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Wood/woods (American English)
Hi, there
In the US, do you use both “wood” and “woods” to mean “forest”?
Example:
“How many woods are there near your hometown?”.... “There are at least three woods there”
“There’s some woods near my house” or “There’s a wood near my house”
“I went to some woods near the church yesterday” or “I went to a woods near the church yesterday”?
Which of THESE sentences is right?
Thank you
Apr 28, 2020 10:13 PM
Answers · 5
Wood is a commodity, e.g I bought some wood to build a new patio.
The Woods are a forested outdoor area, eg I took a walk in the woods near my house yesterday.
April 29, 2020
What about “There’s SOME woods near my house”? OR “I went to SOME woods near the church”?
April 28, 2020
I agree with David. Americans use "the woods" to describe a small forest. In the last 40 years, I've never heard an American say, "There are at least three woods there" or "There's a wood near my house."
April 28, 2020
"Woods" is used for both the singular and the plural, so you could say "the woods" to describe a forest, or forests. You would not say "a wood" to describe one forest.
I am Irish, not American, so the following may or not may apply: We use "woods" as a name for a small forest usually, and "forest" for larger forests usually.
April 28, 2020
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