A cat is an animal.
Cats are animals.
Do the two sentences mean exactly the same thing? If not, what are the differences and how do you use them?
Nouns – Do ‘A Cat Is An Animal’ and ‘Cats Are Animals’ Mean the Same?
differencenounsplural-formssingular
Best Answer
The meaning of these two statements is, essentially, the same.
Of course, "a cat" is singular, and "cats" is plural. In most contexts, "a cat" would refer to just one cat. However, in the statement "a cat is an animal", a single cat is being used as an example that is representative of all cats, and that's why it means the same as the second statement.
It is quite common to use a single example as representative of the group to which they belong. A couple of well-known sayings about dogs are examples of this:
Although referring to "a dog" and "a man", this idiom suggests that all dogs are good companions for people.
This was a slogan from animal welfare groups in the UK to warn people against buying pets as Christmas presents, as many are abandoned soon after. Again, "a dog" represents all dogs.