 As Pelletier has frequently noted (e.g. 1989, 2001, 2011, 2012a, 2012b), even if one wants to ignore putative metaphysical distinctions for distinguishing mass and count, instead maintaining that there are merely syntactical, lexical, or semantical ones—there remain significant problems for distinguishing mass vs. count. And if such fundamental linguistic problems are still outstanding, then the prospects of employing the +MASS/+COUNT distinction as the basis for a strong metaphysical distinction are  hazy.[23]  Let’s see why.