Author:

Sergey Sulimov

14.12.2022

Fruit and berries in English

Summer is a time for fruit, berries and nuts. What could be better for a tasty, beautiful and light snack. We suggest that you relax a little, forget about difficult grammatical topics and learn what berries and fruits are called in English.

Fruit in English

Let’s start with the grammatical aspect: how to say fruit or fruits. This is an exclusionary word, where both are possible in the plural. If it is a collective meaning, without being specific, then fruit is better.

You should eat five servings of fruit and vegetables every day. — Вы должны съедать пять порций фруктов и овощей каждый день.

Fruit is good for your health. — Фрукты полезны для здоровья (в целом фрукты, все, любые).

Would you like some fruit? — Хотите фруктов (вообще, любых)?

If you are focusing on a variety of fruit types, choose the fruits option.

My three favorite fruits are bananas, melons and apples. — Три моих любимых фрукта — это бананы, дыня и яблоки.

I love oranges and other citrus fruits. — Я люблю апельсины и другие цитрусовые (фрукты).

If you are not sure which option is best for a particular situation, choose fruit.

Fruit list in English

If we are guided by a scientific classification, much will be very surprising: a strawberry is not a berry, and a cucumber is a false berry, not a vegetable. However, we will rely on the familiar names as they are usually presented in shops and in everyday conversation by people distant from botany.

Expressions with the word fruit

In English, the phrase a piece of fruit is often used when you are talking about one fruit (in the quantity of one piece) without specifying what kind of fruit it is.

She always has a piece of fruit with her breakfast. — У нее всегда есть фрукт на завтрак.

Another popular expression is the fruit of something/плод чего-либо. It is an expression that means the good results you get from something, such as hard work.

The award he received is the fruit of his hard work. — Награда, которую он получил, является плодом его тяжелой работы.

Berries in English

In English, the word berry itself is berry and is part of most berry names in English.

Note that in English, the word berry, and therefore all berries, can be in both singular and plural forms. Cloudberries can mean a single cloudberry and cloudberries can be a collective image of a cloudberry.

The berries that grow in the forest may be called different names in different countries and regions. For example, in Canada, cloudberries are called bakeapples. You may find lingonberries called foxberries or cowberries.

What are the different kinds of nuts called in English

The word ‘nut’ itself would be nut in English, and is sometimes included in the very name of some nut species..

Fruit and berry names in English are often used in strong expressions. You can use them occasionally to diversify your speech.

• plum job — теплое местечко, доходная должность;
• apples and oranges — как небо и земля, путать теплое с мягким, совершенно разные;
• cherry-pick — очень тщательно выбирать;
• go bananas — тронуться, помешаться;
• not give a fig — наплевать на, пофиг;
• second banana — помощник, мальчик на побегушках;
• apple of eye — объект обожания, свет в окошке;
• top banana — главный, шишка, человек, занимающий высокое положение;
• upset the apple cart — расстраивать, нарушать планы, переворачивать вверх тормашками;
• a second bite of the cherry — еще одна попытка добиться.

Do whatever you want, I don’t give a fig. — Делай, что хочешь, мне плевать.

He said that Kelly was the apple of his eye. He could not imagine living without her. — Он сказал, что Келли была его любимицей. Он не мог представить себе жизнь без нее.

Come on, you’re a teacher and I’m an engineer — our work worlds are apples and oranges! — Да ладно, ты — учитель, я инженер. Нельзя сравнивать наши сферы труда!

Learn the names of fruits, berries and nuts, and add them to your diet while shopping safely, even when you are away from home.

We hope our article was useful for you. We invite you to take our English courses for adults at our school to start learning English or to improve your knowledge. Take an English level test on our website and sign up for a free trial lesson of English online. With EnglishPapa, you will definitely begin to speak English!