I have run into a conundrum.
When I go to get some friends cans of beer I say:
You guys want a beer?
When I am referring to going to a bar and drinking some I say:
Let's go get some beers!
When I go to a store to buy beer I say:
I am going to get beer.
How can I work this out? My friend is a native Chinese speaker and this is the sort of plural thing that trips her up. How is this explained?
Best Answer
'Beer' can mean both the substance "beer" and the (standard or more arbitrary) units by which it is measured ("a beer"; "two beers").
'Beer' referring to the substance cannot be plural (or singular) (ie. it is non-countable, see comment).
But when used to mean the units by which you buy / consume the substance (eg. "we each had 3 beers last night"), 'beer' is countable. See this (Canadian) article at Ask the English Teacher and this comment in particular, for more clarity.