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Is it OK?

zvonka.rink

Is it OK?

Dear colleagues,

I have a title for a project:

FROM APPLE TO BIOETHANOL

and I wonder if it is OK to understand the noun apple as an uncountable noun and thus use it without any article since what is meant in not a fruit but a substance. What is your opinion? I would really appreciate it.

Thank you.

1 Apr 2015

yanogator

Yes, it is fine as a title, for exactly the reason you said. You are considering a bin full of apple "meat" rather than the fruit itself.

Bruce

1 Apr 2015

kwsp

Hi! The state I live in, the state of Iowa, produces nearly 25% of all corn ethanol production in the USA. I teach ESL, but I am also a corn producer so I am fairly familiar with the topic.

Using apples as an uncountable for processing ethanol sounded really awkward to me, so I Googled it and this is the title that came up:

From apples to ethanol: Manson teacher finds power in wasted fruit

The article is very short, but here is the link: http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2011/jul/13/from-apples-to-ethanol-manson-teacher-finds-power/

If you prefer to talk about the "substance" rather than the fruit itself, then here is another article:

Bioethanol Production from Apple Pomace left after Juice Extraction

and the link: https://ispub.com/IJMB/5/2/3963

You can reword it to say, From Apple Pomace to Bioethanol. I guess I am assuming that the "substance" you are talking about is pomace, or apple waste which comes from making apples into juice.

Hope this helps!

Cheers from Iowa,

kwsp

1 Apr 2015

zvonka.rink

Dear Yanogator and Kwsp,

I am grateful for your comments- sometimes I come to a conclusion and I make a decision what to say/write/use based on my English language knowledge, but I often wonder if that is OK. Anyway, I have got the feeling that it is more likely that some "funny" phrases or sentences are right and I should be more open. I might say that I am a kind of a "Purist", probably because of my mother tonge. Slovene is awfully rigid when it comes to grammatical accuracy.

Thank you.

Have a nice day ;))

2 Apr 2015