thorn  +  61762 Thu, 16 Dec 04 09:42 AM Can I switch the word"bucket" to "pot" in the following sentence? "How many buckets of eggs do you need?" thanks thorn Joined on Wed, Dec 1 2004 New Member 04

	hbae787  +  61806 Thu, 16 Dec 04 02:04 PM Guest, By "one would normally buy eggs by a dozen" you are assumimg that Thorn lives in the US, or at least in some Western countries where 12 eggs are nicely packed in styrofoam containers. However, in many parts of the world folks still go to farms to buy eggs by buckets, crates, or baskets and Thorn may very well be one of those folks. hbae787 Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Houston Junior Member 87

	thorn  +  61963 Fri, 17 Dec 04 08:12 AM Thank you for the reply! I know the question looks awkard, because it is from my exercising book. It's a translation practice(Chinese to English). In my dictionary, pots and buckets share the same meaning in Chinese. I really am not sure which word to use. I thought it's better to ask the question here. Again, thank you both for the answer! thorn Translation

	MrPedantic  +  61967 Fri, 17 Dec 04 08:32 AM Hello Thorn I would find 'buckets of eggs' perfectly comprehensible; but 'pots of eggs' would make me look twice. A 'bucket' has a moving handle that overarches the body of the container: it's designed for carrying things. A 'pot' more commonly has a fixed handle; it's designed for cooking or keeping things in. Thus the former is better for carrying eggs. MrP MrPedantic Joined on Tue, Oct 12 2004 Veteran Member 12,592 ...opella forensis / adducit febris...