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Jasmine Le
Hi guys 👋,
Should I use "them" or "it" in this sentence?
"I usually buy some fish from the market and grill THEM/IT by myself."
Thank you. 😊
Nov 12, 2021 3:53 AM
Answers · 6
4
It’s correct and natural either way. “Some” can be used with plural countable nouns (“some birds”) or singular mass nouns (“some water”). It can also be used with a singular countable noun, although the meaning is a bit different (“some dog”).
“Fish” can be countable (if we’re talking about the individual fish) or a mass noun (if we’re talking about the meat). For live fish, it would be countable, but for fish at the market, either way would be fine.
“Fish” is irregular in that the plural has the same exact form as the singular: “Fish”. For this reason, we can interpret “some fish” as either singular or plural — and if singular, as either a countable noun or a mass noun.
November 12, 2021
1
As Phil has explained, you can use either ‘them’ or ‘it’ in this case. ‘Them’ refers to the fish as a group, while ‘it’ treats them collectively as your meal.
‘What did you have for dinner ?’
‘I had grilled fish’
‘Was it nice ?’
‘Yes, it was good, I liked it’
November 12, 2021
1
'Some fish' implies more than one. So THEM is the correct answer.
November 12, 2021
1
"Them" sounds perfect.
November 12, 2021
1
Them
November 12, 2021
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Jasmine Le
Language Skills
English, Japanese, Vietnamese
Learning Language
English
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