Please don't agitate the water.

Question

HiIs the yellow sentence natural if spoken in a swimming pool? Also, should I use "water" or "waters"?Please don't agitate the water.Thanks,Tom

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Please don't agitate the water.

Hi, Tom.
It's certainly "correct," but I wouldn't call it natural.

You could say, "Please don't make waves," but that has other uses as an idiom.

"Water" in the singular is indeed the correct choice.
The plural "waters" is usually used figuratively, in expressions like:
Don't muddy the waters.
A bridge over troubled waters.
He stilled the waters.

These fish are found only in the waters of northern Canada. (This refers to the lakes, rivers and streams.)

When you say "agitate the water," you are understood to refer to "all of the water," not just the surface. In the case of a swimming pool, that would probably take an earthquake.

"Agitate" would be appropriate in speaking of an automatic clothes washing machine (top loading). The device in the center of the tub is called "the agitator," and functions during the wash and rinse cycles.

Perhaps "Please don't splash" would cover what you mean to convey.

Please don't agitate the water.

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