Jasmine
Hi guys šŸ‘‹, 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 Ā· 6
It’s correct and natural either way. ā€œSomeā€ can be used with plural countable nouns (ā€œsome birdsā€) or singular mass nouns (ā€œsome waterā€). It can also be used with a singular countable noun, although the meaning is a bit different (ā€œsome dogā€). ā€œFishā€ 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. ā€œFishā€ is irregular in that the plural has the same exact form as the singular: ā€œFishā€. For this reason, we can interpret ā€œsome fishā€ as either singular or plural — and if singular, as either a countable noun or a mass noun.
November 12, 2021
As Phil has explained, you can use either ā€˜them’ or ā€˜it’ in this case. ā€˜Them’ refers to the fish as a group, while ā€˜it’ treats them collectively as your meal. ā€˜What did you have for dinner ?’ ā€˜I had grilled fish’ ā€˜Was it nice ?’ ā€˜Yes, it was good, I liked it’
November 12, 2021
'Some fish' implies more than one. So THEM is the correct answer.
November 12, 2021
"Them" sounds perfect.
November 12, 2021
Them
November 12, 2021
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