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ESL forum > Ask for help > "Spaghetti"... Countable or Uncoutable noun?    

"Spaghetti"... Countable or Uncoutable noun?



mijail
Chile

"Spaghetti"... Countable or Uncoutable noun?
 
Can you say?
 
I ate many spaghettis for dinner.
 
I ate much spaghetti for dinner.
 
Which is correct?
 
please help!

10 Mar 2011      





Mar0919
Mexico

Spaghetti is considered uncountable, as it is the name of the pasta and pasta is uncountable.
 
Therefore you can say, I ate a lot of spaghetti, I ate too much spaghetti...
 
Cheers!

10 Mar 2011     



christybridgeman
Japan

Mar is correct.
 
You cannot use many or much with spaghetti.  You can use a lot or too much.
 
For a negative sentence you can say:
 
I did not eat very much spaghetti.
I did not eat a lot of spaghetti.

10 Mar 2011     



douglas
United States

Yes, spaghetti is uncountable so it doesn �t have a plural form.
 
But sorry, I disagree on one point;
 
You can �t use "many", but you CAN use "much" with spaghetti.
 
"I did not eat much spaghetti" is fine.

10 Mar 2011     



lalla99
Romania

Can I just add that much and many are usually used in negatives and questions, while a lot (of), which means both much and many, is used more in  affirmatives.
Hence:
�You didn �t each much spaghetti, aren �t you hungry? �   �No, I ate a lot before I came out. � Not �I ate much before I came out. �
�Are there many types of coffee in that new cafe? � �Yes, there are a lot of varieties. But not much tea! �

or without the noun:
�Did you eat much while you were on holiday? � �No, I didn �t. There wasn �t much to choose from. There aren �t too many restaurants there. �

Caroline

10 Mar 2011     



yanogator
United States

Note that Caroline said "usually". It is definitely not incorrect to use "much" and "many" in affirmative statements, but it sounds very formal, so it is not common in speech.
 
Bruce

10 Mar 2011     



maikacaceres
Spain


Concise Oxford English Dictionary � 2008 Oxford University Press:

spaghetti /spəˈgɛti/
plural noun pasta made in solid strings, between macaroni and vermicelli in thickness.

But it �s a plural noun. How do you say "spaghetti is..." or "spaghetti are..."
Isn �t it the same with "paparazzi"

10 Mar 2011     



mijail
Chile

thanks everyone for your responses, I really appreciate it.
 

11 Mar 2011