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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > Plural
Plural
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nata_olen
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Plural
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Hello everyone! How is it correct to say? - Cherries are my favourite fruit. or Cherries is my favourite fruit. Can you explain why? |
25 Apr 2015
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cunliffe
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Hi nata. This question has cropped up before, but I can �t find the link. It is correct to say �Cherries are my favourite fruit. � The explanation - cherries is plural, so it has to be �are �. Fruit is a collective noun.... You can also turn it round and say, �My favourite fruit is cherries. � I hope you get a better explanation! |
25 Apr 2015
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spinney
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The correct sentence would be "Cherries are my favourite fruit." Cherries, in this case, is the subject of the verb. If you said "My favourite fruit is cherries," that would be correct also as fruit is the subject in this case. Don �t be surprised to hear native speakers saying things like, "My favourite fruit are cherries," though. It �s not correct but many of us would say it without thinking. (It looks like Lynne beat me to it.) |
25 Apr 2015
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MoodyMoody
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Actually, Julia, no, cherries are not berries. They are stone fruits, related to plums, peaches, apricots, nectarines, and almonds. (I �m surprised you didn �t know that; Russia is tenth in cherry growing in the world.) Surprisingly, botanically, watermelons are berries. Isn �t science wonderful? |
25 Apr 2015
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cunliffe
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Watermelons berries? You learn something new every day on here! |
25 Apr 2015
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nata_olen
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Thanks a lot for your explanations!!! Now it is clear for me. What will I do without you all?))) |
25 Apr 2015
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JuliaKaraban
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Oh, MoodyMoody, life is so unpredictable! Actually, I �ve head that a watermelon is a berry. Moreover, there is a version that a strawberry is not a berry but a nut. I �m rather happy that I �m not a biologist to know all of this and I can just eat them and enjoy the process without knowing what they are really. :) Who knows what else the scientists decide.
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25 Apr 2015
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yanogator
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A strawberry isn �t a berry, because those white things on the outside aren �t seeds. I can �t remember what they �re called. I �m sure it �s not a nut, though, since it doesn �t have a shell. Bruce
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26 Apr 2015
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MoodyMoody
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Technically, a strawberry is "an aggregate accessory fruit." The seeds are inside the "seeds." (Each "seed" is actually one of the ovaries of the plant, and the true seeds are inside.) |
26 Apr 2015
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ueslteacher
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WoW:) Feel like reading wikipedia on all those fruit/berries/nuts:) I heard in a movie once, "My favourite fruit is oranges" (And no, the speaker didn�t seem like an uneducated person, it sounded quite natural)
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26 Apr 2015
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