*A ton* vs *tons of*












3















Is there a preferred or more common usage between the phrase "with a ton of xxx" or "with tons of xxx"? Both referring to something having an abundance of something.










share|improve this question

























  • "tons of" is more common.

    – mohamed
    Aug 11 '15 at 21:16






  • 3





    If you're English, perhaps with a smidge more X. If you're a New Yorker, with a ton of X. If you're a Valley Girl, with like a billion tons of X, or whatever.

    – choster
    Aug 11 '15 at 21:19






  • 1





    What does your research show?

    – Edwin Ashworth
    Aug 11 '15 at 21:37











  • the second phrase is just more emphatic. You said it yourself, abundance, and more than one ton would be even more abundant, overabundant.

    – dockeryZ
    Aug 12 '15 at 1:19


















3















Is there a preferred or more common usage between the phrase "with a ton of xxx" or "with tons of xxx"? Both referring to something having an abundance of something.










share|improve this question

























  • "tons of" is more common.

    – mohamed
    Aug 11 '15 at 21:16






  • 3





    If you're English, perhaps with a smidge more X. If you're a New Yorker, with a ton of X. If you're a Valley Girl, with like a billion tons of X, or whatever.

    – choster
    Aug 11 '15 at 21:19






  • 1





    What does your research show?

    – Edwin Ashworth
    Aug 11 '15 at 21:37











  • the second phrase is just more emphatic. You said it yourself, abundance, and more than one ton would be even more abundant, overabundant.

    – dockeryZ
    Aug 12 '15 at 1:19
















3












3








3








Is there a preferred or more common usage between the phrase "with a ton of xxx" or "with tons of xxx"? Both referring to something having an abundance of something.










share|improve this question
















Is there a preferred or more common usage between the phrase "with a ton of xxx" or "with tons of xxx"? Both referring to something having an abundance of something.







phrase-usage






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Aug 12 '15 at 14:15









aparente001

14.9k43671




14.9k43671










asked Aug 11 '15 at 21:13









Benjamin SchererBenjamin Scherer

118114




118114













  • "tons of" is more common.

    – mohamed
    Aug 11 '15 at 21:16






  • 3





    If you're English, perhaps with a smidge more X. If you're a New Yorker, with a ton of X. If you're a Valley Girl, with like a billion tons of X, or whatever.

    – choster
    Aug 11 '15 at 21:19






  • 1





    What does your research show?

    – Edwin Ashworth
    Aug 11 '15 at 21:37











  • the second phrase is just more emphatic. You said it yourself, abundance, and more than one ton would be even more abundant, overabundant.

    – dockeryZ
    Aug 12 '15 at 1:19





















  • "tons of" is more common.

    – mohamed
    Aug 11 '15 at 21:16






  • 3





    If you're English, perhaps with a smidge more X. If you're a New Yorker, with a ton of X. If you're a Valley Girl, with like a billion tons of X, or whatever.

    – choster
    Aug 11 '15 at 21:19






  • 1





    What does your research show?

    – Edwin Ashworth
    Aug 11 '15 at 21:37











  • the second phrase is just more emphatic. You said it yourself, abundance, and more than one ton would be even more abundant, overabundant.

    – dockeryZ
    Aug 12 '15 at 1:19



















"tons of" is more common.

– mohamed
Aug 11 '15 at 21:16





"tons of" is more common.

– mohamed
Aug 11 '15 at 21:16




3




3





If you're English, perhaps with a smidge more X. If you're a New Yorker, with a ton of X. If you're a Valley Girl, with like a billion tons of X, or whatever.

– choster
Aug 11 '15 at 21:19





If you're English, perhaps with a smidge more X. If you're a New Yorker, with a ton of X. If you're a Valley Girl, with like a billion tons of X, or whatever.

– choster
Aug 11 '15 at 21:19




1




1





What does your research show?

– Edwin Ashworth
Aug 11 '15 at 21:37





What does your research show?

– Edwin Ashworth
Aug 11 '15 at 21:37













the second phrase is just more emphatic. You said it yourself, abundance, and more than one ton would be even more abundant, overabundant.

– dockeryZ
Aug 12 '15 at 1:19







the second phrase is just more emphatic. You said it yourself, abundance, and more than one ton would be even more abundant, overabundant.

– dockeryZ
Aug 12 '15 at 1:19












3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes


















2














According to the following ngram, "tons of" is the most common:



Source: Google Ngram



enter image description here






share|improve this answer


























  • That only shows that people more often ship tons of things than a single ton of it.

    – tchrist
    Aug 11 '15 at 22:22






  • 1





    @thmj1332 that's the first times I've ever seen Ngam chart look that. It's very clear. How did you manage to compress the dates, and resize the text?

    – Mari-Lou A
    Jul 12 '17 at 10:32






  • 1





    @Mari-Lou A, you just need to shrink the size of your browser window and then click Refresh. In this way, the text size is larger relative to the overall size of the graph. I wish more people knew this!

    – thomj1332
    Jul 12 '17 at 17:04






  • 1





    @thomj1332 that is nothing short of b.r.i.l.l.i.a.n.t. Oh, I might even retrace all my old answers and use this ingenious workaround on my Ngram charts. mind "explodes"

    – Mari-Lou A
    Jul 12 '17 at 17:08













  • @Mari-Lou A and all, Yes. Good idea. And, it doesn't have to be the original author who makes the changes. If folks want to go back and edit any previous illegible Ngram graphs with the better visualization, you get +2 credits for each one! I just did it on this one to see how it was received. Glad it is appreciated.

    – thomj1332
    Jul 12 '17 at 17:13





















0














Yes, they are interchangeable, but here's how I usually use them:



A ton of: countable objects.



Tons of: uncountable objects.



Such-and-so candidate for mayor has tons of charm, but is a little light on the issues. Explanation: charm isn't countable.



She's already got a ton of stuffed animals, let's get her something else for her birthday. Explanation: the stuffed animals are countable.



(Yes, you could also say tons of stuffed animals.)






share|improve this answer































    0














    The use of "tons of something" by LONGMAN Dictionary is given in URL.



    tons of "something"



    https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/tons-of-something



    Therefore, the phrase of "tons of ..." also supports both countable plural noun and uncountable singular noun.






    share|improve this answer























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      3 Answers
      3






      active

      oldest

      votes








      3 Answers
      3






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

      votes









      2














      According to the following ngram, "tons of" is the most common:



      Source: Google Ngram



      enter image description here






      share|improve this answer


























      • That only shows that people more often ship tons of things than a single ton of it.

        – tchrist
        Aug 11 '15 at 22:22






      • 1





        @thmj1332 that's the first times I've ever seen Ngam chart look that. It's very clear. How did you manage to compress the dates, and resize the text?

        – Mari-Lou A
        Jul 12 '17 at 10:32






      • 1





        @Mari-Lou A, you just need to shrink the size of your browser window and then click Refresh. In this way, the text size is larger relative to the overall size of the graph. I wish more people knew this!

        – thomj1332
        Jul 12 '17 at 17:04






      • 1





        @thomj1332 that is nothing short of b.r.i.l.l.i.a.n.t. Oh, I might even retrace all my old answers and use this ingenious workaround on my Ngram charts. mind "explodes"

        – Mari-Lou A
        Jul 12 '17 at 17:08













      • @Mari-Lou A and all, Yes. Good idea. And, it doesn't have to be the original author who makes the changes. If folks want to go back and edit any previous illegible Ngram graphs with the better visualization, you get +2 credits for each one! I just did it on this one to see how it was received. Glad it is appreciated.

        – thomj1332
        Jul 12 '17 at 17:13


















      2














      According to the following ngram, "tons of" is the most common:



      Source: Google Ngram



      enter image description here






      share|improve this answer


























      • That only shows that people more often ship tons of things than a single ton of it.

        – tchrist
        Aug 11 '15 at 22:22






      • 1





        @thmj1332 that's the first times I've ever seen Ngam chart look that. It's very clear. How did you manage to compress the dates, and resize the text?

        – Mari-Lou A
        Jul 12 '17 at 10:32






      • 1





        @Mari-Lou A, you just need to shrink the size of your browser window and then click Refresh. In this way, the text size is larger relative to the overall size of the graph. I wish more people knew this!

        – thomj1332
        Jul 12 '17 at 17:04






      • 1





        @thomj1332 that is nothing short of b.r.i.l.l.i.a.n.t. Oh, I might even retrace all my old answers and use this ingenious workaround on my Ngram charts. mind "explodes"

        – Mari-Lou A
        Jul 12 '17 at 17:08













      • @Mari-Lou A and all, Yes. Good idea. And, it doesn't have to be the original author who makes the changes. If folks want to go back and edit any previous illegible Ngram graphs with the better visualization, you get +2 credits for each one! I just did it on this one to see how it was received. Glad it is appreciated.

        – thomj1332
        Jul 12 '17 at 17:13
















      2












      2








      2







      According to the following ngram, "tons of" is the most common:



      Source: Google Ngram



      enter image description here






      share|improve this answer















      According to the following ngram, "tons of" is the most common:



      Source: Google Ngram



      enter image description here







      share|improve this answer














      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer








      edited Jul 11 '17 at 20:46









      thomj1332

      3,7701933




      3,7701933










      answered Aug 11 '15 at 22:09









      Dog LoverDog Lover

      4,91653264




      4,91653264













      • That only shows that people more often ship tons of things than a single ton of it.

        – tchrist
        Aug 11 '15 at 22:22






      • 1





        @thmj1332 that's the first times I've ever seen Ngam chart look that. It's very clear. How did you manage to compress the dates, and resize the text?

        – Mari-Lou A
        Jul 12 '17 at 10:32






      • 1





        @Mari-Lou A, you just need to shrink the size of your browser window and then click Refresh. In this way, the text size is larger relative to the overall size of the graph. I wish more people knew this!

        – thomj1332
        Jul 12 '17 at 17:04






      • 1





        @thomj1332 that is nothing short of b.r.i.l.l.i.a.n.t. Oh, I might even retrace all my old answers and use this ingenious workaround on my Ngram charts. mind "explodes"

        – Mari-Lou A
        Jul 12 '17 at 17:08













      • @Mari-Lou A and all, Yes. Good idea. And, it doesn't have to be the original author who makes the changes. If folks want to go back and edit any previous illegible Ngram graphs with the better visualization, you get +2 credits for each one! I just did it on this one to see how it was received. Glad it is appreciated.

        – thomj1332
        Jul 12 '17 at 17:13





















      • That only shows that people more often ship tons of things than a single ton of it.

        – tchrist
        Aug 11 '15 at 22:22






      • 1





        @thmj1332 that's the first times I've ever seen Ngam chart look that. It's very clear. How did you manage to compress the dates, and resize the text?

        – Mari-Lou A
        Jul 12 '17 at 10:32






      • 1





        @Mari-Lou A, you just need to shrink the size of your browser window and then click Refresh. In this way, the text size is larger relative to the overall size of the graph. I wish more people knew this!

        – thomj1332
        Jul 12 '17 at 17:04






      • 1





        @thomj1332 that is nothing short of b.r.i.l.l.i.a.n.t. Oh, I might even retrace all my old answers and use this ingenious workaround on my Ngram charts. mind "explodes"

        – Mari-Lou A
        Jul 12 '17 at 17:08













      • @Mari-Lou A and all, Yes. Good idea. And, it doesn't have to be the original author who makes the changes. If folks want to go back and edit any previous illegible Ngram graphs with the better visualization, you get +2 credits for each one! I just did it on this one to see how it was received. Glad it is appreciated.

        – thomj1332
        Jul 12 '17 at 17:13



















      That only shows that people more often ship tons of things than a single ton of it.

      – tchrist
      Aug 11 '15 at 22:22





      That only shows that people more often ship tons of things than a single ton of it.

      – tchrist
      Aug 11 '15 at 22:22




      1




      1





      @thmj1332 that's the first times I've ever seen Ngam chart look that. It's very clear. How did you manage to compress the dates, and resize the text?

      – Mari-Lou A
      Jul 12 '17 at 10:32





      @thmj1332 that's the first times I've ever seen Ngam chart look that. It's very clear. How did you manage to compress the dates, and resize the text?

      – Mari-Lou A
      Jul 12 '17 at 10:32




      1




      1





      @Mari-Lou A, you just need to shrink the size of your browser window and then click Refresh. In this way, the text size is larger relative to the overall size of the graph. I wish more people knew this!

      – thomj1332
      Jul 12 '17 at 17:04





      @Mari-Lou A, you just need to shrink the size of your browser window and then click Refresh. In this way, the text size is larger relative to the overall size of the graph. I wish more people knew this!

      – thomj1332
      Jul 12 '17 at 17:04




      1




      1





      @thomj1332 that is nothing short of b.r.i.l.l.i.a.n.t. Oh, I might even retrace all my old answers and use this ingenious workaround on my Ngram charts. mind "explodes"

      – Mari-Lou A
      Jul 12 '17 at 17:08







      @thomj1332 that is nothing short of b.r.i.l.l.i.a.n.t. Oh, I might even retrace all my old answers and use this ingenious workaround on my Ngram charts. mind "explodes"

      – Mari-Lou A
      Jul 12 '17 at 17:08















      @Mari-Lou A and all, Yes. Good idea. And, it doesn't have to be the original author who makes the changes. If folks want to go back and edit any previous illegible Ngram graphs with the better visualization, you get +2 credits for each one! I just did it on this one to see how it was received. Glad it is appreciated.

      – thomj1332
      Jul 12 '17 at 17:13







      @Mari-Lou A and all, Yes. Good idea. And, it doesn't have to be the original author who makes the changes. If folks want to go back and edit any previous illegible Ngram graphs with the better visualization, you get +2 credits for each one! I just did it on this one to see how it was received. Glad it is appreciated.

      – thomj1332
      Jul 12 '17 at 17:13















      0














      Yes, they are interchangeable, but here's how I usually use them:



      A ton of: countable objects.



      Tons of: uncountable objects.



      Such-and-so candidate for mayor has tons of charm, but is a little light on the issues. Explanation: charm isn't countable.



      She's already got a ton of stuffed animals, let's get her something else for her birthday. Explanation: the stuffed animals are countable.



      (Yes, you could also say tons of stuffed animals.)






      share|improve this answer




























        0














        Yes, they are interchangeable, but here's how I usually use them:



        A ton of: countable objects.



        Tons of: uncountable objects.



        Such-and-so candidate for mayor has tons of charm, but is a little light on the issues. Explanation: charm isn't countable.



        She's already got a ton of stuffed animals, let's get her something else for her birthday. Explanation: the stuffed animals are countable.



        (Yes, you could also say tons of stuffed animals.)






        share|improve this answer


























          0












          0








          0







          Yes, they are interchangeable, but here's how I usually use them:



          A ton of: countable objects.



          Tons of: uncountable objects.



          Such-and-so candidate for mayor has tons of charm, but is a little light on the issues. Explanation: charm isn't countable.



          She's already got a ton of stuffed animals, let's get her something else for her birthday. Explanation: the stuffed animals are countable.



          (Yes, you could also say tons of stuffed animals.)






          share|improve this answer













          Yes, they are interchangeable, but here's how I usually use them:



          A ton of: countable objects.



          Tons of: uncountable objects.



          Such-and-so candidate for mayor has tons of charm, but is a little light on the issues. Explanation: charm isn't countable.



          She's already got a ton of stuffed animals, let's get her something else for her birthday. Explanation: the stuffed animals are countable.



          (Yes, you could also say tons of stuffed animals.)







          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered Aug 12 '15 at 13:06









          aparente001aparente001

          14.9k43671




          14.9k43671























              0














              The use of "tons of something" by LONGMAN Dictionary is given in URL.



              tons of "something"



              https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/tons-of-something



              Therefore, the phrase of "tons of ..." also supports both countable plural noun and uncountable singular noun.






              share|improve this answer




























                0














                The use of "tons of something" by LONGMAN Dictionary is given in URL.



                tons of "something"



                https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/tons-of-something



                Therefore, the phrase of "tons of ..." also supports both countable plural noun and uncountable singular noun.






                share|improve this answer


























                  0












                  0








                  0







                  The use of "tons of something" by LONGMAN Dictionary is given in URL.



                  tons of "something"



                  https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/tons-of-something



                  Therefore, the phrase of "tons of ..." also supports both countable plural noun and uncountable singular noun.






                  share|improve this answer













                  The use of "tons of something" by LONGMAN Dictionary is given in URL.



                  tons of "something"



                  https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/tons-of-something



                  Therefore, the phrase of "tons of ..." also supports both countable plural noun and uncountable singular noun.







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered Mar 18 at 13:39









                  Jarurote TippayachaiJarurote Tippayachai

                  63




                  63






























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