The floor was littered with waste *papers/paper*.
"The floor was littered with waste papers."
This sentence is from my textbook. Is "waste papers" a correct expression here? I think "waste paper" is an uncountable noun, so the S should be deleted. Am I right? Thanks!
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Antwoorden · 3
1
Waste paper is an uncountable noun.
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/waste-paper?q=waste+paper
waste paper noun
BrE /ˌweɪst ˈpeɪpə(r)/ ; NAmE /ˌweɪst ˈpeɪpər/
[uncountable]
paper that is not wanted and is thrown away
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However, "littered with paper" and "littered with papers" are both natural. The latter emphasizes individual sheets of paper.
The term "waste papers" appears to be a correct but uncommon term that refers to individual sheets of discarded or used paper.
- There are papers on the floor. (= There are sheets of paper on the floor.)
- There are waste papers on the floor. (= There are discarded sheets of paper on the floor.)
Here is an Ngram for waste papers, discarded papers, and used papers.
https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=waste+papers%2Cdiscarded+papers%2C+used+papers&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cwaste%20papers%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cdiscarded%20papers%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cused%20papers%3B%2Cc0
1
Actually it should be "The floor was littered with paper." Doesn't matter if it is waste or not.
0
You are correct, delete the ‘s’, “waste paper” is correct here. Think of a ‘waste paper basket’ (a container/bin for rubbish often found in offices to dispose of used paper), to remember this.
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