I have a water

Hahoo   Wednesday, June 16, 2004, 07:03 GMT
" I have a water". Can I say that insteada " Can I get a water". The first one doesn't make any sense to me. If it were " May I have a water" then yeah.
Might Mick   Wednesday, June 16, 2004, 07:08 GMT
Can I get some water?
May I have some water?

You can't say "a water" because it cannot be divided into a discreet amount like "a tomato" or "two tomatoes".
Might Mick   Wednesday, June 16, 2004, 07:11 GMT
Correction: *into discrete amounts
Jim   Wednesday, June 16, 2004, 07:13 GMT
In other words it's uncountable. There are many ways to request water from the overly polite "I had been wondering whether you would be so kind as to trouble yourself to bring me a little water." to the overly rude "Fetch me some bloody water."
General_Ricardo   Wednesday, June 16, 2004, 10:03 GMT
I know that it's uncountable. But I have been hearing ppl say " Can I get a Pepsi". So what's the difference? Both are uncountable. right
Might Mick   Wednesday, June 16, 2004, 10:20 GMT
A Pepsi is short for a can/a bottle/a serving of Pepsi, and those are all countable.
Jacob   Wednesday, June 16, 2004, 10:33 GMT
Well, actually, you can say "a water" to refer to one glass of water, especially in restaurants.

"I'll have just a salad and a water, please."

"So, that's two beers, two iced teas, and a water for you guys, is that right?"
Might Mick   Wednesday, June 16, 2004, 10:51 GMT
So it's a matter of context, like restaurants in this case.

So many windings and distortions...
Maybe there will be enough exceptions in English one day where we don't need any rules. :>
Xatufan   Saturday, June 19, 2004, 02:36 GMT
Jacob: I don't know if you are talking about Antimoon Steakhouse, the only steakhouse where veggies are welcome and where meat is cheaper than a rotten egg. But I haven't been to a restaurant that serves beer AND iced tea. I'm not a gourmet guru, but I've been to a lot of restaurants, and I've checked all their menus, but I haven't found any which included beer AND iced tea on their menu. :-)

It's true. Water is countable when it means "a glass or bottle of water". But only vulgar people use "water" in that case.
Jeff   Saturday, June 19, 2004, 04:57 GMT
I've been in restaurants that serve iced tea and beers, maybe your problem is that you're too young.



But only vulgar people use "water" in that case.
You need to visit some fast food restaurants?, i hope you don't think those are vulgar too,

man, you arrrrrrrr so wack!!!!!!!!!
Damian   Saturday, June 19, 2004, 08:44 GMT
Right at this moment all I want is "a black coffee" :-)

Xatufan: I wish I had your eloquence when I was 13
Xatufan   Sunday, June 20, 2004, 02:23 GMT
In Jacob's message, I noticed something that astonished me! In his first example a woman asked for a salad and water! (I know that person is a woman because men usually try to lose weight by playing sport, and not by eating disgusting low-fat food). Well, what kind of person is she that she asked water with her salad?! I'd rather take a coke! (Just sarcasm)

Well, this makes me remember something that happened years ago. My mum and I were at a bakery with all that delicious desserts! Mmmm! My mum bought an ultra-super fattening chicken sandwich, and she ordered a glass of water. Since that bakery sold only fattening food, the woman at the counter said they didn't have any. My mum said she was in a diet and she couldn't drink coke, because that would fatten her. (And what about the sandwich, you may ask?)
Todd   Sunday, June 20, 2004, 03:38 GMT
That happened once when I was at McDonalds. A rather heavy-set woman ordered a Big Mac, fries, and a hot fudge sundae, super-sized her order, then filled up her cup with Diet Coke!
Xatufan   Sunday, June 20, 2004, 21:20 GMT
May that woman be my mum? She's not so heavy.