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Lily
What is the singular of "sweets"? Can I say "I gave the boy one sweet and the girl three sweets"?
I'm mainly targeting UK speakers as I know that US speakers tend to use " candy/candies" instead of "sweets".
Thank you!
May 15, 2018 12:48 PM
Answers · 15
3
Your sentence is fine, it is what someone from the UK would say. One sweet, two sweets, three sweets etc.
'Candy/candies' to us is an Americanism. Of course we understand it but you have it right, we say 'sweet(s).' Or little children might say 'sweetie(s).'
'Treat' sounds like something you give to a dog. Best avoided with human beings.
May 15, 2018
2
From a British perspective, your example sounds fine to me.
One sweet
Two sweets
A packet of sweets
May 15, 2018
2
"Sweets" wouldn't be used in this context. In the case where you give somebody something, you would say "I gave the boy a cookie and the girl three cookies." But you might say I ate some sweets before dinner. It is a general term. Hope that helps.
May 15, 2018
2
I gave the boy one sweet and the girl three sweets
is fine In the U.K
I gave them her/him/a-the/boy/girl etc
A sweet
3 sweets
packet of sweets
tin of sweets
box of sweets
May 15, 2018
1
There is no difference between American use and British use regarding singular and plural
you just swap words "candies, treats, cookies" for America and 'sweet, or cookie(biscuit)" for Britain
May 15, 2018
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Lily
Language Skills
Arabic, English, French
Learning Language
English, French
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