Timeline for Would you like some apple/apples?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
7 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 2015 at 15:52 | vote | accept | Joe Kim | ||
| May 7, 2015 at 19:52 | comment | added | Sabre | @JoeKim this is a case of synecdoche, where the speaker is using "apples" to mean "pieces of apple". For casual speech, this is perfectly idiomatic and sounds fine to me in your example. However, it can sound weird in some cases so it might be best to avoid saying it that way yourself when you're not sure. | |
| May 7, 2015 at 19:47 | comment | added | alephzero | @JoeKim In the phrase "I am having some apple or orange ....", "apple" and "orange" could be adjectives, for example describing the colour or flavour of something that is not literally an apple or orange. But if the listener makes that assumption the end of the sentence doesn't make sense, so he/she has to back-track to figure out what it means. "Some apples" can only be a noun phrase, not an adjective, so it avoids the ambiguous grammar. | |
| May 7, 2015 at 18:24 | comment | added | user428517 | i would argue it is correct grammar, because it's something people say. language is defined by usage. | |
| May 7, 2015 at 18:13 | comment | added | cjm | @JoeKim, because people do not always speak with correct grammar, especially when making informal comments. | |
| May 7, 2015 at 15:02 | comment | added | Joe Kim | Thank you, Watercleave. In that case, why people are saying, "I am having some apples or oranges this morning" refering to some two or three slices of apple and orange. | |
| May 7, 2015 at 12:29 | history | answered | Watercleave | CC BY-SA 3.0 |