Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Imola72]

Hello,
I'd like to ask about containers. What do you call the containers in which there is some shampoo (bottle?), shaving foam, deodorant (stick?) and spray?

Thanks for your help.

[scottish_tiger]

Hi Imola72,

Hope that your studies are coming along well. The phrases you are refering too are called collective nouns, that is where the description of the container that the product is sold or stored in become more important than the actual product (hope that makes sense), so as you mentioned in your question:

a bottle of shampoo;
a stick of shaving foam;
a can of shaving gell (to be more modern);

or other examples:

a loaf of bread;
a can of tomato soup;

the same can also be applied to social groups of animals:

a herd of elephants;
a pride of lions;
a troop of baboons;
a school of fish

in each example the underlined word is the collective noun.

I hope that this will help you to understand them a little better, and remember it does not matter how much shampoo is in the bottle it is still a bottle of shampoo (though you can add a quantity such as: half, quarter, etc to the sentence to make it more reflective of exactly how much of the product you have remaining, as in: I have half a bottle of shampoo in the bathroom).

Do keep practicing and let me know how things are going with your studies or if you have any more questions.

Scottish Tiger
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I am always happy to help you learn English.

[Imola72]

Thanks for your help! But I have two more questions:
1. isn't a stick something solid? I mean solid substance, while shaving foam is not.
2. What is the right word for the thing you buy spray in?

[CP]

1. Yes, a stick is something solid. Some deodorants come in stick form, inside a plastic container. Shaving cream usually comes in an aerosol can. You push the button on the top and foamy soap comes out.
2. Spray can come in cans or bottles. Spray deodorant and hairspray usually come in a can, with a button on top to spray it out. Window cleaner comes in a glass or plastic bottle, with a trigger-handle pump to spray it out.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb