the_mystic_dude  +  33177 Mon, 14 Jun 04 02:38 PM Hi everybody! I was wondering if there is a plural of the word "shrimp", is it like "fish-fish" or is the plural shrimps? Do you say: 1 shrimp, 2 shrimp, 3 shrimp, or do make it "shrimps" out of it? Do you say "shrimp cocktail" or "shrimps cocktail"? Thanks, Walter the_mystic_dude Joined on Tue, Dec 23 2003 New Member 18 Plurals

	miriam  +  33185 Mon, 14 Jun 04 03:59 PM Hello, Walter Shrimp is a countable noun and has a regular plural: 1 shrimp, 2 shrimps. At a restaurant, you can order one shrimp cocktail or two shrimp cocktails. It's like potato salad or apple pie. Even if it takes more than one potato to make the salad and more than one apple to make the pie, you still use those words in singular since they are acting as premodifiers of another noun. 'Potato' and 'apple' are still nouns, but they are occupying the place of an adjective and acting like to one. Hope it helps. Miriam miriam Joined on Mon, May 10 2004 Argentina Regular Member 821 "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." Plato Plurals, Nouns, Countable Nouns

	taiwandave  +  33191 Mon, 14 Jun 04 05:54 PM What Miriam said is correct, however there is another plural form of "shrimp" which is "shrimp". So yes, if using that form it is like "fish-fish", and you would say "1 shrimp", "2 shrimp", "100 shrimp". taiwandave Joined on Mon, Jun 7 2004 Taoyuan City, Taiwan Full Member 287 Plurals

	the_mystic_dude  +  33440 Wed, 16 Jun 04 07:00 PM Ok, thanks a lot to both of you! But now I am as clever as I was before. I understand that it's a word that one can count, but one can also count fish, can't one? E.g.: Yesterday I had fish for lunch and fish for dinner. So I had two fish yesterday. One doesn't say, so I had two fishes yesterday, does one? So maybe the problem is easier to solve with an example. Would you say A) This packet contains 25 pealed and salted shrimp. B) This packet contains 25 pealed and salted shrimps. Thanks! the_mystic_dude Plurals

	taiwandave  +  33449 Wed, 16 Jun 04 08:25 PM Yes, that would be the most common use. But it isn't required that "fishes" be used when talking about different species. taiwandave Plurals