colorado, USA, Earth

Senior Member (2,616)

Native speaker of American English (but not a grammar expert)

American English, Grammar

Teo

#342382 Fri, 23 Mar 07 07:09 AM

I'll have a cheeseburger and a large fry.

fry:[ C ] an amount of fries that are served together, especially in a fast food restaurant.

Longman Advanced American Dictionary, 2000

Teo

American English

Clive

#342488 Fri, 23 Mar 07 01:16 PM

Hi,

. . . a large fry.

I don't recall ever hearing anyone say that. It sounds very odd to me.

Best wishes, Clive

Clive

Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004

Canada

Veteran Member (22,496)

El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

American English

Captain Morgan

#342491 Fri, 23 Mar 07 01:27 PM

Where I live I don't think anyone would say either without some sort of modifier in front of it for that sentence.

Box of, order of, group of, set of, etc.

Captain Morgan

Joined on Thu, Mar 22 2007

New Member (08)

American English

Kooyeen

#342503 Fri, 23 Mar 07 02:23 PM

Hi,
I just checked what is said on an episode of an animated cartoon I like. Two characters work for a fast food restaurant, and I just found a guy who says:

Large fries, pie, large coffee... pronto, got me good, buddy?

Or at least I hope he said so, you know, he had a strong southern accent... Smile [:)]

Kooyeen

Joined on Thu, Dec 22 2005

Italy

Senior Member (4,069)

If you don't have a sense of humor already, it's about time you buy one.

American English, Accents

Yankee

#342505 Fri, 23 Mar 07 02:36 PM

Well, maybe it's an East Coast thing, but I certainly would not be surprised to hear someone place an order at, say, Micky D's this way:
"I'll have a Big Mac, a large fry and a medium Coke." But I wouldn't be surprised to hear "a large order of fries" either.

Yankee

Joined on Sat, Apr 15 2006

Connecticut, USA

Senior Member (4,300)

Amy "You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." - Mark Twain

American English

Kooyeen

#342510 Fri, 23 Mar 07 02:42 PM

Yankee wrote:
Well, maybe it's an East Coast thing, but I certainly would not be surprised to hear someone place an order at, say, Micky D's this way:
"I'll have a Big Mac, a large fry and a medium Coke." But I wouldn't be surprised to hear "a large order of fries" either.

Uh, this is really intetresting. What a lot of regional differences there could be we are not aware of! Smile [:)]

Kooyeen

American English

khoff

#342670 Sat, 24 Mar 07 12:52 AM

Maybe I should have been more clear in my original attempt to answer this -- I wouldn't be too surprised either to hear someone say "a large fry," but I wouldn't say it that way myself. (And I might make a joke about it.)

khoff

American English, Jokes

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