Hi, Ardith Hinton - Alexander Koryagin!
I read your message from 25.11.2023 00:02

> Hi, Alexander!  Recently you wrote in a message to All:
>
> AK>  I learned recently that an English pie can be countable
> AK>  and uncountable.
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>           Uh-huh.  And since you just happen to know an English major who earned her university fees working in the restaurant business...
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> AK>  What does the latter mean?
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>           ... I can tell you the average pie is about the size of a dinner plate & may be divided into roughly six or eight pieces, depending on various factors such as what one's customers want &/or how many mouths one is expected to feed. Nowadays I know of a few places around here where one can get individual sizes. Maybe one couldn't years ago, but you didn't say when your excerpt was written. Singletons & childless couples were less common when I was growing up....  :-))
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> AK>  She was sitting at the dining room table with the other
> AK>  children, two of whom were eating pie and ice cream with
> AK>  expressions of immense satisfaction."
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> AK>  I understand uncountable ice cream, but I don't understand
> AK>  uncountable pie. ;-)
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>           Where I come from, ice cream is measured by volume or by weight... and I see you understand that.  When you visit a bakery, however, you may notice it offers "pies, cakes, and pastries" for sale.  You can purchase one or more such items as you wish or make them yourself at home.  Either way I see that in this example there are probably one or more grownups & at least two kids who need to be fed, in which case the thrifty housewife would cut a large pie into servings (or pieces or portions) of whatever size she deems to be most appropriate.  :-Q
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> --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
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Bye, Ardith!
Alexander Koryagin
english_tutor 2023

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