I found the following sentence on the bottom of a Snapple cap: Grapes are the most popular fruit in the world. Yikes!
aside from the claim perhaps being spurious, what do you find wrong with that? fyi, 'fruit' is a collective noun that is used in that form for both singular and plural... and the plural form 'grapes' is what is commonly used for that fruit, since one doesn't really bother picking/buying/eating a single grape, does one?... that said, it wouldn't really matter if another fruit were substituted there, also in the plural... how would you have worded that statement any differently? would you also be 'yikes!'-ing if it read: 'Pears [or apples/bananas/whatevers] are the most popular fruit in the world.'?
Grapes are the most popular fruit in the world. Grapes are the most popular fruits in the world. If I were talking fast, I would say the last sentence, I bet. I might even say: Grapes is one of the most popular fruits in the world. English is complicated, even for those who, like me, speak it as their only language. Thank you for the response!
Grapes are the most popular fruit in the world. << correct. Grapes are the most popular fruits in the world. << incorrect because grapes are not more than one fruit. Grapes and bananas are the most popular fruits in the world. << correct. Grapes are one of the most popular fruits in the world. << correct
you nailed 'em all, arch! [but you might want to fix that typo in the first example] proud o' ya hugs, maia
