Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[hela]

Hello everybody,

Is "mail" always uncountable? We can't say "I have receive a mail" today (meaning a letter), it should be "I have received X mail", shouldn't it?
But can we say "I have received a mail" talking about e-mail?

And we can't use "mails", right? Except for "e-mails" perhaps?

Now, what about "the mail"? Does it always refer to all the letters, cards, etc. in general or can we say "the mail (= the letter) I have received is from my sister"?

Many thanks

[Jacob K.]

I think this has to do with specific location more than anything.

In America, or at least the western states, "mail" is used for singular and plural purposes. We do not say, "I received a mail today." We say, "I received mail today." If we wish to say how much mail we received, we say, for example, "I received eight pieces of mail." We also say "some mail" and "a lot of mail". The noun "mail" is never plural itself unless "mail" is used as a verb. For example, "He mails his mother many letters."

When talking about e-mail, we say, "I received an e-mail," and, "I received eight e-mails." Unlike mail, e-mail can be both singular and plural.

In America, "the mail" refers to all letters, cards, packages, and those sorts of things. We also say "the mail" in regards to single deliveries from relatives, such as in your example.

Keep in mind, this only applies to American English, and specifically only the areas I am familiar with (California, Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona). In other places of the country it may be different. In other countries, they may refer to mail differently. I know in the UK, "the mail" is "the post". I do not think they even use "mail" as a noun.

[hela]

Thank you for your help