[Columbine]

Originally Posted by yumyumtimtam

Thank you, AwakenxBenihime.

Are these basically the same?

He likes to eat corn on the cob.
He likes eating corn on the cob.
He enjoys eating corn on the cob.

久しぶり、YYTT−さん！お元気ですか？
If you don't mind me jumping in

The first two are the same; they generally imply a habit. The third is very similar, but simply says that he likes eating corn, but doesn't say how often he does so.

Originally Posted by yumyumtimtam

wow! ear??
Do you count anything else with ear?

Sure do! Almost all cereals (こくもつ?) are counted in ears.
Ears of wheat, ears of barley, ears of rice etc.

Originally Posted by yumyumtimtam

Can I say
I want to have some corn on the cob. ?

Yes you can

Originally Posted by yumyumtimtam

Let's say...
There are 100 ears of corn to eat for 5 people.
One of them is going to cook and ask others

"How would you like your corn?"

" I like my corn on the cob boiled."

" I want my corn cut in 5 grilled."

100 ears is a lot! One or two is usually enough for most people, but otherwise, your dialogue is fine. I would say "I want my corn cut into 5 and grilled" though.

Originally Posted by yumyumtimtam

Can I call it "corns" when they are separated I mean like....
"corn" you can buy at KFC!?

Corn doesn't have a plural, so we don't say 'corns'. One corn-on-the-cob, 5 corn-on-the-cob, 100 corn-on-the-cob etc. When it's 'off the cob', all in little bits, then it's just called 'sweet corn'. Take a look at this;

The edible, yellow bit is the 'corn'. The hard, middle bit that you can't eat is the 'cob'. The whole thing is called the 'ear'. An individual piece of corn is called a 'kernel', which does have a plural. One kernel, 5 kernels, 100 kernels. Or just "some sweet corn". Actually, I never realized how complicated corn is! It's different to other cereals; with wheat, for example, you only have ears and grains. And then the bit you can't eat (asides from the stalk) is called 'chaff'.

Originally Posted by yumyumtimtam

can you give me some more good examples of how to count vegetables and fruits?

This type of word is a 'collective noun'. English has hundreds of them! You can tell it's a collective noun because it's almost always followed by 'of' and then whatever it is that's is being counted, like "ears of corn".

asparagus=bundle (individual stems of asparagus are called 'spears')
bananas= hand or bunch
barley= crop
corn= sheaf
flowers= bouquet
garlic = bulb (individual bits of garlic are called 'cloves')
grapes= bunch or cluster
grass = tuft (individiual stems of grass are called 'blades')
leaves= pile
onions= rope or bunch
plums= basket
strawberries= punnet
trees= grove or copse or stand or thicket

Are there collective nouns in Japanese too? I know there are lots of different counters for things, like 羽 and 匹 and 台 but do you have words for groups of things like this?