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chen
"clothes is" or "clothes are" or none of the above?
Here is a situation:
I accidentally spilled a glass of water on my shirt.
Instead of saying "oops, my shirt is wet," can I say
"oops, my clothes IS wet?"
What if i spilled the glass of water on my pants?
Instead of saying "oops, my pants is wet," can I say
"oops, my clothes are wet?"
If this generic word (i.e. cloth) is not generally used in such a situation,
then when is it generally used?Correction: Instead of saying "oops, my pants are wet" *
Mar 25, 2010 3:27 AM
Answers · 4
1
"clothes" means (among other things) articles that we wear on our bodies. It is always plural. Correct: "clothes are"
For some reason "pants" is plural - two legs, I suppose. It's one of those unsolved mysteries of English. So it is correctly "my pants ARE wet".
"Cloth" means the material used to make clothes. It's like "water" - it is always singular.
One thing - If you say "my clothes are wet." I would assume that you are wearing more than one time that is wet, not just your shirt.
[If you're going to tell me that all this isn't logical, I agree completely. I wasn't around when English was created - it's somebody else's fault.]
-- If I'd have known you were answering, Jura, I would have held off. --
March 25, 2010
1
Here is a situation:
I accidentally spilled a glass of water on my shirt.
Instead of saying "oops, my shirt is wet," can I say
"oops, my clothes IS wet?"
No "shirt" is singular so it is correct to say
"oops, my shirt is wet,"
The word clothes is plural so you have to say, "oops, my clothes ARE wet?"
What if i spilled the glass of water on my pants?
Instead of saying "oops, my pants is wet," can I say
"oops, my clothes are wet?
The word pants is plural because of the 2 legs, so you must say
"oops, my pants / clothes are wet"
March 25, 2010
1
are :)
March 25, 2010
i was first i want my "best answer" xD
March 25, 2010
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chen
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English
Learning Language
English
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