Consider the following :
- He likes dogs.
- He likes dog.
(1) would mean he likes dogs as pets and (2) refers to dog as food.
My question is, does the same apply to nouns such as orange and oranges?
- He likes oranges.
- He likes orange.
Just wish to confirm that (1) and (2) are really both acceptable. If they are, do they have different meanings?
Best Answer
My first impression is that
means he likes the color orange (or he likes orange-flavored things).
means he likes the fruit.
When you use the plural "dogs," you are quantifying the animal, so you mean whole units of dog. Therefore, you imply that you are talking about dogs as pets or animals or whatnot.
When you use just "dog," you are using an uncountable noun, indicating that you are talking about "dog" in an abstract sense. It is normal for us to think about food in this context, because dogs are animals, but it really isn't necessarily the case. Consider:
In the first sentence, I am saying that I like the devices or specific instances of "television." In the second sentence, I am saying I like "television" in a conceptual, abstract sense. In this case, we don't think I mean television is something to eat because television is not edible. Instead, we assume I'm talking about television programming.
It's not as clear for oranges, I think in part because orange is a color as well as a fruit. However, let's look at bananas:
The first one means "I like the fruit," while the second one gives the impression that you like anything banana-flavored.