# Candy



## lix

I'm writing this story and I was wondering - is candy a countable noun? I'm positive I've never heard anyone say 'a candy' wherein candy is a noun, or 'candies'. But I've read 'sweets' somewhere, so I'm a bit confused right now.

I'm going with 'a piece of candy' for now, but I'd be very thankful if someone could solve my curiosity.


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## Porteño

Good morning lix. Yes. 'candy' is a countable noun (pl. candies). 'Sweets' is the BE word for 'candies', which is AE. 'Candy' is also an adjective as in 'candy bar', a kind of sweet in both the UK and the USA.


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## Nunty

But isn't it also an uncountable noun as in 





> I'd like some candy, please? You may not eat candy before supper!



???


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## lix

> 'Sweets' is the BE word for 'candies', which is AE.


I know that, hence the comparison. 

And the candy bar thing - that's why I said I had never seen 'a candy' where candy is a noun. I've seen 'a candy something', but not 'a candy'.

Thanks to both of you, now I'm even more confused.  Let's see if someone else has any other, uh, views on the subject.


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## Porteño

In an attempt to clarify:

I could offer you a candy - _Would you like a candy?_ 
I could offer you some candies - _Would you like some candies?_

_I'm just going to the candy store to buy some candies._
_I love to have a candy after dinner._
_I have a sweet tooth, I adore candies._

I hope that helps a bit_._


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## Nunty

Porteño said:


> In an attempt to clarify:
> 
> I could offer you a candy - _Would you like a candy?_


Yes, I would say that.



> I could offer you some candies - _Would you like some candies?_


I would say "Would you care for some candy?"



> I'm just going to the candy store to buy some candies.


Same here, I would say "some candy"



> I love to have a candy after dinner.


I might say this, but more likely I would say, "I enjoy a piece of candy after dinner."



> I have a sweet tooth, I adore candies.


Here, I would definitely say, "I adore candy."

Are we looking at another AE/BE thing in all these cases?


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## Porteño

Yes, I judging from your reply, I'd say we were.


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## cj427

Hmm, both "a candy" and "candies" sound BE, or maybe just old-fashioned, to me.
I'd say:
Would you like a piece of candy?
Would you like some candy?
You should eat less candy.


The word "candy" has now lost all meaning to me.  Candy candy candy.


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## Dimcl

cj427 said:


> Hmm, both "a candy" and "candies" sound BE, or maybe just old-fashioned, to me.
> I'd say:
> Would you like a piece of candy?
> Would you like some candy?
> You should eat less candy.
> 
> 
> The word "candy" has now lost all meaning to me. Candy candy candy.


 
After a nice dinner, the bill/tab usually comes with *candies* on the tray, each individually wrapped.  I take *a candy* and my dining partners each take *a candy*.  Collectively, there is *candy *on the tray but individually, they are *candies*.


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## Dimcl

> 'Candy' is also an adjective as in 'candy bar', a kind of sweet in both the UK and the USA.


 
Just to really confuse things (and to point out the regional differences), in Canada you never, ever hear the term "candy bar".  They are chocolate bars.


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## Porteño

I find the expression 'a piece of candy' very odd, considering that a candy is an individual thing (like a sweet) and not part of something larger, like a bar of chocolate.

With chocolate you have the two alternatives:

'_Would you like a chocolate?_' - when referring to individually wrapped chocolates.
'_Would yoiu like a piece of chocolate/or some chocolate?_' - when referring to a bar of chocolate.


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## lix

> After a nice dinner, the bill/tab usually comes with *candies* on the tray, each individually wrapped.  I take *a candy* and my dining partners each take *a candy*.  Collectively, there is *candy *on the tray but individually, they are *candies*.


That's awesome, thank you. I so get it now.

And I think I've heard the Canada thing you mention, Dimcl. It's always good to hear it in a somewhat serious context, though.


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## Old Novice

Dimcl said:


> Just to really confuse things (and to point out the regional differences), in Canada you never, ever hear the term "candy bar".  They are chocolate bars.



What do you call the ones without chocolate?


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## Porteño

But if they're not made of chocolate? What then?

It would seem we are all replying simultaneously!


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## elroy

To me, both "a chocolate" and "a candy" sound British.  That is, I would not say them.

I would say "a piece of chocolate" and "a piece of candy."  "Chocolate" and "candy" are uncountable substances to me, and not individual items.


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## Dimcl

Old Novice said:


> What do you call the ones without chocolate?


 
Are there "candy bars" without chocolate in them?  If there are, they should be outlawed!     I'm not really aware of any "bars" that don't have chocolate... what would they be?


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## cuchuflete

Candy can be both countable and uncountable.  As mentioned before, one can request or offer a candy, candies, and some candy.  Curiously, while I've often heard candies, I have no recollection of hearing candies prefaced by any number.

He ate some candies.  But never, "He ate five (or whatever other number you like) candies."


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## Dimcl

elroy said:


> To me, both "a chocolate" and "a candy" sound British. That is, I would not say them.
> 
> I would say "a piece of chocolate" and "a piece of candy." "Chocolate" and "candy" are uncountable substances to me, and not individual items.


 
If you were offering me a box of chocolates to choose from, you would say "Have a piece of chocolate"?  We call each individual "piece" in the box "a chocolate" because "a piece" of chocolate implies that the chocolate is all the same...


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## elroy

Dimcl said:


> If you were offering me a box of chocolates to choose from, you would say "Have a piece of chocolate"? We call each individual "piece" in the box "a chocolate" because "a piece" of chocolate implies that the chocolate is all the same...


 Yes, I would say "a piece of chocolate," which I don't think implies that it's all the same kind of chocolate. 

I think "a chocolate" or "chocolates" is fine; I just don't think I've ever said it, except in the quote "Life is like a box of chocolates...".


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## gwrthgymdeithasol

elroy said:


> To me, both "a chocolate" and "a candy" sound British.  That is, I would not say them.



Ah; so you don't want to sound cool then! Go ahead, talk like an American, but don't ever speak on British TV please ;-p

Candy's about as British as a Big Mac.


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## elroy

gwrthgymdeithasol said:


> Ah; so you don't want to sound cool then! Go ahead, talk like an American, but don't ever speak on British TV please ;-p


 You must have misunderstood my comment.  "I would not say it" did not indicate a statement of voluntary resoluteness, but rather the status quo.  Please note that my profile lists "American English" as one of my native languages.


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## gwrthgymdeithasol

elroy said:


> You must have misunderstood my comment.  "I would not say it" did not indicate a statement of voluntary resoluteness, but rather the status quo.  Please note that my profile lists "American English" as one of my native languages.



OK, sorry, I didn't notice. But in that case I'm surprised you've never heard 'a candy'...but then again, you're not exactly in the thick of the American language geographically...


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## elroy

gwrthgymdeithasol said:


> OK, sorry, I didn't notice. But in that case I'm surprised you've never heard 'a candy'...but then again, you're not exactly in the thick of the American language geographically...


 I did not say I had never heard it.  It just sounds British to me.  Notice that cj427 said something similar several posts back.  Maybe it's a generational thing.


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## Dimcl

elroy said:


> Yes, I would say "a piece of chocolate," which I don't think implies that it's all the same kind of chocolate.
> 
> I think "a chocolate" or "chocolates" is fine; I just don't think I've ever said it, except in the quote "Life is like a box of chocolates...".


 
I find that very interesting.  To me, a "piece" of anything is from the same source ie. a piece of apple, a piece of pie, a piece of my fist  , etc.  An individual type of chocolate, different from its brothers, is *a *chocolate as opposed to a "piece of chocolate" which still sounds, to my mind, like it comes from the same larger object.


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## mirx

Dimcl said:


> Are there "candy bars" without chocolate in them? If there are, they should be outlawed!  I'm not really aware of any "bars" that don't have chocolate... what would they be?


 

Caramels


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## elroy

Dimcl said:


> I find that very interesting. To me, a "piece" of anything is from the same source ie. a piece of apple, a piece of pie, a piece of my fist  , etc. An individual type of chocolate, different from its brothers, is *a *chocolate as opposed to a "piece of chocolate" which still sounds, to my mind, like it comes from the same larger object.


 Well, I think a "piece of chocolate" _could_ mean that, but it doesn't have to.  If I had a huge hunk of chocolate and I was breaking off pieces and passing them out, then I would say "Have a piece of chocolate" meaning part of the larger entity.  However, I think "piece of chococlate" can also mean one small portion of chocolate, and I don't see why "two pieces of chocolate" can't have come from two different sources.  If you had a slice of pumpkin pie and a slice of apple pie, would you not call them "two pieces of pie," because they each came from a different source?  Similarly, if you had five pieces of paper that each came from a different source (one was ripped out of notebook, one was a piece of computer paper, etc.), would you not say "Have a piece of paper" if you were offering me one?

My conclusion is that "of chocolate" can refer to a common source or simply to the general substance.


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## Porteño

Dimcl said:


> If you were offering me a box of chocolates to choose from, you would say "Have a piece of chocolate"? We call each individual "piece" in the box "a chocolate" because "a piece" of chocolate implies that the chocolate is all the same...


 
Not in the UK, you wouldn't Dimcl. You'd say '_have *a* chocolate_', especially if they were assorted and therefore obviously not part of a piece.


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## equivoque

I tend to agree with Dimcl, a chocolate is one of those individually wrapped chocolates. A piece of chocolate would come from a chocolate bar or block (AU.E). 

No such animal as a candy bar in Aus. but a candy would translate to a lollie and candies to lollies.  Clearly cultural differences make this subject a bit awkward.


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## Dimcl

Porteño said:


> Not in the UK, you wouldn't Dimcl. You'd say '_have *a* chocolate_', especially if they were assorted and therefore obviously not part of a piece.


 
That was my point.  Sorry if I didn't make myself clear.  I would never say have a *piece* of chocolate.  I would refer to them each as individual chocolates.


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## Dimcl

mirx said:


> Caramels


 
Ah, then we would call them by name.  For example, there is a "sort of" bar sold here in Canada that is 100% caramel (caramel*s* as per your response are individually-wrapped *candies*) but we would say "I'm going to buy a McIntosh Toffee bar", not a candy bar.  More wordy, yes, but much more specific.


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## Hockey13

Dimcl said:


> Are there "candy bars" without chocolate in them? If there are, they should be outlawed!  I'm not really aware of any "bars" that don't have chocolate... what would they be?


 
There are a few in Alabama, I believe.


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## Dimcl

Hockey13 said:


> There are a few in Alabama, I believe.


 
LOL!!!!


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## Old Novice

Dimcl said:


> Are there "candy bars" without chocolate in them? If there are, they should be outlawed!  I'm not really aware of any "bars" that don't have chocolate... what would they be?


 
Sorry, I haven't been online to respond.

Ther are various nut-based candy bars. Planters has one, for example. Also Pearson's. However, wiki confirms both that there are non-chocolate candy bars and that BE/CE nonetheless uses the term "chocolate bar."


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## Brioche

equivoque said:


> I tend to agree with Dimcl, a chocolate is one of those individually wrapped chocolates. A piece of chocolate would come from a chocolate bar or block (AU.E).
> 
> No such animal as a candy bar in Aus. but a candy would translate to a lollie and candies to lollies. Clearly cultural differences make this subject a bit awkward.


 
Candy in the US and Canada can mean all types of confectionery.

In Australia, we think of chocolates and lollies/sweets as belonging to different categories of confectionery.

If you say _candy_ in Australia, we think of hard candy.  We wouldn't think of something like _Hershey's Kisses_, or _Reese's Peanut Butter Cups._


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## panjandrum

I may as well throw in my two calories ...

(1) Chocolate = the substance, chocolate only - or chocolate mostly with some kind of embedded bits.

(2) A piece of chocolate = a piece of a larger block of (1), or perhaps an individually-formed piece of (1).

(3) A bar of chocolate = a larger block of (1), as referred to in (2).  A bar of chocolate is intended to be broken into pieces before being eaten, and may be shared (ouch).

(4) A chocolate bar = a confection formed from chocolate and any of a wide variety of embedded bits or fillings.  A chocolate bar is intended to be eaten in bites, and should not be shared, except with very close friends.

(5) A chocolate = an individually-formed confection that is mostly chocolate but contains either a filling of some kind or perhaps some kind of embedded bits.  It is normally supplied with a number of others having a variety of fillings and/or embedded bits.  It may take the form of a miniature version of a chocolate bar (4).

(6) Chocolates = a quantity of (5).

In my part of the world, the word candy is not often used.  When it is, it never refers to chocolate.  Its most common use is in candy floss - known elsewhere as cotton candy.


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## maxiogee

panjandrum said:


> In my part of the world, the word candy is not often used.


Was/is not Ms Candy Devine a noted personality 'up there'?


Its most common use is in candy floss - known elsewhere as cotton candy.[/QUOTE]

Candy floss has no dental benefits, unfortunately.


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## Xander2024

cuchuflete said:


> Candy can be both countable and uncountable.  As mentioned before, one can request or offer a candy, candies, and some candy.  Curiously, while I've often heard candies, I have no recollection of hearing candies prefaced by any number.
> 
> He ate some candies.  But never, "He ate five (or whatever other number you like) candies."



Which word would you use then? For example, if we were to do a children's sum: John had five candies(?), he ate three. How many candies(?) does he have now?
Do we have to use "_pieces of candy_" in this case?

Thank you.


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## Porteño

Xander2024 said:


> Which word would you use then? For example, if we were to do a children's sum: John had five candies(?), he ate three. How many candies(?) does he have now?
> Do we have to use "_pieces of candy_" in this case?
> 
> Thank you.



No, you wouldn't. I think cuchufletes point was that it would be considered rude to say that someone had eaten a specific number of candies.


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## Xander2024

Thanks, Porteño.


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## sdgraham

Xander2024 said:


> Which word would you use then? For example, if we were to do a children's sum: John had five candies(?), he ate three. How many candies(?) does he have now?
> Do we have to use "_pieces of candy_" in this case?



We would indeed say "pieces of candy." (but we might say, "chocolates," "bon-bons" or "candy bars" as well.)

It's certainly not rude in my opinion, particularly since you're talking about children, and in any case the question is about language, not etiquette.


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## Hau Ruck

Or, one could certainly say, "How much candy does he have left?"
I would be fine with saying "pieces of candy" as well. I'd not find that rude at all. 


Unless it was my candy, you ate it and were rubbing it in my face.


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## Xander2024

Thank you, sdgraham and Filsmith.


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