clothes are growing mould, land grows crops

[longxianchen]

Hi,
The subjects of the verb "grow" seems to be plants,animal or humans. Can we say “Your clothes are growing mould"? Here, the subject is clothes. Similar example is "the land grows crops". Who can tell me if two sentences in red are right?
Thanks a millions!!!

 

[Procol]

Hi
You can say "clothes are growing mouldy" (moldy in US English), where grow means become, or turn. The land grows crops is weird because it is not the land that physically grows the crops. We would say the land is used to grow crops. Hope that helps.

 

[Packard]

I think with mold the term is "host".

The damp clothes, if left that way long enough, are often host for mold and mildew.

 

[PaulQ]

“Your clothes are growing mould"? It would be better as, "Mould is growing on your clothes."

Compare this to:
1. "He is growing carrots in the garden." in which "to grow" is used to mean "cultivating."


2. "The land grows crops." does not sound very natural. I would expect, "The land is used to grow (i.e. cultivate) crops."

 

[Packard]

“Your clothes are growing mould"? It would be better as, "Mould is growing on your clothes."

Compare this to:
1. "He is growing carrots in the garden." in which "to grow" is used to mean "cultivating."


2. "The land grows crops." does not sound very natural. I would expect, "The land is used to grow (i.e. cultivate) crops."

But people "grow a beard" when all they are really doing is neglecting to shave. Of course if you trim the beard then it is not neglect at all, but the phrase is often used when someone skips a few days with the razor.

 

[Procol]

Longxianchen... disregard the first part of my thread, I obviously misunderstood... "clothes are growing mo(u)ld" sounds good to me. I stick the second part of my thread (land and crops, etc.)

 

[velisarius]

If you need to say that mould is growing on someone's clothes, you could also say "There's mould growing on your clothes", or "You've got mould growing on your clothes". I think you could say "The land grows crops", because the land itself contributes to the growth, albeit passively.

 

[longxianchen]

I think you could say "The land grows crops", because the land itself contributes to the growth, albeit passively.

The land grows crops is weird because it is not the land that physically grows the crops. We would say the land is used to grow crops. Hope that helps.

The land grows crops is weird because it is not the land that physically grows the crops. We would say the land is used to grow crops. Hope that helps.

It would be better as, "Mould is growing on your clothes."

"clothes are growing mo(u)ld" sounds good to me.

Thanks for all the help. But different people have different views. so I'm still confused. Here is a sentence "Do not store damp clothes. They will grow mildew." Please look for it in the following webpage. It's in behind a picture in "step twelve", http://www.wikihow.com/Dry-Clothes-Outsid

 

[JamesM]

It's understandable but I don't think it's particularly good English, longxianchen.

 

[longxianchen]

Ok, I take your advice by saying "Do not store damp clothes or mildew or mould will grow on them".
Thanks a lot, james