Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[shmilymfs]

Heavy rainfalls make "land" too humid to plant seeds.

Can someone tell me that in America you usually use "land" or "soil" or both in the above sentence? My friend insist that "soil" is the right word.

[CP]

I think you would hear Americans use either "the land" (not just "land") and "soil" or "the soil" in your sentence. "Soil" is probably most correct, but no one would think "the land" odd.

I'm not sure "humid" is right, though. You could say "too wet" or "too saturated" or "too damp" or "too moist" when referring to soil, but humidity refers to moisture in the air.

Also, you would say "rainfall," not "rainfalls."

Logically, one can still plant seeds even in very wet soil, but maybe they won't germinate or grow if the soil is too saturated.

Final answer:

"Heavy rainfall makes the soil too wet for plants to grow."
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[shmilymfs]

Your explanation is clear. Thank you, CP.