"fruit" is singular/plural?

[vinay2]

If fruit is a collective noun, and therefore singular, how do we say that there are a lot of "fruit" on the table?

- There is fruit on the table. (doesn't sound right, and definitely doesn't tell me that there are more than 1 on the table.)

or

- There are fruits on the table. (sounds better and it is clear that there are more than 1 on the table)

If the latter is correct, then why do we call fruit a collective noun?

Can someone please clarify?

Vinay.

[kbhardwaj]

If you've not already checked out the following links, you may want to take a look:
http://thestar.com.my/english/story.asp?file=/2007/3/15/lifefocus/17021531&sec=lifefocus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/wiktionary:fruit

Seems like a good explanation to me.

--
Kb