Learn English – Why is liquid plural

plural-formssingular-vs-plural

I see definition of liquid like this:

a substance that flows freely but is of constant volume, having a consistency like that of water or oil.
"drink plenty of liquids"

I don’t understand why liquid considered plural, while water not.

Best Answer

I think you may have looked at the definition from the Oxford Dictionary. It's a bit weird (and confusing) in that it gives the plural of liquids in its first example sentence when the headword is singular.

liquid

NOUN

substance that flows freely but is of constant volume, having a consistency like that of water or oil.

‘drink plenty of liquids’

‘First, you should always drink plenty of liquids (water is the best).’

The word liquids does include lots of types of "wet stuff", and of these water is but one choice. The inference in the first example is that you drink distinct glasses/cups/bottles over a period of time.

And it is possible to have a plural of waters but it's fairly specialised!

The waters of a mineral spring can be used medicinally for bathing in or drinking.

‘You can take the waters at the Pump Room.’

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