Marwana asks:
The weather forecast warned of winds of up to 60-miles-an-hour today. (Why is 'winds' plural? What does it mean?) And which of the following statements is correct:
He ate a lot of candy -
He ate a lot of candies -
What interesting questions! I'll have to guess that "wind" implies a particular direction:
A cold north wind blew across the prairie.
"Winds" implies changing direction:
The winds swung around from north to east and back again.
So "winds of up to 60 miles an hour" would come from different directions, probably in gusts—sudden, sharp bursts of moving air.
As for "candy" and "candies," I've just learned that "candy" comes from the Arabic "qandi," made of sugar. (And "sugar" comes from Arabic "sukkar.") You can use singular or plural. I could eat a lot of candy by consuming chocolate bars, mints, lemon drops, and so on. But if I did, I would also be eating candies of various kinds.
If you want to suggest that I eat a lot of sweet things, say that
Crawford eats a lot of candy.
If you want to suggest that I'm nibbling on different kinds of sweets, say that I eat a lot of candies...but in that case, explain what they are:
Crawford eats all kinds of candies: chocolate bars, mints, Smarties, and lemon drops.
(Actually, I try not to eat too much candy—I'm already overweight!)
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