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English Language & Usage

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    Depending on the size of your fruit salad, you might have more than one mango and more than one orange. But it’s unlikely that more than one watermelon would be involved. Commented Jan 29 at 3:42
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    Mango is often a mass noun, particularly when shredded, powdered, etc. But orange as a mass noun makes you think of the colour not the fruit. Commented 2 days ago
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    It's a confusing usage here, a noncount usage stuck between two obvious count usages in a list. It could be framed better. But using 'watermelons' would demand an awful lot of watermelon in the recipe. Commented 2 days ago
  • 3
    3 mangoes, 3 oranges. and 2 cupfuls of watermelon, say. of watermelon. 'Water' (count usages) has been discussed before, as has 'toast'. 'Milk' seems as if it's now also being countified. But I've not heard say '2 grogs, please' or '3 poteens'. Commented 2 days ago
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    Grog and poteen are pretty well-known strong drinks in the UK. Navy and Irish connections respectively. They are fairly rare nowadays, so resistant to countification. Commented 2 days ago