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HSS  #407794  Wed, 22 Aug 07 02:44 PM

What would you choose to fill in the brackets?

A: What's she making for your dinner?

B: Broiled fish.

A: Fish is good for you.

B: I don't mind having (     ) once in a while.

A: Neither do I ... as long as there's meat and potatoes to go with it.

1) it  2) some  3) one  4) ones  5) them 6) (other)

Thanks in advance.

Hiro

  
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Feebs11  #407798  Wed, 22 Aug 07 03:20 PM
What would be your choice?
  
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Philip  #407817  Wed, 22 Aug 07 04:14 PM
 Feebs11 wrote:
What would be your choice?
Hint:  the correct choice is not 6) Wink [;)].
  
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Bokeh  #407823  Wed, 22 Aug 07 04:27 PM
 HSS wrote:

A: Fish is good for you.

B: I don't mind having (     ) once in a while.

That choice of verb points to singular or uncountable use limiting you to A, B or C. "Broiled fish" or just "fish" is uncountable which excludes C. That leaves A or B.
  
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CalifJim  #407928  Wed, 22 Aug 07 07:46 PM
it or some.

CJ

  
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HSS  #408231  Thu, 23 Aug 07 10:49 AM

 Feebs11 wrote:
What would be your choice?

I was going to say "it" or "some," but then CJ wrote just that.Smile [:)]

"It" is used when talking about types of food, and "some" when you are not specific about types.

 HSS wrote:
A: What's she making for your dinner?

B: Broiled fish.

Here B is not saying "A broiled fish." You would often drop "a" but this "fish" here refers to the meat of the fish, not the whole fish, and so it should be uncountable --- you can't use "one" or "ones." "It" or "some": again "it" is used when talking about types of food, and "some" when you are not specific about types. Am I right?

Hiro

  
CalifJim  #408424  Thu, 23 Aug 07 06:43 PM
this "fish" here refers to the meat of the fish, not the whole fish, and so it should be uncountable
Yes.

some isn't really unspecific about types of food.  It's unspecific about the amount.

When you use "it", you mean "that kind of food (that is, fish)".  When you use "some", you mean "a certain (indefinite) amount of (fish)".

I don't mind having [it / fish / that kind of food] once in a while.
I don't mind having [some / some fish / a certain amount of fish] once in a while.


Note that it is like a noun; some is like an adjective.  So, with the right grammar, you can have both:

I don't mind having [some of it / some of that kind of food / a certain amount of it / a certain amount of that kind of food] once in a while.

CJ

  
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