#1  
Old November 06, 2012, 04:11 AM
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ROBINDESBOIS ROBINDESBOIS is offline
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Caramelo

How do we say tienes un caramelo in English?
Do you have a sweet?
Do you have a candy?
In the singular.
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  #2  
Old November 06, 2012, 07:33 AM
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chileno chileno is offline
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BrE = Sweet(s)

AmE = Candy/Candies
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Old November 06, 2012, 02:34 PM
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My question is how do I ask for a caramelo?
Do you have a sweet? Or a piece of sweet?
I think in The USA they say do you have a piece of candy?
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Old November 06, 2012, 02:36 PM
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A sweet. Candy can be uncountable, but sweet can't.
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Old November 06, 2012, 02:39 PM
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Thank you.
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Old November 06, 2012, 04:29 PM
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I can count several sweets in my neighborhood...


hmmm?

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Old November 06, 2012, 11:20 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pjt33 View Post
A sweet. Candy can be uncountable, but sweet can't.
I don't quite get it...

Which one is/can be countable?
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Old November 06, 2012, 11:52 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pjt33 View Post
A sweet. Candy can be uncountable, but sweet can't.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JPablo View Post
I don't quite get it...

Which one is/can be countable?
"Sweet" is (almost) always countable, and in some meanings it is always plural in form (sweets) and takes a plural verb.

"Candy" is generally non-countable, although there are specific meanings or usages where some speakers use the word as if it were countable. Examples of these possible countable usages include:
1. "candies" = "types of candy" as in "My favorite candies are fudge and caramel" = "My favorite types of candy are fudge and caramel".
2. "(hard) candies" = "pieces of (hard) candy", generally only when referring to sugar crystallized by boiling and slow evaporation, as in "she put out a bowl filled with hard candies" = "she put out a bowl filled with hard candy". Unless I'm mistaken, in British English a piece of this type of candy is commonly called "a sweet", although "a sweet" may also refer to a piece of other types of candies or confections.

As far as I can recall right now, all of the possible countable usages of "candy" have non-countable equivalents.

Last edited by wrholt; November 06, 2012 at 11:58 PM.
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Old November 07, 2012, 01:30 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wrholt View Post
Unless I'm mistaken, in British English a piece of this type of candy is commonly called "a sweet", although "a sweet" may also refer to a piece of other types of candies or confections.
Specifically, hard candy (en-us) is boiled sweets (en-gb).
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Old November 07, 2012, 08:52 AM
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So, right ways of asking should be:
- Do you have some candy?
- Do you have some sweets?
- Do you have a piece of candy?
- Do you have a sweet?


By the way, just for the sake of regional differences, "dulce" is much more commonly heard in Mexico than "caramelo" ("¿Tienes/me das un dulce?").
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