Why is bread an uncountable noun?
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Why???
It stands alone in the dunes of sugar and salt
in the murky realms of oil, cream, and yogurtttts
soaking in the milk, water and juices
turning stale in the mould filled air
alone in the crowded groups of furniture and people
BREAD stands ALONE in the land of the uncountable nouns
and i DON"T KNOW WHY
Can someone tell me??? Cos I dunno how to reply to my kids leh?
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Hmmm not sure but I think it’s uncountable because for example apples… you go
“I want to buy 5 Apples”
But you can’t go “I want to buy 5 breads” It’s more likely you go, “I want to buy 5 loaves of bread”
And when counting bread you go by slices, or loaves or by sandwiches but not how many breads like how you count apples…
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sounds like rice. a bowl of rice and not rices.
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yaa ... usually with uncountable nouns we use 'container' terms like loaves/slices/ bowls/packets etc...
Although countable nouns ALSO use container terms.. like.. 1 bag of apples...
However, for more uncountable nouns, it is usually because they are 'grainy',liquids, gas, gooey stuff like dough ... or group terms.. such as furniture/people etc..
But bread seems relative solid and .. in one piece compared to the other uncountable nouns.. and it is hard to justify why bread is 'not countable' cos it is what.. whether in slices or in loaves.. its easily 'countable'
That's what I find so difficult to explain to the kids.. cos... bread.. IS countable..and quite easily too...
heee but thanks for the help!! I know the people in this forum very powderfulinklish one!
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Originally posted by ShrodingersCat:
yaa ... usually with uncountable nouns we use 'container' terms like loaves/slices/ bowls/packets etc...
Although countable nouns ALSO use container terms.. like.. 1 bag of apples...
However, for more uncountable nouns, it is usually because they are 'grainy',liquids, gas, gooey stuff like dough ... or group terms.. such as furniture/people etc..
But bread seems relative solid and .. in one piece compared to the other uncountable nouns.. and it is hard to justify why bread is 'not countable' cos it is what.. whether in slices or in loaves.. its easily 'countable'
That's what I find so difficult to explain to the kids.. cos... bread.. IS countable..and quite easily too...
heee but thanks for the help!! I know the people in this forum very powderfulinklish one!
True, but it makes sense both ways if you say you wanna buy 1 bag of apples or 5 apples but it just doesn’t sound right to buy 1 bread vs 1 loaf of bread.
Maybe if they ask it’s because bread can be divided into many slices…. Like 1 loaf of bread…depending on how thick you want the slice to be…you don’t really consume 1 whole loaf of bread. Maybe that is why it is considered uncountable because I think in the past, you buy bread by loaves and it’s not pre-sliced.. and by slicing it, it does change things….so maybe that is why bread is uncountable
Because it's like dough and can be divided into many parts so it's uncountable
Anyway that is what I think :P I may not be right
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hahaha thanks~~ for thinking about this!
Hmm interesting isn't it.. ~ how language evolves...
You know kids la.. then they will starting shooting questions like.. why bread uncountable then biscuit leh? then BUNS leh? how about breads that LOOK like buns?? How about pizza... ??
*bangs head on whiteboard*
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Originally posted by ShrodingersCat:
hahaha thanks~~ for thinking about this!
Hmm interesting isn't it.. ~ how language evolves...
You know kids la.. then they will starting shooting questions like.. why bread uncountable then biscuit leh? then BUNS leh? how about breads that LOOK like buns?? How about pizza... ??
*bangs head on whiteboard*
It forces us to think :x coz I think for adults we have accepted things as it is and don't question anymore -
yeah that's the good and fun thing abt teaching cos i am learning things I never learnt when I was a kiddo! (or mebbe the teacher taught and I wasn't paying attention. Which is highly likely too)
Like.... u like fish right? Like some types of fish don't have a plural form.. and some fish do!
It's weird...
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Originally posted by ShrodingersCat:
yeah that's the good and fun thing abt teaching cos i am learning things I never learnt when I was a kiddo! (or mebbe the teacher taught and I wasn't paying attention. Which is highly likely too)
Like.... u like fish right? Like some types of fish don't have a plural form.. and some fish do!
It's weird...
I believe that it has to got to do with what happened in the past but we don't know the history to it -
mom the english teacher doesn't have an answer other than bread cannot be counted because it can be broken up into pieces so each is "piece of bread" or sliced up "slice of bread" and blah blah
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english is a weird language.. probably one of the weirdest in the world..
like you said, 1 fish, three fishes.. a school of fish.. as opposed to 1 cow, three cows, a herd of cows...
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Originally posted by ShrodingersCat:
hahaha thanks~~ for thinking about this!
Hmm interesting isn't it.. ~ how language evolves...
You know kids la.. then they will starting shooting questions like.. why bread uncountable then biscuit leh? then BUNS leh? how about breads that LOOK like buns?? How about pizza... ??
*bangs head on whiteboard*
actually what's the diff between a bread, bun, biscuit, muffin, etc? esp now that breads come in all shapes, types and sizes.
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Originally posted by the Bear:
english is a weird language.. probably one of the weirdest in the world..
like you said, 1 fish, three fishes.. a school of fish.. as opposed to 1 cow, three cows, a herd of cows...
hahahah YESH!
No i meant.. some fish like.. Guppies and Anchovies are countable
as opposed to.. Salmon, Trout and ..dunno wat else are.. uncountable.
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Originally posted by the Bear:
mom the english teacher doesn't have an answer other than bread cannot be counted because it can be broken up into pieces so each is "piece of bread" or sliced up "slice of bread" and blah blah
haha woo ur mom is an English teacher.. great - now I know who to consult.
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Originally posted by hisoka:
actually what's the diff between a bread, bun, biscuit, muffin, etc? esp now that breads come in all shapes, types and sizes.
U KNOW - i think u have come probably CLOSEST to what I think is a possible answer
i.e. possibly bread - like furniture and people - is a GROUP term.
SO.. the different TYPES of breads are countable?
What do u people think??
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Originally posted by ShrodingersCat:
hahahah YESH!
No i meant.. some fish like.. Guppies and Anchovies are countable
as opposed to.. Salmon, Trout and ..dunno wat else are.. uncountable.
Guppies and Anchovies are countable??? o.OI guess if you are very patient.......
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Originally posted by elindra:
Guppies and Anchovies are countable??? o.OI guess if you are very patient.......
My sentiments exactly! I've been sitting in front of my aquarium on several occasions trying to do a census of the residents, but everytime, I end up with a different census! For instance, I thought I only had two Cardinal Tetras left, but after re-landscaping my tank, voila! a 3rd one popped out of nowhere!
Same story for a few of the other breeds. I have no idea where they have been hiding! -
Originally posted by ShrodingersCat:
U KNOW - i think u have come probably CLOSEST to what I think is a possible answer
i.e. possibly bread - like furniture and people - is a GROUP term.
SO.. the different TYPES of breads are countable?
What do u people think??
Complicated. I've never given it much thought until you brought this up.
Maybe, bread is uncountable because you don't know how many slices you can have out of one loaf and therefore, it is considered 'uncountable'?
It could have its origins in some Irish pub in the medieval times when people ate bread by just biting into the entire loaf of slicing it up or pinching bite-sized chunks off it. 
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Originally posted by ShrodingersCat:
yeah that's the good and fun thing abt teaching cos i am learning things I never learnt when I was a kiddo! (or mebbe the teacher taught and I wasn't paying attention. Which is highly likely too)
Like.... u like fish right? Like some types of fish don't have a plural form.. and some fish do!
It's weird...
Haha I m teaching also...you tend to get these kinda questions from kids a lot...
fish will remain in singular form when you are referring to the same type of fish, but if you are talking about different types of fishes, then you use the plural form.
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Originally posted by the Bear:
mom the english teacher doesn't have an answer other than bread cannot be counted because it can be broken up into pieces so each is "piece of bread" or sliced up "slice of bread" and blah blah
It is cos there are many different species of fishes...but we usually only refer to one type of cows...
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can't you just fob it off by saying "it's not in the syllabus and won't be in the exams !" ....