Search results for 'tag:Countable or uncountable tag:American English' matching tags 'Countable or uncountable' and 'American English'

Re: write me vs. write to me

Cool Breeze — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 21:29:11 GMT

Whether e-mail, letter, post card/postcard or whatver you are writing is countable or uncountable is of no consequence. It all depends on the verb.

I'll send you a letter. = I'll send a letter to you.

I'll write you a letter. (Common in AmE.) = I'll write a letter to you. (Preferred in BrE in the old days. These days American usage may have influenced the British and the American English version may not sound so American to them any more.)

Cheers, CB

Re: countable or uncountable?

My2sense — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 15:41:24 GMT

I think what we have here is a difference between American English and British English. From what my British colleagues tell me they buy 2 lettuces and from what I know being a speaker of American English is that we buy 2 heads of lettuce.

Result is: it can be used either way.

countable or uncountable? That is the question...

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 05:42:35 GMT

I am one of those people who learned American English as a second language.

American English dictionaries never mention anything about a particular noun being countable and uncountable. I learned mass nouns and abstract nouns, both of which are uncountable. I had thought it was up to an individual to decide whether a noun is mass or abstract one, therefore uncountable.

After having lived in the States for so many years, I discovered that British English dictionaries do designate each noun as countable noun or uncountable or both.

I am quite curious as to who decides such things. Do they take votes among the "expert grammarians"?

I discovered yesterday that 'announcement' is a countable noun and I had thought until then it was an uncountable one because it sounded as if it were an abstract one.

I hope somebody will have some good answers to this thought-provoking( (-; ) question.