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Bella
Is pie a countable noun or not?
Two sentences in a magzine:
She is going to make an apple pie (I think it's a countable noun here) for this holiday. Apple pie is ("is" is used here without "a" or "the" before Apple pie, I am confused) a very American dessert.
Jul 12, 2012 12:23 PM
Answers · 3
1
"She is going to make an apple pie" - one apple pie, for example. We're not being specific here.
"Apple pie is a very American dessert." - here, we mean "apple pie" in the most general sense. You simply don't use "the" when speaking in general. As apple pie is a kind of food, we naturally follow the pattern for the uncountable noun "food".
July 12, 2012
1
Pie can be both countable and uncountable. It's uncountable when you think of it as a substance: "Apple pie is a very American dessert".
It's countable when you think of it as an object with well-defined boundaries and a well-defined shape ("she's going to make two apple pies").
July 12, 2012
Pies are countable. Period.
July 13, 2012
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Bella
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English
Learning Language
English
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