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Dioxin - Why is it countable?

Expert replies
by jeffedwards » Fri Jan 22, 2010 9:03 pm
#80 in the SC section says:

A report by the American Academy for the Advancement of Science has concluded that much of the currently uncrotrolled dioxins to which North Americans are exposed comes from the incineration of wastes.

So first of I saw that the word dioxins is plural, so the accompanying verb should follow that....come

Then I saw the word much...hmmm....are dioxins countable. I said no. The 12th Edition OG says that they are countable (requiring many). I don't understand this rule.

So I understand, a dioxin is an individual chemical compound (C4H4O2 to be exact), but hey rice which has individual rice grains is considered a non-countable item (https://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/noununcount.htm)...and so is water which is another compound (H20).

So why are Dioxins countable? Is it because I say Dioxins are? That actually might make some sense. I was going to continue rambling, which I kind of still am, and talk about how air is similar, but you always say air is. Air is considered a mass, same with water. You don't say air are or water are. Could that be any help.

Point is, I just don't want to miss simple questions on the test. Please help me learn this rule. :)
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Source: — Sentence Correction |

by mmslf75 » Fri Jan 22, 2010 9:21 pm
hi,

you have urself answered ur query

WATER "IS"
AIR "IS"

DIOXINS "ARE"

;-)
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by Testluv » Fri Jan 22, 2010 10:10 pm
Hi Jeff,

for some things, it depends on how we are referring to them.

Let's say we have a pile of sand. I can say "give me half the amount of sand in the pile". Here, I am referring to the pile of sand as an indivisible quantity, and so it is not countable.

Or, I can say "give me half the number of sand grains in the pile". Here, the sand grains are countable.

Another example:

"I need to lose some weight". Here, I am referring to "weight" as an indivisible continuous quantity; not countable.

Or, I can say "I need to lose ten pounds". Clearly, pounds are countable.

From the context of the sentence, the speaker is referring to dioxins as a countable entity, for example it could be parts per million, etc. Alternatively, he is referring to dioxins as a class of compounds, and of course, there will be a finite number in that class, and therefore countable. (In fact, had you not wrote above that dioxin was a single compound, I would have favored the latter interpretation.)
Kaplan Teacher in Toronto
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