fruit/s

"Fruit" can be either singular or plural, referring to a particular kind of fruit or a particular piece of fruit, or fruits in general; "vegetable" doesn't work the same way. "Vegetable" is not really plural. Call us idiosyncratic, but there it is. "Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables" is pretty much a stock phrase (or sentence), implying eat plenty of different kinds of each. You could conceivably say "eat plenty of fruit and vegetables" or more likely "eat plenty of vegetables and fruit", which seems to flow more trippingly off the mind's tongue. You could say "eat your vegetable" if you were talking to a kid turning up his nose at his peas. You could also say"eat your vegetables" in the same situation.

Off the top of my head, there are several other words which function similarly--"deer" and "sheep" being examples. They can be either singular or plural.

Some further complexities: If a kid had pineapple chunks on his plate and was spurning them, you'd probably say "Eat your fruit", although there are many chunks. You wouldn't be likely to say, "Eat your fruits". If the kid had, say, both chunks of pineapple and pear, you'd still be likely to say "Eat your fruit", although I suppose you could conceivably say, "Eat your fruits". There may be a generalizable rule here, though I'm too logy from just having eaten my lunches to figure one out right at the moment.

Yeah, it's a weird one. If you're going grocery shopping, you can go to buy fruits (and vegetables), maybe because you're buying different types. But you're right, you can also say "I bought some fruit and veg", implying you bought several types of fruit.

Fruit is a weird word, isn't it? Fruits of your labours... bearing fruit...forbidden fruit...

I disagree with most of the above.

"Fruit and vegetables" is the standard phrase here.

"Fruits" is rarely used.

Eat plenty of fruit.

I tend to agree, McT... 'fruit' is what is normally said, no matter how many different fruits you bought.

I think we're just saying that there IS such a word as 'fruits'...

fruit of the loom?

"Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables" has been what teachers and nutritionists have been telling kids for years, and to my memory pretty much the exact phraseology. Pretty much a cliche. Maybe not in BC or the UK, but here, yes.

Just went to the ultimate source--Google of course. "Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables" is the headline for Tufts University and Kansas State U. nutrition programs, something called "Healthy Ohioans", and those were just the first five hits. Maybe it's an American cliche, but it's our very own cliche.

I agree in the world of nutrition, the phrase "fruits and vegetables" is becoming more common.

But to me, here in the UK, "fruit and vegetables" is the more common phrase overall.

"Fruits" used like that seems to me to indicate particularly that different kinds of fruit is the intended meaning.

I agree (see my first post).

BM

BM, are you kidding?

If you can think of anything else to write on this, Kicky, please go ahead.

:wink:

If you refer to BrE dictionaries, you will often see the following sentence:

Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables.

However, I don't know what the case should be in AmE.

Many thanks.

Steer clear of AmE, is my advice.

That way madness lies.

:wink:

Many thanks, Mc Tag.

I agree, "fruits" AmE and "fruit" BrE mean the same thing.

Also, the word "fruit" can mean "result" - This lovely house is the fruit of many years' hard work.

A "fruit" can also mean a homosexual, although considered abusive these days:

Liberace was a raving fruit.

I remember a day at school when the gym instructor got a bit fruity in the changing room.

Hi Contrex

In Singapore, if I say "a piece of fruit", people will think that I have cut a fruit and several pieces. But I understand that 'a piece of fruit' should be the whole thing. So, an apple is a piece of fruit.

I wonder whether it is true in AmE.

Many thanks.

In Britain many people use the word that way. A slice of pineapple, or a segment of orange for example.



Or, yes, it could mean an entire fruit such as an apple. Depends on context. If a dietician says "Eat a piece of fruit every day", they mean a portion of fruit suitable for inclusion in a meal as dessert.

What I am trying to say is that an apple or an orange or a banana or a slice of pineapple can be a piece of fruit if it is being discussed in a culinary context. A botanist might call an apple "a fruit".

You look too often for "should" when you should be looking for "can". That is the peril of a too narrowly prescriptivist approach.