The plural form in English is very difficult for many language students to master, especially if their native language has no plural form. Most of the time it just sounds wrong, but plurals have some very subtle connotations that can change the meaning of a sentence substantially. Read the following sample sentences:
I like dogs.
I like dog.
The first is a statement about pet preference, and the second about your choice of cuisine. Sometimes the difference is more subtle:
Hamburger is enjoyed by many people.
Hamburgers are enjoyed by many people.
In this case it works, because “hamburger” is both a type of meat and a discrete countable food item. But usually it doesn’t work:
Is pen used in outer space?
Are pens used in outer space?
The second sentence uses the plural form to express generality; a “pen” is a generic type of object which may or may not be used in space. But the first sentence doesn’t use a plural, so when a native speaker reads the first sentence a specifier is required. Which pen? This pen? Your pen? The sentence as written is incorrect because that information is missing.
The complicated part is that some objects are discrete and countable, while others are not. This leads to much confusion. “Sushi” for some reason is not countable. Neither is “money”– but you can count “dollars”. “Rice” isn’t discrete, but we can count “grains of rice”. Animals are countable, but the meat product derived from them is not. Liquids are not countable, but containers and measurements of them are (and we go to great lengths to make plurals like “bottles of soda” or “gallons of gasoline”). Water of course isn’t countable, but the waters of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers combine to flow into the Gulf of Mexico. Quite confusing, isn’t it?
I’ve heard it said that English is one of the hardest languages to learn because there are so many variances like that, I think I would have a hard time remembering them all if I wasn’t a native English speaker. We really take those things for granted because they are second nature to us. Sort of gives you an appreciation of how hard it is for the kids who come from Mexico to learn the language, as well as the subject, which they have to do at the same time. Now if only understanding that made it easier to teach it :-p
Much of this is because English has borrowed from so many other languages and has its roots in ancient Germanic tongues. Thus child/children, sheep/sheep. From what I understand, most other languages are more “pure” and thus the rules are more consistent. It was always hard to explain WHY and have it make any sense, because many times it doesn’t make any sense. It just is. I guess that’s a good analogy for life.
It’s amazing how much of this stuff we take for granted…
English sucks.