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Bucketfulls or buckets full ???
Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2004 9:27 pm
by coriolis
OK you English majors, which is correct:
Today I picked up three bucketfulls of dog poop from the back yard.
or
Today I picked up three buckets full of dog poop from the back yard.
Note that the object of the action is the offending matter, not the buckets themselves.
Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2004 9:30 pm
by Josephine96
Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2004 9:42 pm
by CaluWxBill
three full buckets
Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2004 9:44 pm
by CaluWxBill
CaluWxBill wrote:three full buckets
nah I am not sure, the first one probably is not right because I don't think bucketfull is a word, but if it is then they both should be right.
Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2004 9:45 pm
by Josephine96
Like I said though.. stinky mess
lol
Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2004 10:46 pm
by vbhoutex
Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2004 11:36 pm
by ColdFront77
What ever the case, "bucketful" is a word.
bucketful: n. the quantity contained in a bucket [syn: bucket]
*Courtesy of Dictionary.com
Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2004 3:13 am
by JQ Public
hmmm i always thought it was buckets full. Since you are talking about 3 buckets...which are full of etc. So i would say buckets full. Since you state teh number of buckets then that it is full.
But since bucketful is a word then i guess thats right too.
Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2004 7:19 am
by Pburgh
How big were the buckets????
I think JQ is correct. buckets full
I think the admins and mods have picked up several buckets full of crap and they stayed right here.
From what I could see a lot of it was thrown at them.
Ed, sounds like you're doing your Spring Cleaning too. We had a great day here in the Burgh. I only picked up one bucketful.
Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2004 7:26 am
by coriolis
LOL, you guys. 5 gallon buckets, mixed with ashes from the burner barrel.
And S2K has been undergoing some spring cleaning too!
Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2004 7:44 am
by GalvestonDuck
If you picked up three bucketfuls (one "L" not two), it means you had one bucket filled three times with dog poop.
If you picked up three buckets full, it means you had three separate buckets, filled once with dog poop.
So, both are correct ways to say it. But the usage depends upon how many buckets you needed.
Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2004 9:41 am
by Miss Mary
#2 sentence seems correct to me.
BTW, I pick up daily, 4 to 5 piles each time. No buckets needed around here.......don't want anyone stepping in it or the dog rolling around in it. But that's not the point, I know. LOL
Mary
Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2004 10:19 am
by HurricaneGirl
I've always wondered the same thing about spoonfulls or spoonsfull
.
Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2004 10:44 am
by Guest
I'm going to go with the 2nd one you wrote Ed. I'm no english major, but I feel fairly confident.
Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2004 11:30 am
by GalvestonDuck
Courtesy of the US Government Printing Office:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/stylemanual/20 ... txt-5.html
5.9. Nouns ending with ful form the plural by adding s at the
end; if it is necessary to express the idea that more than one
container was filled, the two elements of the solid compound
are printed as separate words and the plural is formed by
adding s to the noun.
five bucketfuls of the mixture (one bucket filled five
times)
five buckets full of earth (separate buckets)
three cupfuls of flour (one cup filled three times)
three cups full of coffee (separate cups)
Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2004 11:57 am
by Lindaloo
In the deep south some say bucketfulls. LOL!! But I believe it is buckets full.
Yes Ed, S2K is spring cleaning.
Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2004 12:00 pm
by weatherluvr
I believe it's "buckets full". Just like if you have more than one brother-in-law, you would say "brothers-in-law", not brother-in-laws. A lot of people get that wrong.
bucketfulls or..
Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2004 1:42 pm
by sunnyday
Duck is correct. It is bucketsful (one l). The plural, indicated by adding an s, goes after the bucket to indicate that there is more than one bucket, not after the l. Similar questions arise for hyphenated words such as mother-in-law. To make that word plural, the s goes at the end of mother, mothers-in law.
Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2004 12:44 am
by ColdFront77
ColdFront77 wrote:What ever the case, "bucketful" is a word.
bucketful: n. the quantity contained in a bucket [syn: bucket]
*Courtesy of Dictionary.com
GalvestonDuck wrote:If you picked up three bucketfuls (one "L" not two), it means you had one bucket filled three times with dog poop.
If you picked up three buckets full, it means you had three separate buckets, filled once with dog poop.
So, both are correct ways to say it. But the usage depends upon how many buckets you needed.
sunnyday wrote:Duck is correct. It is bucketsful (one l). The plural, indicated by adding an s, goes after the bucket to indicate that there is more than one bucket, not after the l. Similar questions arise for hyphenated words such as mother-in-law. To make that word plural, the s goes at the end of mother, mothers-in law.
Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2004 7:30 am
by Skywatch_NC
Ed, sounds like your Pit Bulls really put it out!
Eric