Comments on: Radioactive Mooses?

Question: Radioactive Mooses?

blue_beetle — Thu, 10 May 2007 09:18:20 -0800

pluralsfilter: Why don't we use words like "radiations"? It seems like a lot of words that have logical plurals don't ever get used in english. Radiations means essentially the same thing as emanations or emissions, but we don't use it the same way. Why is this? Where can I find more information about why we drop the pluralization on some many words?

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Thu, 10 May 2007 09:29:52 -0800

Collective nouns.

By: adamrice

adamrice — Thu, 10 May 2007 09:35:20 -0800

The distinction here is count vs mass nouns.

Now, why is "radiation" a mass noun, but "emanation" is a count noun? That's basically a matter of customary usage, AFAIK. Some mass nouns even become count nouns in specific circumstances, eg water (mass noun) becomes "we'll have 3 waters please" at a restaurant.

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Thu, 10 May 2007 09:50:23 -0800

Note that you would say "less" radiation, but "fewer" emissions. The distinction between counting radiation and counting emissions is blurred, but countability is obvious in most cases: Less garbage, fewer bottles, less forest, fewer trees.

By: svenx

svenx — Thu, 10 May 2007 11:16:18 -0800

And count nouns can be used as mass nouns in certain circumstances, as in "This place smells like ass."

By: i_am_a_Jedi

i_am_a_Jedi — Thu, 10 May 2007 13:50:53 -0800

'Radiations' does get used in anatomy and pathology, FWIW. As in 'optic radiations.'

By: vorfeed

vorfeed — Thu, 10 May 2007 14:06:01 -0800

Note that we usually use container or unit words when we want to count specific quantities of mass nouns. "3 glasses of water", "3 canisters of air", "4 sectors of space", "2 curies of radiation". There are languages (like Japanese) in which all nouns are mass nouns, and a myriad of different counting words like these are used for nearly every noun. You have it easy, so count yourself lucky (har har).

By: fvox13

fvox13 — Thu, 10 May 2007 14:48:34 -0800

It's like fish vs fishes. 1 Fish, 2 Fish, 3 Fish. When you have more than one type of fish, you have types of fishes.

By: nebulawindphone

nebulawindphone — Thu, 10 May 2007 17:30:31 -0800

It's like fish vs fishes. 1 Fish, 2 Fish, 3 Fish. When you have more than one type of fish, you have types of fishes.

No, it's not really. You wouldn't say "two radiation" or "three radiation" — or, for that matter, "these radiation" or "a radiation." "Two fish," "three fish," "these fish" and "a fish" are all fine.

Fish is a count noun that doesn't change in the plural. Radiation is a mass noun.