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My turn for a question: I had my students write something about food, and now I'm getting confused. I might be suffering from "ESL teacher syndrome" when you hear something enough times and you think it sounds okay when "normal" English-speaking people don't. Then again, maybe it is okay. My problem is when to use count/noncount with fruit.

I like to eat fruits and vegetables.
I like to eat fruit and vegetables.
I like to eat fruits.
I like to eat fruit.

and how about "There are many kinds of fruits here."

Oddly enough, I think I prefer saying "I like to eat fruit." and "I like to eat fruits and vegetables." but it didn't make "sense" to me. Thoughts?

All OK, and all frequent, no? Because we can use the words in the sense of an uncountable noun, or different types of uncountable noun.

I would only say fruits in special circumstances. Fruit is normal.

I looked up the Longman online dictionary, http://www.ldoceonline.com/, here is the definition:

fruit (plural) fruit or fruits

1 [uncountable and countable] something that grows on a plant, tree, or bush, can be eaten as a food, contains seeds or a stone, and is usually sweet
Try to eat plenty of fresh fruit .

- fruit and vegetables
- a glass of fruit juice
- a large garden with fruit trees

I think fruit (in most cases) is a collective noun, i.e. staff, furniture, and stationery. So it should be, "I like fruit and vegetables."

I have heard people saying fruits and vegetables. I have probably said it myself.
However, I tend to think of fruit as a noncount noun.

I think there's a certain amount of flexibility and choice on the part of the speaker, depending upon whether or not he/she is conceptualising the fruit(s) and vegetable(s) as individual items or a complete whole.

Fruit can be uncountable or countable.

We ask if we have any fruit, but talk about "fruits of the forest" for that one when you're back in a native English speaking country look at a few tubs of yoghurt - it's delicious, btw.

Apples and pears are both fruits, or kinds of fruit. Somehow, though I'm beginning to prefer the latter these days, but "fruits" is I'm sure still "right". I suspect that it is becoming more uncountabe. "Vegetable" is more countable than "fruit" but can again be both. I think basically, both of these are categories, and categories in English tend to be uncountable. So I would expect to see a tendency for these words to become more and more uncountable. This tendency may be countered by the increased number of non-proficient English speakers, but I don't think it will be because most students I teach seem to get uncountable things right more than countable.

One can also go to a spa town for the waters.

It's also possible to have a plural of a plural - peoples of the world.

Andrew Patterson wrote: "Vegetable" is more countable than "fruit" but can again be both.

I don't believe I've ever seen "vegetable" used in a non-count way. I don't see any examples in the dictionary. What did you have in mind? None of these, which would work with "fruit" work with "vegetable."

*I like to eat vegetable.
*I bought some vegetable.
*Vegetable is my favorite food.

Carrots and parsnips are both vegetables. Countable
Carrots and parsnips are kinds of vegetable. Uncountable

Is it animal, vegetable or mineral? Uncountable.

You're right, I should have given examples. You are right, too, that there aren't many uncountable uses. I probably should have said there are only a few cases where "vegetable" can be uncountable.

Andrew Patterson wrote:Carrots and parsnips are both vegetables. Countable
Carrots and parsnips are kinds of vegetable. Uncountable

Is it animal, vegetable or mineral? Uncountable.

You're right, I should have given examples. You are right, too, that there aren't many uncountable uses. I probably should have said there are only a few cases where "vegetable" can be uncountable.

Hmm Actually, I would say, "Carrots and parsnips are kinds of vegetables" so I guess I don't have the uncountable there.

Do you think "animal" and "mineral" are noncount in your second example? I was wondering if it was an adjective (understood).

I don't know.

Andrew Patterson wrote: I don't know.

And I have decided that I probably wouldn't say "Carrots and parsnips are kinds of vegetables" either. I'd probably say, "Carrots and parsnips are vegetables".....duh.