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Seraphin Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

write me vs. write to me

0 Is it correct to write02br
00"I will write you a mail with xxx"02br
00or is it correct ONLY if we say02br
00"I will write a mail TO YOU with xxx"02br
00From the dictionary.com, when using "to write" to express the idea of writing a letter or communicating by letters, the verb is intransitive.02br
00This seems to me that only the second usage is correct, UNLESS there are very subtle differences in the usage/meaning of the verb in02br
00those two scenarios.0-
  

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12 Answers
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0mail is uncountable.02br
02br
00I'd say02br
02br
00I will write to you.0-
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0Why is mail uncountable? Can't be said e.g. 3 mails (e-mails)?02br
00"I'll send it to you in 3 e-mails because of its size."0-
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0He was quite right that "mail" is uncountable.02br
02br
00"E-mail" is now often used as a countable noun, but it's not universal.02br
02br
00In your example, I'd say that I'd send it in three e-mail messages, not three e-mails, though many do use it that way.0-
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0I'm quite certain mail is uncountable. Email is debatable. I believe hardcore grammarians would use it as an uncountable noun. You might want to wait for native speakers.0-
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0Oh now. Now I'll be classified with the hardcore grammarians!0-
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0I just thought it was possible to use 'e-mails' as countable. But I like your version. 02br
02br
00<EDIT>GG, actually the meaning of email in your version is the name of the technology for sending electronic messages over the Internet like FTP, HTTP, Javascript. For example, ftp port, html file. It's not the message itself like mail does, I believe. I hope I'm not conf
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0It seems that the discussion goes on a tangent a bit. Can anyone discuss/answer which usage is correct? Or it sounds like "write you a mail" is wrong as mail is NOT countable. ?? Thanks 0-
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0New2Grammar gave you good advice: Just say "Write to me."0-
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0I promise this is my last post.02br
02br
00Sorry if I have confused anyone.02br
02br
00MAIL is uncountable as GG has confirmed. NOTE MAIL is not E-MAIL!02br
02br
00E-mail can be countable and uncountable. GG prefers to say, send an e-mail (uncoutable) message but she also said send an email (countable) is widely used. It's up to you wh
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0Actually... just to confuse things...02br
02br
00I would say "Send me an e-mail" without a problem. I would not say "He sent it to me in three e-mails." That is, even though I would use the article "an" or "the," I would not actually say "Three e-mails." If I came back from a day off, I wouldn't say "Oh my gosh - I got 512 e-mails!" I'd say "I've got 512 e-mail messages." 0
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