When expressing molarity, M stands for
$\begin{array}{ll}{\text { (A) atoms per liter of water. }} & {\text { (B) moles per milliliter of solvent. }} \\ {\text { (C) moles per liter of solution. }} & {\text { (D) atoms per milliliter of solute. }}\\{\text { (E) grams per liter of solution. }} \end{array}$