Subject:
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Re: Lore on Lego vs. Legos
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.mediawatch
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Date:
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Thu, 5 Feb 2004 01:22:51 GMT
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Viewed:
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2017 times
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> Excellent observation! I submit "food" as a likewise flexible singular/plural
> form.
But "food" and "foods" are not interchangeable. "Foods" means different types of
food. You can say "Some foods give me heartburn" meaning cheese and pastries,
but not "Let me eat those foods" even if there's a whole buffet of different
things on offer. It's always "Let me eat that food".
"Sands" is similar. "The sands of time" is a poetic phrase, and it's not clear
what the "sands" are. Normally "sands" means beaches, deserts etc. but not
individual grains.
This is exactly my point about "legos": it isn't clear what is plural. It could
be pieces, or types of piece, or models, or sets, or piles, or collections, or
themes, or even brands (though TLC wouldn't like that usage!). Personally, I
think there are three legos in the world: duplo, standard lego, and that mini
stuff used by architects.
Barney.
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