Eugene Oh wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> Thanks for your replies -- though I noticed that "piece of" seemed
> extraneous in all the dialects mentioned. I remember in English class back
> in primary school it was quite drummed into me that "cloth" was a mass noun
> and that to refer to a segment or discrete portion thereof one had to use a
> preponed unit!
Strange - where was that?
I was born and brought up in Sussex (UK) and have always known 'cloth'
to be usable as both a mass and a count noun. I find nothing strange in
"a cloth" nor in the plural "cloths."
> Although to be honest I never really thought people used blankets
> (particularly woollen ones)
I do remember woolen blankets used when we were young. Now-a-days we
tend to look for places where picnic tables & benches are available. But
table-cloth does just fine also :)
--
Ray
==================================
http://www.carolandray.plus.com
==================================
Frustra fit per plura quod potest
fieri per pauciora.
[William of Ockham]