The fashion for "fruits".

PadstowGirl · 2024-08-24T20:37:13+00:00

I see this written a lot. Surely it's just fruit?

KerryBlues · 26/08/2024 22:41

Pottingup · 26/08/2024 08:29

It’s interesting. You would say ‘Do you eat much fruit?’ Meaning over consumption of fruit of any kind but ‘do you eat many fruits?’ Meaning how many different types.

You wouldn’t, you’d say do you eat many types of fruit.
Fruits really isn’t a word.

Pottingup · 26/08/2024 08:29

It’s interesting. You would say ‘Do you eat much fruit?’ Meaning over consumption of fruit of any kind but ‘do you eat many fruits?’ Meaning how many different types.

insidenumber9 · 26/08/2024 08:08

I always say fruit and I'm 46. Perhaps it's an old fashioned thing, but fruits just sounds really wrong!

Clarinet1 · 25/08/2024 23:31

I think you might say “My strawberry bush only bore six fruits this year”.
Perhaps there is a certain overlap from French where “fruits” is always the plural.

EuclidianGeometryFan · 25/08/2024 23:21

Its a type of 'language laziness' - people are dropping the "pieces of". So they say fruits instead of pieces of fruit or types of fruit.

If you say "I ate 5 fruits today", it is unclear whether you meant 5 pieces, or 5 different types in unspecified amounts.

Language laziness is the way language evolves, but usually precision and clarity are lost along the way.

StrawberrySquash · 25/08/2024 21:47

Yes! It annoys me too because I'm unreasonable. Definitely the fault of those dastardly foreigners.

And yes, veggies are vegetarian people. I don't eat veggies; I eat veg or vegetables

And I play with Lego and I enjoy maths.

Allnewtometoo · 25/08/2024 21:20

5128gap · 24/08/2024 22:51

Oh I don't know, with a smokey eye you could maybe carry it off. 😁

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Just the one though.

Pocketfullofdogtreats · 25/08/2024 21:16

bruffin · 24/08/2024 21:54

Im 62 so old and agree with Brefugee

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Me too. (Agree, that is; different age!)

starrynight21 · 25/08/2024 21:15

Sausagesforteatoday · 24/08/2024 22:32

I’m with you on all of the above. I think fruits and meats are Americanisms. Have recently had an Australian guest who would offer to ‘pass the fruits’ , ie offer round the fruit bowl.

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I'm in Australia and I've never heard anyone say " pass around the fruits".

00BonneMaman00 · 25/08/2024 21:14

onthisoccasion · 24/08/2024 22:58

I'd say "fruit" for the plural too...but now doubting myself after recalling "fruits of the forest", so I think it's context dependent

It's FRUIT of the forest!

00BonneMaman00 · 25/08/2024 21:11

It's fruit.
I'm 48.

UtterlyOtterly · 25/08/2024 17:21

I would say "I have eaten three different fruits today" but if I was checking what shopping we needed I would say "How much fruit do we have?", not "How many fruits do we have?".

ditalini · 25/08/2024 17:16

PhilosophicalCheeseSandwich · 25/08/2024 17:08

It has its uses. I might use it to describe a variety, e.g, there was an interesting selection of tropical fruits including mango and papaya. Or as has been mentioned earlier, fruits of the forest.

A selection of tropical fruit sounds fine to me.

I think "Fruits of the forest" is an odd one as it doesn't really follow English usage anyway. It's possible to say "Cheeses of France" or "Cured meats of Germany" but I'd more likely say "French cheese" or German cured meat".

RadioBamboo · 25/08/2024 17:15

Biffbaff · 24/08/2024 22:43

Can I just say how much I detest the way "veggies" is now being used as an acceptable synonym for "vegetables". It used to mean a vegetarian.

Used by the same people who get pains in their tummies, and like to go on hollibobs with hubby

PhilosophicalCheeseSandwich · 25/08/2024 17:08

It has its uses. I might use it to describe a variety, e.g, there was an interesting selection of tropical fruits including mango and papaya. Or as has been mentioned earlier, fruits of the forest.

ditalini · 25/08/2024 16:48

I don't know if it's more or less correct or not, but usage has definitely changed.

In the UK you might previously be offered a selection of fruit, meat, fish, bread, cheese with the understanding that you were being offered several varieties of these food classes.

Now it's a selection of fruits or a selection of meats or a selection of breads.

I don't spend much time worrying about it, but as an old curmugeon who rails pointlessly against the winds of change, it rankles.

KerryBlues · 25/08/2024 16:32

brainpain · 25/08/2024 00:52

Found this on a BBC learning webpage.

“Irregular Plurals

Some nouns, such as fish and fruit, have an irregular plural, fishes and fruits. We use them when we want to talk about different types of a thing in the same category.

I want some fruit. (uncountable – any fruit, I don’t care which. All fruit is the same to me.)
The shop sells many fruits. (plural – many different types of fruit e.g. apples, bananas and pears.)
There were three fish in the tank (plural – all the same)
There were three fishes in the tank. (plural- three different species of fish)”

Much of this is nonsense, though. Different species of fish are still fish, even when they're referred to as a group.
Multiple types of fruit are still collectively fruit. It's more usual to refer to "different types of fruit" than "fruits".

Sharptonguedwoman · 25/08/2024 09:25

PadstowGirl · 24/08/2024 21:49

Really? See that's not what I was taught.
It was all just fruit.
I must be getting very old 😬

I am too then. Multiples of fruit is fruit. Maybe mixed fruit.

Brefugee · 25/08/2024 09:15

brainpain · 25/08/2024 00:52

Found this on a BBC learning webpage.

“Irregular Plurals

Some nouns, such as fish and fruit, have an irregular plural, fishes and fruits. We use them when we want to talk about different types of a thing in the same category.

I want some fruit. (uncountable – any fruit, I don’t care which. All fruit is the same to me.)
The shop sells many fruits. (plural – many different types of fruit e.g. apples, bananas and pears.)
There were three fish in the tank (plural – all the same)
There were three fishes in the tank. (plural- three different species of fish)”

thanks - i am a TEFL teacher (sometimes) and this is something that comes up a lot. It is good for learners to know.

For me? I can possibly count my use of the word "fruits" (outside of teaching) on the fingers of one hand. I agree with pp that it is not modern British English, although i wouldn't be surprised if it pops up in older literature.

And yes. What a weird word!

PresidentBarklett · 25/08/2024 01:06

God, fruit's a weird fucking word though, isn't it?

VivaciousRadish · 25/08/2024 00:59

Just fruit

brainpain · 25/08/2024 00:52

Found this on a BBC learning webpage.

“Irregular Plurals

Some nouns, such as fish and fruit, have an irregular plural, fishes and fruits. We use them when we want to talk about different types of a thing in the same category.

I want some fruit. (uncountable – any fruit, I don’t care which. All fruit is the same to me.)
The shop sells many fruits. (plural – many different types of fruit e.g. apples, bananas and pears.)
There were three fish in the tank (plural – all the same)
There were three fishes in the tank. (plural- three different species of fish)”

FrillyKnickersAndNoFurCoat · 25/08/2024 00:42

wildthingsinthenight · 24/08/2024 22:11

I wouldn't describe a bowl of different fruit as fruits.
I'd say it's a bowl of fruit?

Same here. I'm early 60s. Definitely fruit as singular and plural.

TortolaParadise · 25/08/2024 00:33

GoldPlayer · 24/08/2024 23:39

"Fruit" is a collective noun, so it doesn’t need an "s" when you're talking about multiple pieces of different types of fruit. Some people add the "s" because maybe they think it sounds cute, it isn't

Edited

A piece of fruit - has the fruit been cut in pieces? A piece of cake I can understand. I need a nap - too much thinking.

Catlover77 · 24/08/2024 23:53

GrouchyKiwi · 24/08/2024 23:04

I agree with PP that it should only be used when you're talking about multiple different kinds of fruit, and want to highlight that there are different kinds.

I see it as similar usage to "peoples". There are very particular circumstances when it's grammatically correct to say "peoples", and it's the same for fruits.

Yes

and fruits of the forest