# flours / types of flour



## Caroline56

Hello, I have got a big doubt... Can we say "flours" with the letter S or do we say "types of flour" ? Thanks a lot. Caroline


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## broglet

bonjour caroline et bienvenue!

types of flour


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## Keith Bradford

I agree with Broglet, but don't be surprised to see "flours" occasionally in a business or technical context.


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## Caroline56

broglet said:


> bonjour caroline et bienvenue!
> 
> types of flour


Thank you 



Keith Bradford said:


> I agree with Broglet, but don't be surprised to see "flours" occasionally in a business or technical context.


Thank you


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## rrose17

I agree with the above and for what it's worth my daughter has a small baking business going and I've never heard her say "flours" only types of flour. I think also because "flours" sounds like "flowers" it wouldn't be used, certainly never in spoken English.


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## Caroline56

rrose17 said:


> I agree with the above and for what it's worth my daughter has a small baking business going and I've never heard her say "flours" only types of flour. I think also because "flours" sounds like "flowers" it wouldn't be used, certainly never in spoken English.


Thanks a lot


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## tartopom

I'd say 'flour' and 'flower' sound alike too.

I wouldn't say 'flours' because to me 'flour' is an uncountable noun. Then I'd say 'types of flour'.


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## wildan1

Keith Bradford said:


> don't be surprised to see "flours" occasionally in a business or technical context.


I agree:

20 Healthy Flours from Lowest to Highest Carbohydrates


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## tartopom

Oh, good to know, wildan. Then actually 'flour' isn't an uncountable noun.


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## broglet

tartopom said:


> Oh, good to know, wildan. Then actually 'flour' isn't an uncountable noun.


Effectivement, mon amie montilienne (et enchanté de te redécouvrir ici ce soir )

Flour est un peu comme nougat, souvent indénombrable, mais pas toujours!


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## Keith Bradford

tartopom said:


> ... to me 'flour' is an uncountable noun...


I'm not absolutely sure that any noun is totally uncountable. Fate, or human ingenuity, will probably devise some situation where a supposedly "uncountable" might be used to mean "a type of", and thus become countable.


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## broglet

True, Keith. For a moment I thought 'everything' might be uncountable but then I remembered the song ' ... all kinds of everything remind me of you'


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## tartopom

Thanks, Keith.
Would you also say '*a* flour'? Or only put the noun _flour_ into the plural, i.e., flours.


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## broglet

tartopom said:


> Thanks, Keith.
> Would you also say '*a* flour'? Or only put the noun _flour_ into the plural, i.e., flours.


Certainly, Madame Tatin!  You can make a flour out of almost anything!  Even nougat!


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## tartopom

Wow! Amazing, LondonBoy.
I had never heard 'a flour' before.
Cheers.


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## broglet

Cherches "a flour" sur Google - tu trouveras des millions d'exemples!


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## Wordy McWordface

tartopom said:


> Wow! Amazing, LondonBoy.
> I had never heard 'a flour' before.
> Cheers.


Not amazing at all.  This is a perfectly normal usage. There are lots of different types of flour.
In fact, I think it's safe to assume that most physical substances (food, drink, cosmetics, fabrics, materials and so on) can have a countable or uncountable form.  If you're talking about a particular type, variety or form of these substances, we use the countable form. For example, 'Buckwheat is a versatile flour that can be used in a variety of dishes, such as pancakes and scones'.


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## sound shift

I agree that "a flour" is possible in certain contexts, but I wouldn't say "two flours": I'd say "There are two types of flour in this dough", not "There are two flours in this dough."


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## tartopom

Intersting, sound shift.

Does it mean I couldn't say one flour either?


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## sound shift

No, it doesn't mean that. "One flour" would work in certain contexts.

"You asked me to get some spelt flour. That's the one [= the only] flour I can't get hold of."


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## tartopom

One would work but not 2 or 3. Correct?


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## Wordy McWordface

tartopom said:


> Intersting, sound shift.
> 
> Does it mean I couldn't say one flour either?


In some contexts, you can say 'one flour'.  For example, 'One flour that I particularly like is rye flour. It adds a nutty denseness to breads such as pumpernickel'.


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## tartopom

Yep, thanks WMcW.

But I can't say 2 or 5 flours. Correct?


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## Wordy McWordface

tartopom said:


> Yep, thanks WMcW.
> 
> But I can't say 2 or 5 flours. Correct?


Yes.  In that case, we'd probably say 'Five different kinds of flour', for example.


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## tartopom

Thanks a lot for being so patient, WMcW.

Then about 'flour' we can count it to ... one. That's all.


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## broglet

Pas forcément mon cher dessert   There are two flours that I love to use: farine montilienne and London flour.


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## tartopom

Hold on, broglet, t'es sérieux?
You do say 'two flours'?


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## broglet

oui, dans un tel contexte c'est parfaitement possible   pourquoi tu es si surprise?  On peut dire "deux farines" en français, n'est-ce pas?


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## tartopom

broglet, je ne suis pas surprise par le français, je suis surprise par l'anglais.
Du coup, je suis perdue. Toi, tu me dis que ça se dit 'two flours' et WMcW me dit que ça ne se dit pas.


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## Keith Bradford

tartopom said:


> ... WMcW me dit que ça ne se dit pas.


Où ça ?  Il dit que cette construction est possible mais qu'en général nous l'évitons.  C'était beaucoup plus courant dans les années 1920, par exemple.  Mais même aujourd'hui on dit plus souvent "two flours" que "two types of flour".  Voir  Google Books Ngram Viewer.


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## tartopom

Well, Keith, I mustn't have got WMcW. I thought (s)he meant 'Yes. You can't say 2 or 5 flours' -post 24.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

"types/kind" — and how about "varieties"?

"Different flours have different properties." would work for me in the plural, for example.


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## broglet

One other point: we have to beware of homophonic ambiguities.  If someone asks you to bring flowers to a funeral, they won't be happy with wholemeal, self-raising and farine montilienne


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