VOA慢速英语2018--Foods We Count...or Don't

 

You probably know a lot of food words, such as bread, apple and rice. But knowing which foods are countable¹ and which are not can be tricky².

In today’s Ask a Teacher, Abdo from Sudan writes:

Question:

How do I know which foods can be plural³? For example, if I want two of some food, can I say, “I would like two beefs” or “I would like two breads”? – Abdo, Sudan

Answer:

Hello Abdo and thanks for writing to us!

To answer your question, it depends on where you are asking for these things.

If you are asking for bread in a restaurant, you’re probably asking for slices (or pieces), but in a bakery, you’re probably asking for loaves. If you are asking for beef in a market, you’re probably asking for grams. But, in a restaurant, you’re likely to ask for pieces.

Noncount Nouns

In other words, you do not add an “–s” to “beef” or “bread.” That is because these foods are noncount nouns – nouns that have only one form. They do not have a plural. Meats, grains and liquids are usually noncount nouns. Sugar, salt and pepper are, too.

To show you are talking about more than one of these nouns, you put another word or phrase in front of them. Often different foods take different wording.

Below are some common phrases you might use:

Grains

Two bowls of rice

Two ears of corn

Two bags of flour

Two pieces or loaves of bread

Meats

“Piece” also works for meats when you are asking for an amount of food for a plate:

Two pieces of chicken

Two pieces of lamb

Two pieces of fish

Two pieces of beef

If you are shopping in a market, you might ask for two grams of chicken, lamb or other meat.

Liquids

With liquids, you often describe the container it comes in.

Two glasses of water, milk or juice

Two cups of coffee or tea

Two cans or bottles of soda⁴

Two pitchers⁶ of lemonade

Sugar, salt & pepper

For sugar, salt and pepper, it also depends on whether you are purchasing an amount or just want a small amount for your meal.

Two packs or bags of sugar or

Two pinches or shakers of salt or pepper

Count Nouns

The good news is that most other food nouns are count nouns. They have singular and plural forms. For example, “apple” is a singular count noun. To make it plural, you can just write or say “apples.” Whew! That is a lot easier.

And that’s Ask a Teacher.

I’m Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

plural - adj. relating to a form of a word that refers to more than one person or thing

phrase - n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence

flour - n. powder made from a grain (especially wheat) that is used in cooking for making bread, cakes and other foods

pitcher⁵ - n. a container with a lip and handle that is used for holding and pouring out liquids

singular - adj. showing or indicating no more than one thing

1 countable   

adj.可数的，可以计算的

参考例句：

• The word "person" is a countable noun.person这个词是个可数名词。
• Countable nouns have singular and plural forms.可数名词有单数和复数之分。

2 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

3 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

4 soda   

n.苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
• I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。

5 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

6 pitchers   

大水罐( pitcher的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Over the next five years, he became one of the greatest pitchers in baseball. 在接下来的5年时间里，他成为了最了不起的棒球投手之一。
• Why he probably won't: Pitchers on also-rans can win the award. 为什麽不是他得奖：投手在失败的球队可以赢得赛扬奖。