Mixing
What's the correct unit for homework?
Clash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP
.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;
up vote
18
down vote
favorite
Consider the case when a teacher has thirty students in the class. The noun "homework" is uncountable so he cannot say "I have thirty homeworks to grade every week." My question is that if there is any unit of homework so that the sentence "I have thirty (units) of homework to grade every week" can be valid?
Edit:
- After reading the replies, I think I should make the situation more clear. I myself am a math TA. What our students need to do for homework is usually about ten exercises from the textbook. I feel if I ask another TA how much homework he needs to grade, the usual reply will be like, "I have two sections, fifteen students each, and we have one assignment every week." Since the amount of exercises is usually the same, we don't really care about it. The amount of homework to grade mainly depends on how many students we have. But I always feel this kind of reply to be very indirect. So my precisely question is if there is any way to reply the question "how much homework do you need to grade?" by saying "I need to grade thirty (units) homework every week."
- Based on what I see from the replies, I have the impression that different countries have different answers for this question. Is this true? I'm on the west coast of the US so the way in which people there answer this question is what I care about the most. But I'm still interested in knowing the difference.
nouns uncountable-nouns
edited Aug 12 at 10:24
Solomon Ucko
1033
asked Aug 9 at 4:52
Chris Kuo
2841411
add a comment |Â
up vote
18
down vote
favorite
Consider the case when a teacher has thirty students in the class. The noun "homework" is uncountable so he cannot say "I have thirty homeworks to grade every week." My question is that if there is any unit of homework so that the sentence "I have thirty (units) of homework to grade every week" can be valid?
Edit:
- After reading the replies, I think I should make the situation more clear. I myself am a math TA. What our students need to do for homework is usually about ten exercises from the textbook. I feel if I ask another TA how much homework he needs to grade, the usual reply will be like, "I have two sections, fifteen students each, and we have one assignment every week." Since the amount of exercises is usually the same, we don't really care about it. The amount of homework to grade mainly depends on how many students we have. But I always feel this kind of reply to be very indirect. So my precisely question is if there is any way to reply the question "how much homework do you need to grade?" by saying "I need to grade thirty (units) homework every week."
- Based on what I see from the replies, I have the impression that different countries have different answers for this question. Is this true? I'm on the west coast of the US so the way in which people there answer this question is what I care about the most. But I'm still interested in knowing the difference.
nouns uncountable-nouns
edited Aug 12 at 10:24
Solomon Ucko
1033
asked Aug 9 at 4:52
Chris Kuo
2841411
7
But, Chris, you'd need to tell us what unit is important. What did you count to reach thirty? Was it questions, exercises, assignments, workbooks? Was it students or classes? Until you tell us, we don't know.
– Gary Botnovcan
Aug 9 at 15:21
add a comment |Â
up vote
18
down vote
favorite
up vote
18
down vote
favorite
Consider the case when a teacher has thirty students in the class. The noun "homework" is uncountable so he cannot say "I have thirty homeworks to grade every week." My question is that if there is any unit of homework so that the sentence "I have thirty (units) of homework to grade every week" can be valid?
Edit:
- After reading the replies, I think I should make the situation more clear. I myself am a math TA. What our students need to do for homework is usually about ten exercises from the textbook. I feel if I ask another TA how much homework he needs to grade, the usual reply will be like, "I have two sections, fifteen students each, and we have one assignment every week." Since the amount of exercises is usually the same, we don't really care about it. The amount of homework to grade mainly depends on how many students we have. But I always feel this kind of reply to be very indirect. So my precisely question is if there is any way to reply the question "how much homework do you need to grade?" by saying "I need to grade thirty (units) homework every week."
- Based on what I see from the replies, I have the impression that different countries have different answers for this question. Is this true? I'm on the west coast of the US so the way in which people there answer this question is what I care about the most. But I'm still interested in knowing the difference.
nouns uncountable-nouns
edited Aug 12 at 10:24
Solomon Ucko
1033
asked Aug 9 at 4:52
Chris Kuo
2841411
Consider the case when a teacher has thirty students in the class. The noun "homework" is uncountable so he cannot say "I have thirty homeworks to grade every week." My question is that if there is any unit of homework so that the sentence "I have thirty (units) of homework to grade every week" can be valid?
Edit:
- After reading the replies, I think I should make the situation more clear. I myself am a math TA. What our students need to do for homework is usually about ten exercises from the textbook. I feel if I ask another TA how much homework he needs to grade, the usual reply will be like, "I have two sections, fifteen students each, and we have one assignment every week." Since the amount of exercises is usually the same, we don't really care about it. The amount of homework to grade mainly depends on how many students we have. But I always feel this kind of reply to be very indirect. So my precisely question is if there is any way to reply the question "how much homework do you need to grade?" by saying "I need to grade thirty (units) homework every week."
- Based on what I see from the replies, I have the impression that different countries have different answers for this question. Is this true? I'm on the west coast of the US so the way in which people there answer this question is what I care about the most. But I'm still interested in knowing the difference.
nouns uncountable-nouns
edited Aug 12 at 10:24
Solomon Ucko
1033
asked Aug 9 at 4:52
Chris Kuo
2841411
edited Aug 12 at 10:24
Solomon Ucko
1033
edited Aug 12 at 10:24
Solomon Ucko
1033
edited Aug 12 at 10:24
Solomon Ucko
1033
1033
asked Aug 9 at 4:52
Chris Kuo
2841411
asked Aug 9 at 4:52
Chris Kuo
2841411
asked Aug 9 at 4:52
Chris Kuo
2841411
2841411
7
But, Chris, you'd need to tell us what unit is important. What did you count to reach thirty? Was it questions, exercises, assignments, workbooks? Was it students or classes? Until you tell us, we don't know.
– Gary Botnovcan
Aug 9 at 15:21
add a comment |Â
7
But, Chris, you'd need to tell us what unit is important. What did you count to reach thirty? Was it questions, exercises, assignments, workbooks? Was it students or classes? Until you tell us, we don't know.
– Gary Botnovcan
Aug 9 at 15:21
7
7
But, Chris, you'd need to tell us what unit is important. What did you count to reach thirty? Was it questions, exercises, assignments, workbooks? Was it students or classes? Until you tell us, we don't know.
– Gary Botnovcan
Aug 9 at 15:21
But, Chris, you'd need to tell us what unit is important. What did you count to reach thirty? Was it questions, exercises, assignments, workbooks? Was it students or classes? Until you tell us, we don't know.
– Gary Botnovcan
Aug 9 at 15:21
add a comment |Â
9 Answers
9
active
oldest
votes
up vote
48
down vote
accepted
In your example, you could use pieces, as in I have thirty pieces of homework to grade every week.
piece noun [ C ] (THING)
a single object of a particular type:
a piece of furniture/clothing/equipment
a piece of paper (= a whole sheet)
a piece of china (= an object made of china)
a piece of information/advice
(Cambridge Dictionary)
However, that doesn't seem particularly idiomatic to me. You could use assignments, as in homework assignments:
assignment
noun [ C/U ]
us ​ /əˈsɑɪn·mənt/
a particular job or responsibility given to you:
[C] The homework assignment was to read Chapter 2 in our history book.
(Cambridge Dictionary)
However, in my experience, it's more common to use the type of assignment instead of homework. I think the most broad term is assignment, but you could be more specific:
I have 30 ______ to grade every week.
- assignments
- papers
- essays
- worksheets
- modules
- warm-ups
- tests
- quizzes
- etc.
Edit:
I was very briefly a grader (or, "reader") in a related field. I can't remember exactly how I talked about it, but if someone asked me, "How much homework do you need to grade?", I would probably reply
I need to grade thirty [assignments] every week.
You could also say sets (as others have mentioned), or even submissions (more generic). I'm thinking maybe even "papers", but that's usually used with reports or essay-like works.
I don't think I would have responded in the form you supplied, "I need to grade thirty (units) homework every week." But, that's just my personal feeling of it. You can still use pieces, as mentioned earlier. It may or may not sound slightly strange to the listener, but you will be understood.
To my surprise, BrE users are reporting that pieces of homework is idiomatic to them. I did a little Ngram search, and it appears that the phrase is more common in BrE.
I'm from the West Coast (US) and I graded at a university in California.
answered Aug 9 at 5:55
Em.♦
33.6k1094117
2
I always preferred "piece of homework", so +1
– SovereignSun
Aug 9 at 9:19
4
Pieces was the first word I thought of. (brit here)
– WendyG
Aug 9 at 10:56
2
I've often heard "homework for 30 students", or "papers", as in "I have 30 papers to grade this weekend".
– Todd Wilcox
Aug 9 at 13:58
8
"Assignment" strikes me as more likely American. I don't think we ever referred to pieces of homework as "assignments" in secondary school here in Britain. Maybe my school was just weird though, it's hard to tell with this sort of thing!
– Muzer
Aug 9 at 14:27
2
Pieces of homework sounds perfectly idiomatic to me (from UK)
– Ben
Aug 10 at 13:08
 |Â
show 4 more comments
up vote
25
down vote
You are given homework assignments:
[Merriam-Webster]
2 b : a specified task or amount of work assigned or undertaken as if assigned by authority • a homework assignment
The students were given a homework assignment.
answered Aug 9 at 5:07
Jason Bassford
8,4951926
@Richard The way I see it, this definition is not so precise and clear too! What about: "a piece of work that a student is asked to do" (Quoted from here, definition number 2)
– AmirhoseinRiazi
Aug 9 at 14:14
5
If the teacher were marking 30 assignments, I'd see that as 30 sets of different homework, not 30 submissions for the same assignment.
– Lightness Races in Orbit
Aug 9 at 15:16
Agreed; one assignment to 30 students would produce (up to) 30 submissions to grade.
– chepner
Aug 9 at 18:19
In Toronto, especially in high school, we always got homework assignments. They weren't called anything else.
– Jason Bassford
Aug 9 at 20:30
1
Hmm everyone I knew when I TA'd in the US would more than happily use "homeworks". Not sure if they would write since I've never had occasion to need that but in casual speech it seems completely acceptable. I wonder how many would have actually reported it as ungrammatical.
– DRF
Aug 10 at 13:45
 |Â
show 5 more comments
up vote
7
down vote
You pick a different noun that is more flexible yet appropriate.
I have thirty reports to grade.
I have thirty assignments to mark.
answered Aug 9 at 5:07
Paul Childs
8617
2
Also problem sets or essays.
– user3067860
Aug 9 at 13:29
add a comment |Â
up vote
5
down vote
You're asking about the teacher's workload in evaluating the homework that has been returned.
I think the word 'sets' is what you're looking for.
I have 30 sets of math homework to grade, and I still have 8 sets of geography homework from yesterday that I'm not done with.
set (MW, noun definition 2)
a number of things of the same kind that belong or are used together
answered Aug 9 at 13:49
John Feltz
4,903525
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
I suggest you use the word exercise. It's one of the most frequently used words in this meaning(=homework) & it's countable too.
Well, there are other simple ways:
For homework, you're going to finish thirty exercises every week.
In other words:
Do Exercises 3, 4, 5 etc on pages 51, 52, 53 etc for homework.
If you are student you can say:
My science teacher always sets a lot of homework.
The teacher told us to do thirty exercises for homework.
If you are teacher you can also say:
For homework I want you to do thirty exercises.
answered Aug 9 at 9:26
AmirhoseinRiazi
627220
1
But if you set thirty exercises as homework then one 'unit' of homework would be thirty exercises, so 'exercise' isn't the unit for 'the homework received from one pupil'.
– Pete Kirkham
Aug 9 at 15:01
@PeteKirkham All in all, "One exercise" can be a "Piece of homework" or "A part of assignment" . So I definitely disagree with you.
– AmirhoseinRiazi
Aug 9 at 15:43
2
Probably an American thing, but "my teacher sets a lot of homework" sounds very weird to me. I would always use the verb "gives." I also agree with @PeteKirkham; to me, "exercise" only refers to a part of an assignment and not the assignment as a whole.
– Doorknob
Aug 10 at 14:35
@Doorknob "Set" seems very normal to me in British English so, yes, this probably is a US/UK thing.
– David Richerby
Aug 10 at 16:07
This is incorrect. If the teacher has set 30 exercises to each of 30 students, then they have 900 exercises to mark but only 30 units of homework. "Exercise" and "homework" are not synonyms: one's homework is the total work one has been set to do at home and that may consist of multiple exercises, as your answer makes clear.
– David Richerby
Aug 10 at 16:09
 |Â
show 4 more comments
up vote
2
down vote
I'd quantify it by the amount of students whose homework you have to grade.
"I have homework of 30 students to grade this weekend"
edited Aug 10 at 16:01
David Richerby
6,4731739
answered Aug 10 at 9:03
Bernhard
2174
2
Or, more simply, "30 students' homework". With your phrasing, I think you need the definite article, "I have the homework of 30 students to grade this weekend."
– David Richerby
Aug 10 at 16:00
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
The dictionaries don't seem to have caught up yet but, as somebody who regularly sets and marks homework in a university in the UK, I would quite happily refer to "marking 30 homeworks". A comment on another answer says that this is also used in the US.
So, at least for informal use, I think it's fine to use homework as a countable noun and pluralize it. If you wanted to be more formal, I'd go with my usual cowardly solution of rewording to avoid the problem: "I have to grade 30 students' homework" or "I have to grade homework for 30 students."
answered Aug 10 at 16:14
David Richerby
6,4731739
1
I agree, but interestingly, if I were a student and had a math assignment, a history assignment, and an English assignment, I'd never say "I have three homeworks to do."
– thumbtackthief
Aug 10 at 21:21
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
At MIT, most courses assign homework in "problem sets".
A typical engineering student has to do four problem sets per week: one for each course that he or she is enrolled in.
A typical TA (Teaching Assistant) has to grade dozens of problem sets per week: one for each student in his (or rarely her) recitation section(s).
A typical problem set consists of several problems.
Some courses (especially in Technical Writing and the Humanities) require students to write weekly essays, instead of solve weekly problem sets.
answered Aug 12 at 4:43
Jasper
16.8k43264
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
'30 sets of homework' perhaps.
But 'I've got 30 homeworks to mark' doesn't sound wrong.
answered Aug 12 at 16:12
Laurence Payne
35513
add a comment |Â
9 Answers
9
active
oldest
votes
9 Answers
9
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
48
down vote
accepted
In your example, you could use pieces, as in I have thirty pieces of homework to grade every week.
piece noun [ C ] (THING)
a single object of a particular type:
a piece of furniture/clothing/equipment
a piece of paper (= a whole sheet)
a piece of china (= an object made of china)
a piece of information/advice
(Cambridge Dictionary)
However, that doesn't seem particularly idiomatic to me. You could use assignments, as in homework assignments:
assignment
noun [ C/U ]
us ​ /əˈsɑɪn·mənt/
a particular job or responsibility given to you:
[C] The homework assignment was to read Chapter 2 in our history book.
(Cambridge Dictionary)
However, in my experience, it's more common to use the type of assignment instead of homework. I think the most broad term is assignment, but you could be more specific:
I have 30 ______ to grade every week.
- assignments
- papers
- essays
- worksheets
- modules
- warm-ups
- tests
- quizzes
- etc.
Edit:
I was very briefly a grader (or, "reader") in a related field. I can't remember exactly how I talked about it, but if someone asked me, "How much homework do you need to grade?", I would probably reply
I need to grade thirty [assignments] every week.
You could also say sets (as others have mentioned), or even submissions (more generic). I'm thinking maybe even "papers", but that's usually used with reports or essay-like works.
I don't think I would have responded in the form you supplied, "I need to grade thirty (units) homework every week." But, that's just my personal feeling of it. You can still use pieces, as mentioned earlier. It may or may not sound slightly strange to the listener, but you will be understood.
To my surprise, BrE users are reporting that pieces of homework is idiomatic to them. I did a little Ngram search, and it appears that the phrase is more common in BrE.
I'm from the West Coast (US) and I graded at a university in California.
answered Aug 9 at 5:55
Em.♦
33.6k1094117
2
I always preferred "piece of homework", so +1
– SovereignSun
Aug 9 at 9:19
4
Pieces was the first word I thought of. (brit here)
– WendyG
Aug 9 at 10:56
2
I've often heard "homework for 30 students", or "papers", as in "I have 30 papers to grade this weekend".
– Todd Wilcox
Aug 9 at 13:58
8
"Assignment" strikes me as more likely American. I don't think we ever referred to pieces of homework as "assignments" in secondary school here in Britain. Maybe my school was just weird though, it's hard to tell with this sort of thing!
– Muzer
Aug 9 at 14:27
2
Pieces of homework sounds perfectly idiomatic to me (from UK)
– Ben
Aug 10 at 13:08
 |Â
show 4 more comments
up vote
48
down vote
accepted
In your example, you could use pieces, as in I have thirty pieces of homework to grade every week.
piece noun [ C ] (THING)
a single object of a particular type:
a piece of furniture/clothing/equipment
a piece of paper (= a whole sheet)
a piece of china (= an object made of china)
a piece of information/advice
(Cambridge Dictionary)
However, that doesn't seem particularly idiomatic to me. You could use assignments, as in homework assignments:
assignment
noun [ C/U ]
us ​ /əˈsɑɪn·mənt/
a particular job or responsibility given to you:
[C] The homework assignment was to read Chapter 2 in our history book.
(Cambridge Dictionary)
However, in my experience, it's more common to use the type of assignment instead of homework. I think the most broad term is assignment, but you could be more specific:
I have 30 ______ to grade every week.
- assignments
- papers
- essays
- worksheets
- modules
- warm-ups
- tests
- quizzes
- etc.
Edit:
I was very briefly a grader (or, "reader") in a related field. I can't remember exactly how I talked about it, but if someone asked me, "How much homework do you need to grade?", I would probably reply
I need to grade thirty [assignments] every week.
You could also say sets (as others have mentioned), or even submissions (more generic). I'm thinking maybe even "papers", but that's usually used with reports or essay-like works.
I don't think I would have responded in the form you supplied, "I need to grade thirty (units) homework every week." But, that's just my personal feeling of it. You can still use pieces, as mentioned earlier. It may or may not sound slightly strange to the listener, but you will be understood.
To my surprise, BrE users are reporting that pieces of homework is idiomatic to them. I did a little Ngram search, and it appears that the phrase is more common in BrE.
I'm from the West Coast (US) and I graded at a university in California.
answered Aug 9 at 5:55
Em.♦
33.6k1094117
2
I always preferred "piece of homework", so +1
– SovereignSun
Aug 9 at 9:19
4
Pieces was the first word I thought of. (brit here)
– WendyG
Aug 9 at 10:56
2
I've often heard "homework for 30 students", or "papers", as in "I have 30 papers to grade this weekend".
– Todd Wilcox
Aug 9 at 13:58
8
"Assignment" strikes me as more likely American. I don't think we ever referred to pieces of homework as "assignments" in secondary school here in Britain. Maybe my school was just weird though, it's hard to tell with this sort of thing!
– Muzer
Aug 9 at 14:27
2
Pieces of homework sounds perfectly idiomatic to me (from UK)
– Ben
Aug 10 at 13:08
 |Â
show 4 more comments
up vote
48
down vote
accepted
up vote
48
down vote
accepted
In your example, you could use pieces, as in I have thirty pieces of homework to grade every week.
piece noun [ C ] (THING)
a single object of a particular type:
a piece of furniture/clothing/equipment
a piece of paper (= a whole sheet)
a piece of china (= an object made of china)
a piece of information/advice
(Cambridge Dictionary)
However, that doesn't seem particularly idiomatic to me. You could use assignments, as in homework assignments:
assignment
noun [ C/U ]
us ​ /əˈsɑɪn·mənt/
a particular job or responsibility given to you:
[C] The homework assignment was to read Chapter 2 in our history book.
(Cambridge Dictionary)
However, in my experience, it's more common to use the type of assignment instead of homework. I think the most broad term is assignment, but you could be more specific:
I have 30 ______ to grade every week.
- assignments
- papers
- essays
- worksheets
- modules
- warm-ups
- tests
- quizzes
- etc.
Edit:
I was very briefly a grader (or, "reader") in a related field. I can't remember exactly how I talked about it, but if someone asked me, "How much homework do you need to grade?", I would probably reply
I need to grade thirty [assignments] every week.
You could also say sets (as others have mentioned), or even submissions (more generic). I'm thinking maybe even "papers", but that's usually used with reports or essay-like works.
I don't think I would have responded in the form you supplied, "I need to grade thirty (units) homework every week." But, that's just my personal feeling of it. You can still use pieces, as mentioned earlier. It may or may not sound slightly strange to the listener, but you will be understood.
To my surprise, BrE users are reporting that pieces of homework is idiomatic to them. I did a little Ngram search, and it appears that the phrase is more common in BrE.
I'm from the West Coast (US) and I graded at a university in California.
answered Aug 9 at 5:55
Em.♦
33.6k1094117
In your example, you could use pieces, as in I have thirty pieces of homework to grade every week.
piece noun [ C ] (THING)
a single object of a particular type:
a piece of furniture/clothing/equipment
a piece of paper (= a whole sheet)
a piece of china (= an object made of china)
a piece of information/advice
(Cambridge Dictionary)
However, that doesn't seem particularly idiomatic to me. You could use assignments, as in homework assignments:
assignment
noun [ C/U ]
us ​ /əˈsɑɪn·mənt/
a particular job or responsibility given to you:
[C] The homework assignment was to read Chapter 2 in our history book.
(Cambridge Dictionary)
However, in my experience, it's more common to use the type of assignment instead of homework. I think the most broad term is assignment, but you could be more specific:
I have 30 ______ to grade every week.
- assignments
- papers
- essays
- worksheets
- modules
- warm-ups
- tests
- quizzes
- etc.
Edit:
I was very briefly a grader (or, "reader") in a related field. I can't remember exactly how I talked about it, but if someone asked me, "How much homework do you need to grade?", I would probably reply
I need to grade thirty [assignments] every week.
You could also say sets (as others have mentioned), or even submissions (more generic). I'm thinking maybe even "papers", but that's usually used with reports or essay-like works.
I don't think I would have responded in the form you supplied, "I need to grade thirty (units) homework every week." But, that's just my personal feeling of it. You can still use pieces, as mentioned earlier. It may or may not sound slightly strange to the listener, but you will be understood.
To my surprise, BrE users are reporting that pieces of homework is idiomatic to them. I did a little Ngram search, and it appears that the phrase is more common in BrE.
I'm from the West Coast (US) and I graded at a university in California.
answered Aug 9 at 5:55
Em.♦
33.6k1094117
edited Aug 11 at 1:23
answered Aug 9 at 5:55
Em.♦
33.6k1094117
answered Aug 9 at 5:55
Em.♦
33.6k1094117
answered Aug 9 at 5:55
Em.♦
33.6k1094117
33.6k1094117
2
I always preferred "piece of homework", so +1
– SovereignSun
Aug 9 at 9:19
4
Pieces was the first word I thought of. (brit here)
– WendyG
Aug 9 at 10:56
2
I've often heard "homework for 30 students", or "papers", as in "I have 30 papers to grade this weekend".
– Todd Wilcox
Aug 9 at 13:58
8
"Assignment" strikes me as more likely American. I don't think we ever referred to pieces of homework as "assignments" in secondary school here in Britain. Maybe my school was just weird though, it's hard to tell with this sort of thing!
– Muzer
Aug 9 at 14:27
2
Pieces of homework sounds perfectly idiomatic to me (from UK)
– Ben
Aug 10 at 13:08
 |Â
show 4 more comments
2
I always preferred "piece of homework", so +1
– SovereignSun
Aug 9 at 9:19
4
Pieces was the first word I thought of. (brit here)
– WendyG
Aug 9 at 10:56
2
I've often heard "homework for 30 students", or "papers", as in "I have 30 papers to grade this weekend".
– Todd Wilcox
Aug 9 at 13:58
8
"Assignment" strikes me as more likely American. I don't think we ever referred to pieces of homework as "assignments" in secondary school here in Britain. Maybe my school was just weird though, it's hard to tell with this sort of thing!
– Muzer
Aug 9 at 14:27
2
Pieces of homework sounds perfectly idiomatic to me (from UK)
– Ben
Aug 10 at 13:08
2
2
I always preferred "piece of homework", so +1
– SovereignSun
Aug 9 at 9:19
I always preferred "piece of homework", so +1
– SovereignSun
Aug 9 at 9:19
4
4
Pieces was the first word I thought of. (brit here)
– WendyG
Aug 9 at 10:56
Pieces was the first word I thought of. (brit here)
– WendyG
Aug 9 at 10:56
2
2
I've often heard "homework for 30 students", or "papers", as in "I have 30 papers to grade this weekend".
– Todd Wilcox
Aug 9 at 13:58
I've often heard "homework for 30 students", or "papers", as in "I have 30 papers to grade this weekend".
– Todd Wilcox
Aug 9 at 13:58
8
8
"Assignment" strikes me as more likely American. I don't think we ever referred to pieces of homework as "assignments" in secondary school here in Britain. Maybe my school was just weird though, it's hard to tell with this sort of thing!
– Muzer
Aug 9 at 14:27
"Assignment" strikes me as more likely American. I don't think we ever referred to pieces of homework as "assignments" in secondary school here in Britain. Maybe my school was just weird though, it's hard to tell with this sort of thing!
– Muzer
Aug 9 at 14:27
2
2
Pieces of homework sounds perfectly idiomatic to me (from UK)
– Ben
Aug 10 at 13:08
Pieces of homework sounds perfectly idiomatic to me (from UK)
– Ben
Aug 10 at 13:08
 |Â
show 4 more comments
up vote
25
down vote
You are given homework assignments:
[Merriam-Webster]
2 b : a specified task or amount of work assigned or undertaken as if assigned by authority • a homework assignment
The students were given a homework assignment.
answered Aug 9 at 5:07
Jason Bassford
8,4951926
@Richard The way I see it, this definition is not so precise and clear too! What about: "a piece of work that a student is asked to do" (Quoted from here, definition number 2)
– AmirhoseinRiazi
Aug 9 at 14:14
5
If the teacher were marking 30 assignments, I'd see that as 30 sets of different homework, not 30 submissions for the same assignment.
– Lightness Races in Orbit
Aug 9 at 15:16
Agreed; one assignment to 30 students would produce (up to) 30 submissions to grade.
– chepner
Aug 9 at 18:19
In Toronto, especially in high school, we always got homework assignments. They weren't called anything else.
– Jason Bassford
Aug 9 at 20:30
1
Hmm everyone I knew when I TA'd in the US would more than happily use "homeworks". Not sure if they would write since I've never had occasion to need that but in casual speech it seems completely acceptable. I wonder how many would have actually reported it as ungrammatical.
– DRF
Aug 10 at 13:45
 |Â
show 5 more comments
up vote
25
down vote
You are given homework assignments:
[Merriam-Webster]
2 b : a specified task or amount of work assigned or undertaken as if assigned by authority • a homework assignment
The students were given a homework assignment.
answered Aug 9 at 5:07
Jason Bassford
8,4951926
@Richard The way I see it, this definition is not so precise and clear too! What about: "a piece of work that a student is asked to do" (Quoted from here, definition number 2)
– AmirhoseinRiazi
Aug 9 at 14:14
5
If the teacher were marking 30 assignments, I'd see that as 30 sets of different homework, not 30 submissions for the same assignment.
– Lightness Races in Orbit
Aug 9 at 15:16
Agreed; one assignment to 30 students would produce (up to) 30 submissions to grade.
– chepner
Aug 9 at 18:19
In Toronto, especially in high school, we always got homework assignments. They weren't called anything else.
– Jason Bassford
Aug 9 at 20:30
1
Hmm everyone I knew when I TA'd in the US would more than happily use "homeworks". Not sure if they would write since I've never had occasion to need that but in casual speech it seems completely acceptable. I wonder how many would have actually reported it as ungrammatical.
– DRF
Aug 10 at 13:45
 |Â
show 5 more comments
up vote
25
down vote
up vote
25
down vote
You are given homework assignments:
[Merriam-Webster]
2 b : a specified task or amount of work assigned or undertaken as if assigned by authority • a homework assignment
The students were given a homework assignment.
answered Aug 9 at 5:07
Jason Bassford
8,4951926
You are given homework assignments:
[Merriam-Webster]
2 b : a specified task or amount of work assigned or undertaken as if assigned by authority • a homework assignment
The students were given a homework assignment.
answered Aug 9 at 5:07
Jason Bassford
8,4951926
edited Aug 9 at 14:01
answered Aug 9 at 5:07
Jason Bassford
8,4951926
answered Aug 9 at 5:07
Jason Bassford
8,4951926
answered Aug 9 at 5:07
Jason Bassford
8,4951926
8,4951926
@Richard The way I see it, this definition is not so precise and clear too! What about: "a piece of work that a student is asked to do" (Quoted from here, definition number 2)
– AmirhoseinRiazi
Aug 9 at 14:14
5
If the teacher were marking 30 assignments, I'd see that as 30 sets of different homework, not 30 submissions for the same assignment.
– Lightness Races in Orbit
Aug 9 at 15:16
Agreed; one assignment to 30 students would produce (up to) 30 submissions to grade.
– chepner
Aug 9 at 18:19
In Toronto, especially in high school, we always got homework assignments. They weren't called anything else.
– Jason Bassford
Aug 9 at 20:30
1
Hmm everyone I knew when I TA'd in the US would more than happily use "homeworks". Not sure if they would write since I've never had occasion to need that but in casual speech it seems completely acceptable. I wonder how many would have actually reported it as ungrammatical.
– DRF
Aug 10 at 13:45
 |Â
show 5 more comments
@Richard The way I see it, this definition is not so precise and clear too! What about: "a piece of work that a student is asked to do" (Quoted from here, definition number 2)
– AmirhoseinRiazi
Aug 9 at 14:14
5
If the teacher were marking 30 assignments, I'd see that as 30 sets of different homework, not 30 submissions for the same assignment.
– Lightness Races in Orbit
Aug 9 at 15:16
Agreed; one assignment to 30 students would produce (up to) 30 submissions to grade.
– chepner
Aug 9 at 18:19
In Toronto, especially in high school, we always got homework assignments. They weren't called anything else.
– Jason Bassford
Aug 9 at 20:30
1
Hmm everyone I knew when I TA'd in the US would more than happily use "homeworks". Not sure if they would write since I've never had occasion to need that but in casual speech it seems completely acceptable. I wonder how many would have actually reported it as ungrammatical.
– DRF
Aug 10 at 13:45
@Richard The way I see it, this definition is not so precise and clear too! What about: "a piece of work that a student is asked to do" (Quoted from here, definition number 2)
– AmirhoseinRiazi
Aug 9 at 14:14
@Richard The way I see it, this definition is not so precise and clear too! What about: "a piece of work that a student is asked to do" (Quoted from here, definition number 2)
– AmirhoseinRiazi
Aug 9 at 14:14
5
5
If the teacher were marking 30 assignments, I'd see that as 30 sets of different homework, not 30 submissions for the same assignment.
– Lightness Races in Orbit
Aug 9 at 15:16
If the teacher were marking 30 assignments, I'd see that as 30 sets of different homework, not 30 submissions for the same assignment.
– Lightness Races in Orbit
Aug 9 at 15:16
Agreed; one assignment to 30 students would produce (up to) 30 submissions to grade.
– chepner
Aug 9 at 18:19
Agreed; one assignment to 30 students would produce (up to) 30 submissions to grade.
– chepner
Aug 9 at 18:19
In Toronto, especially in high school, we always got homework assignments. They weren't called anything else.
– Jason Bassford
Aug 9 at 20:30
In Toronto, especially in high school, we always got homework assignments. They weren't called anything else.
– Jason Bassford
Aug 9 at 20:30
1
1
Hmm everyone I knew when I TA'd in the US would more than happily use "homeworks". Not sure if they would write since I've never had occasion to need that but in casual speech it seems completely acceptable. I wonder how many would have actually reported it as ungrammatical.
– DRF
Aug 10 at 13:45
Hmm everyone I knew when I TA'd in the US would more than happily use "homeworks". Not sure if they would write since I've never had occasion to need that but in casual speech it seems completely acceptable. I wonder how many would have actually reported it as ungrammatical.
– DRF
Aug 10 at 13:45
 |Â
show 5 more comments
up vote
7
down vote
You pick a different noun that is more flexible yet appropriate.
I have thirty reports to grade.
I have thirty assignments to mark.
answered Aug 9 at 5:07
Paul Childs
8617
2
Also problem sets or essays.
– user3067860
Aug 9 at 13:29
add a comment |Â
up vote
7
down vote
You pick a different noun that is more flexible yet appropriate.
I have thirty reports to grade.
I have thirty assignments to mark.
answered Aug 9 at 5:07
Paul Childs
8617
2
Also problem sets or essays.
– user3067860
Aug 9 at 13:29
add a comment |Â
up vote
7
down vote
up vote
7
down vote
You pick a different noun that is more flexible yet appropriate.
I have thirty reports to grade.
I have thirty assignments to mark.
answered Aug 9 at 5:07
Paul Childs
8617
You pick a different noun that is more flexible yet appropriate.
I have thirty reports to grade.
I have thirty assignments to mark.
answered Aug 9 at 5:07
Paul Childs
8617
answered Aug 9 at 5:07
Paul Childs
8617
answered Aug 9 at 5:07
Paul Childs
8617
answered Aug 9 at 5:07
Paul Childs
8617
8617
2
Also problem sets or essays.
– user3067860
Aug 9 at 13:29
add a comment |Â
2
Also problem sets or essays.
– user3067860
Aug 9 at 13:29
2
2
Also problem sets or essays.
– user3067860
Aug 9 at 13:29
Also problem sets or essays.
– user3067860
Aug 9 at 13:29
add a comment |Â
up vote
5
down vote
You're asking about the teacher's workload in evaluating the homework that has been returned.
I think the word 'sets' is what you're looking for.
I have 30 sets of math homework to grade, and I still have 8 sets of geography homework from yesterday that I'm not done with.
set (MW, noun definition 2)
a number of things of the same kind that belong or are used together
answered Aug 9 at 13:49
John Feltz
4,903525
add a comment |Â
up vote
5
down vote
You're asking about the teacher's workload in evaluating the homework that has been returned.
I think the word 'sets' is what you're looking for.
I have 30 sets of math homework to grade, and I still have 8 sets of geography homework from yesterday that I'm not done with.
set (MW, noun definition 2)
a number of things of the same kind that belong or are used together
answered Aug 9 at 13:49
John Feltz
4,903525
add a comment |Â
up vote
5
down vote
up vote
5
down vote
You're asking about the teacher's workload in evaluating the homework that has been returned.
I think the word 'sets' is what you're looking for.
I have 30 sets of math homework to grade, and I still have 8 sets of geography homework from yesterday that I'm not done with.
set (MW, noun definition 2)
a number of things of the same kind that belong or are used together
answered Aug 9 at 13:49
John Feltz
4,903525
You're asking about the teacher's workload in evaluating the homework that has been returned.
I think the word 'sets' is what you're looking for.
I have 30 sets of math homework to grade, and I still have 8 sets of geography homework from yesterday that I'm not done with.
set (MW, noun definition 2)
a number of things of the same kind that belong or are used together
answered Aug 9 at 13:49
John Feltz
4,903525
answered Aug 9 at 13:49
John Feltz
4,903525
answered Aug 9 at 13:49
John Feltz
4,903525
answered Aug 9 at 13:49
John Feltz
4,903525
4,903525
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
I suggest you use the word exercise. It's one of the most frequently used words in this meaning(=homework) & it's countable too.
Well, there are other simple ways:
For homework, you're going to finish thirty exercises every week.
In other words:
Do Exercises 3, 4, 5 etc on pages 51, 52, 53 etc for homework.
If you are student you can say:
My science teacher always sets a lot of homework.
The teacher told us to do thirty exercises for homework.
If you are teacher you can also say:
For homework I want you to do thirty exercises.
answered Aug 9 at 9:26
AmirhoseinRiazi
627220
1
But if you set thirty exercises as homework then one 'unit' of homework would be thirty exercises, so 'exercise' isn't the unit for 'the homework received from one pupil'.
– Pete Kirkham
Aug 9 at 15:01
@PeteKirkham All in all, "One exercise" can be a "Piece of homework" or "A part of assignment" . So I definitely disagree with you.
– AmirhoseinRiazi
Aug 9 at 15:43
2
Probably an American thing, but "my teacher sets a lot of homework" sounds very weird to me. I would always use the verb "gives." I also agree with @PeteKirkham; to me, "exercise" only refers to a part of an assignment and not the assignment as a whole.
– Doorknob
Aug 10 at 14:35
@Doorknob "Set" seems very normal to me in British English so, yes, this probably is a US/UK thing.
– David Richerby
Aug 10 at 16:07
This is incorrect. If the teacher has set 30 exercises to each of 30 students, then they have 900 exercises to mark but only 30 units of homework. "Exercise" and "homework" are not synonyms: one's homework is the total work one has been set to do at home and that may consist of multiple exercises, as your answer makes clear.
– David Richerby
Aug 10 at 16:09
 |Â
show 4 more comments
up vote
2
down vote
I suggest you use the word exercise. It's one of the most frequently used words in this meaning(=homework) & it's countable too.
Well, there are other simple ways:
For homework, you're going to finish thirty exercises every week.
In other words:
Do Exercises 3, 4, 5 etc on pages 51, 52, 53 etc for homework.
If you are student you can say:
My science teacher always sets a lot of homework.
The teacher told us to do thirty exercises for homework.
If you are teacher you can also say:
For homework I want you to do thirty exercises.
answered Aug 9 at 9:26
AmirhoseinRiazi
627220
1
But if you set thirty exercises as homework then one 'unit' of homework would be thirty exercises, so 'exercise' isn't the unit for 'the homework received from one pupil'.
– Pete Kirkham
Aug 9 at 15:01
@PeteKirkham All in all, "One exercise" can be a "Piece of homework" or "A part of assignment" . So I definitely disagree with you.
– AmirhoseinRiazi
Aug 9 at 15:43
2
Probably an American thing, but "my teacher sets a lot of homework" sounds very weird to me. I would always use the verb "gives." I also agree with @PeteKirkham; to me, "exercise" only refers to a part of an assignment and not the assignment as a whole.
– Doorknob
Aug 10 at 14:35
@Doorknob "Set" seems very normal to me in British English so, yes, this probably is a US/UK thing.
– David Richerby
Aug 10 at 16:07
This is incorrect. If the teacher has set 30 exercises to each of 30 students, then they have 900 exercises to mark but only 30 units of homework. "Exercise" and "homework" are not synonyms: one's homework is the total work one has been set to do at home and that may consist of multiple exercises, as your answer makes clear.
– David Richerby
Aug 10 at 16:09
 |Â
show 4 more comments
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
I suggest you use the word exercise. It's one of the most frequently used words in this meaning(=homework) & it's countable too.
Well, there are other simple ways:
For homework, you're going to finish thirty exercises every week.
In other words:
Do Exercises 3, 4, 5 etc on pages 51, 52, 53 etc for homework.
If you are student you can say:
My science teacher always sets a lot of homework.
The teacher told us to do thirty exercises for homework.
If you are teacher you can also say:
For homework I want you to do thirty exercises.
answered Aug 9 at 9:26
AmirhoseinRiazi
627220
I suggest you use the word exercise. It's one of the most frequently used words in this meaning(=homework) & it's countable too.
Well, there are other simple ways:
For homework, you're going to finish thirty exercises every week.
In other words:
Do Exercises 3, 4, 5 etc on pages 51, 52, 53 etc for homework.
If you are student you can say:
My science teacher always sets a lot of homework.
The teacher told us to do thirty exercises for homework.
If you are teacher you can also say:
For homework I want you to do thirty exercises.
answered Aug 9 at 9:26
AmirhoseinRiazi
627220
edited Aug 9 at 10:19
answered Aug 9 at 9:26
AmirhoseinRiazi
627220
answered Aug 9 at 9:26
AmirhoseinRiazi
627220
answered Aug 9 at 9:26
AmirhoseinRiazi
627220
627220
1
But if you set thirty exercises as homework then one 'unit' of homework would be thirty exercises, so 'exercise' isn't the unit for 'the homework received from one pupil'.
– Pete Kirkham
Aug 9 at 15:01
@PeteKirkham All in all, "One exercise" can be a "Piece of homework" or "A part of assignment" . So I definitely disagree with you.
– AmirhoseinRiazi
Aug 9 at 15:43
2
Probably an American thing, but "my teacher sets a lot of homework" sounds very weird to me. I would always use the verb "gives." I also agree with @PeteKirkham; to me, "exercise" only refers to a part of an assignment and not the assignment as a whole.
– Doorknob
Aug 10 at 14:35
@Doorknob "Set" seems very normal to me in British English so, yes, this probably is a US/UK thing.
– David Richerby
Aug 10 at 16:07
This is incorrect. If the teacher has set 30 exercises to each of 30 students, then they have 900 exercises to mark but only 30 units of homework. "Exercise" and "homework" are not synonyms: one's homework is the total work one has been set to do at home and that may consist of multiple exercises, as your answer makes clear.
– David Richerby
Aug 10 at 16:09
 |Â
show 4 more comments
1
But if you set thirty exercises as homework then one 'unit' of homework would be thirty exercises, so 'exercise' isn't the unit for 'the homework received from one pupil'.
– Pete Kirkham
Aug 9 at 15:01
@PeteKirkham All in all, "One exercise" can be a "Piece of homework" or "A part of assignment" . So I definitely disagree with you.
– AmirhoseinRiazi
Aug 9 at 15:43
2
Probably an American thing, but "my teacher sets a lot of homework" sounds very weird to me. I would always use the verb "gives." I also agree with @PeteKirkham; to me, "exercise" only refers to a part of an assignment and not the assignment as a whole.
– Doorknob
Aug 10 at 14:35
@Doorknob "Set" seems very normal to me in British English so, yes, this probably is a US/UK thing.
– David Richerby
Aug 10 at 16:07
This is incorrect. If the teacher has set 30 exercises to each of 30 students, then they have 900 exercises to mark but only 30 units of homework. "Exercise" and "homework" are not synonyms: one's homework is the total work one has been set to do at home and that may consist of multiple exercises, as your answer makes clear.
– David Richerby
Aug 10 at 16:09
1
1
But if you set thirty exercises as homework then one 'unit' of homework would be thirty exercises, so 'exercise' isn't the unit for 'the homework received from one pupil'.
– Pete Kirkham
Aug 9 at 15:01
But if you set thirty exercises as homework then one 'unit' of homework would be thirty exercises, so 'exercise' isn't the unit for 'the homework received from one pupil'.
– Pete Kirkham
Aug 9 at 15:01
@PeteKirkham All in all, "One exercise" can be a "Piece of homework" or "A part of assignment" . So I definitely disagree with you.
– AmirhoseinRiazi
Aug 9 at 15:43
@PeteKirkham All in all, "One exercise" can be a "Piece of homework" or "A part of assignment" . So I definitely disagree with you.
– AmirhoseinRiazi
Aug 9 at 15:43
2
2
Probably an American thing, but "my teacher sets a lot of homework" sounds very weird to me. I would always use the verb "gives." I also agree with @PeteKirkham; to me, "exercise" only refers to a part of an assignment and not the assignment as a whole.
– Doorknob
Aug 10 at 14:35
Probably an American thing, but "my teacher sets a lot of homework" sounds very weird to me. I would always use the verb "gives." I also agree with @PeteKirkham; to me, "exercise" only refers to a part of an assignment and not the assignment as a whole.
– Doorknob
Aug 10 at 14:35
@Doorknob "Set" seems very normal to me in British English so, yes, this probably is a US/UK thing.
– David Richerby
Aug 10 at 16:07
@Doorknob "Set" seems very normal to me in British English so, yes, this probably is a US/UK thing.
– David Richerby
Aug 10 at 16:07
This is incorrect. If the teacher has set 30 exercises to each of 30 students, then they have 900 exercises to mark but only 30 units of homework. "Exercise" and "homework" are not synonyms: one's homework is the total work one has been set to do at home and that may consist of multiple exercises, as your answer makes clear.
– David Richerby
Aug 10 at 16:09
This is incorrect. If the teacher has set 30 exercises to each of 30 students, then they have 900 exercises to mark but only 30 units of homework. "Exercise" and "homework" are not synonyms: one's homework is the total work one has been set to do at home and that may consist of multiple exercises, as your answer makes clear.
– David Richerby
Aug 10 at 16:09
 |Â
show 4 more comments
up vote
2
down vote
I'd quantify it by the amount of students whose homework you have to grade.
"I have homework of 30 students to grade this weekend"
edited Aug 10 at 16:01
David Richerby
6,4731739
answered Aug 10 at 9:03
Bernhard
2174
2
Or, more simply, "30 students' homework". With your phrasing, I think you need the definite article, "I have the homework of 30 students to grade this weekend."
– David Richerby
Aug 10 at 16:00
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
I'd quantify it by the amount of students whose homework you have to grade.
"I have homework of 30 students to grade this weekend"
edited Aug 10 at 16:01
David Richerby
6,4731739
answered Aug 10 at 9:03
Bernhard
2174
2
Or, more simply, "30 students' homework". With your phrasing, I think you need the definite article, "I have the homework of 30 students to grade this weekend."
– David Richerby
Aug 10 at 16:00
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
I'd quantify it by the amount of students whose homework you have to grade.
"I have homework of 30 students to grade this weekend"
edited Aug 10 at 16:01
David Richerby
6,4731739
answered Aug 10 at 9:03
Bernhard
2174
I'd quantify it by the amount of students whose homework you have to grade.
"I have homework of 30 students to grade this weekend"
edited Aug 10 at 16:01
David Richerby
6,4731739
answered Aug 10 at 9:03
Bernhard
2174
edited Aug 10 at 16:01
David Richerby
6,4731739
edited Aug 10 at 16:01
David Richerby
6,4731739
edited Aug 10 at 16:01
David Richerby
6,4731739
6,4731739
answered Aug 10 at 9:03
Bernhard
2174
answered Aug 10 at 9:03
Bernhard
2174
answered Aug 10 at 9:03
Bernhard
2174
2174
2
Or, more simply, "30 students' homework". With your phrasing, I think you need the definite article, "I have the homework of 30 students to grade this weekend."
– David Richerby
Aug 10 at 16:00
add a comment |Â
2
Or, more simply, "30 students' homework". With your phrasing, I think you need the definite article, "I have the homework of 30 students to grade this weekend."
– David Richerby
Aug 10 at 16:00
2
2
Or, more simply, "30 students' homework". With your phrasing, I think you need the definite article, "I have the homework of 30 students to grade this weekend."
– David Richerby
Aug 10 at 16:00
Or, more simply, "30 students' homework". With your phrasing, I think you need the definite article, "I have the homework of 30 students to grade this weekend."
– David Richerby
Aug 10 at 16:00
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
The dictionaries don't seem to have caught up yet but, as somebody who regularly sets and marks homework in a university in the UK, I would quite happily refer to "marking 30 homeworks". A comment on another answer says that this is also used in the US.
So, at least for informal use, I think it's fine to use homework as a countable noun and pluralize it. If you wanted to be more formal, I'd go with my usual cowardly solution of rewording to avoid the problem: "I have to grade 30 students' homework" or "I have to grade homework for 30 students."
answered Aug 10 at 16:14
David Richerby
6,4731739
1
I agree, but interestingly, if I were a student and had a math assignment, a history assignment, and an English assignment, I'd never say "I have three homeworks to do."
– thumbtackthief
Aug 10 at 21:21
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
The dictionaries don't seem to have caught up yet but, as somebody who regularly sets and marks homework in a university in the UK, I would quite happily refer to "marking 30 homeworks". A comment on another answer says that this is also used in the US.
So, at least for informal use, I think it's fine to use homework as a countable noun and pluralize it. If you wanted to be more formal, I'd go with my usual cowardly solution of rewording to avoid the problem: "I have to grade 30 students' homework" or "I have to grade homework for 30 students."
answered Aug 10 at 16:14
David Richerby
6,4731739
1
I agree, but interestingly, if I were a student and had a math assignment, a history assignment, and an English assignment, I'd never say "I have three homeworks to do."
– thumbtackthief
Aug 10 at 21:21
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
The dictionaries don't seem to have caught up yet but, as somebody who regularly sets and marks homework in a university in the UK, I would quite happily refer to "marking 30 homeworks". A comment on another answer says that this is also used in the US.
So, at least for informal use, I think it's fine to use homework as a countable noun and pluralize it. If you wanted to be more formal, I'd go with my usual cowardly solution of rewording to avoid the problem: "I have to grade 30 students' homework" or "I have to grade homework for 30 students."
answered Aug 10 at 16:14
David Richerby
6,4731739
The dictionaries don't seem to have caught up yet but, as somebody who regularly sets and marks homework in a university in the UK, I would quite happily refer to "marking 30 homeworks". A comment on another answer says that this is also used in the US.
So, at least for informal use, I think it's fine to use homework as a countable noun and pluralize it. If you wanted to be more formal, I'd go with my usual cowardly solution of rewording to avoid the problem: "I have to grade 30 students' homework" or "I have to grade homework for 30 students."
answered Aug 10 at 16:14
David Richerby
6,4731739
answered Aug 10 at 16:14
David Richerby
6,4731739
answered Aug 10 at 16:14
David Richerby
6,4731739
answered Aug 10 at 16:14
David Richerby
6,4731739
6,4731739
1
I agree, but interestingly, if I were a student and had a math assignment, a history assignment, and an English assignment, I'd never say "I have three homeworks to do."
– thumbtackthief
Aug 10 at 21:21
add a comment |Â
1
I agree, but interestingly, if I were a student and had a math assignment, a history assignment, and an English assignment, I'd never say "I have three homeworks to do."
– thumbtackthief
Aug 10 at 21:21
1
1
I agree, but interestingly, if I were a student and had a math assignment, a history assignment, and an English assignment, I'd never say "I have three homeworks to do."
– thumbtackthief
Aug 10 at 21:21
I agree, but interestingly, if I were a student and had a math assignment, a history assignment, and an English assignment, I'd never say "I have three homeworks to do."
– thumbtackthief
Aug 10 at 21:21
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
At MIT, most courses assign homework in "problem sets".
A typical engineering student has to do four problem sets per week: one for each course that he or she is enrolled in.
A typical TA (Teaching Assistant) has to grade dozens of problem sets per week: one for each student in his (or rarely her) recitation section(s).
A typical problem set consists of several problems.
Some courses (especially in Technical Writing and the Humanities) require students to write weekly essays, instead of solve weekly problem sets.
answered Aug 12 at 4:43
Jasper
16.8k43264
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
At MIT, most courses assign homework in "problem sets".
A typical engineering student has to do four problem sets per week: one for each course that he or she is enrolled in.
A typical TA (Teaching Assistant) has to grade dozens of problem sets per week: one for each student in his (or rarely her) recitation section(s).
A typical problem set consists of several problems.
Some courses (especially in Technical Writing and the Humanities) require students to write weekly essays, instead of solve weekly problem sets.
answered Aug 12 at 4:43
Jasper
16.8k43264
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
At MIT, most courses assign homework in "problem sets".
A typical engineering student has to do four problem sets per week: one for each course that he or she is enrolled in.
A typical TA (Teaching Assistant) has to grade dozens of problem sets per week: one for each student in his (or rarely her) recitation section(s).
A typical problem set consists of several problems.
Some courses (especially in Technical Writing and the Humanities) require students to write weekly essays, instead of solve weekly problem sets.
answered Aug 12 at 4:43
Jasper
16.8k43264
At MIT, most courses assign homework in "problem sets".
A typical engineering student has to do four problem sets per week: one for each course that he or she is enrolled in.
A typical TA (Teaching Assistant) has to grade dozens of problem sets per week: one for each student in his (or rarely her) recitation section(s).
A typical problem set consists of several problems.
Some courses (especially in Technical Writing and the Humanities) require students to write weekly essays, instead of solve weekly problem sets.
answered Aug 12 at 4:43
Jasper
16.8k43264
answered Aug 12 at 4:43
Jasper
16.8k43264
answered Aug 12 at 4:43
Jasper
16.8k43264
answered Aug 12 at 4:43
Jasper
16.8k43264
16.8k43264
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
'30 sets of homework' perhaps.
But 'I've got 30 homeworks to mark' doesn't sound wrong.
answered Aug 12 at 16:12
Laurence Payne
35513
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
'30 sets of homework' perhaps.
But 'I've got 30 homeworks to mark' doesn't sound wrong.
answered Aug 12 at 16:12
Laurence Payne
35513
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
'30 sets of homework' perhaps.
But 'I've got 30 homeworks to mark' doesn't sound wrong.
answered Aug 12 at 16:12
Laurence Payne
35513
'30 sets of homework' perhaps.
But 'I've got 30 homeworks to mark' doesn't sound wrong.
answered Aug 12 at 16:12
Laurence Payne
35513
answered Aug 12 at 16:12
Laurence Payne
35513
answered Aug 12 at 16:12
Laurence Payne
35513
answered Aug 12 at 16:12
Laurence Payne
35513
35513
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f175612%2fwhats-the-correct-unit-for-homework%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
7
But, Chris, you'd need to tell us what unit is important. What did you count to reach thirty? Was it questions, exercises, assignments, workbooks? Was it students or classes? Until you tell us, we don't know.
– Gary Botnovcan
Aug 9 at 15:21