• aidan@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Atoms of water are measured in moles. Atoms are discrete units, a mole is just a certain number of them

    • stoly@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      So you understand then why water is uncountable but atoms are not. Congratulations. What a strange pedantic hill you choosing to die on.

      • sem
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        2 months ago

        No, water is countable. Unfortunately you are incorrect.

        EDIT: the word “water” isn’t usually made plural, but water the substance can absolutely be measured and counted.

        • stoly@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Sorry but some nouns (ie cats) can be counted while others (ie air) cannot be.

          • sem
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            2 months ago

            Language is a flexible thing. I heard this in a children’s game of tag, “Octopi, Octopi, can I cross your waters?”

            And you can count air too, either by volume or amount of molecules.

            • stoly@lemmy.world
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              2 months ago

              I think you should just go and read the wikipedia articles on countable and noncountable nouns and stop arguing with a literal inguist.

              • sem
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                2 months ago

                I think you’re too rigid with your definitions. I just showed you an example of where water, usually not countable, is used in a plural form in real world usage.

                Regardless of whether the noun is countable, the thing itself (water, air) absolutely is countable, i.e., comes in discrete measurable amounts, which is the more important issue here.

                • stoly@lemmy.world
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                  2 months ago

                  you used a HOMONYM because words can have different uses. “water” meaning an amorphous fluid of dihydrogen monoxide vs “water” meaning discrete bodies of water. You can count bodies of water but you cannot count how much water is in your glass. If you want to use water as a countable, that’s fine, but you would be using it in a way that most people don’t intend.

                  • sem
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                    2 months ago

                    I am really confused why you think you can’t count how much water is in your glass? Can you explain that?