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English Language & Usage

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    It is not a mass noun, like you said: “I bought two water melons this morning.” is grammatical. It's never “*two spinaches” and "The kids have already wolfed down half a watermelon” is also acceptable but “*half a spinach” would be nonsensical. It's unlikely that a fruit salad for a gathering would be made with two watermelons; not impossible if it's a huge party though. Commented 2 days ago
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    @Mari-LouA It can be either countable or mass, depending on context. It's countable when you refer to the physical melons, mass when you refer to the fruit content. This is common to many foods: "We had steak for dinner" vs "I ordered two steaks because I was really hungry." Commented 2 days ago
  • Using the terms 'noncount / uncount / uncountable noun' and 'count etc noun' is unhelpful ... like saying " 'sing' is a transitive verb". Usages are count / noncount (or transitive / intransitive). And of course different nouns differ in their behaviour. Commented 2 days ago
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    In British English we buy 'a lettuce' (the whole plant) but put 'lettuce' in a salad (a quantity of the leaves). Commented 2 days ago
  • @Barmar I know, as an ingredient or flavour we can use the singular, as in strawberry pie/ice-cream or yoghurt with strawberry and banana BUT to say watermelon is a mass noun without saying it is also "countable" will confuse learners and non-native speakers. See Hoagie's answer below which is perfectly explained. Commented 2 days ago